*** 2009 St. Patrick's Day Parade ***

[Spiderman]

Thanks for the reminder, Thiago.

[*TNT*]

Hopefully we get 30 bikes lined up by 5pm. Remember guys: "The more the Merrier," or in our case: The more Hp the greater the Rumble!!!

[rforsythe]

I just remembered yesterday about the whole deal. Perhaps well try and ride and watch . . . still working on a sitter.

Better get on it quick!

[Sean]

I'm all up in that shit bitches!

It's gonna be a coooooooold ride from Boulder!
Dirk, do you want to meet up?

[dirkterrell]

Yeah, we can meet up out by my place and then head to the I-25 and 120th Conoco to meet up with the rest of the northies.

Dirk

[Sean]

Yeah, we can meet up out by my place and then head to the I-25 and 120th Conoco to meet up with the rest of the northies.

Dirk

Just look for the guy that's the same shade of blue as his bike, that'll be me!

[Spiderman]

Due to the fact that: there are still some slots available; I only posted the thread Monday morning, and; I just found out we only have to place the t-shirt order next week...

Sign-up is being extended until Noon on Monday (March 2nd)

Carry on.

[Hi11Zone]

This might sound silly but i'v never been to that parade what exactly would we be doing just ridin behind a float for 2hrs give or take?

[GixxerCarrie]

Cool, I just signed up, Spiderman, you should be getting my PayPal Confirmation shortly...

OMG...he's alive. I can't wait to see u!!!!!! Its been forever!
This is going to be the best birthday ever! All my friends what more could I ask for!

[Timmay]

This might sound silly but i'v never been to that parade what exactly would we be doing just ridin behind a float for 2hrs give or take?

Do a search and you can see what it intails. Its a good time.

[Sean]

FYI: Target has some st patty's swag (hats, flags, etc) on sale for a dollar

[SaShWhO]

Yeah, we can meet up out by my place and then head to the I-25 and 120th Conoco to meet up with the rest of the northies.

Dirk

great plan!
what time should we be lingering around Conoco??

[Sean]

great plan!
what time should we be lingering around Conoco??

Are you even allowed to be in an Irish Parade?

Let's find out where breakfast is, then we can guage how much time we need.

[dirkterrell]

great plan!
what time should we be lingering around Conoco??

Well, it depends on the final schedule. We could either meet up with everybody else down south for the breakfast (probably 7-7:30) or we could eat breakfast up here (Cracker Barrel, Village Inn, Perkins are right there at our meet-up spot) and then ride to the VI down south and meet up with the rest of the gang. The former means leaving earlier and riding when it's colder. Doesn't really matter to me.

Dirk

[rforsythe]

Well, it depends on the final schedule. We could either meet up with everybody else down south for the breakfast (probably 7-7:30) or we could eat breakfast up here (Cracker Barrel, Village Inn, Perkins are right there at our meet-up spot) and then ride to the VI down south and meet up with the rest of the gang. The former means leaving earlier and riding when it's colder. Doesn't really matter to me.

Dirk

FWIW, I can't see us meeting for breakfast @ VI before 7:30, but like you said it depends on the schedule. Come on Bob, we need the info!

[DevilsTonic]

Someone slap the Bob and tell him to get with the program!

[Spiderman]

Don't slap me - slap the mailman! Or the Parade organizers - I just realized that I'm actually planning this further ahead of time than I've done in the past - typically it's been right around 2 weeks, this time it was closer to 3.

This might sound silly but i'v never been to that parade what exactly would we be doing just ridin behind a float for 2hrs give or take?

Good question, and I suppose if you're a "glass half-empty" kinda person, you could perceive it that way. First off, there's a long wait in the staging area before the parade begins. Then there's usually an additional wait while the entries ahead of us start the route. When we finally start, it's pretty slow going (think stop-and-crawl traffic). Our entry consists of Ralph's pickup truck up front with a few banners on it, followed by up to 30 bikes. Once we get out of the staging area, the parade route is approximately 1.3 miles long, and takes (IIRC) about an hour to complete (somebody please correct me if I'm wrong). We end up going back into the staging/parking area, but it's still slow going for a few more minutes as the people ahead of us start to disband.
After that, it's chill out for a bit, shoot the shit, maybe have a beer (if somebody's brought some), then go for beer & food. I don't know about last year, but traditionally we've been going to Breckenridge Brewery (2220 Blake), which is actually ON the parade route.

Any other questions?

[Dizzy D]

Don't slap me - slap the mailman! Or the Parade organizers - I just realized that I'm actually planning this further ahead of time than I've done in the past - typically it's been right around 2 weeks, this time it was closer to 3.


Good question, and I suppose if you're a "glass half-empty" kinda person, you could perceive it that way. First off, there's a long wait in the staging area before the parade begins. Then there's usually an additional wait while the entries ahead of us start the route. When we finally start, it's pretty slow going (think stop-and-crawl traffic). Our entry consists of Ralph's pickup truck up front with a few banners on it, followed by up to 30 bikes. Once we get out of the staging area, the parade route is approximately 1.3 miles long, and takes (IIRC) about an hour to complete (somebody please correct me if I'm wrong). We end up going back into the staging/parking area, but it's still slow going for a few more minutes as the people ahead of us start to disband.
After that, it's chill out for a bit, shoot the shit, maybe have a beer (if somebody's brought some), then go for beer & food. I don't know about last year, but traditionally we've been going to Breckenridge Brewery (2220 Blake), which is actually ON the parade route.

Any other questions?

To plan your day:
The last two years we have sat in the staging area about 3 1/2 hours waiting before we left. (Last year we were at the end of the parade, the parade was over before we got back to the staging area to collect our cars)

To ride with the CSC on the parade route is about 20-30 minutes.

Total if you watch the whole parade as a spectator, it lasts about 4-4 1/2 hours long. It is the biggest St Patty's day parade in the country.

I would plan a minimum of 4 hours total, if not more counting our breakfast and lunch stops.

I am crossing my fingers and hoping they stagger the staging times like they have done in years past so you do not have to sit in the staging area for so long. That always made it nice. For whatever reason the last two years the staging times have been more of an "all call" and everyone shows up at the same time and wait for hours on end.

[Sleev]

Allright, I'm in. $ sent via Paypal.

[MetaLord 9]

Lindsey & I are in, Bob you should see payment now. She'd like to ride in the truck if there's space still available and I will be on mah bike! This may have been asked already, but should someone/are we allowed/is it a good/bad idea to bring, um, "adult beverages" to keep on the truck for the stagin area? I remember the Parrot Heads being fairly sloshed by the time the parade rolled, but if we're chill'n for a couple hours pre-go-time we've always bummed a couple brews from nearby floats, so why not bring our own? :shrug:

4047 (correction)

[SaShWhO]

Lindsey & I are in, Bob you should see payment now. She'd like to ride in the truck if there's space still available and I will be on mah bike! This may have been asked already, but should someone/are we allowed/is it a good/bad idea to bring, um, "adult beverages" to keep on the truck for the stagin area? I remember the Parrot Heads being fairly sloshed by the time the parade rolled, but if we're chill'n for a couple hours pre-go-time we've always bummed a couple brews from nearby floats, so why not bring our own? :shrug:

4047 (correction)

Great idea!!!

[Spiderman]

Allright, I'm in. $ sent via Paypal.

Lindsey & I are in, Bob you should see payment now. She'd like to ride in the truck if there's space still available and I will be on mah bike! This may have been asked already, but should someone/are we allowed/is it a good/bad idea to bring, um, "adult beverages" to keep on the truck for the stagin area? I remember the Parrot Heads being fairly sloshed by the time the parade rolled, but if we're chill'n for a couple hours pre-go-time we've always bummed a couple brews from nearby floats, so why not bring our own? :shrug:

Got your payment, thanx. You'll have to check wtih Ralph on the truck space deal.

As for adult beverages, the official parade rules only state

"Drinking of alcohol by parade entrants is not permitted anywhere along the parade route."

We all know that other entries are consuming, and sometimes selling or distributing, so I don't think it would be a problem as long as it was done in moderation, and bearing in mind that we will be riding at slow speeds (balance) for an extended duration, in front of a large audience... I don't think anybody wants to be the guy (or girl) that drops their bike because they've been drinking.

In other news, I received our line-up info this weekend...
our staging time will be 10:00 AM.

Oh, and I just got a serious hook-up on a "new" (race take-off) from Faster Motosports, so I've got plenty of rubber to smoke!

[McVaaahhh]

I've gotten my pitbike insured for the parade, so I'll probably be riding that rather than the RC51. If anybody is interested I just called my agent and told them I needed liability on the bike and they added it to my policy for $32/year. I'll just cancel it after the parade. Pretty easy if you want to ride something that's not street legal and you don't have insurance on it.

Also, I'll be trailering my bike down to the parade so if you need a place to store your helmets, bags, whatever, feel free to throw it all in my Tahoe.

--Brian

[eg bter]

We should all ride pocket bikes...