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2018 ROT rally begins today

GhostOfTomJoad

By GhostOfTomJoad
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phdhorn

phdhorn 6224

Posted
Posted
1 hour ago, Steamboat1874 said:

Over/Under - Bike Related Deaths

I will say over 2.5

I'm taking this, too.  Although I have a feeling that, since this is supposed to be the most attended one ever, with some effort, they can hit 3.

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Guest Lobo

Guest Lobo

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Posted (edited)

I just realized we no longer have Gay pride/LGBT week the same time as ROT Rally this year.  However, we do have the ATXtv Festival (which is getting almost as big as Austin Film Festival) and Super Regionals this weekend.  And the B-17 is making a stop at Bergstrom this weekend.  Would actually like to take my daughter to see that before baseball.  

Edited by Lobo
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Stunns38

Stunns38 3467

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I just realized we no longer have Gay pride/LGBT week the same time as ROT Rally this year.  However, we do have the ATXtv Festival (which is getting almost as big as Austin Film Festival) and Super Regionals this weekend.  And the B-17 is making a stop at Bergstrom this weekend.  Would actually like to take my daughter to see that before baseball.  


And graduations at FEC too. Parking will be a bitch.


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Chad Fuck

Chad Fuck 17684

Posted
Posted
Just now, Anwar Namtut said:

Dumb question time - what is ROT? (not from Texas)

It's like MadMax except for bikers and in Austin.  Basically an invitation for them to come to town, get drunk, and smear themselves across the roads of Central Texas.

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phdhorn

phdhorn 6224

Posted
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3 minutes ago, Anwar Namtut said:

Dumb question time - what is ROT? (not from Texas)

What he said, plus it stands for Republic of Texas rally.
Basically where bored cyclists get together and hope everyone thinks they're so cool with their bikes. 
Kind of like the Chess Club for 2-wheelers (occasional 3-wheelers whateverz).

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Chad Fuck

Chad Fuck 17684

Posted
Posted (edited)
13 hours ago, ShaggyBevo RIP said:

Are there as many weekend biker wannabes nowadays? I'll buck the trend, and go against my instincts, and take the under.

I feel like as the biker wannabe population ages, and it's definitely aging, diminishing motor skills and situational awareness will take their toll.  So I'm going with the over.  

Edited by Chad Fuck
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NYTransplant

NYTransplant 145

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19 hours ago, GhostOfTomJoad said:

Serious question to the real riders here on the surly: do y'all actually go down to the ROT events? I guess I can see how the parade might be fun but isn't that about a half day commitment? 

 

Wouldn't go near this, if you paid me. Might take my bike out to see the B-17, though.

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Don Keibals

Don Keibals 113

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Posted

looks like it might be 1: 

HAYS COUNTY, Texas (KXAN) -- A woman died Friday morning when she collided with a deer while riding her motorcycle along US 290 in Hays County.

The Texas Department of Public Safety says the crash happened around 10:23 a.m. on US 290 at Frog Pond Lane, which is just east of Dripping Springs. 

No other details have been released regarding the deadly crash. 

While authorities couldn't say if the woman was in town for ROT Rally, more motorcyclists are on the road this weekend because of it.

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Homercles

Homercles 10205

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Posted
Serious question to the real riders here on the surly: do y'all actually go down to the ROT events? I guess I can see how the parade might be fun but isn't that about a half day commitment? 
 


I sold my bike last year but had been riding for 12 years and this was my 12th ROT so I’ll bite.

The rally is not downtown or the parade. It’s out at the expo center where there are a mix of indoor and outdoor events, vendors and some concerts...I’ve never done the parade to downtown because it devolves into a slow mess of cramped clutch hands, near-wrecks and overheated air cooled Harley’s all revving like the South Park episode. For what it’s worth I rode a Ninja 650.

Honestly I go now mostly to see my friends and have been on four wheels for two years now. The main perimeter road at the expo center becomes a constant throng of bikes, golf carts and drunken debauchery in the vein of a mini Mardis Gras. We buy an RV space at a key location with other guys that actually have RVs, setup a bunch of canopies right along the road, drink beer and talk while watching the madness roll by. With my young kids and busy schedule I rarely see my friends so it’s more about catching up...I’ve seen it all at this point.

We grab beads, ride around in the golf cart we rent, look at tites and try to follow the golden rule: do not hit a motorcycle. The crowd is a wild mix of older weekend warriors, young sport bike hooligans, drunks riding on motorized coolers and other weird vehicles and police/EMS trying to keep things under control. For years there was a heavy Bandidos contingent on their own roped off area but they were strangely absent this year.

In fact another unspoken rule used to be you do not stop in front of the Bandidos camp...one year we watched a guy park his pickup in front and walk off, within an hour the bed was full of beer cans. Just leave them alone and they leave civilians alone. A few times they’d come over to shoot the shit and have a beer but otherwise just steer clear of any 1%’ers.

I take it back, this year I’ve seen two ‘new to me’ things: a mother fucking sailboat parked on the drag and a golf cart collision that actually tipped one of them over. The two girls on the right side (where it landed) were pretty badly banged up. It happened right in front of our spot so we ran over, I had to tell some fools to stop trying to move the unconscious girl and ended up calling 911 as everyone else was just standing around saying ‘someone call 911!’

Trying to tell 911 where we were was infuriating, they wanted the address of the damn place when I can barely hear due to the exhaust noise. Eventually police and EMS showed up, took the girls off on stretchers, got my statement then had to break up a fight between the two carr drivers when one swung at a cop. Idiots.

That kind of stuff happens out there all the time until 2am when all traffic is supposed to shut down. That’s a relatively new rule, along with no more pickups towing trailers with chairs/stripper polls after I saw a girl fall from the second story of a trailer and seriously banged her head bad. Luckily most people are so jammed in traffic that speeds are low.

Otherwise there’s just a ton of people watching, talking about motorcycles, handing out beads, drunken idiots crashing their vehicles, police stopping burnouts, and taking in some of the more impressive camping setups with things like stripper polls, Jell-O shots for titty shots signs, even a portable AC unit with two tubes as a ‘titty cooler’. Most of those boobs you don’t want to see.

I’ve only gone downtown once, my bike was parked 4-deep and took forever to get out of there. We just stay at the expo now.
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Judge Roybeanbag

Judge Roybeanbag 11819

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came out 290 West about 6:30 this morning to Fitzhugh and on out to my place out here and it was surprisingly quiet.  Only saw a couple of flabby flapping triceps and one really sunburnt dude.   On the sad side,  Donkey Hotey,  my burro is officially gone.   Had that ornery bastard for 25 years.  He was a rescue donkey from the Nevada/California border.  Tears will be shed.   RIP you big old dog.   Shit.  

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Judge Roybeanbag

Judge Roybeanbag 11819

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Not the worst of it, the fella next to me was having his water system reworked.  They don’t live out there, just a vacation place kinda like mine.   Assholes left the gate open.  He ran back to where he started.  I tracked him in a two mile circle and lost him with that damned storm last weekend. 

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jimmyjazz

jimmyjazz 45962

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27 minutes ago, Judge Roybeanbag said:

Not the worst of it, the fella next to me was having his water system reworked.  They don’t live out there, just a vacation place kinda like mine.   Assholes left the gate open.  He ran back to where he started.  I tracked him in a two mile circle and lost him with that damned storm last weekend. 

Shit, that's awful.  

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noharleyyet

noharleyyet 2838

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ROT once and Dawgs on Hawgs at Lake Somerville once, both on the bike...that was enough.The most dangerous thing about ROT was staying to watch the parking lot nekkids & having to drive back to downtown lodging after dark on Saturday night.

I'll go to Sturgis someday but not during bike week.

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Mr.Hovis

Mr.Hovis 70

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Had to be in Fredericksburg at 7:30 a.m. today, so it was too early for the bikers when I left Driftwood. On the way back in the afternoon it was a different story. They were all over the place, up and down Hwy.290 and every RR,FM road that intersected it. They got to be a boost for the local economy though, hell there were bikes at every restaurant, winery, and bar I passed.

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RollLeft

RollLeft 5045

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On 6/9/2018 at 10:14 AM, Homercles said:

 


I sold my bike last year but had been riding for 12 years and this was my 12th ROT so I’ll bite.

The rally is not downtown or the parade. It’s out at the expo center... We just stay at the expo now.

 

Thanks!  Not a biker nor have i had an interest in the lifestyle/culture, but hey more power to you all.  Seems just like another reason to hang and have a good time with people i might not otherwise hang with.    

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