2007 WSR Rally Recap
EVENT: 2nd Annual Schampa Women’s Sportbike Rally presented by Cobra PowersportsSLOGAN: It’s all about the curves!
DATE: August 24-26, 2007
LOCATION: Fontana Village Resort, Fontana Dam, NC
FUNDS RAISED: $2500 for the Tiffany Weirbach “Sportbikegirl” Melanoma Foundation
EVENT PHOTOS: CLICK HERE
Wow! What a far cry from what we did at the inaugural event. It was a lot of work but well worth the reward by creating an event that was fun for virtually everyone who attended. Sure we had a few quirks but no one is perfect, right? Plus we get to learn what to fix for next year. ;)
The month leading up to the rally there was a bit of a dark cloud since the Tennessee Highway Patrol has been heavily monitoring Deals Gap aka “The Dragon” and what we have been advertising as the location for the event. Although Deals Gap is the tourist draw, we were actually located in North Carolina at the Fontana Village Resort surrounded by PLENTY of stellar roads. Their presence didn’t hurt us a bit and in fact helped us to realize we didn’t need Deals Gap to hold this event which was somewhat of a relief.
SPORTBIKE CHALLENGE |
We started the weekend with registration most of the day on Friday followed by the Meet ‘n Greet sponsored by Yamaha that evening. Riders ate pizza, checked out each others sportbikes, participated in the Sportbike Challenge, wore their great riding t-shirts and met lots of new people. Judd and Faye Weirbach made it all the way from Oregon to be there on behalf of their daughter Tiffany, the original sportbikegirl and Judd’s book Dad’s Girl. We had Fast Company and the Vanson Leathers Drag Racing team on hand as vendors while the atmosphere was laid-back like your local bike night only with more women riders, no egos and more sportbikes. We gave away over 100 t-shirts from our MANY sponsors including She-Rides, ScorpionEXO, G by Hein Gericke, PJs Parts, Yamaha, NPR Ducati, WIMA USA and Leo Vince.
After the sun went down a few riders decided to go extreme and participate in a night run on Deals Gap. Lots of stars and darkness to add a bit of adventure to visiting the Smokies.
Saturday morning began the creation of our first photo that included our sportbikes. Although we had a couple of mishaps we were able to successfully pull off an outstanding group shot thanks to Killboy. Afterwards we left Fontana to ride the Hellbender 28 to the Deals Gap Store where we intruded upon all the H.O.G. Rally riders who surrounded the tiny store. This year we stood out and had even more bystanders snapping photos of us gathering around the historic Deals Gap sign for photo number two. It was really fun! We event had Red Bull show up for some free Wings before we set out to ride.
Group rides departed from the store thanks to our four volunteer ride leaders Suzy Moody, Jenn Garner, Paige Huston and Allison Gladis who rose to the task. They took riders of all levels on some fantastic roads with beautiful scenery that most attendees had never seen before.
That evening participants were greeted to the Sportbikegirl Luau presented by NPR Ducati full of surprises including an amazing display of thousands of dollars worth of donated product. Decorations, music and food added to the ambiance of a little island fever while everyone was greeted with a lei. Sandi Dunphy of Mt. Vernon, Ohio, was drawn as the scooter winner and so many others went home with a prize or two or three or four. (Hi Bernice, Ashley, Brittany, Megan!!!!) We were also thankful to have on hand several of our sponsors including Cobra Powersports, NPR Ducati, Fast Company, Vanson Leathers, Killboy and The wonderful Wilkinson Brothers who created our brand identity that is our awesome logo. (Thanks guys!)
We ended the weekend with a Sunday breakfast meet to just hang out and say our goodbyes.
As we promised all the proceeds were to be donated to the Tiffany Weirbach “Sportbikegirl” Melanoma Foundation and we were able to raise $2500. We plan to trounce that figure next year since this was the first year we tried to raise money for the cause.
Our overall goal with this rally is to simply create an environment that meets or exceeds the fun we already have as female sportbike riders. We hope to eliminate the misconceptions people may have about women events and instead strive for them to realize this is simply a fun and laid-back event that also welcomes guests of those who support us. We have been successful for two years now and we plan to continue that trend long into the future. So, if you’re on the fence about coming, don’t be, because you’re just going to miss out again and again!
A HUGE thank you goes out to all those who attended the rally, our fantastic ride leaders Suzy, Allison, Jenn and Paige; luau decorators the Fast Co. crew, NPR Ducati gals, Brittany and Nick. Also, Michelle, Darrius, Nick, Jason, David and Jay for their added help in various facets. And last but not least our fabulous sponsors who really believed in what we have created; something new and unique for women sportbike riders. We hope to see all of these sponsors back at a bigger and even better event for 2008!
TITLE SPONSOR
Schampa Technical Gear
PRESENTED BY SPONSOR
Cobra Powersports
MEET ‘N GREET SPONSOR
Yamaha Motor Corp., USA
SPORTBIKEGIRL LUAU SPONSOR
NPR Ducati
DRAGON SLAYER ~ GOLD SPONSORS
Critical Medical Information
Deals Gap Motorcycle Resort
Fast Company
Femmoto & Sportbike Track Time
FontanaVillage Resort
G by Hein Gericke
GPR Stabilizer
Hinson Clutch Components
Joe Rocket
Kawasaki
Leo Vince SBK
Power Trip
Race Awards
ScorpionEXO
Screen Works
She-Rides Active Wear
Sportbike Track Gear
Tail of the Dragon
Vanson Leathers
Wilkinson Brothers
CHEROHALA RISE ~ SILVER SPONSORS
Helmet Hair Magazine
Lockhart Phillips
Women Riders Now
HELLBENDER TAUNT ~ BRONZE SPONSORS
Killboy
PJs Parts
RoadRUNNER Magazine
Stomp Design
Tellico Motorcycle Outfitters
Whitehorse Gear
WIMA USA