Hi all, my name is Matt, aka Tooshaggy.
At the last rally, nobody but me was ready to make a commitment to next year, and I had a few ideas and I was drafted! I am ready to make this a great ralley!!!!
I was first thinking about the San Diego area, but I was soon persuaded to a much much better area:
Ventura CA.
i am working on things at this point, but this is a beyond awesome area to ride with mild weather. Probably 0% chance of rain with weather in the high 70's!!!!
We will have access to dirt, and long and short asphalt rides! There will be camping nearby at Lake Casitas among other areas.
More info to come. This is just a heads up. The date will be firmed up by late fall.

The dealership has been selected and they are very happy to give us the kind of service we are used to!!!!
Here is a link to a great campground perhaps about 15-20 minutes from the base Hotel (still to be determined)
Lake Casitas Campground

We now have an email adress just for the rally: vstromwest2013@gmail.com
Feel free to send me messages through that adress as I get them faster than PM's.
We are also on twitter @VStromWest13 -- AND FACEBOOK: http://www.facebook.com/groups/482338125127728/
Follow them for more updates and to chat. Just ask to be a member of the Facebook group and it will be so!

More to come!

Matt

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2013 V-Strom Western Gathering Coordinator
K8 Vee
Join the 2013 Gathering chatter on Facebook! :: https://www.facebook.com/groups/482338125127728/
And the Official website for the rally: http://2013westernvstromgathering.weebly.com/index.html

Hi MAtt,

I am a new member that lives halfway between San Diego and Ventura, so I couldn't lose either way! Nothing against San Diego but I think that you made a good choice with Ventura. You can pull riders from the north and south instead of just from the north. Ventura has great accommodations, restaurants, roads and anything else that might be needed. Lake Casitas is a great spot for camping and there are a few more camp grounds up Hwy. 33 if anybody is interested.
I will keep an eye on this and try my level best to join in on the fun. Hey... I work for a living and sometimes the job wins.

Tigger 2

How long does a rally like this usually last? (how many days?)

This will be a Friday through Sunday rally. There will be organized rides all three days. I will also have lots of self guided rides available.
Like I said, there is good dirt riding just 45 minutes away, and tons of pavement rides.
Beach.
Mountains.
Desert.
Great twisties.
We can even do a Kern River run -- that would be a 8-9 hour ride with epic roads and views.

__________________
2013 V-Strom Western Gathering Coordinator
K8 Vee
Join the 2013 Gathering chatter on Facebook! :: https://www.facebook.com/groups/482338125127728/
And the Official website for the rally: http://2013westernvstromgathering.weebly.com/index.html

Keep me in mid, I'm 90-100 mile from Casitas. I could help, unless you piss me off. What about the group sites? some work well. Are you thinking about catering food or doing food in house? At least Ojai and Ventura are close with stores and individual supplies.
Good places to eat in Ojai. I just noticed there are a few places that need to be checked in Meiners Oaks too.
Maybe we can find out if Guy Websters collection of Italian race bikes will be available to view.
Questions, questions!

I am aiming for in house food as that worked great in the Dalles. We might just wind up doing it at a restaurant in a banquet room. I am still investigating.
I think we can start really nailing things down once I get a date set. Right now it's open to comment. I was told by some Canadiens that the later the better. It does not make a difference on the coast as the temps should be in the 70's, maybe 80 something.
I really want to get a firm date set very soon so we can make sure those that want to camp can get reservations. Casitas can be popular and a 7 month wait is not uncommon. There are a lot of other camp sites nearby though.
The sooner I can get a date the sonner everyone can make plans to attend.

If anyone has specific questions email me at vstromwest2013@gmail.com

__________________
2013 V-Strom Western Gathering Coordinator
K8 Vee
Join the 2013 Gathering chatter on Facebook! :: https://www.facebook.com/groups/482338125127728/
And the Official website for the rally: http://2013westernvstromgathering.weebly.com/index.html

Sounds like a lot of fun. I will be there. A short ride up from LA.

I really hate restaurants, Expensive, noisy and hard to converse with anyone but the few near you. It may be cheaper to have a local cater a Santa Maria style BBQ rather than a restaurant. Or a good Taco truck to go!
How many attendees did you have at the Dalles?

The count at The Dalles was 50+. I'm not sure anyone was able to get an official count, but I heard that number thrown around a lot.

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2009 DL650A Grey
2004 DL650 Blue - sold
Long ago TC-90

Yeh, it was around 50 + at the Dalles.
If we do the banquet at a restaurant it would be in their banquet room. Not in the regular dining area. That is just a last resort anyway.
It's still WAY early.
But we should get a lot of the weekend V-Strom population from LA area. I know for a fact that there are a lot of them!

__________________
2013 V-Strom Western Gathering Coordinator
K8 Vee
Join the 2013 Gathering chatter on Facebook! :: https://www.facebook.com/groups/482338125127728/
And the Official website for the rally: http://2013westernvstromgathering.weebly.com/index.html