While I've been to the downtown parade/party every year, last year was my first time to go to the rally grounds.  I have a few reflections that may be helpful, especially to other first-timers.

1. It can be difficult going alone, even though you will probably run into some great people from the forum. But there's no substitute for having a good friend to run around the grounds and go on rides with.

2. Camping in the Shack Out Back area was a BIG mistake, and I say that with ALL due respects to Mel - she should get paid for all her volunteer work for setting that up. But the problem for me, just speaking for myself, is that I wanted to take frequent rides in and out of the grounds, maybe run someplace to eat, run up to the coliseum, take a cool evening ride around town after sundown, etc. But in the area back there, you're completely trapped by the parade.  I remember trying to get back to my tent from the downtown party Friday evening. It took at least an hour, moving a few feet, stopping, a few more feet, stopping etc., burning up my bike, clutch and brakes, sweating like a hog in 100-degree heat.  It was an ordeal.

3. Because I was stuck camping behind the Paradise Bar and couldn't get out, the only food available was the cold slopburgers from the Carl's Jr. trailer ($7.50), and a $5 bottle of water from the Paradise Bar - Carl's Jr. wasn't "allowed" to sell drinks!  The Paradise Bar itself was kinda lame: a big tarp, and the "bar" was a board across a couple of oil drums, selling very expensive beer, water, frozen ritas in little plastic cups, and NO food. I wanted to take a nice evening cruise into town for a good supper at Joe's Crab Shack or somewhere, but it was simply impossible to get out of there, and you're too hot and tired to walk half a mile over to the coliseum area. There is a music stage at the PB, which varies. Friday night it was some guy singing folk songs and strumming a ukelele.  Ahem....

4. Carts - I don't think carts themselves are a problem, it's the way people drive them. Some would pull a trailer full of ten people, stopping every few yards for beads, and you'd sit there stuck behind it for 10 minutes on a red-hot bike.  Some would just toodle along barely moving, while others were popping wheelies and crashing into RVs. Can't believe nobody got killed. Carts are there to stay, but I think they should consider banning trailers.

5. This may seem like a small thing, but no matter how you camp, bring SOME kind of chair to sit in, and some kind of shade to sit under.  Seriously.  You get pretty miserable standing around in that sweltering heat with nowhere to sit.

6. I'm not sure what the problem was - the heat, lack of good food, whatever, but there were several good bands playing at the coliseum with maybe 10 or 15 people watching.  Some bands complained about it. A friend of mine went to see Omar and the Howlers, a GIANT Texas band, and said there were about 25 people there.

I woke up Saturday morning hot, tired, dirty, hungry, thirsty, nowhere to go and absolutely nothing to do, and a long, hot, empty day ahead. What the hell... I just packed up the bike and headed for home.  Since then, I've met many riders who say they went to ROT once or twice and won't go again. Some of them laughed out loud when I told them I went - "heh, heh, so you went to ROT, huh? Fun, wasn't it?" they'd say sarcastically. 

But ROT can still be fun - I wouldn't go negative on it. Overall, I can think of two things that would make camping at ROT 100% more enjoyable, especially if you don't have an RV:

1. Camp up near the entrance, by the front gate. Then you can do the parade if you want, but also you can easily leave the grounds to go into town, take a cool evening cruise, go out to eat, etc. plus being within a few feet of the showers, shows, music and exhibits.

2. Tow your bike on a trailer (you can rent one at U-Haul). Then in the back of your truck you can have a big tent, chairs, a canopy, extra clothes, ice chests full of food and drinks, a charcoal grill, etc. and have your bike right there when you want to ride. Some people next to my tent were doing it this way; I woke up and they were relaxing in their chaise lounges and cooking up some hot coffee, bacon and eggs.  Oh, man, the aroma... well, you get the picture.

Soooooo, anyway... that's my unsolicited opinion and advice. Seeya on the road

 - Ruark

I appreciate your brutal honesty Ruark. This will be my 5th year camping at ROT. I know what to expect and I accept it. It is what it is and in my unbiased opinion......it definitely depends on who you hang with. I found a crowd to hang with at ROT and they are THE BEST! Look up the Rally Riders if you get a chance.....the concerts, the people watching, the buffets, the midnight toasts, the all around fellowship of this group is something I will always cherish and enjoy each year....throughout the year....and especially at ROT (where most of us met)! Sure, ROT has its faults! But, it is still the best party on the planet and I wouldn't miss it for the world. All the Nay-sayers just haven't found the right people to have fellowship with during the event. If they had....they would be singing ROT praises like I do each and every year!

Hey Ed - I remember meeting you at Spirit's M&G - well, I apologize if I was "brutal"   But you're right, you definitely need somebody to hang with, even if it's just one close buddy.  Moping around in 100 degree heat with nothing to do, not even a chair to sit in, gets old REAL quick.  But what the heck, it was my first time, and you learn from experience.  Like I said, I don't want to go negative on ROT. The major factors for enjoying it were, for me, going with somebody, and the two suggestions I mentioned above: not getting "trapped" over in that isolated corner of the grounds, and coming with an RV or enough gear and supplies to really be comfortable and relax.

Seeya,

Ruark

I agree I meet a lot of great people last year at the meet-n- greet at at the FUB and it made it the best ROT yet wish I would have meet them years ago.

I guess ROT is like Vegas, it's what you make out of it and who you go with. All the ingredients are there but it's how you use them. We learned the first time that you do your riding for site seeing, food, beer or whatever early, you get up and do it during the day and get back and park the bike before dark. We didn't camp with SOBs but down the road a little bit and yes you have get on the parade but as long as you know how to manage it, it didn't seem that bad. This year won't be any different and you're more than welcome to ride with us when we go, fair warning though, my bike is trained not to pass a bar so we don't get anywhere fast lol.

Ruark, Last year we were first timers at ROT, too. We chose to camp there only a few days before the rally. It turned out to be 4 of the best days I can remember. You are right, though, having someone there, a friend or a lover (either one works, as long as she has big tits) makes the experience much better. We met a bunch of fun people, folks just like us, who want to party and have a good time. You are right about shade and a chair. We brought some camping chairs, strapped them to the side of the bike (looked like Beverly Hillbillys), and having a place to sit during the afternoon or watching the parade made a big difference. As far as going out for rides, we went out for breakfast and lunch, made runs to the convenience store for monster (the monster & vodka kind of monster), went to the store & picked up supplies & food & snacks, and brought them back to the campsite. We brought a collapsible cooler for beverages & food. At night, it was too busy with traffic to even consider getting outside of the fairgrounds. And yet, we didn't want to leave! There was too much fun to enjoy there. But the best part of the whole experience was the night before we headed out to the rally, my wife said to me, "Don't you make me try to do something I don't want to do at the rally." And sometime on Friday night, she ended up with her top off and 5,000 guys got to enjoy seeing my wife's big boobs, except for my best friend, she wouldn't let him.

J-Man - I think Sleezyrider said it pretty well - "all the ingredients are there" and you make what works for you out of them.  I had a completely different viewpoint from yours, for example. Although I appreciate a good drink or cold one as much as anybody, I wasn't there to drink a lot. That right there puts me at odds with people who go for a 3-day drunkfest.  The parade was fun to watch for a while, then it got pretty boring.  And I planned to do most of my riding in the evenings, not during the day - I wanted to go into town and eat at some good restaurants, cruise around town, cool off, etc. which, as you said, is next to impossible if you're stuck behind the parade.  But there's a combination of "ingredients" at ROT that would work for me, just like you found what works for you, and next time I'll just plan accordingly.

Seeya,

Ruark

Glad you still have an optimistic attitude Ruark! Hang with me and my buddies during ROT and you will have the time of your life..........and expect it during the next ROT,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,see you at the Meet N Greet and lets get our party on!

When you first come off of Decker and before you hit the Parade route theres some people camping there, that's probably a good spot for you. It keeps you away from the parade and all the loud drunks (like me) and when you return you don't have to ride that far. As for me I'll do my riding during the day and my partying at night. The thought of riding countryside out of Austin at night is scary with all of those deer running around. I'll be on the parade watching the 2 legged dear and shooting them with the camera on my phone.

sleezyrider, would that be white-tail, red-tail, mule, or booty-tail in that parade?

Doesn't really matter much to me although sometimes there seems to be more mule than anything else, lol. I love em all though.

Of course, I forgot to mention soft-tail and hard-tail.