It rained most of the day on Friday but cleared up during the late afternoon and the roads were dry enough to enjoy the traditional group ride to the Catfish Village on Friday night.  Although Doug Fox was a no show for Catfish, he did manage to arrange for his traditional fresh lemons to arrive just in time. On Saturday it drizzled on and off all day but despite the inclement weather many braved the rain and displayed their treasures in all their glory for the Bike Show.

Thanks to Daryl Bane the Awards Ceremony went off without a hitch and for the first time in many years with a functional PA system. Daryl performance as our LOP- MC was exemplary. Thanks also go to Dave Howe, Peckerhead extraordinaire for coming up with our best Trophies and Rallye pins seen to date and to Berwyn Henderson for once again laying out our bike show area and organizing the ballot counting team. Thanks to Pistol the documentation was the best ever and to Paul Valentine who handled all the AMA insurance chores. The Extra Mile awards go to John "Gimpy" Orchard and his trusty sidekick, Travis for printing and hand delivering the Rallye packs. Door prizes were the best ever; there must have been $1000 retail at least, thanks Clay Walley and Square Four for rounding up in-town and out of town donors. Some of the companies that donated door prizes are: Baxter Cycle British Parts and Bikes, Old Britts Norton Parts & Books, Fair Spares America Inc., Norton Specialists, Moores Cycle Supply, Vintage Brit Bike Parts, British Cycle Supply, Allyn Air, BMW of N. Dallas and Moto-Techniques.

Special Recognition:  Many thanks for the extraordinary effort by Daryl O'Neill, LOP Rallye Chairman who never complained the entire time. He kept a cool head while under pressure and receiving criticism. He kept focus to make the 2000 LOP Rallye a success. Like John Wayne he rode his little orange scooter into the den of the Burn-Outs and insisted they pay-up and register. They did, single file like a gaggle of ducks. Bob Speer did a fantastic job of producing a new club T-Shirt and selling them and hats, like hot cakes. When he wasn’t selling he was retrieving signs from the highway dept. Hats off to the very few, whose extra effort rescued the Rallye. The potential loss was turned into better than break-even.

Improvements this year were a separate show bike sign-in, single voting sheet and a PA system that worked perfect. In addition, even the BBQ was better than last year. There were very sharp trophies, plenty of pins, and the sign-in went smooth once we got organized. While there weren’t as many bikes, the Bike Show display was still very nice with Norton’s, Vincents, BSA’s, Triumph’s, Italian and German bikes.

To all those who did make the pilgrimage - thanks for making this year's rallye a success.  For those who didn't - hope to see you next year.