The Right Coast Ride

What is the RCR?

The Right Coast Ride (RCR) is an annual gathering of the Denizens of Doom, usenet's very own motorcycle gang. It is aimed at bringing together biker geeks from the "right" coast of North America -- from the eastern seaboard to the Mississippi River. The RCR has been happening every year since 1992 as a floating event, moving around to various sites within the area bounded by the Mason-Dixon Line on the north and the North Carolina/South Carolina border on the south.

You do not have to be a "member" of the Denizens of Doom, have a number, know who the Keeper is, or even know anything about bikes or computers or anything like that to attend. Everyone who reads this is automatically an honorary Computer Geek on Bike and will be welcome, as will friends, family, and children.

List of RCR's

	Year	Date	Location	Near Town	State	Grand Oompah	Att.
RCR-I	1992	July 25-26	High Country Cycle Camp	Ferguson	NC	Ed Green	34
RCR-II	1993	July 9-10	Cass	Cass	WV	Dean Cookson	63 +/-
RCR-III	1994	July 8-10	High Country Cycle Camp	Ferguson	NC	Cliff Weston	67 +/-
RCR-IV	1995		Camp Westmar	Thurmont	MD	Jim Bessette	97 +/-
RCR-V	1996	June 21-23	Camp Westmar	Thurmont	MD	Mr. Bill	103 +/-
RCR-VI	1997	July 18-20	Pennyrile Forest State Resort Park	Dawson Springs	KY	Martyn Wheeler	35
RCR-VII	1998	June 6-7	Camp Westmar	Thurmont	MD	Mike DiTullio	50 +/-
RCR-VIII	1999	July 24-25	Riders Roost	Ferguson	NC	Catness	57 +/-
RCR-IX	2000	June 2-4	Renfro Valley KOA	Renfro Valley	KY	Josh Fielek	41 +/-
RCR-X	2001	July 6-9	ACE Adventure Center	Oak Hill	WV	Dave Lawrence	49
RCR-XI	2002	June 21-23	New Market KOA	Harrisonburg	VA	Dave McElvain	43 +/-
RCR-XII	2003	June 27-29	Blue Ridge Motorcycle Campground	Cruso	NC	Sharon Wheeler	28 +/-
RCR-XIII	2004	June 25-27	Iron Horse Motorcycle Lodge	Robbinsville	NC	Jim Kerick	41
RCR-XIV	2005	July 29-31	Willville Motorcycle Campground	Meadows of Dan	VA	Bill Jennings
RCR-XV	2006	July 7-9	ACE Adventure Center	Oak Hill	WV	Dave Lawrence
RCR-XVI	2007	June 22-24	Riders Roost	Ferguson	NC	Cliff Weston
RCR-XVII	2008	June -29	Camp Westmar	Thurmont	MD	James Revell

On the Naming of the Event

"I had just moved here from CA four months earlier when the planning started. "Right" was a pun -- being a term for both "East" and "correct," e.g., this is the right coast to be on!"

-- Ed Green, Grand Oompah RCR-I

The Traditional Boundaries

The geographical boundaries of the RCR have been much discussed, usually on an annual basis. The boundaries are actually guidelines rather than rules -- it is up to the individual Oompah to decide where to hold the RCR. The definitive answer is, however:

East of the Mississippi River
West of the Atlantic Ocean
North of the northern South Carolina border
South of the southern Pennsylvania border

There is some variance in folks' memories about whether the area includes South Carolina and/or Pennsylvania; I believe that both are excluded.

The Wonder Twins

Only two Denizens have to date attended all the RCR's: Dave Lawrence and Martyn Wheeler. This group shot was taken at RCR-VII (photo: Josh Fielek), when there were five who had attended them all. Left to right, they are: Ian Howie, Mark Cervi, Dave Lawrence, Mr. Bill, and Martyn Wheeler.

The One True Motorcycle

One motorcycle has been ridden to no less than ten RCR's to date. No other individual bike comes close. This is Mark Cervi's 1987 Moto Guzzi SPII, here pictured at RCR-VII (photo: Josh Fielek).

Full List of Attendees

A full list of anyone who's ever reputed to have attended an RCR. This page is rather large -- please be patient. It's also out of date, of course...

The RCR Awards

The more recent RCR's have had award ceremonies. This list of awards is mostly incomplete until I can get more information on it.

Ian Howie's RCR Photo Gallery

This is the definitive photo record of the Right Coast Ride.