When you’re close to someone, you learn all sorts of things about subjects you might not normally be interested in.
My gentleman friend is hugely knowledgeable about yoga because of me.
Thanks to me, he knows how to make really good hummus. Shares my strong opinions on permission marketing. Knows his way around east Berlin.
Thanks to him, I know way more than I ever imagined possible about the history of the west coast, motorcycles and the San Francisco Giants.
I also now know about birds, ukuleles, the Trade Winds, typefaces, why things break and eighteenth century sailing.
It’s all interesting. Mainly because someone I care about finds it interesting. But one thing I really love hearing about is the Rally.
I need to tell you about the Rally.
My gentleman friend is a long-time scooter guy.
(Though right now he mostly rides his motorcycle — a gorgeous 1976 BMW that’s the newest bike he’s ever owned, in case you were wondering).
So even though I don’t ride, I’ve learned all sorts of things about scooter culture.
And my favorite bit is the Scooter Rally. It is a marvelous thing. A thing I need to tell you about.
What happens at a Rally.
A rally is a ride. A group ride.
But it’s so much more than that.
It’s a big, complicated, crazy event. Attended by scooter enthusiasts. And full of madness and hilarity and wonderfulness.
And because I cannot do it justice, I made my gentleman friend answer a bunch of questions.
An Interview with my Gentleman Friend about the thing that is the Rally.
A Rally reinforces the culture.
Me: So the way I understand it, one thing people like about scooter rallies is how they’re an excuse to get together and hang out.
MGF: Right. It’s important that everyone have this thing — riding — in common, but riding isn’t the thing. Or: it ends up not being the most important thing.
I mean, it’s vital that there be a riding component, but there’s way more time talking about riding, thinking about riding, socializing, making contacts, playing goofy games…
Me: And what you get from a ride is …?
MGF: They reinforce the culture.
Once the rally is over, you’ve been immersed in this bath of people who are totally nuts in pretty much the same way that you’re totally nuts.
So when you go back to the world of people who aren’t nuts the way that you are, it’s still with you. You carry with you that glow of approval and camaraderie.
And a patch! Really, I can’t stress enough how important the patches are.
There is much accumulation of swag.
Me: A patch. Got it. And a t-shirt?
MGF: Exactly. Vital.
Also a pint glass. Because drinking reigns supreme. That is actually the most important part of the scooter rally. The drinking.
Which doesn’t seem like it would go with, you know, piloting a vehicle. That’s why the riding is in the morning.
You find your people.
Me: So how long is a rally generally?
MGF: Usually it’s a long weekend. Or just a weekend. Or a day, depending on the club.
Me: And do you know people before you go?
MGF: There’s generally a rally at the same time in the same city every year. It has a name.
So maybe the first time you go you don’t know anyone, so you feel kind of … hesitant, But you’ve probably been reading about it, or connecting online, so you’ll recognize names and faces.
And bikes. If it’s in your town you’ll recognize people’s bikes. It’s a great excuse to talk to people. And once you’ve gone to one, you’ll know a ton of people the next time.
And something happens. Various crazy, wonderful things.
Me: So you go for the ride but really you go for the bigger experience.
MGF: Yeah. I’m really the wrong person to be talking to about this part though, being admittedly an anti-social weirdo.
Me: No, that’s good.
MGF: Well, it’s just that I don’t have as much of a social experience as other people do.
But I just love the rides. It’s such an unlikely, exhilarating experience to be in a crowd of a hundred vintage scooters, just riding. It’s your people. Doing crazy, wonderful shit.
Me: What kinds of crazy, wonderful shit?
MGF: Oh, it’s almost a rule that there be crazy, wonderful shit.
For example, there’s usually some kind of competition, like a rodeo or an obstacle course or some weird, ridiculous, impossible game that you play on scooters but is actually not something anyone could do.
Involving, say, teeter-totters and refrigerator boxes.
And there are lots of awards: farthest traveled, most beautifully restored vintage, crap scooter, and so on.
What makes rallies so Rally-like.
Me: What’s the coolest award?
MGF: Oh, I’d have to say Best in Show.
[Here he pulls out a bunch of back issues of Scoot! Quarterly — he used to be their design person — to show me the Rally Review sections, and starts waxing nostalgic.]
Me: So back to why rallies are so Rally-like. The good stuff.
MGF: They have names. And costumes.
Like the Portland Dirty Clown Run. Mile-High Mayhem. Or the Poke-and-Dragger, a cross-dressing poker run (a traditional motorcycle-ey event that’s sort of like a motorized card game).
Me: What else?
MGF: All kinds of ludicrous games, winning stuff in the ludicrous games, drinking, mayhem, companionship, goofing off, much letting-down-of-hair.
Making new friends, seeing old ones.
Me: It’s fun.
MGF: Uh, yes. That is the whole point, really.
Me: I love it. I want a Rally! I want a Rally!
This is the concept that I have been searching for.
I’ve been aching to do an event that is completely different from the types of events I usually run.
Usually I teach stuff. And we go through wacky, transformative processes together. And there is time for integrating all that good stuff.
It’s an experience. A big, powerful, everything-is-different-now experience. And it’s awesome and I love it.
But I also want a new thing: something that’s not about learning or processing or experiencing. Something that’s about doing. Your own thing. But in community.
Not a retreat. And not a seminar.
A space to show up and get a bunch of stuff done on a project that you’re already working on. Movement!
With panache. And fabulousness. And costumes. And being extremely silly.
A Rally!
So I’m going to arrange a Projectizing Rally.
It doesn’t have a name yet.
But everyone will show up with a project they’re working on, and there will be playing.
And drag names. And costumes. And badges. And pie, of course.
Comment zen for today….
This is a new-ish idea, which means that it’s still a tiny, sweet thing. Which means we need to tread gently with it.
So I’m not ready for all the ways this could go wrong or not work or whatever.
What I would love is excitement! And drag names! And things that we could take from a Rally and apply to other things! RALLY!
EDIT! Also: go ahead and invent drag names for yourself and leave them in the comments. I need some help with the brainstormings. Selma is going as Duckface a l’Orange. Probably.
Follow
Ooh, sounds like a con except maybe more productive. I’ve enjoyed the few cons I’ve been to, not that I met people, but I was surrounded by folks who really liked something I did.
Thanks for sharing your Rally enthusiasm, Gentleman Friend!
.-= claire´s last post … Sketchbook- page 37 =-.
My parents (being from New England) have a Clam Bake every year – a giant meet up on the beach with silly games and hanging out and cooking and eating. Totally regional and akin to a cookout but at some beach location away from home/the phone.
My mother called family/house meetings a “pow wow”. Work was discussed and assigned but we also had races to collect the most dirty dishes/laundry/weeds/whatever.
Still going with Mom 😉 She also had many “jams” – those rallies focused around making music together. When her non-instrument playing friends felt left out – she organized sing-alongs and acquired a collection of kazoos.
Hmmm… Mom was kind of fun. I think I’ll call her … once the sun is up.
Thanks for the happy memories Havi!
An ART RALLY
I’ve been looking for something awesome to replace the boring trope of Art Show. Seriously. Artists like experiences but the experience we create for ourselves are sip-around-shoot-the-jargon/BS-networky events. They are so boring!!
The Rally idea is awesome!!!
Also I enjoyed learning about scooter culture. Yes, it is about the culture and the experience.
YES YES YES
I’m going to throw an art rally!!!
Reading about the Rally phenomenon in scooter culture gave me a lovely trip down memory lane remembering all the lindy exchanges I used to attend (and even helped organize one or two). Tshirts, very important. Silly/fun themes, also important. And dancing dancing dancing all night then finally falling asleep (maybe by 6 or 7 am) with a big huge smile plastered on my face. Plus the first exchange I went to was the only time I ever got to wear my Awesome Pink Wig. Thank you for making me think about lindy exchanges, Havi!
Isn’t one way to find your drag name to pick your pet and the street you grew up on? If so, I’ll be Peaches Rosalind. Or Cinnamon Sugar Lakewood. Or Missy Mt. Royal. Not sure if I’m doing it right, but drag names are fun!
.-= Darcy´s last post … A day worth writing about =-.
I love the idea of a rally with all your right people together. Doing their own thing, in community. Awesome! Only, can you have one in Australia too, Portland might be a little far? 🙂
.-= Kerry Rowett´s last post … Finding the words =-.
Oh mah gosh – a Rally. I’m totally there.
Let’s see drag queen names – Fuzzy Route Four, Trixie Gaines Mill, Dixie Mize.
Man, a Rally sounds awesome. I’d be there in a heartbeat.
I’m really bad at choosing nicknames, though. I always sound really pretentious. Hmm.
.-= Chris Anthony´s last post … Case Study- Barb the Shoemaker =-.
Candy Buttons here, and I think it sounds perfectly mahvelous. QSDS is kind of like that, the first time I went, I knew a ton of people from the online mailing list, and then each year I got to know more and more. More projects and classes than goofy stuff, but I also went with Marty every year, so we got into enough goofy stuff on our own. 🙂
What a wonderful excuse to get into the studio and start some projects! 😉
.-= Andi´s last post … Drawings Drawings Everywhere =-.
Hmm. When I was a teenager, my secret punk rock name was Kat Piranha…
Very exciting idea! I love the freshness of it, the sparking potential, and I’m so grateful to you for sharing it with us at this tiny, sweet, early stage.
.-= Kathleen Avins´s last post … The trouble with “middle vision” =-.
A rally sounds quite fabulous! I had an image of your gentlemen friend doing barrel-racing on a scooter around fridge boxes and driving over teeter-totters with a full pint glass of beer in his hand!
A fluent self rally might have a gigantic duck race, where you get in a lake and everyone has to ride gigantic floaty ducks while competing to collect pirate flags while balancing plastic crowns on their heads and singing “yo ho yo ho a pirate’s life for me!” . . . but I have no idea how that relates to making progress on projects! 😉 But rum should probably be the official drink!
Good luck! And how awesome of the gentleman friend for sharing!
Like Claire said, this sounds like a con to me, or a ren faire. A con is usually a fan con, like science-fiction and fantasty conventions, which come in tons of flavors, like comics or anime. It’s all about getting dressed up, being silly, and stepping outside your normal life to be able to geek out with other people who want to geek out about the same things. I love going to and helping with cons.
@Darcy: Unfortunately, I grew up on a road that is the same as my last name! Of course, I could use one of the roads I’ve recently lived on…Ms. Kitty Creston? I think it has potential.
Of course, I can always fall back on my online moniker of Metachaos. =)
.-= Holly Hunt´s last post … Conversation with Character =-.
PS Kazoo concerts would be cool too
http://www.youtube.com/user/MisterTimVids
kazoo!
.-= Andi´s last post … Drawings Drawings Everywhere =-.
This is FUN!
Duck races and kazoos and unlikely things. Verra nice.
@Holly – Ms Kitty Creston = awesome.
@Andi – Candy Buttons!
@Chris – you’ll just have everyone call you Pretentious Chris, and no one will know. Or Ether Jammer.
@Kerry – next time I get to Australia, I will make a rally happen.
Whoooooooo! RALLY!
Ideas.
Love this. One idea (particularly appropriate for @katana’s Art Rally) is some kind of swap – something like this:
http://www.iceartswap.com/
(from the http://www.artshantyprojects.org < Not exactly a rally, but similar in spirit)
.-= Julie´s last post … Fraught Decisions =-.
Rally! I love this, Havi! 🙂 The idea of rallying around, rallying together to create something hilariously communal and fun, rallying the troops, scooter rally, project rally.
Would you add a virtual rally for those of us who live too far away to come and play in person?
Love, Hiro
The interview with your GF immediately made me think of the NY Sheep & Wool Festival. Which is in Rhinbeck NY every October and it’s like a rally for wool people — knitters, spinners, people who sell stuff to knitters and spinners, sheep people, etc. It’s like a specialized country fair. (Yes there are dog trials and pumpkin tosses.)
And though we buy stuff we also go just to meet people, probably people we’ve met online but not in person, and to eat dinner together, and drink and all that stuff.
There are other S&W festivals in different parts of the US (the Oregon one is called Flock & Fibre if you ever want to check one out). And it seems like they are like the scooter rally you describe.
And one of those for the people we know through you? What a cool idea. I’m having trouble imagining how it would work, but then it’s a tiny sweet thing so I’m sure those details will appear in due course.
.-= JoVE´s last post … Don’t make the committee do all the work =-.
I love this! The idea of this. Even the name. Although for some reason I thought of the phrase “getting a rally going” like in tennis, where instead of just one-shot, one-shot, things start happening and there’s interaction… or a stock market rally, where exciting things happen and the value of everything goes up.
So I guess I’d like a Rally Rally. 😉 Would love to have patches, patches we could trade, maybe on a jacket that commemorated the Rally, so we’d have one thing the same and then everything else customized…
And love the idea of duck races with pirate flags. I think play time would be important. Most fun I’ve ever had was at an accountant’s off-site team building exercise. (I watched the big high-honcho corporate controller playing trucks wearing a nametag that said “Lambchop!”)
However this works out, it’ll be fantastic. Great idea!
Oh, my gosh, YES! Being surrounded by your Right People doing a Thing is so powerful. My great passion in life is Irish dance, and Irish music, which, like scooters, is not something generally shared with all the people I come into contact with. However, during the summer, there are many Irish music festivals at which I can go hang out, listen to great live music and be surrounded by complete strangers who just Get. Me. because we both love the same music and dance.
Call it a Rally, call it a Fest, call it a Con or a Convention – it’s a really powerful happening and I think you should totally go for it. If you hold it, I will come, and my nametag will say “That Curly Irish Chick.”
.-= Abby C.´s last post … Learning Lindy =-.
I’m so down with the idea of this Yet-To-Be-Named Rally of Awesomeness!
SILENT FIREWORKS OF EXCITEMENT!
I too have heard of these incredible scooter rallies, but I’ve never actually *been* to a rally of any sort.
I will say that I loved the idea of working side by side other artists in college. The air crackled with creativity.
Ideas… stream of consciousness here:
Maybe the last day of the rally could have a project that everyone contributed to in some decidedly fabulous and uncheesey way? Maybe there could be an invisibility cloak day? A ninja day? A DUCK! day (that involves everyone ducking from something when “DUCK!” is randomly yelled out during the day). Selma would lead, of course. Pinata filled with unbreakable art supply goodies? A art share wall?
Okay – drag name, uh… Marcia Mallow? Silka Stockings? Babs Blue Ribbon?
@Cathy – I can’t tell you how much I’d love to see our CEO wearing a nametag that said “Lambchop!” That’s brilliant.)
Sounds vehery fun.
Havi, I’m loving this idea. I have a feeling it would be hugely helpful in getting my projects (and myself) unstuck. I can see it: we’re all working on our things, and whenever something gets stuckified, we can destuckify it *on the spot* and get going again right away. Wow. It would be a very different experience for me, since I usually need months to process the useful stuff I get at retreats before I start being able to make use of it. I would learn a lot from such an experience, I think.
Yeah yeah yeah! I so love this!!!
The group component is huge for me in terms of, like your GF said, approval, as well as companionship and support. Also FUN!
Excellent, excellent. The more the merrier, indeed. And I absolutely could use all the support and approval I could get.
It would be a non-cheesy and fun love&support rally! yippee!
I’d go as… the pink word-wielding … something. maybe. Cool.
Count me in!
.-= Natalia´s last post … Tackling writer’s block- Pt 1 =-.
What a fabulously beautiful idea! The fun and games and working on projects… ducks and pirates and drag names (oh my!)
Unfortunately I grew up on “F” street, so I’m not sure that particular drag naming tradition would work for me… hmm, will have to put some thought into potential Rally Drag Names!
@Cathy Thank you so much for sharing, the big-time exec with the Lambchop name tag is my new happy thought for the day 😀
.-= Heidi´s last post … Hard Times- the Monday edition =-.
Oooh, a rally!
My ex-husband occasionally went on scooter rallies. I didn’t really get it until I went with him one day to the Vespa store, where they had an espresso machine and sat around talking about…scooters and stuff. All the boys together.
Ah. And there was swag too. Fancy goggles, customised helmets. And the coffee. It seemed to be quite central to the starting-off bit.
Hmmm.
Cafe Rally. I could so do that. Imagine how productive a bunch of overly caffeinated folks could be?
.-= Nadine Fawell´s last post … Processing- Nesting- Knitting =-.
Musique Skinnamarink.
And now I have a songworm for Skinnamarink-a-Dinky-Dink. On the plus side, this video has an elephant in a pirate costume :
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EEEsX69iIxY
What fun! What fun! Having fun is fun! I want a rally please!
Oh,.. and,.. Bianca Juneberry, does that work? I’ve never done this before. ;/
And an Iguana-thon!
My iguana (all three inches of him) rides around on my dashboard and thinks that if Selma will be there, he’d like to come too 🙂
This, the spirit that you describe, is one of my favorite things about the music festival that we were just at over the weekend of the 4th. The community, together with the shared interest (in this case, the music), but also brought together by just the sheer joy of community. And there are costumes galore, much dancing, decorated campsites, 5 am kickball games, and kids with squirt guns (who *ask* passers-by if they’d like to be squirted!), swag and light up toys, and fire dancers, and, well… you can probably tell that I miss it already. Add in the great friendships we’ve formed there and the fantastic music, and there’s a reason it’s our priority vacation every year now.
Anyway, bringing that spirit to projectizing sounds awesome! I am in support of this idea 100%, and only hoping against hope that I can afford to participate in whatever you come up with.
(In case you couldn’t tell, I’m on a big post-road trip blog catch-up here. And apparently feeling particularly talkative, for me.)
.-= Shannon Henry´s last post … Urban Craft Uprising is coming- =-.
i want to attend the projectizing rally! my roller derby name is cynferno… will be working out a projectizing rally name that screams costume and accessories. yip-ee!
What is the street I grew up on has a number? “Shadow 3 de Febrero” doesn’t quite do it for me.
On the other hand, my last name means “cherry.” So my actual name is Melody Cherry. But what fun is there in naming myself after my actual name?
Hmm… Will have to get more creative. Can we have a Rally Naming Rally? And a Rally Name Naming Rally?
That would be tremendously helpful… And more fun for everyone!
Oh, yes, I get this. I’m a morris dancer & melodeon player for same. And folk festivals are amazing places where I get to be with my people for four days, going to gigs and dancing until my legs fall off.
And then there’s Ales. The morris community’s equivalent to rallies. Each side will host one most years. My favourite is the English Ale in Adelaide. Sure, there’s lots of morris dancing and music playing, but in the evening you jam together and talk until 2am, then you get up the next day and do it again.
There’s a reason that we talk about the post-festival blues. It’s hard to cope when you don’t have live music on tap and your Right People around you all the time. I have always enjoyed dancing at morris ales, but becoming a musician has added an extra layer of awesome.
I’m afraid I have no idea what my drag name would be. The usual method generates something very mundane. It’s late and I’m tired, but “Marvellous Melby” after my adopted home town?
This Rally thing sounds like a FUN idea. I know how rewarding and fun it can be just to attend a conference with other like-minded souls. So adding games, drinking, and shenanigans could only be better. So.Much.Better!
Can’t wait to find out how it all plays out.
.-= Katy´s last post … Google’s Matt Cutts Offers Up Link Building Advice =-.
yes, please! i love this idea. a rally! part of me says ‘OMG!’ and another part says ‘duh, of course, clearly!’
SUPERNESS.
hmmm. maybe…dress up stuff…some spontaneous acting and play or storymaking/sharing, perhaps photobooths…or little documentaries about each other that get made there and posted and circulated through a tiny but glorious website…or a giant book six feet tall made from sheets of wallpaper and it shows up every year and gets added to with paintings and what-have-you…or a trophy that grows and grows…
i think my drag name would be bridger bluegrass.
.-= kristin gannon´s last post … A Case In Point =-.
A rally? Of course I must chime in!
I went to vintage scooter rallies, motorcycle rallies, even Cushman rallies (those old guys know how to Party!) for nearly 15 years. From Vancouver BC, through Oregon, all over the Bay Area, and down into to Arizona on the west coast and even rode all the way to Chicago once.
It is totally about the socializing, and the commiserating, and the LOVE of keeping these old bikes on the road. You start by talking about scooters and then discover how many other things you have in common. Sadly the new scooters don’t have that same connection, so they show up at events now, but we have very little to talk about. I am an unapologetic snob of the vintage thing. Friends don’t let friends ride junk. Your bike is less than 30 years old? Made of plastic? Pffft. Remember Shari? One of my bestest friends, who I met at a scooter rally 15 years ago.
As far as YOUR rally goes, though, what a freaking FANTASTIC idea. You could do a wandering art project – like a treasure hunt. Or a gentle flash mob. A playdate in one of the beautiful parks. Portland would love it! I can’t wait to see how your tiny thing grows.
But next time there’s a Portland rally, you can ride on the back of my scooter just to see how insanely fun the rides are. I’ll drop you at home afterward, if you like, so you don’t end up surrounded by (even well-meaning) strangers.
Can I just be living there now?
OH – and I did all the above on three Vespas: a 1959, a 1972, and a 1974. Treat those babies right and they will reward you with love and many happy travels.
This is one of the most amazing ideas, EVER. I love it. No names but shall have a think 🙂
Exciting!!!!
.-= Rose´s last post … Personal Notes- Vulnerability in Space =-.
Ahhhh! This is excellent! I cannot wait to see how this one unfolds. 🙂