Over the previous two years, the Pioneer Valley in Western Massachusetts has provided a great, cycle friendly, centrally located spot to hold the New England HPV event. A riding group for recumbent enthusiasts called Pioneer Valley Recumbent Cyclists in that area has even formed since last years event! For 2006 I'd like to continue to build on the momentum of the past two years events and hold the '06 NE HPV Rally in the same area.
For this year, I am planning to hold the event at Pioneer Valley Co-housing on the weekend of October 7 and 8. The Cohousing setting makes an especially interesting venue for the rally. As velomobiles are to cars, cohousing is to housing. The Cohousing setting not only provides an opportunity to see innovative vehicles, but also a chance to experience one of the most successful innovative housing communities in North America. The communities facilities are designed to be able to host small-scale events like the NE HPV Rally, and has excellent facilities for camping, dining and gathering. The community has private paved lanes suitable for testing vehicles, and is located on some of the best cycling routes in a region known for its cycling .
As with last year, this event is meant to be inclusive and HPV's of any type are welcome - the only requirement is that your cycle of choice is at least partially human powered, and if you plan to take it on the ride, it must be street worthy.
As it stands now, this years event will consist of a pre-ride shmooze and bagel nosh in the morning (8:00 AM) at Pioneer Valley Cohousing, followed by a ride (10:00 AM) to the picturesque Montague Book Mill for lunch. Bring your camera and be prepared to experience the amazing colors of Fall foliage in the Pioneer Valley!
The Expo event will take place at Pioneer Valley Cohousing and will be kicked off at 1:00 PM with a Keynote speech by one of the founders of the modern Human Powered Vehicle Movement, Author of Bicycling Science and MIT Professor Emeritus David Gordon Wilson. Afternoon activities will include presentations on some representative examples of different types of HPV's, tours of the Cohousing and test rides. For those registering for the full program this will be followed by dinner, and possibly music. Another notable in the HPV world, John Tetz, will present information on one of his HPV related specialities, making fairings out of the thermoformable material Zotefoam. The morning of Sunday the 8th will likely offer some additional hang-out and test riding time, and possibly another local ride before drawing to a close.
As of this update (Sept 25), we have close to 40 registrees, bringing with them many interesting HPV's, including:
On-site camping at Pioneer Valley Cohousing will be available the night of Friday, Oct 6, and Saturday, Oct 7, and is included with registration.
Bathroom facilities including showers are located on-site, and electricity is availabile, however, no RV type hookups are available at the facility.
Other Area Accommodations
I haven't called for rates, availability, etc, so I can't speak personally for these, but the following includes links to information on other area accommodations:
The Hotel Northampton is located in the center of Northampton. The Inn at Northampton has an indoor pool and possibly an outdoor pool. It is located just south of the center of town on route 5 by exist 18 off of route 91. There are a lot of shops and restaurants in downtown Northampton which add to the fun of staying there. For general information on where to stay, www.noho.com has more information. Also www.shelburnefalls.com has information for the Shellburne Falls area. Also consider the Sugar Maple Trailside Inn (but be sure to book early - they were full by the time of the Rally last year) which is run by Rail-Trail afficionado Craig Dela Penna. There is also a Red Roof Inn at exit 24 off of route 91 in South Deerfield. As you head towards Amherst and Hadley from Northampton there are a variety of hotels and motels available .
As of early September it was questionable as to whether there would be enough registrees to cover the costs of holding the Rally, however, as of this update (Sept 25) there are about 40 registrees (see above for a partial list of attendees) so we are good to proceed.
The $25.00 ($35.00 after Sept 15) Full registration includes the following: camping at Pioneer Valley Cohousing on the night of Friday, Oct 6, and Oct 7, the bagel breakfast at 8:00 AM in the morning on the 7th of October, the ride at 10:00 AM and the Expo in the afternoon of the 7th, a Pasta feed (dinner) on the 7th, and the HPV Aerodynamics presentation by Nick Hein and Zotefoam presentation by ZoteMaster John Tetz in the eveing after dinner.
If you are interested in attending only in the Expo portion of the event, registration will be $10.00 right up until the day of the event.
Registration is free for kids under 12.
When registering, please be sure to provide your name, address, telephone # and/or email address. Also, please indicate if you plan to attend the bagel breakfast on the 7th (and want bagels and juice), if you plan to camp at Pioneer Valley cohousing on the night of the 6th and/or the night of the 7th, and if you will attend the pasta dinner on the evening of the 7th.
Registration payment can be made by paypal or check or money order. To submit a full registration ($35.00) and pay by paypal, please click the paypal payment button below and you will automatically be sent to the paypal website.
To submit a registration for the Expo only ($10.00) and pay by Paypal, please click the paypal button below and you will be automatically be sent to the paypal website.
Rally T-shirts are also available - I will have them at the Rally, but if you'd like to order ahead of time, please click on the paypal button below:
Alternatively, please mail check or money order for registrations and Rally T-shirts to me at:
Ethan Davis
Wildfire HPV
North Dam Mill, 2 Main St.
Biddeford, ME 04005
Disclaimer: Please note that participation in this event is at your own risk and indicates that you understand that operating an HPV on the road and camping out in the open have inherent risks. The Insurance for the event requires that participants sign a liability waiver. I will have these available at the event.
Thanks and hope to see you there!