History of the Road Glide National Rally
Link to first Road Glide Sharweek Newsletter announcing Sharkweek 2011 in Gettysburg LINK
The Brief History of RoadGlide.org’s Sharkweek
The idea of a National Roadglide.org rally was floated around by Neil Olivier, Ken van Wyke, Chris Hutter and Peter Brophy in late 2010.
09/20/2010 Neil Olivier(Chainsaw) of Mean Mug Fame posted on roadglide.org
The idea has been thrown around about having a big rally/meeting/party so all the members from the forums can meet. From the looks of the member map we are strung out across north america and maybe a little heavy towards the east coast.
So I figure we should put it up to a vote, and see what most people think about it. We can try to have 1 big rally, or maybe split it up for the first time, and have 3 or 4 smaller rally's in hope that more people can make it. I know most people only have so much vacation time each year, and have to plan way ahead to put in for time off during the summer. Hopefully a meeting with other road glide riders would be something that interests you, but if not then you don't have to vote on the poll.
The results of the first poll leaned towards several smaller events with one larger event but eventually we moved towards the idea of organizing one larger central event. After several quick emails and phone conversations, the committee decided that Chris Hutter would chair the event.
The establishment of a Road Glide flag was also proposed the very same day. Prior to being a member of the forum, Chris Hutter was a member of Roadkingriders.com. Each year they had a national rally, The Road King Riders Rendevous. They also had a flag that he had the pleasure of carrying along the California Coast and across the northern plains in 2008. The experience with the Road King Riders Flag was outstanding and it led him to propose a similar program for RoadGlide.org.
09/20/2010 (Chris Hutter) posted on roadglide.org
The Road King Riders have a flag that has been traveling the country for the past 4 years. The idea is for members to meet up with other members to hand off the flag and to take it to a new place. Eventually you hand it off again and meet another person.
The flag travels with a log book so you can write about your experience with the flag. It also has a map so you can document where the flag traveled. It is made of nylon and is lightweight so it is not too hard to carry even if you have a full load.
Further discussion continued and an agreement was reached that the event would take place in Gettysburg. The details such as date and location were decided upon. An examination of the thread will reveal that many of the long-time participants of the forum and of Sharkweek participated in the original discussion thread: Neil Olivier, Tracy Basham, Richard Pittman, Ken van Wyke, Peter Brophy, Jack Curry, and Chris Hutter.
The first mention of the term Sharkweek was on January 4th 2011.
January 4th 2011 Chris Hutter (HUTMO) posted on roadglide.org
Being that this summer's not yet organized event would be a first time event for the group I am proposing a Thursday through Sunday with the only organized event on Sunday to be a group breakfast to end the event.
First off.... I would call it Road Glide.org Shark Week.
Here is another idea... how about we meet in Pittsburgh on Thursday Night for dinner and on Friday morning take the Lincoln Highway east towards Gettysburg? A super nice ride. We can visit the flight 93 memorial on the way out.
You will notice that the original Shark Week statement was two words but since then the decision was made to combine them into one word.
Later discussions promoted the idea that Sharkweek needed to be an event that would give back to the individual communities that the group would visit each year. The first Sharkweek donation was made to the Gettysburg National Military Park to support battlefield preservation at Gettysburg.
LINK to post about the first donation (July 28, 2011)
The philanthropic scope of the Road Glide National Rally has extended beyond our supported causes. There have been multiple incidents where members of the organization have stepped up to the plate to help others in need. Please visit our philanthropy page to learn more.
More to come...
The following individuals were responsible for coordinating and planning Shark Week at Gettysburg.
Chris Hutter Event Planner and Coordinator
DOOFUS Ride Planner
Peter Brophy Assistant Coordinator
Ken VanWykk Assistant Coordinator/Event Mascot :)
Kevin Morris Door Prize Coordinator
Admin(Bill) Former owner of the RG.org forum
Home base: Gettysburg Days Inn located on Rt 30
Banquet Dinner, Auction and Flag Dedication: https://www.thepikerestaurant.com/
T Shirt Swap: Battlefield Harley Davidson
The original online discussion regarding the location, name and just about everything else can be found here. LINK
Thread with information about the first Sharkweek - LINK
A great thread about What I learned at Sharkweek I - Started by Tracyb - LINK