Smoky Mountain Merriment
The Honda Hoot a rally? Bite your tongue...
,
'y
HONDA
By SCOTT ROUSSEAU
PHOTOS COURTESY OF HONDA
-----------ou know, we really don't like to
call this a rally," the Ho nda offi-
cial said to me as we sat and
ate breakfast in the Knoxville
Hyatt in preparation fo r a ride
to one of several awesome destinations in beautiful
eastern Tennessee on a Saturday morning. "Rallies
seem to imply that peo ple just ride into town and
hang out . This is more about all of the great riding
that you do during the event as well as the ride to
and from the event."
Anyone who has ever atte nded the Honda Hoot
knows the truth in that statement. While it is a fantastic gatheri ng of all motorcycle fans - not only
Ho nda riders - the Honda Hoot is not just some
idle festival where peo ple ride in, hang ou t, get
drunk fo r fo ur days and then blow town with just
eno ugh time to make it back to the real w orld. The
36 AUGUST 18, 2004 • CYCLE NEWS
Honda Hoot is a happening like no other in t hat the
hosting o rganization, the Honda Riders C lub of
Amer ica, wo rks tirelessly to crea te an event that is
more about mo torcycling tha n about just the
motorcy cles themselves. To that en d, the orga nizers put together a se ries of self-guided rides t hat
cater to aficionados of diffe re nt disciplines,
whether sporting, touring or whatever, allowing
them to get the most out of t he experience.
Of course there is a grea t festival at Chilhowee
Park in Knoxville, too, the location serving as the
hub for the myriad of act ivities associated with the
Honda Hoot. But to truly experience the event
means to leave the park and head off on anyone of
several adventures, all of them guaranteed to be a
memorab le part of a t ruly e njoyable week of
motorcycling. Here's just a glimpse of wha t the
eN
I Ith Annual Honda Hoo t had to offe r.
40th Anniversary
Hail ta the team: Handa Riders Club af America manager
Charlie Kelle r (center), HRCA a ssistant manager Bill Savina
(Ieftl and HRCA reg ional representative Keith Dawdle spear'
hea d the crew that makes the Honda Hoot happen .
