Hey Uwe

[Rain Rider 1]

Why no mention of SBR 2008 in the June issue or on this forum for that matter?

Seems as though the magazine and website is / has been boycotting this most excellent event.

I know from reading posts on the Sportbike Rally forum that Lawrence Hacking is still fully involved. LH works his tail off for SBR.
http://www.sportbikerally.com/forum/sportbikerally.php?sujet=1&page=1&query=

[Uwe W.]

Good question Steve.

I can't speak for the magazine (Costa will have to answer part of the question), but I suspect the reasons will prove similar between the internet and print versions.

I'd like to clear up something right off the top: there isn't any boycott of the SBR. CC has a history of supporting the event, so it's unfair to even suggest that an intentional exclusion exists.

It's important to remember that the SBR rally is a regional event, and as such will only be of interest to readers in southern Ontario. Granted Ontario has the largest percentage of motorcyclists in Canada, but none the less, the event isn't going to be of much interest to those in BC or Nova Scotia.

Regional events take place every single weekend across the country during the summer. There are off-road rides, cruiser charity events, and of course, sport bike gatherings, hence the dilemma: do we promote only a few (which will hint of favouritism), promote them all, or promote none?

CC does report on regional events, but typically only if someone from the staff have managed to attend. Recent examples are the CURD and Mad Bastard Rallies, where CC staff took part of the event and reported their experiences. It's impossible to stay on top of everything that happens across the country, which is what would have to happen in order to present an unbiased point of view.

Something else to consider: while we try to hunt down information on motorcycle related activities that readers might find of interest, we also rely on press releases and other information that is sent to us. To date I have not received any information from the organizers of the SBR, and since this is the busy season for staff, it's hard to find the time to dig up information that isn't being volunteered.

This forum is structured in a way that will allow readers to promote events that are important to them. One of the sub-forums is actually entitled "Events", and we would encourage readers to post details and promote the rallies, races and other activities that are of interest to them. There's also the Forum Calender were Supporting Members can post dates for events and include details.

There actually was discussion here of the SBR a while ago as Toz and Groovy were providing updates during the time when it looked like the rally would be cancelled. I'm not sure why they've stopped posting information, but I would certainly encourage anyone involved to use the tools available in this forum to pass the word on to others that might find their event of interest.

[John]

That answered that nicely! Thanks Uwe.

John.

[Rain Rider 1]

The rally has ALWAYS been promoted by Cycle Canada in the PAST.

I realize that it was on then off and now its on again this year, but come on now, most everyone at CC is on the bubble concerning the fate of the rally.

BTW, there are a great many riders from out of province that attend. In fact one of the awards has been that of greatest distance travelled to the rally.
One of the Sardines comes up from Indiana every year.

This rally has been the biggest rally in Canada, so its promotion in our best magazine is in my mind mandatory.