The Big Lynn Lodge Rally in North Carolina, got a new name this year. As most know, Dave “Brick” Brickner was the beloved founding father of the rally and built it into a hugely successful event. His health deteriorated a few years ago and he passed the event on to a very capable Chris Parker. Brick, who lived in nearby Morganton, passed away last year and it was decided to rename the rally in his honor. Hence, very aptly, it’s now - Brick’s Backyard Boogie.
Big Lynn Lodge main building includes check-in / lobby, bathrooms, a long reading/game room, an adjacent large dining area and the kitchen. And downstairs there a rec room that was used for massages this year. Outdoors next to the reading room is a nice, covered patio with chairs and a bench. It’s where the bands normally set up. Cottages, where guests stay, are across a paved roadway and rap around to the east. Other buildings with rooms are situated around the large property.
The main building at Big Lynn Lodge
Most rally-goers arrive Thursday and leave Sunday – the official rally dates. Rose and I got there Wednesday after her flight from Sanford to Fletcher (Asheville Regional). Long-time riding buddy and good friend, Ken, originally from Palm Bay but now living in central NC was sitting in the lobby when we got there. Fellow Floridians Wayne from Port Orange (but in the process of moving to TN) and Tom from Bradenton both showed up . Also, The Villages snowbird, Rick, from eastern Ohio was there. He’s a good rider and lots of fun to be around. We all sat together at breakfasts and dinners. I’ve ridden with Wayne before out of Suches, GA. He’s fast and fearless on his big Goldwing. I’ve never had the pleasure of riding with Tom. Most folks left Sunday. Tom pulled out Friday, Rick left Saturday, Ken hung around until Monday. Rose and I left Tuesday to get her back to the airport.
This year rains threatened every day but, depending on where you rode, mostly held off until late afternoon on Thursday and Friday. From Saturday onward, however, it was a washout. At least temperatures dropped back to refreshing levels.
The Cottages at Big Lynn Lodge
Chris Parker, the coordinator for the MSTA rally, developed 5 road routes for this year’s event ranging in length from 127 to 230 miles. Described on the event website, they were downloadable to our GPS’s. Some ran clockwise and some counterclockwise. All included tons of twisties and sweepers, some with big elevation changes. All were pretested for road continuity – a critical detail because many of the roads in the area were impacted by the late 2024 Hurricane Helene. And even now, despite ongoing repair work, some are still unpassable. Hats off to Chris for his diligence in putting the new routes together for all of us and for pretesting them.
Ken, Rick and I got together and rode route #4 on Thursday. At 184 miles, it looped clockwise west then north through Hot Springs, NC where we stopped for lunch at the Smokie Mountain Diner – an old favorite of mine from my Goldwing days. Then it turned northeast and east and finally south back to the Lodge.
And on Friday we opted for #1, the shortest route, a 127-mile loop which ran counterclockwise south then northeast past Lake James State Park, then northwest through the Linville Falls area and on up to Roan Mountain in TN before turning south. We stopped for a break at Mountain Crossing Mercantile in Jonas Ridge before getting to Linville Falls. It turned out to be a stunningly appealing place. Then we stopped near Roan Mountain to don our rain gear as the approaching storms to the west turned the sky very dark and menacing. Fortunately, we avoided the heavy rain and lightning and made it back relatively unscathed.
Looking south into the valley toward the town of Marian
Almost Vintage, the regular Friday evening band, had a schedule conflict and couldn’t play for us this year. A new and younger 5-person group – The Bullis Brothers - anticipating rain, set up in the indoor reading room instead of out on the covered patio. They arranged themselves to project toward the adjacent dining area where everyone was sitting following dinner. Their play list looked good with a variety of popular folk, country, rock and blues tunes.
Unfortunately, they were w-a-y too loud indoors for our aging eardrums. The anticipated rains didn’t materialize so nearly everyone quickly moved outside and gathered in front of the closest cottages – our normal routine. Unfortunately, this put them behind the band which was now facing away from them. The normal interaction between band and audience was lost. There was no party atmosphere. Folks just talked for a while and then adjourned to their quarters. The band concluded their performance at 10 pm. Listening from the lobby, I heard one member remark, “Well, that was a good practice.” Too bad. They were actually pretty good. Had they set up on the covered patio facing the cottages, it might have worked out quite differently.
Also, this year we had a new massage therapist from the local area (Burnsville) to work her magic on our aching bodies. Her name was Patricia Ann Martin. She’s very experienced and was more than competent. In fact, I thought she was excellent. She didn’t charge for her short sessions but would accept gratuities. In previous years Ann Marie LaFrance earned a lot of respect and loyalty for her considerable skills and good nature. But she finally decided to hang it up. We wish her only the best.
Looking east into the valley and distant mountains