Originally Posted by
rhaeske
Great info, glad to see somebody noticed a new message on this older post. If I end up doing this trip I would fly there on Sat or Sun. (12 or 13th) and leave on Wed or Thurs. to fly to Las Vegas and meet my wife there. If I do the Sat to Thurs could get in 4 good days of riding, with hopefully several days with demo's.
To help with Budgeting, is there anything special set-up with lodging or is pretty much everybody on their own. Or is there a certain place most in the group stay. What is people's experience with ground transportation from airport, would rather not rent a car.
Hey, good to see someone looking into their first N.I.C.E.! The local crew does an awesome job organizing the event, and there's a really great group vibe. Also, unlike SES, the rider numbers are such that you'll be able to talk to/ride with pretty much everyone there -- I don't know the exact number, but I would guess maybe 40-ish riders over the course of the week.
In prior years there has been a group condo rental, but it's dependent on getting enough people on board, which hasn't always happened. The hotels in Sandpoint are pretty cheap, and most people tend to collect at two or three hotels in town -- you'll probably see people post here as we get closer to the event. I think that Days Inn was one of the primary hotels last year...I've also stayed at the Holiday Inn Express in Sandpoint before -- they have the best free breakfast, but are also the most expensive.
You're probably stuck on ground transportation from the airport -- I looked into a shuttle last year, and found that it's cheaper to rent a car for 4 days. The only alternative would be if you can hook up with someone who's driving into NICE on your dates from Spokane. The car rental worked out pretty reasonable for me. I saved money by renting a 2WD with traction control rather than springing for a 4WD rental. That's worked out OK -- you can park at the bottom of the mountain and catch a shuttle up the road to Schweitzer, which is the only road where you're likely to need 4WD. Anyway, you're from Michigan, so I'm sure you'll be fine driving on snowy roads 
Hope to see you out there in January!
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"Is that more fun than snowboarding?"
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