Moonshine Lunch Run

[emptysea]

A friend of mine invited me to ride with a small group of riders on a variety of bikes (everything from a Triumph Daytona to a vintage BMW to A Harley) to an event/rally called The Moonshine Lunch Run. If you have not heard of it, here's an excerpt from the event's website, [url=http://moonshine-run.com/Moonshine/Default.asp]Moonshine Lunch Run


A Bit of Moonshine History

The Moonshine Lunch Run isn't your typical gathering of motorcycle riders. For starters, it happens in the middle of nowhere: Moonshine, Illinois, population 2. It happens at a place that's hard to find: unless you have the coordinates, GPS won't get you to Moonshine. It happens in early spring when the weather is usually cold or wet, and often both. It's never been and never will be a commercial event, so there are no sponsors to promote its existence.

Moonshine is a just bunch of people who like to ride motorcycles long distances � often thousands of miles � to be in the company of other people who like to do the same. And, in keeping with tradition, they have a hamburger. That's about it.

Pretty early in the season, but we lucked into excellent, if windy, weather. Not too much in the way of scenery from Chicago to the middle if Illinois, but I did manage to get a few pictures.

Had to meet at 5:00am so left the house at 4:50...pretty freakin early!


Zero Dark 30. One of the guys forgot his gas tank key (moron) so we waited around until 6:00 for him. Wound up leaving without him, but 45 minutes behind schedule
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235 miles later, we arrived at the Moonshine Store. Over 1000 bikers were already there or would be arriving shortly.
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I did mention that they have burgers there, right? More specifically, Moon Burgers., and they are fantastic!!
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Oddly enough it was the BMW, not the Harley, that needed the jump.
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Lots of bikes...lots and lots of bikes
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Decided to try out Ferret's camera-on-a-lanyard technique..not much to capture, but you can see the expansive beauty of farm country
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Arrived home twelve hours later...500 miles later...and two sore knees later...
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If you are anywhere even close to Moonshine, IL you should try to go to this event. It was incredible. Met two guys who got their "Iron Butt" that day, riding in from Kansas City and a nice couple who travelled all the way in from New Hampshire. My Facebook friends say I didn't earn an Iron Butt, but for riding 500 miles in 12 hours, I earned my "Tin Can" LOL. If you go next year, let me know. I'll buy you a Moonburger.

[Pterodactyl_imp]

Amazing, great post.

Cheers

[Cormanus]

What the Pterodactyl said.

Great post Empty Sea. And congratulations on your award.

[redbirds_imp]

What a great ride and photos. With a name like Moonshine I thought a story about the Appalachian south was to follow.
Good post.

[emptysea]

What a great ride and photos. With a name like Moonshine I thought a story about the Appalachian south was to follow.
Good post.

LOL. Thanks! Interestingly, my next ride report will be after returning from our ride to and from Tail of the Dragon. As the ride will take us through Kentucky and Tennessee, the moonshine name would be applicable, but I have named it "The Hills, Stills, and Thrills Tour". Look for that write up in mid-May.

[StackMan_imp]

Very interesting gathering, cool photos

[rboe]

Google mapped it. Tons of bikes in the satellite photo.

[emptysea]

Google mapped it. Tons of bikes in the satellite photo.

So..if you do the satellite view on Google and you look a little bit past the intersection of 350th Rd and 600th St., you will see some farm buildings. On Saturday, there were bikes on the right hand side of 600th from that point all the way back to the Moonshine store and on BOTH sides of 300th RD to 500th St. It was crazy-cool.

[rboe]

Holy Moly! So, how do they stock the place that sells burgers? Little corners store, quiet neighborhood and a thousand bikers show up wanting a burger. Maybe a drink. How would you anticipate that?

If that many bikes show up on google maps I'm thinking it's not just a one day a year thing.

[Damfino_imp]

I live in the suburbs of Chicago, but right now I am sitting at my mom's house about 50 miles south west of Moonshine. It's been our little secret down here for years but when word started to get out, Bill Geist and CBS Sunday Morning ran a story on it and it just exploded from there. If you're not there by 12:30, forget it, no Moonburger for you. They have other events there although not as big as the annual bike run. And it's still very popular with the locals!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moonshine,_Illinois