Moonshine, IL, is in middle of Illinois farm country with nothing close by ... 'cept corn & soybeans.
7 years ago a rider local to the Moonshine area told 4-6 of his online rider friends that he knew of a GREAT burger joint in Moonshine, IL, but he bet them they couldn't find it. Moonshine has a population of 2!!! Well, they did manage to find it. Moonshine Burger Run began from that diminutive beginning. Last year over 600 riders showed up! And it's now a 4-day affair.
Four of us from Chgo area decided to attend this year. Three camping and the wimp
motelling it. Bikes were FJR, ST1300, V-Strom 1250, & my lil 650F.
Moonshine is not located in the midst of ideal motorbiking geography and getting there from Chgo was done via super slab. So not exciting riding on the trip downstate, but was my first group ride and first "bike trip", so I was psyched! Approx 250 miles 1-way.
Friday we met at 9:00 for breakfast and then on our way. Made first wrong turn within 3 minutes of ride start! We stopped approx every 90 minutes on way down ... glad breaks were not spaced further.
Reached our campsite approx 3:00. Serious rains occurred few days previous, so finding tent space on reasonably firm ground proved to be challenge .... particularly since 20 others arrived prior & claimed the prime real estate.
http://hphotos-sjc1.fbcdn.net/hs470.snc ... 2990_n.jpgWith tents setup and gear stowed, it was time to eat! So off to Casey, IL, we rolled to meetup with over 400 like-minded souls.
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Then it was back to the farm (our campsite) for eve of campfire and storytelling.
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Then sleep time ... glad I brought the longjohns and earplugs! Drifted off to sleep to the sounds of coyote calls.
Saturday we woke up to sound of bobwhites & turkeys. One of our fellow campers brought a dutch oven and prepared handmade biscuits for all. They were wonderful, but had no coffee to wash 'em down!
We broke camp, packed all gear back onto bikes, and rode to breakfast for java fix. Went over to the "registration" motel to see small sampling of the bike make/models in attendance. Then we headed to the place this ride was all about ..... Moonshine, IL, and the world famous burgers available there.
To get an idea of Moonshine, IL, picture this in your mind .... crossroads of 2 small country roads with 1 small country store at this crossroad ... that's Moonshine, IL .... all of it!
We actually arrived rather early .... 10:00. Bikes seemed to be everywhere ... parking lot was packed and bikes were beginning to be parked on the roads leading into & out of "town".
http://photos-b.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak ... 3927_s.jpgWe took some time to sightsee bikes parked everywhere, then was time to eat again! Line to get your burger was already 50 yards long.
http://photos-d.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak ... 0727_s.jpgThey were REALLY tasty!
http://photos-e.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak ... 2472_s.jpgThen more bike watching, and bikes were still pouring in from countryside.
We headed for home about noon. It was windy day so I got the opportunity to appreciate 650F's stability at speed!
Here's some statistics for this years event:
1,100 Motorcycles,
500,000 miles round trip,
39 States and Canada,
Farthest riders are 2,132 miles 1 way!!!
325 ate at Terry Hammond's house Thursday eve,
400 ate at Richards farm Friday eve,
300 ate at the Fireman's Chili Supper Saturday eve,
1,908 Moonburgers eaten at Moonshine Saturday lunch!!! Beat the old record by 789!!!
What a great time we had Friday & Saturday!
