4thAnnual Moonshine Lunch Run – April 12th, 2008
The Moonshine Lunch Run (MLR) is the brain child of Terry “Two Wrecks” Hammond, a fellow motorcyclist who invited other motorcyclist to come to the Moonshine Store for a burger in 2005. Thirty Bikers from six States showed up, traveling total of 6,800 miles; round trips were ridden by twenty-six riders.
Moonshine, IL, population 2, is the home of the Moonshine Store. The Moonshine Store was founded by William St. Martz in 1889. The original building was destroyed by fire but rebuilt just south of the original location in 1912.
Moonshine has served as a grocery store, lunch stop for area farmers and oil field workers, and a gathering place for everyone from thousand miles around. Helen and Roy Lee Tuttle bought the store from Enid Misner in 1982. Ed was the first to start making cold cut sandwiches and hamburgers. When Helen took over, she continued the menu and added a variety of other sandwiches.
What is so special about a Moonburger? Is it the best burger in the world? No, but it is a “real” burger made into patties by hand and grilled when ordered. The company of other fellow motorcyclist riding from many miles away to partake of a Moonburger is what it is about.
In 2005 the MLR was a one day event and technically it still is, but over the last three years the MLR has blossomed into what I would consider it a long weekend event. The event typically starts on the Thursday before with a cookout at Terry’s farm. On Friday there is a ride to Coles County Airport between Mattoon and Charleston to eat an "Elephant Ear Sandwich" for lunch. Friday dinner is at Richards Farm Restaurant in Casey, IL. Saturday is devoted to lunch at the Moonshine Store. This year the Firefighters of Casey put on a wonderful Saturday night dinner for the motorcyclists at the Casey Community Center. Sunday featured a BBQ breakfast at the Casey Comfort Inn and a Church service held by the Christian Motorcycle Association Chapter #836 out of Aurora, IL.
I found out about the Moonshine Lunch Run by being a member of the ST-Owners forum. The April date at first made me think about potential bad weather since I am very aware of how and when I ride in early spring. However, I was already feeling the effects of PMS (Parked Motorcycle Syndrome) so, after some discussion, Bill and I decided we would attend this year’s Moonshine Lunch Run.
I made our reservations at the Casey Comfort Inn, the MLR headquarters, and registered on the Moonshine Lunch Run website. I wasn’t able to take Thursday off work, so we missed the Thursday cookout and the Elephant Ear burgers at the Coles County Airport on Friday.
The weather forecast for the weekend was grim at best, and the Thursday cookout had to be moved to the Comfort Inn due to cold and wet weather, Even though Friday was the best day, with mild temps in the mid-sixties, there was a monster southwest wind gusting at times to forty-five mph. We rode nearly the entire way to Casey in an ugly crosswind leaning almost forty-five degrees to stay on the road. Thank goodness I had a chiropractor appointment scheduled for the following Monday. When we got to Casey the wind was strong enough to make a tall BP sign at the I-70 exit sway back and forth at least five feet in both directions. At some point that evening, someone came out with a bucket truck and secured the sign with very large straps so it wouldn’t blow down.
Friday night’s dinner at Richards Farm Restaurant was a really great time. The food was delicious and the company even better. Terry stood at the podium and spoke of MLRs past and present and acknowledged everyone, even those of us that only rode a measly 440 miles round trip. I was extremely impressed by the number of Iron Butt Association riders that were present and even more impressed by Pete Rogers from Oasis, BC, who rode 2,196 miles for a Moonburger and then rode back home.
Saturday was day for the twelve mile ride from Casey to Moonshine for a burger. The sun was actually shining in the morning and temperatures were near forty degrees during the “Blessing of the Bikes” by Christian Motorcycle Association Chapter #836. We spent some time walking around the Comfort Inn parking lot talking and meeting everyone. Oh yes, the cinnamon rolls were excellent! The wind was still strong from the southwest and it was mostly cloudy when Bill and I left with a small group around 10 am.
The Moonshine Store is like a piece of Mid-West Americana that time has lost. Inside, the store memorabilia of decades hangs on the walls. The smell of grilling beef fills the air and your mouth starts to water in anticipation. When you come to Moonshine bring cash, plastic is not accepted. Signs on the front door and the meat case stated, “Welcome Bikers”. I also loved another sign that said, “Population: 2 million friends”.
By the time we got back outside with our burgers a steady drizzle was falling or should I say blowing. No matter, the burger was very good and my decision to have coffee was the right call. We had to get into our rain gear for the ride back to hotel because the rain was a bit more then a drizzle by then. It is said that it isn’t a real Moonshine Run if there isn’t at least one day of bad weather. Well, this year was no different. We hung around the hotel until dinner and met more fine folks from the ST-Owners forum.
It was another great time eating dinner at the Casey Community Center where the Firefighters put on a fine spread for a donation of $12.00. They also held a 50/50 raffle. I found this part of the weekend special. To find a community coming out to be apart of a motorcycle event is cool. The Moonshine riders said thanks with additional donations to the equipment fund.
Sunday morning arrived with rain, sleet and snow at a brisk thirty-six degrees. It didn’t matter we had to ride home. It wasn’t like it was freezing. Before leaving we did have some breakfast prepared by Terry and his associates in the Comfort Inn parking lot. I love grill-cooked eggs and sausage, and since we don’t camp anymore I do miss them.
Thankfully the winds had finally died down and we started home with just a snow/rain mix. There were a occasional bursts of sleet, but mostly we had light snow for about sixty miles. Then, believe it or not, as we made our way north it started getting warmer. There were short periods of rain too, but by the time we were back in our neck of the woods the sun was shinning and it was a balmy forty-three degrees.
I’m sure you are asking yourself why we would intentionally ride in such bad weather. Well, perhaps we are crazy, but I had a wonderful time with wonderful people and will do it again next year. I guess my answer to your question would be, “Because we can”.
Thanks to Helen and Roy Lee of Moonshine for being there, to the Firefighters and the Comfort Inn folks of Casey, and especially to Terry Hammond for designing a wonderful outing.
In Terry’s words:
If you don't make it to Moonshine,,, you ain't a Motorcycle Rider,,, you're just a Motorcycle Owner!!!
Information and Stats for the 2008 MLR from Terry’s post on the ST-Owners forum:
Moonshine sold,,, "Officially",,, 605 Moonburgers... 2nd most,,, E V A R ! ! !
We had over 400 people at Moonshine!!! Only a little over 1/2 signed in and registered... This is about normal... What we had out of those who signed in was,,,
We had 150 ride over 500 miles Round Trip...
We had 68 ride over 1,000 miles Round Trip...
We had 47 ride over 1,200 miles Round Trip...
We had 27 ride over 1,500 miles Round Trip...
We had 22 ride over 1,600 miles Round Trip...
We had 20 ride over 1,800 miles Round Trip...
We had 15 ride over 2,000 miles Round Trip...
We had 11 ride over 2,200 miles Round Trip...
We had 4 ride over 2,400 miles Round Trip!!!
When the dust finally settled and the last rider signed in on Saturday this is what it shows... These are the total miles ridden round trip,,, not a direct route to and from Moonshine...
# 5 ~~~ Pat McGhie ~~ Honda Gold Wing ~~ Hudson New Hampshire ~ 2258 miles
# 4 ~~~ Greg North ~~ Honda ST-1300 ~~ Grantham New Hampshire ~ 2406 miles
# 3 ~~~ Will England ~~ Honda ST-1100 ~~ Overland Park Kansas ~ 2,500 miles
# 2 ~~~ George Catt ~~ Honda ST-1100 ~~ Kingman Arizona ~ 3,800 miles
# 1 ~~~ Pete Rodgers ~~ Honda ST-1300 ~~ Oasis British Columbia ~ 4,362 miles
Bill and Kim heading for Moonshine.
Motocentral full image gallery of Moonshine 08
Photos by K. Muhr & dr1954 from the ST-Owner Forum.