This article was originally printed in the Moto Guzzi National Owners Club monthly newsletter. http://www.mgnoc.com
And the bikes just kept coming in! This year's 18th Annual Illinois rally was a record breaker for sure! By Friday night there were 267 adults and 12 children registered. On Saturday, the last count came to a whopping 307 adults and 19 children! Last year on Friday there was a record of about 185 adults I believe. I think the most ever for this event was about 260. The rally attendees came in by the droves this year. Obviously, this rally with all the on site cooked food brings out the hungry bikers.
They were not disappointed as the hard working crew from Western Illinois put on quite the feast of brats, hot and not so hot chili, and Italian soup for Friday night's meal. Of course all the fixins' for the brats were provided, as was plenty to drink. A local entertainer provided music at the pavilion that night, as many folks sang and danced to the music. A nice cool night of about 50 degrees was perfect for fires and story telling amongst old and new friends.
Saturday's breakfast was included in the fee. It was served in Oquawka (at the Legion, I think). I have never seen so many motorcycles here before. The local folk had quite a time keeping up with the crowd steadily flowing in to eat, but did a wonderful job.
The rest of the day was for riding, visiting, going on a tour of some old sites in Roseville and an observation run. Weather was just perfect with a nice breeze and sunny, with the temp around 70 or so. Awards and door prizes (about 80 I think!) were given out prior to the Saturday feast of pork, beans, slaw and potato salad. The line of over 300 people flowed swiftly and got plenty to eat. The rally crew did a tremendous job of getting all the food prepped. They had to go for more pork for Friday night when they realized the crowd they had. They cooked up about 190 lbs of pork!
Award winners:
Oldest Rider, JN Smith, Pittsburgh, Oklahoma.
Youngest Rider, Josh Jones, Nebraska (I think), 15 years old.
Long Distance Male, Jim Friesner, Colorado Springs, 1115 miles.
Long Distance Female, Mary Thompson, Thorntown, Indiana, 290 miles.
Long Distance 2-up, Ron and Patricia Kurylo, Grass Lake, Michigan, 512 miles.
Long Distance Sidecar, Bob Johnson, Shelbyville, Indiana, 396 miles.
Oldest Guzzi, Bob Mounce, Streator, Illinois, 1970 750cc Ambassador.
We would like to thank all door prize donors and everyone who attended this year's rally. The weather, food, and stories were great. Congrats to all award winners!
One thing that happened for the first time in the 18 years of this rally. We had two accidents! On his way to the rally, Aldo Giannerini, Homer Glen, Illinois, took a spill and had to go to the hospital. Then, during the observation run, Pete and Judy Thiakos had a mishap. Both of the accident victims would like to thank the people at the rally for all the help they got getting medical attention and getting their bikes taken care of also.
I apologize for anything I might have missed or an award winner I did not announce.
See ya next year!