epicrides

Ride to Eat, Eat to Ride

Would you ride thousands of miles for a hamburger? If so, the Moonshine Lunch Run( MLR) may be for you. Started in 2004 by Terry Hammond, a tractordriving farmer and long-distance motorcycle rider, every spring hundreds of motorcyclists from all over the U. S. and Canada converge at the Moonshine Store in rural southeastern Illinois to nosh on Moonburgers, enjoy camaraderie of a two-wheeled nature and raise money for worthy causes. In 2011, 1,800 people showed up on 1,600 motorcycles and ate 2,068 Moonburgers, and the farthest distance ridden to the MLR is 2,196 miles. Hammond, who died in 2010 while driving his tractor, said it was“ never too cold, never too far, never too wet” to ride to Moonshine.

Photos by Forest Aten