The Mountain Goat Rally

Hot Air Ballon on the side of the interstate

It was a last minute decision to enter the Mountain Goat Rally organized by my friend Hammy. This rally would take place all within the borders of Pennsylvania on Saturday September 12. I was able to do this thanks to the kindness and generosity of a rider friend, Ken Aman, who lent me his V-strom 650 (hmmm.... I sense a pattern here). So on Friday night before the rally I drove to Ken's house in New York and picked up my ride for the weekend. I had booked a hotel room just a short distance away as I didn't want to ride too far at night before becoming familiar with the bike. I quickly named him Silver Bullet (I don't think Ken has a name for the bike). A snappy and fun quick machine responding well to my requests. I could tell this was going to be a fun ride. Got to the hotel, settled in and thank goodness for delivery service and take out! Had a great sandwich brought my room. Did some last minute checking on my rally route and then time for bed.

Saturday morning 5.15 am and I woke up with a pounding migraine, closed my eyes wanting to go

TT at Bushkill Falls

back to sleep, and then I remembered - it was rally time! Since I can't take migraine medicine and drive I figured maybe I could beat this by taking a couple of ibuprofen. I'm not going to mention how many I took but it was a few too many. My stomach was not happy with me a few hours later but at least the migraine subsided to a headache which I can manage. My first bonus location was an hour from the hotel and before that I had to stop and get my starting receipt. So, thanks to the migraine I left the hotel about 30 minutes later than I had hoped. Got on I-84 and shortly after I got on the interstate I saw two hot air balloons, one on each side of the road, just taking flight. Awesome! I stopped in Milford, PA and got my starting receipt and then I headed on to route 209 and in to the Delaware Water Gap towards Bushkill. There was no traffic this early and thankfully no deer. I rode in and out of the fog. It was a great road to ride. Once I arrived at the first bonus stop, the Bushkill Falls, I ran in to a "road block". The park did not open until 9 am! A quick cruise around and I found another entrance. It may not have been the official way in but the gate was open... Got the mandatory picture and said a silent thank you before heading out on the road again. Bushkill Falls is noted as the Niagara Falls of Pennsylvania. Got to come back some day and check it out.

A fork in the road

Because of the 30 minute delay I decided to skip a bonus as I noticed it would save me 30 minutes in time and still allow me to be within the allotted time frame. So a quick zip on the highway and then off to ride some awesome country roads and then up to the top of Blue Mountain for the next bonus which was the Slopeside Bar and Grill. It was really cool to see the cloud coverage below. Silver Bullet and I continued on. We followed the river and got to the Lehigh Canal where I met Steven, one of the other riders in the rally (had I known then that he was going to win this thing I would have tagged on to him). Then it was off on some really twisty roads and they were narrow too and at one point it turned in to dirt! Whoa! At one very narrow intersection there was a tractor trailer that was definitely in the wrong spot! He waved me by! I found the Crystal Caves and that's about when it started to rain. It was light at first so no worries. By the time I reached the fork in the road the rain had picked up at a pretty steady pace. Thankfully I already had my rain gear on.

The ride continued and we were off to the "Prepare for Stares" which

At Cabelas

included a photo inside Cabelas, holding your mascot and wearing your helmet while capturing the leaping mountain goat in the back ground. I asked a nice guy who took my photo. He succeeded on the first try! WOW! That place is huge and so busy! And yes, I did get a few inquisitive looks.  Back in the saddle and off to Hawk Mountain Sanctuary. Riding up towards the sanctuary I met quite a few cyclists coming downhill and let me tell you - they were flying! At one point I saw a guy with a really bright light on the front of his bicycle and he was moving so fast I actually thought it was a motorcycle! Got the bonus location and by now it was raining good and with no sign of letting up. By

A turtle or a hawk?

now it was clear as day to me that Hammy's intent for this rally was for his participants to ride some awesome road, seeing some great sights and enjoy themselves. Of course he hadn't exactly been able to predict the rain. Next stop was somewhere in the middle of the cornfields for a totem pole at a small and cute amusement park. Let me tell you, the rain could not dampen my spirit! After not being able to ride for five weeks because of the problems with Blackie it felt awesome to be back in the saddle. I was smiling ear to ear and just enjoying the heck out of this ride! And I must say that I really like the V-strom and how it handles. It is different from Blackie but it is a great machine.

Next I found myself at the Davis Chapel and good thing I second guessed myself and picked up the rally book to read what it was I was supposed to take a photo of - not the church itself but the sign. Done! 339 is fun road to ride. Now it was onward to Knoebels Amusement Park. It was worth a lot of points to ride at least two rides. Somewhere about 8-10  miles from the park there was a huge traffic back

At the purple pump

up. It wasn't until I got to the top of a hill that I could see why. An 18-wheeler had a flat tire and had to be towed up the hill. That set me back about 25 minutes so I was hoping I could get on the rides quickly at the amusement park. Luckily there was motorcycle parking right up front! Way to go Knoebels. Found the ticket booth and I think I woke up the old lad manning it. He had a hard time get it together so I finally just told him to give me $5 worth of ride tickets! I had picked out the Italian Trapeze and the Whizzer to ride. Now it was raining hard. Off I went on the rides. Yes, I got some stares here (more than at Cabelas). After all, how often do you see someone in full motorcycle gear riding amusement park

One of the covered bridges I rode across

rides? I'm pretty sure I wasn't the only one that day! Next on the list was the Hiker which is a statue of a soldier. It was walking to the statue when I realized that my boots were flooded! I looked down and noticed that my motorcycle pants and rain pants had gotten hung up on top of the booth which had allowed for rain to go right in. Well done Minna, well done! Slosh slosh slosh. Nothing like the feeling of walking around inside puddles. Oh well. Off to the next stop and continued great riding. Like I said, NOTHING could dampen my spirit. Found the purple pump and then it was to the last location. 125 is another absolutely fantastic road. So much fun to ride! I can't wait to come back some day! The last bonus stop was the Jiggers Ice Cream Shop in Mount Gretna. I recalled having

The "crime scene" 

read some quick blurb about a recent murder suicide in this location. So I was very happy to find Steven (yes, the rider from the canal) at the ice cream shop when I pulled up. We joked about being wet, got our photos and then back on the road. Next location - Yoders! Now it was a torrential down pour and remained so the rest of the ride. I pulled in to Yoders at 4.57 pm with 13 minutes on the clock to spare. The rule was that if you were not checked in by 5.10 pm you were DNFd (Did Not Finish). Whew! I made it! Got my rain soaked self inside and found the banquet room and several riders who where already there. I saw some friends, Paul Turner from Virginia and Christopher Fite from North Carolina, and of course our rally master Hammy. After I peeled off all my gear, got out of the wet boots and got settled I sat down and got my stuff ready for scoring. I was scored by the lovely Kate Johnston aka. Bunny Mama. Considering I had decided to drop two bonuses along the route due to delays and other unforeseen circumstances I was happy with my ride and the score. I knew I wasn't going to be a contender for placement. After scoring it was time for chow. Holy moly! I have heard of the buffet at Yoders but it was beyond expectation. Very fresh, lots of choices and really yummy!

Some of the mascots

While enjoying my dinner I chatted with other riders. I met Chuck and Ramona, Kevin, PJ, Steven and I also met Hammy's friends Dixie and Mariellen. They did not participate in the rally but had come down to enjoy a good meal and support Hammy. After everyone was scored it was time for

The Goat Trophies

the awards. There were trophies for 1st, 2nd and 3rd place and for most efficient ride. I came in 6th. Totally happy with that. By the time we were all done the rain was gone and that was a relief. I truly enjoyed this rally and the format. Instead of a rally flag we used mascots. Mine of course was TT. There was no need for keeping a fuel log or writing down time and odometer readings. Very relaxed and a nice change from other rallies. Thank you so much Hammy for all the work and putting this rally together and those who volunteered and helped out. I returned Silver Bullet to Ken the next day and my soul is at peace again, at least for the time being. I never would have thought how much it has affected me to not ride like I usually do. I can't wait to hopefully get Blackie back together and on the road soon. In the meantime I continue to be amazed by the riding community and fellow riders who graciously offers me to borrow a motorcycle so I can get out on the road and enjoy the ride. "Four wheels move the body, two wheels move the soul".

Silver Bullet on top of Blue Mountain in Pennsylvania