Happy Valley Rally
WELCOME TO THE HAPPY VALLEY RALLY 2024!
The Happy Valley Rally (formerly Sportster Summer) is BACK and open to anyone with a Sportster to join us in the Pennsylvania Wilds! Yes that means you can go right ahead and build out your dirtster / sportster and meet us at the starting line on June 6th, 2024!
WHERE
This year we are going to run the Backcountry Discovery Routes X - Pennsylvania Wilds, again! The neat thing about this BDR in particular is that it is a loop, so the start will also be the finish. This will make it very easy for riders to drive a truck in and leave it at the start if that is what they choose to do. The route runs mostly on dirt and gravel roads through Pennsylvania State Forests with short stretches of pavement at the start, in between the forests, and at the end of each section. We had such a blast on this route last year and we cant wait to do it again!
WHO CAN COME / WHAT TO EXPECT
Anyone with an Evolution, Ironhead, or RevMax Sportster! BUT, be warned, you and your friends as riders are ultimately on your own. Hotels are listed out where each stop will be every night but outside of that, there is no additional support or chase vehicles. If you get separated from the main group they will not be waiting up ahead, make sure you come equipped with maps or non cell service navigation to get back on course. If other riders choose to stop and help you that is on them, but don’t rely on that or get mad if someone passes by without stopping. Make sure your bike is dialed in, bring extra parts, bring tools, don’t be negligent. Most of the riding will be remote and away from civilization so make sure you pack food and supplies with the expectation of hitting one or zero gas stations throughout the day. The terrain on the last trip was relatively easy to navigate but riding 500lb motorcycle all day long for days on end will wear you out. We learned a lot during previous trips and it's better to be over prepared. If you are ready to be resourceful and endure some hardships, weather, breakdowns, or anything else that can arise on a trip like this, we welcome you to come. If that sounds like a lot to deal with, this trip may not be for you. Make friends, make groups, make sub groups with people who share your riding style, get the most out of this trip that you can!
BIKE INFORMATION
This event is for Evolution and Ironhead Sportsters only. Buell Motorcycles are not allowed on the trip. It's not an elitist thing, we like Buell and other ADV bikes, but for the parameters of this trip your bike has to be a steel frame Sportster. It's a fun platform to build a bike off of and we want to see how many different ways riders will convert their bike into an offroad machine. There will be everything from bone stock Sportsters with dirt tires to fully decked out race machines, and everything in between. You do not need to throw a bunch of money at your bike, in fact we would rather you spend that money on maintenance items, charging systems, ignitions, batteries, to make sure your bike is as reliable as possible. Make racks to carry all of your gear, bring spare parts, tubes, and tools.
MORE INFO
Last year we ran two main groups, a fast group lead by Tim Statt and a slow group lead by me (Chicken Rick). We make a stop before hitting the first section so we all start at the same time, and if you are ahead of me consider yourself in the fast group, if you are behind me we are slow grouping it! There is absolutly no need to ride above your skill level, its a marathon not a race so please ride accordingly.
HOTEL INFORMATION
Each night the main group will be staying at a hotel. If you prefer to stay in a different hotel that is totally fine, if you prefer to camp that is ok as well. The main group will be leaving every morning from the listed hotels at 9:00am.
Penn Wells Lodge- 4 Main Street Wellsboro, PA 60901
Best Western Plus Executive Inn - 1002 Earth Rd St. Mary’s PA 15857
Graduate State College - 125 South Atherton St. State College, PA 16801
Wake up on 6/9/2024 and finish the loop back to the starting point in Wellsboro, PA. If you would like to make a hotel accommodation for that night it is up to you, last year we goofed around in the morning and hit about 2.5-3 hours of on-road back up to the start in Wellsboro before packing up and heading home.
Sportster Summer Offroad Trip - MABDR - 2022
Sportster Summer Offroad Trip - PA Wilds BDRX - 2022
Here is the official Happy Valley Rally 2024 flyer, feel free to save it and share it!
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