Thunder Ridge Motorcycle Rally – Directions and Survival Guide

DISCLAIMER: I am not an organizer for the event, just an interested geek, rider and blogger. I want this rally to get bigger and better for riders in mid Mississippi.

2014 dates: “Come
join us at Thunder Ridge for our 2nd Annual Rockin The RIdge Bike Rally
May 16-18 2014 and August 8-10 2014 for our 3rd Annual Bike Rally!!!
Call Melody @ 601-416-9175 for camping and vendor spots!!! Can’t wait to
see everyone there!!!!” – Facebook

Updated post with video and August 2013 pics —> Click Here (after reading this one 🙂 )

I went to the Thunder Ridge Bike Rally in the middle of nowhere in Mississippi on Saturday afternoon. The first problem I ran into was finding the place. The address is right, 15831-A Highway 19 North, but the maps from Google and Bing did not show the right place. It is NOT right outside Philadelphia, MS. I’ve submitted changes to Google (~~twice~~ three times now), so hopefully this won’t be an issue in the future. The second problem was that I was very low on gas when I got there and didn’t know where a gas station was. However, I made a custom map showing the Right location of Thunder Ridge and the nearest gas stations.

Real Map to Thunder Ridge Motorcycle Rally location

I hope you will find it useful. ( click ‘Right location’ or the map to view in Google Maps ) The Thunder Ridge Motorcycle Rally is on Hwy 19, just a few miles from Hwy 25 in Winston County, well, it might be in Neshoba County, but closer to the county line than Philadelphia either way. I also marked the Natchez Trace because it would be cool to ride the Trace almost to the Rally.

After going in a big circle – adding an extra 36 miles to the trip! – we finally found the right place thanks to folks at Woody’s in Noxapater. The first thing I realized we would need to bring to the August Rally was Camp Chairs.

If you don’t want to sit on the ground or your motorcycle, bring camp chairs. If you will be lounging around during the day, bring a source of shade! Canopy tent, umbrella, whatever kind of shade you can carry around with you. Also – Wear Sunscreen.

We went during the day, so there was not a whole lot of bikers out and about. This is only the second year of the Rally, so not a whole lot of vendors – although I did get a great Chubby Cup quick release cup-holder for my Vulcan 1700 classic, “Sexy.” It is made in Amory, MS, so a double bonus! I am sure the later evening and night would have been much better, but we have a huge trip coming up and couldn’t spend the night partying. We will plan a longer stay at the August Rally. All in all, it was a good 220 miles of riding for the day!

I Looked for a “Motorcycle Rally Etiquette” guide somewhere, but didn’t see one that worked. So, just some a couple ‘good idea’ rules :

1) You can look, but don’t touch someone else’s motorcycle. Don’t get really close if the owner is not around. Do NOT sit on any motorcycle that does not belong to you or your significant other. If you want to check out a motorcycle, ask the owner first. Still do not touch.

2) Be Courteous. “Give Respect, Get Respect” is a common patch.

Here is the link to the Facebook event planning and Here are some pics :

View from the car parking area toward the ticket tent and hwy 19

View from the car parking area toward the stage and vendors

View from the concessions building porch toward the stage.

Little girl belting out some serious tunes

Okay, this needs some explaining. We were behind the stage and I thought they were playing some Alannah Myles or some Vixen – seriously great vocals. When we came around to the side and saw this little girl in a yellow top and pink shorts, I was greatly surprised. She has some awesome pipes! Not sure how I feel about the content of the songs she was singing at her age, but they were good.