Published: June 28, 2008 12:18 am      

More rally visitors electing to camp

A storm Thursday night knocked over a few canopies, but campers partying at Greenhouse Park hardly missed a beat.

“It’s only rain. Everyone needed a bath, right?” Midnight Graffiti singer Natalie Kurchak said before launching into the band’s next classic rock number during Thunder Welcome Bash.

Almost 100 people gathered under the Greenhouse Park shelter dancing and waiting out the storm before returning to their tents – or just moving the party.

“After the band, we saw a fire pit up there,” camper Janet Roth of Schellsburg said, pointing to another area of the park. “We went up there and sat with them.”

With hotels booked up months in advance of Thunder in the Valley, Greenhouse Park is one of a growing number of locations that open for camping during the annual rally. The camaraderie Thunder brings to all motorcyclists is even more evident among the campers.

“For me, this is Thunder in the Valley,” Jeff Shippey of Manns Choice said, leaning back in the chair by his tent.

Although he owns a motorcycle, Shippey doesn’t even bother to bring it.

“I can set up my tent, park my truck and spend the weekend,” Shippey said. “Whatever they have here is what I see. This is our vacation.”

Thunder’s growing popularity and expanded schedule added another day to the Alliance for Bikers Aimed at Education bash in Greenhouse Park.

For the first time, campers were permitted to set up on Thursday.

Not all campers are content to sit by the fire or circulate among others in the park. Dave Martin and Rick White were planning a trip into Thunder Central in downtown Johnstown – as soon as they set up their camp Friday.

This is the Rock Creek, Ohio, bikers’ first motorcycle rally and first time camping.

“We usually camp right in the hotel,” Martin said, adding he found out about Thunder in the Valley and Greenhouse Park on the Internet while planning a motorcycle trip.

“We are headed down to Virginia,” Martin said.

At Windber Stadium, one area of the parking lot is filled with large campers of some Thunder vendors. Tents of motorcycle enthusiasts dot the football field.

“People out there want to have a good time,” said Matt Grohal of the Windber Stadium Authority.

“It’s a good time camping here,” Mike Batzer of Cortland, Ohio, said outside his tent. “It’s centrally located throughout all the event.

“In the morning, you can walk right over to the end zone and there is breakfast.”