Huklbery

You might want to ask the organizers in advance of registering which of the events are weather-dependent. A brief afternoon thunderstorm on Friday this year was enough to cancel the ride through Moraine State Park and close the on-site trails. Rain is not exactly unheard of in Western PA in mid-June. Refunding a fee paid in advance for a given event is not much compensation for people who have made plans that might include scheduling vacation days, and who may have incurred hotel bills.

Softtailfreek

In the organizers defense, i was there on friday also and it was a torrential downpour. Made for fun trails on saturday though. Lol. I see your point but what else can they do besides refund your money. Just my opinion

fultonromero12

I too was there on Friday and my moraine trail ride was cancelled. You have to understand that the moraine trail ride is not part of the camp ground and if we rode through there with all the rain it was going to tear up that place.and they would prob not even consider letting us use the property next year. Also, NONE of the on site trails were closed due to rain. I was able to do ALL of them after the moraine ride was cancelled.

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Huklbery

Well, no, you don't see my point, which is simply to alert people to the unusual fact that Bantam shuts down when it rains. Many people wouldn't consider having their money refunded for a trail ride or two adequate compensation for having given up a weekend and incurring lodging and fuel costs.

"Torrential downpour?" Really? Whatever you choose to call the thunderstorm, however, it was very brief -- 15 minutes, tops. My purpose in writing the post was to differentiate this event from normal 4x4 weekends, where mud is not only welcomed, but created in the absence of rain. But then, Bantam isn't run by a 4x4 club, it's run by the Butler PA regional Chamber of Commerce with oversight by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, which exercised its authority to close Moraine State Park to vehicle traffic. If you're cool with that, so be it. But I didn't drive all the way to Butler County, PA for $2 discounts off normal catalog prices from an aftermarket retailer.

Huklbery

If you were in the registration tent at the time the afternoon Moraine trail ride was cancelled, you are aware of the fact that the people in the Bantam shirts were advising registrants that all of the trails had been closed for the day -- not just the ones in the state park. The decision to reinstate the rides in the campground was made later, too late for those of us who had packed up and headed out by then. The PA announcer was not given updates, information was not shared with the staff, and there clearly was no contingency planning in place. We're not talking about Phoenix. It rains in Western PA in June.

Mschneid

I too was there Friday, in fact we were just pulling out for the trail ride when lighting struck about 50 yards in front of us. A tree in the woods lit up white then at the base a nice bright orange fireball. Not sure if it would be safer in the woods or out in an open field, I was disappointed they stopped activities but went and had lunch during this time. Friday the lines are short and it doesn't take long to get on the trails, you should see Saturday and Sunday.

I guess you should consider staying Friday to Saturday next time you you can enjoy the Invasion downtown Friday night and Saturday activities.

Sorry you didn't have a good time.

PBone

I plan on going next year rain or shine. Even if it does rain again it seems like there would still be a lot to do and see

SiouxZinP

I went to Bantam last year and loved it!!! I cant wait for 2015!