Category: Cold Weather

Cold Weather Challenge 2009-10

    CWC Leaderboard

  1. Colin Doyle: -13°F, 17.7 mi, 01/09/10, Collegeville, Minnesota, Honda Ruckus
    “…#6 x 3/4″ self-tapping screws in the treads of both front and rear tires..”
  2. Alan Van Tol: 0°F, 17.05 mi, 01/14/10
    Bridgton, ME, Yamaha Vino 125
  3. Luigi G.: 2.5° F, 10.1 mi, 01/30/10
    Dover, MA, 1970 Vespa GTr
  4. Ryan Bastianelli: 5°F, 10.2 mi, 12/16/09
    Chicago, IL, Piaggio BV250
  5. Jen Stich: 7°F, 10.3 mi, 1/30/10
    Westerly, RI/Pawcatuck, CT, 1963 Vespa 150 VBB

CWC09LEADERS:

  1. Colin Doyle: -13°F, 17.7 mi, 01/09/10, Collegeville, Minnesota, Honda Ruckus
    “…#6 x 3/4″ self-tapping screws in the treads of both front and rear tires..”
  2. Alan Van Tol: 0°F, 17.05 mi, 01/14/10
    Bridgton, ME, Yamaha Vino 125
  3. Luigi G.: 2.5° F, 10.1 mi, 01/30/10
    Dover, MA, 1970 Vespa GTr
  4. Ryan Bastianelli: 5°F, 10.2 mi, 12/16/09
    Chicago, IL, Piaggio BV250
  5. Jen Stich: 7°F, 10.3 mi, 1/30/10
    Westerly, RI/Pawcatuck, CT, 1963 Vespa 150 VBB

More details from each rider in the comments!

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#18: Indoor winter scooter storage?

Today’s question for Dr. Buzz comes from From Phil T. from Chicago, IL:

I have a scooter that I plan to keep in storage for this winter. My plan is to keep it in the basement of our 9-unit building, but I want to be sure that I do everything necessary to both 1, avoid the scooter becoming a fire hazard and 2, ensure that the scooter operates well for the spring unveiling.
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2SB/CWC Spring Party, Sat, April 11!

Hi everybody! Here are the details on the Galewood/Cold Weather Challenge ride and Karaoke party this Saturday (4-11)

Dinner at 5pm
Russell’s BBQ
1621 N Thatcher Ave Elmwood Park, IL 60607

I’ll be honest with you here, this is not the BBQ that made Galewood famous, but it’s a neat, old-school place with plenty of space for us, and if you forget about real BBQ, it’s pretty good in the way that Taco Bell is good if you forget about real Mexican food. And they have fried Macaroni and Cheese wedges.

Ride leaves 6:30pm sharp

We’ll do a quick ride (about 15 miles total) and see all the wonders of the greater Galewood area:

The Des Plaines River (Will it flood!?)
Forest preserves (“Balls Deep!”)
Elmwood Park’ (“Italinate” architecture!)
River Grove! (Home of Triton College!)
Kiddieland (and the “Scooters” sign!)
Maywood Park (Harness Racing!)
More Forest Preserves (Nature!-ish!)
Forest Park (Irish Pubs & Yarn stores!)
Oak Park (The Evanston of the West!)
Lake Street (The Gap! Starbucks!)
Frank Lloyd Wright’s home and studio
A bunch of Hemingway shit

Bonus! An 80-car-long freight train *will* hold up the ride at some point.

Then it’s on to Galewood for a lap around the best neighborhood in Chicago, ending at

BERRYOKE!
The Kat Klub
6920 W. North Avenue
at 8:00
Jason and Mary emcee the best Karaoke around, with a great variety of songs.
We’re talking New Wave, Punk, Mod, British Invasion, and even some indie rock, plus all the usual karaoke cheese.
No cover! Cheap drinks! Friends! Fun! Malört! Peeptinis!

Then! a late-night ride (four blocks) to River Forest Grill for the “AK-47.”

Then! Ride! Straight to your place of worship and sleep next to your scooter in the parking lot, because it’s EASTER!

Ride Map:


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2008-09 Cold Weather Challenge Winners

The Cold Weather Challenge has ended for another year, even though it’s 18°F and snowing here in Chicago right now and Spring is nowhere in sight. Congratulations to the winners: First prize goes to Bob “Scootervillan” Hedstrom who rode over 10 miles on a 2007 Vectrix at -16°F in Minneapolis, MN on January 15. Bob’s our first winner on an electric scooter, and he’ll keep the title in Minnesota for yet another year. Runner-ups are Tom S. in Omaha (-11°, Yamaha Zuma 50 ) and Colin Doyle in Collegeville, MN (-10°F, Honda Ruckus 50).
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CWC extension: ends midnight SUNDAY

Today’s the last day of the Cold Weather Challenge, and it’s getting pretty damn cold in some parts. Tell you what, you’ve got an extension, until midnight Sunday, to beat Scootervillan and his Vectrix. Also, ALL state-by-state leaders get a consolation prize, so if you’re in a state with no entries, a 10-mile ride this weekend nets you a sticker. Do it!

A winnah…

Polinarchy (Poliana from Philadephia) is the winner of our “When will the Razz fall over?” contest. She guessed Friday, and both Ryan and I were out of town, so we’re not exactly sure when it fell, but we figure it was probably sometime Friday night or Saturday morning. After more than a month with snow on the ground, it all magically disappeared in two days. Poliana wins a $10 gift certificate from our sister site Author illnoisePosted on Categories Chicago, Cold Weather, Giveaways, Scootmoto1 Comment on A winnah…

I’m still standing

Scrambler17 asks “We had a bit of a warm spell over the weekend. Is the Razz still hanging in there?” It sure is. I went over last night and took this photo. I would have never believed on January 9 that the same snow would still be covering the floorboards of Ryan’s Razz, with a few new layers on top of it, all frozen as hard as a rock. But there it is. This weekend is supposed to be rainy and above freezing, but I bet that just adds a thick ice bridge that holds it up for another couple weeks. This winter will never end.

Out of respect for the pessimists that guessed (a month ago) that it’d fall over this week, we’re only accepting new bets for dates after Valentines’ Day.