Right now in Chicago, we’re having a heat wave (it’s 21°F and sunny with an inch or two of snow on the ground) but it’s been mostly in the single digits lately. That hasn’t stopped SoloSC and Team MD (I think they’re serious) from planning an 80-mile round-trip ride to a ski jump competition this Sunday (forecast high 33°, low 22, with rain and snow). I think I already have plans that day.
Category: Rallies and Rides
Las Vegas 2008
The new Las Vegas High Rollers Rally info has been posted for 2008, including pre-registration and merchandise from Modified. There’s a new twist this year: a series of competitions including racing, bowling, poker karaoke, and the usual scooter judging and gymkhana-type stuff. The club that racks up the most points will take home $1000, which will only offset 1/100th of their travel expenses, but I imagine the gloating will be unbearable. You could call it a “Scooter Olympics,” I suppose, but if you did the tightwad jags at the IOC would come after you like a greek drycleaner. It’s safe to say that the usual dancing, riding, drinking, gambling, and respiratory infections will remain intact alongside the competition.
Galewood Cookshack on Food Network tonight!
Tonight’s the debut of a new episode of Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives on the Food Network featuring The Galewood Cookshack. If you read 2sb, you know all about our little pocket of Chicago called Galewood, and you know Grace Delcano, a scooterist, friend, and neighbor who honed her BBQ recipe at several years worth of Galewood scooter rallies. She’s gone pro and sells pulled pork sandwiches and nachos from her customized RV at street fairs, farmers markets, and auto/motorcycle events, and it’s great to see her getting the attention she deserves. Also keep an eye out for my better half, Vina, working it. If you’re in the neighborhood, come to the Kat Klub tonight for the viewing party!
Update: The show usually visits three places, this show they visited four, and the Cookshack was the last chunk of the show, so the segment wasn’t all that long, but Grace and the RV looked great, and the show certainly made me hungry. Vina didn’t get much airtime (I actually got more) but Su and Neil were prominently featured. Here are airtimes for reruns.
Vespa ice racing
A Vespa PX out on the ice racing track. Sweet! (Thanks Chad.)
Vespa Attack 3
Speaking of the PI, our friend Jordan Cinco has just returned from the Philippines where he helped organize the third annual Vespa Attack rally. Congratulations to 2sb jersey winner Clifford Certeza (above), president of the Euroscoot SC, who is now also the president and sole member of the the Merciless Tigers’ Pacific Rim supporters club. As always, the stories and rally photos are incredible, and 2sb was proud to be a sponsor, but we would have much rather been a participant. Maybe next year.
Check out photos from the 2sb Gallery, Who Rides a Vespa, Jordan’s Flickr, Vexel9’s flickr, kap42no’s flickr, Vespinoy, and the Sexy Times Crew.
Motogiro d’California
Motogiro d’Italia is a motorcycle touring rally made famous in the 1950s and revived in 2001. The event, showcasing classic Italian machines, is venturing outside Italy for the first, of what I would imagine will be annual, Motogiro America. The oil leaking event will be held in and around Monterey, CA preceding the Red Bull U.S. Grand Prix in July 2008. Webbikeworld.com reports that the routes will include a lap around the racetrack at Laguna Seca as well as scenic rides around the picturesque Monterey Bay area. There is a range of entry classes including a “Vespa Class.” Hopefully other vintage Italian scooters will be allowed as it would seem very fitting to have some of the beautiful Lambretta D race machines participating (I’m talking to you, Alex). It sounds like a dream week for any Italian Iron enthusiast.
2007-08 Cold Weather Challenge
It was just brought to my attention I never posted the Cold Weather Challenge info, oops!
Ryan, who’s run the CWC for the past few years, just tied the knot and decided to take a break this year, so the Cold Weather Challenge is being run by his autonomous cyberspace doppelganger “The Real Rye”. Here are the rules in detail. In short, the CWC starts December 1 and runs through the end of February. If you ride more than ten miles in ridiculously cold weather, email the CWC or post your info at The Real Rye’s Myspace page. It’s all informal and on the honor system, so give it a go and we’ll see if someone outside Minnesota can win it this year.
Return of the Cold Weather Challenge
Ryetronics got hitched last week and abandoned the Cold Weather Challenge, so a couple other schlubs are taking it over. They promise some big rules changes and high-tech improvements, but while we wait for that, they’ve organized a CWC kickoff ride this Sunday, November 11, 2007. Meet at The Bagel (3107 N Broadway, Chicago) for breakfast, the ride leaves at 10:30 for the Museum of Contemporary Art’s Sympathy for the Devil: Art and Rock and Roll Since 1967 exhibit. Admission is allegedly free in honor of the MCA’s 40th anniversary. They promise to not kill any chickens this year unless it’s absolutely necessary.
M7 Photo Scavenger Hunt
Darren’s review of the Magnificent Seven Photo Scavenger Hunt last Sunday. More photos here and here.
Rustic Roads recap
Pete Selkowe’s great Rustic Roads Ride Writeup (say that ten times fast) from the Racine Post Blog. Check out Nitro’s flickr page for tons more photos. The Magnificent Seven SC has planned two great events in less than a month, and their Photo Scavenger Hunt on November 4, 2007 sounds even better.
Mag 7 Rustic retry
As well as a Photo Scavenger Hunt, to take place on Nov. 4 (more info coming soon), The Magnificent Seven SC are going to reattempt the conquering of ten of Wisconsin’s Rustic Roads this Sunday, Oct. 21st. The route is about 210 miles, including highway riding, so a reliable scooter/motorcycle capable of 50mph cruising isa must. Meet at Blue Angel, 5310 N Milwaukee, at 7:30am Sunday. Everyone is welcome!
P.E.A.C.E. comes to an end
Congratulations (and thanks) to Alix Bryan, who finished her epic P.E.A.C.E. Scooter ride this weekend. (CNN’s story.) Thanks to the Scoop who was in Crawford for the end of the ride.)
Pork, Cheese, and a Nice Rack
Three great events this weekend, two in the outskirts of Chicago and another that’s definitely worth a road trip:
Saturday, check out the Hunnert Car Pileup at the Grundy County Fairgrounds near Morris, IL. It’s one of the greatest car shows in America, with strict rules allowing only pre-64 “traditional” hot-rods. Vintage scooters are also welcome, but even if you can’t exhibit, it’s always something to see with 1000 custom hot-rods, burnout contests, rockabilly bands, and great vendors including Grace and her Galewood Cookshack, serving up incredible pork chili (green or red.)
Also on a Saturday but last Saturday (I’m a moron), so you’ll need a time machine to go, was Pride of Cleveland Scooters’ legendary “Nice Rack” swap meet. To wit:
Look at all that. You want(ed) that. And that'(wa)s just the beginning. Look at the other photos on the link above, and consider that many other collectors and vendors will be (were) there, and there will be (was) a ride through Cleveland’s awesome Metroparks, and… well, drooool. Too bad I didn’t tell you about it in time.
On Sunday, the Magnificent Seven, Chicago’s newest club, is doing another epic ride, this time they’re riding 225 miles through rural Wisconsin to earn the Rustic Trails award. Their grammar and punctuation ain’t so good and they tend to run on, so I’ll just (click-click) link to the ride info. There. I think the departure time changed to 7:30am, so check the next few posts to see if there are any changes. They sent me something about it, but I have more email accounts and Yahoogroup memberships than I know what to do with, and they keep changing it, so they can let us know what’s going on in the comments.
1st A. L-T-H J. C. P. R.
Darren posted a story and some pictures of The First Annual Less-Than-Honorable Jimmy Chamberlain Pumpkin Run on his site. Nice! The Mag7 have something Wisconsonian lined up for next weekend too, but I’ll wait for official word and post it with all the other stuff going on (POC Swap Meet, Hunnert Car Pileup).
Car Show
A month ago, I saw some flyers around the neighborhood about an Oktoberfest at the park next to my house. I noticed that it would include a “Car Show” and I figured that a) it wasn’t very well-publicized, b) it was being run by amateurs outside the car-show scene, and c) entrants were required to pre-register in person or by mail, all three factors that would probably pretty seriously limit entries. So I mailed in an application to show my “award-winning” (ha) Vespa Primavera, mostly just for fun, but also secretly in hope that no one would show up and I might win something. Once you get a taste of sweet, sweet trophy, you want more.
Plus, I broke my other trophy.