Category: Rallies and Rides

Burgmania spreads

Suzuki’s doing something right, their Burgman continues to rack up glowing news stories nationwide. Interestingly, the bike also seems to be expanding beyond touring scooters’ usual market (the elderly, and wives of touring motorcyclists) in almost every direction. Here are a few news reports we’ve seen lately:

High Rollers 2007 hotel info

One of America’s greatest scooter rallies, The Las Vegas High Rollers Rally will be held February 22-26, 2007 (remember, it was moved to the weekend after its usual date, thanks to the NBA All-Star Game). Organizers expect The Gold Coast Casino to be nearly half-occupied by american and british (and new this year, french) scooterists, and most of the weekend’s events will be held there. They suggest booking your room before November 20th to guarantee the discounted rate (and availability.) To book, call 702-367-7111 or visit goldcoastcasino.com. The High Rollers Rally discount code is “HIG0222.”

Sunday: Fox River Ride (redux)

Patrick has organized a ride along the Fox River for this Sunday (10/29/06). Meet at 9:00am at 3120 N Elston (Elston/California/Belmont) with a full tank of gas. The ride will be about 100 miles round-trip with a top speed of about 50mph. (if this post looks familiar, it’s because the weather was cruddy last Sunday, so Patrick’s trying it again this week. The current forecast promises clear skies and highs in the 50s.)

Chicago scooter park-in: Sunday.

If you’re upset about the lack of legal scooter parking in Chicago, you’re not alone. The CHIscooterList Yahoo Group has planned a “Park In” this Sunday. The goal is to find a few consecutive parking spaces in the Loop and park one scooter in each, as per the law, for a photo shoot pointing out how ridiculous it is to not allow the sharing of parking spaces. The meeting and ride will start at The Players Club on Ashland, following the MotoGP race broadcast (the race ends around noon or 12:30). It’s a small first step in what will hopefully become an important city-wide scooter rights, advocacy, and education campaign.

The Hunnert Car Pileup

For the last few years, the Chrome Czars have organized the best hot-rod show around, the Hunnert Car Pileup. Each year it’s roughly doubled in size, and this Saturday, it will likely double again. Scooters are welcome, though only vintage scooters can enter the show area (at the discretion of the judges). The local scooter crowd usually turns out in force, and as usual, there’s a group ride planned down to the Grundy County Speedway in Morris, IL, meeting at the Krispy Kreme at Archer and Harlem (in Summit, IL) at 9am and leaving at 9:30 sharp. Weather is unpredictable this time of year, dress in layers. When you get there, look for the Galewood Cookshack (the RV with flames) for some chili (red or verde) made with their already-famous smoked pork. The show goes all day with bands, food, vendors, cars, and a Ring of Fire, and wraps up with more bands and drink at Fool’s Bar and Grill in Morris.

Indian Autorickshaw Challenge

If Ants’ and Jo’s three-month Tuk-Tuk adventure wasn’t enough for you, or you thought they needed more competition over a shorter distance, you might want to schedule time off work next August for the 2007 Indian Autorickshaw Challenge. Sounds a bit better organized and a bit more fun, though I think Ants and Jo could have blown away the competition.

Tukkers update: they’re home!

Jo and Ants return homeAfter three grueling months driving a Thai tuk-tuk from Bangkok to England, Jo and Ants (and Ting Tong) are safely home in Norfolk, UK. They’ve raised £25,000 for Mind, a mental health charity, and are hoping to double that amount through local appearances and donations. With the giant potholes, civil unrest, mysterious food, border crossings, amazing scenery, and even an earthquake behind them, their blog is great reading, and now there’s the luxury of reading it all at once, rather than waiting for the next installment.

Slaughterhouse pre-party tonight!

Los Corazones Negros’ annual Slaughterhouse pre-party is tonight (Thursday, August 31) at Liar’s Club, 1665 W. Fullerton Ave. 9pm-til-midnight, an $8 wristband gets you free beer, Midnight-to-close, beer is only $1 DJs spin all night. 2strokebuzz will be there, running the Crapraffleâ„¢ and selling merchandise to support Scooterrelief.org.

Slaughterhouse 12 continues Friday night at Frank & Mary’s (2905 N. Elston Ave), with Karaoke and a midnight ride.