Category: Rallies and Rides

Heinkelfest 2011

Heinkelfest may not be the biggest rally of the year, even if all 350 of the Heinkel Tourists sold in the U.S. were still running. But any rally so carefully targeted deserves a shout, right? Organizer Michael McWilliams (who–you might have guessed–is also behind HeinkelTourist.com and the North American Heinkel Registry is a past-president of the Vespa Club of America and one of the nicest guys in scootering. Even if you find yourself Heinkel-less, or can’t make it to Colorado Springs later this month, you might want to print the handsome event poster for your garage.

Slaughterhouse 17… almost go-time


Sorry it’s been slow here lately, we’ve been feverishly preparing for Slaughterhouse 17, which starts next Thursday, September 1. Slaughterhouse is always a great rally, but this year we’ve stepped things up a notch with a University of Chicago “Scav”-inspired weekend-long scavenger hunt that will tie all the usual events together. We hope you can make it, I’ll be one of the judges, and I’ll be DJing some French biker fuzz rock that everyone will hate, early-ish Friday night at Late Bar.

UPDATE: Don’t forget to check out the Scavenger List, which will be posted at 5pm today!

Busiest Weekend Ever?

Well, there’s no shortage of scooter fun this weekend across America. Amerivespa is already underway in New Orleans, PVSC Band Camp is on near Pittsburgh, The Secret Society’s Scooter Rage 25 (Did he say TWENTY FIVE?) is running in San Francisco, and there’s a NASRA Scootercross race in Indiana. Closer to our home, Chicago’s annual Mods and Rockers event gets bigger and better every year, and don’t miss the Mayday SC allnighter. Chicago’s Hell’s Fairies’ Spring Roll(er Derby) is Saturday, too.

Have fun, be safe, and if you’re in the Midwest, stay dry!

Hostile Takeover II

Choosing the (few) rallies I can attend these days tends to be a matter of finding a free weekend, and checking what’s going on. Sadly I missed Cincinnati and Niagara this year, and I know I can’t go to PVSC or Amerivespa, so when the opportunity to go to Hostile Takeover presented itself, I jumped at the chance. Rarely would I be so excited about visiting Des Moines, IA, but when I think of the fun I’ve had in rural Ontario and Ohio, Moline, IL, and even Vegas (I’m not a fan), I knew Des Moines had a lot of potential.
Continue reading “Hostile Takeover II”

Sunday: Magnificent Seven Ironman

Join the Magnificent Seven for their Ironman competition this Sunday (June 5, 2011). The ride leaves at 10am from Dunkin Donuts on Northwest Highway (just west of Harlem) and ends at Kristof’s Entertainment Center in Round Lake Beach. The Ruckus crew will join the Mag7 for the ride, and the Ton Up Club will meet at Kristof’s.

This ride is open to vintage and modern scooter capable of 50mph (No motorcycles are allowed on ride portion)

Ten dollar entry, winner takes all (except 2nd place gets his ten bucks back as first place loser).To win you must have:

  • fastest go kart track time
  • Lowest Putt Putt golf score
  • Highest bowling score

Kristofs has a bar and pizzaria on premise. Mag7 is organizing a package price for all three ironman events.

Amerivespa NOLA Promo Video

Amerivespa 2011 is June 16-19 in New Orleans, and the New Orleans Scooter Cooperative seems almost TOO eager to host this year. They’ve created this great promo video (that I can’t embed, and you might not be able to see, because it’s on Facebook). if that doesn’t make you want to head down to NOLA and party, I don’t know what will.

Cold Weather Challenge 2010-11

The 2010-11 Cold Weather Challenge is still underway, though you wouldn’t know it from our total lack of hype. See the current entries below, including very impressive entries from Alan, Luigi, and Gavin, and be sure to track and post your 10-mile-plus scooter rides at or below freezing temperatures. We recommend staying off snowy/icy roads, but when the roads and the sky are clear, get out there and ride! We’ll have this all a bit more organized ASAP. Thanks!

Weird Chicago Ride

We’ve seen a good number of Halloween rides over the years, but Scooterworks Chicago has taken things a step farther and organized a spooky ride curated and hosted by the experts at Weird Chicago on November 7 2010. The Weird Chicago Scooter Ride leaves at noon from Scooterworks after a 10am brunch at Fireside Restaurant (down the street). Brunch is a steal at $10, and the tour is $15, half-price from Weird Chicago’s usual tours (they won’t have to gas up the bus for this one). The ride runs until 8:30pm and visits “various sites where famous killings and crimes took place in the mob era of old Chicago.” Lots of people dress up for the ride, I love when people wear their silver vampire grillz its a great touch on any costume.