Mid Atlantic Spring Scooter Rally - 2010

The date for the Mid Atlantic Spring Scooter Rally has been set: May 21-23. As usually, rally headquarters will be at the the New Hollander Motel, New Holland, PA.
The tag line for this event is "Kommen Sie Essen und Fahren", which is PA Dutch for "Come Eat And Ride". Eating, riding and camaraderie is what this event is about. There aren't awards for restoration or gymkhana events. But there are door prizes.
This is a free rally, but registration is required. For more information, and to pre-register, go to http://www.midatlanticscoot.com/.

Mid-Atlantic Fall Scooter Rally, 2009

Saturday morning, as I was headed up to New Holland for the Mid-Atlantic Fall Scooter Rally, I was reminded of why Lancaster County is such a scenic place to ride. A hot air balloon was flying low over the farm fields of Bareville and Leola. This balloon was just above the rooftops and wires. As Will had said to an out-of-towner the night before, "There's nothing that you can name that we don't have around here."

The day started promptly at 8:30am at the Hollander Motel when Will blew the whistle and yelled, "Mount up!" A New Holland police officer held traffic for us as we turned northeast up Route 23 to Shady Maple for the traditional breakfast buffet. Breakfast was from 9 - 10:30, and you needed the time to pack in the wide variety of meats and potatoes, including turkey bacon and sausages. We would need the nourishment, as we would not be stopping for lunch. Nobody left hungry; just look at these satisfied customers.

Those finished with breakfast early spent time in the parking lot looking at the 57 scooters that had assembled for the main ride.

Most of the scooters were Suzuki Burgmans, which is not surprising as this rally has been primarily organized by members from www.burgmanusa.com. But there were a few small guys there too, like this Zuma 125 and a Buddy 150. I didn't notice either of them having trouble keeping up on the ride, although the Honda SH150i did suffer on the hills, as it was carrying 2 people.

I don't have any pictures of the ride itself, because I didn't want to hold a camera while we were moving. There will probably be more pictures at midatlanticscoot.com. It is quite a sight to look ahead and see scooters as far as you can see in front of you, and to look in your mirror and see scooters as far as you can see in back of you. I hope we didn't disrupt traffic too much. How surreal it must be to have that many scooters suddenly pass your out-of-the-way home. We certainly put some smiles on faces and got many waves from bystanders.

Along the way, we stopped at M&S Suzuki (on Rt. 322, outside of Blue Ball) to thank them for their sponsorship and their having helped multiple rally-goers over the past years. They have gotten more than one rider that limped in on a Friday night rolling by Saturday morning.

We also stopped at Pat Garrett's Sheepskin Shop on Route 183. Even though I believe we were expected, we had to overcome some initial nervousness about the size of our group.

Overall, it was a good ride. We just beat the rain back to New Holland. From there I went back to Lancaster and skipped the rest of the Rally, as I had other plans. But I will definitely go again in the Spring.

On a personal note, it re-affirmed my satisfaction with my Vespa 300 Super. It easily held its own with the Burgman 400's and 650's, while being nimble and light. That last point was reinforced when I saw a Yamaha Majesty and and a Burgman 650 get dropped at a stop sign during the ride. I like a mid-size scoot.

Reminder: Mid Atlantic Scooter Rally

Don't forget that next weekend is the Mid Atlantic Scooter Rally. Click here for more details.

2009 Fall Mid Atlantic Scooter Rally Set

The dates for the Fall Mid Atlantic Scooter Rally have been set: September 25-27. As usual, it will start Friday evening at The Hollander Motel in New Holland. For complete details and to keep up with events as they change, see
http://burgmanusa.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=13&t=41930

I attended this event in the Spring, and it was great. Friendly and well-run, there were door prizes for everyone. Days revolved around rides, meals at local buffets, and looking at and talking about scooters.

Meltdown 2009

Scott wrote to me to remind us about Three Mile Island Scooter Club's annual rally, Meltdown 2009. It takes place over the weekend of August 21-23 in Camp Hill, PA. Click here for more details.

This event is open to all makes and models, and is 50cc-friendly. Since my scooter is a 50cc, I'll be looking for a slow road for the long trip over. If you are interested in joining me, or would like me to post the route, leave a comment.

Ride Report

Turn out was light, probably due to the many conflicting activities going on yesterday. It was cool to finally meet Rewdey after reading his comments. His 2-stroke Honda Elite from the ealy 90's proved to be a champ after some initial trouble.

The weather turned out to be beautiful after the threatening forecast. The theme was "small towns" and we went through a lot of them: Lancaster, New Holland, Terre Hill, Ephrata, Akron, Rothsville, Lititz, and East Petersburg. Passing through New Holland, we stopped at the Hollander Motel which had its sign welcoming "BUSA Scooter Rally" (BUSA is BurgmanUSA). At Terre Hill, the Smith family met us at the park with cold water, which was welcomed at that point. Thanks again!

We passed through so much of scenic Lancaster County; beautiful farms, bridges, streams... and I forgot to take pictures of them. I was too busy enjoying the ride. That's what it was about anyway... a relaxing ride on a beautiful day. We had so much fun that there is already talk of a fall foliage trip around the southern part of the County. Keep checking in for news on that.

Don't forget that today is the vintage car show downtown, including scooters. I believe the scooters are supposed to be in the parking lot of Lebzelter's, the country's oldest Goodyear dealer, at 300 N. Queen. Lebzelter's has been serving Lancaster since before the Civil War (established in 1854, a year before Penn State!). For their sake, I hope this "horseless carriage" thing doesn't turn out to be a fad.

Ride slated for September 13

This will be a ride for small scooters (50-200cc). We will tour the small towns of Northeast Lancaster County.

Meet Saturday, September 13 between 10:30 and 11am at the Sunoco Station in Lancaster City at the intersection of Orange and Water Streets

It is recommended that you arrive early and enjoy the many local restaurants or markets for a big breakfast. And top off your scooter's gas tank also.

The ride will terminate at the same location, by which time the Wheels Weekend event should be in full swing.

If you have a larger scooter, and are looking for a ride that day, check out the 6th Annual New Holland Fall Scooter Rally

6th Annual New Holland Fall Rally

BurgmanUSA.com has posted details about the Fall Rally In New Holland. Please note that this is a Maxi scooter rally, and they limit participation in their rides to scooters 200cc or higher. Suzuki Burgmans come in 400cc or 650cc. Riders buy them for their power. Having to watch out for 150cc scooters on one of their rides is like when you were 16 and your mom told you that you could go to the mall with your friends only if you took your 10-year-old brother.

If you plan on going out to participate or just to gawk at the big scooters, note their schedule. They are serious about punctuality.

There is going to be a lot of bikes out on the roads the weekend of September 13-14. That is also the weekend of the Wheels...Wheels...Wheels event and the Barnstorm Weekend motorcycle rally. For those who like to "Live Fast, Scoot Slow", keep checking in here... there is a 50cc-friendly ride being planned for that weekend too.

Meltdown 2008 Coming!

Three Mile Island Scooter Club's annual rally, Meltdown, is coming up the weekend of August 22-24. Click here for more information. The rally is in Camp Hill, Cumberland County.

Spontaneous Scooter Meet!

Let's meet this Sunday at 9am, at the base of the Prince Street Garage helix. We'll ride up to the Ephrata First Sunday Ride-In. Hang out, look at all the bikes and scooters until 11, home by noon.

I've made this trip before on my 50cc scooter. I'll bring maps to hand out at the start. We'll pass 2 covered bridges and travel winding country lanes. It's a beautiful ride. Here's the route:

View Larger Map

If you are going to meet us at the garage, do me a favor, leave a comment using the link below. It will generate excitement and give me an idea how many maps to bring. But pre-registration is not required. Just show up at the helix, or meet us up there!

Scooters to Motards

This past Sunday was the last Ephrata First Sunday Motorcycle Rally of the year. But when they start up again in March, I urge you to go. It's held at the American Legion in Ephrata on the morning of the first Sunday of each month, March to November. They have coffee, muffins and danish for sale, but other than that, it just about people bringing their motorcycles to show off. I have never seen a ride-in that was so accepting of all types of motorcycles.

There were Harleys, of course, but also sport bikes, motards, antiques, trikes, tourers, choppers and a couple Piaggio, Honda and Suzuki maxi scooters. The riders wandered around taking pictures and striking up conversations about the wide variety of bikes. People of all ages were genuinely interested in all of the styles, not just sticking to their own segregated groups. Even my little cruiser got some looks. Its 650cc single made it unique enough to warrant some questions and a photo.

I think a lot of people were looking to decide what their next bike would be. I know I was. You can see more styles here than at any dealer. And see a variety of add-ons. I saw a yellow Kawasaki from Delaware with hard bags and a GPS unit. The Burgman 400s had radios built-in. A local man, Colin, with a green Triumph Tiger gave me a lot of good information.

If you truly like motocycles of any kind, this monthly rally is like a candy store.

Maxi Meet

I rode up to check out the 4th Annual PA Scooter Meet as they stopped for breakfast at the Shady Maple Smorgasbord. The event was organized by members of BurgmanUSA, so it wasn't a surprise that the gathering was dominated by Suzuki Burgmans. It was intersting to see how these bikes, which already have pretty strong styling, had been customized by their owners. The photo to the right is of my favorite.

There were a few other brands there as well... a Yamaha Morphos, a Honda Silverwing and Big Rukus, a cool orange Kymco.

4th Annual PA Scooter Meet

The 4th Annual PA Scooter Meet will occur on the weekend of September 14-16, 2007, in New Holland. This information came from the BurgmanUSA forum, so the rally will most likely feature maxi scooters. The Burgman is a model of scooter made by Suzuki in 400cc and 650cc sizes. They are definitely the top of the scooter food chain. But when the big dogs are having a party in your neighborhood, the little dogs can't help but sneak around for a peek. I'm planning to ride up to New Holland that that weekend and check it out. Wouldn't it be fun to fill New Holland with scooters?