Modern Vespa

The first-ever (AFAIK) MV-related scooter event will be held in western Wisconsin, July 17-19. Arrive Friday or Saturday, enjoy one or more rides, meals, sightseeing, fun, cheese, more riding, more fun, maybe a cookout, and perhaps a wee evening beverage or two. This is the Driftless Area of Wisconsin, and provides lots of curvy roads, small towns and a really cool road cut. This is also Amish country, which should add to the visual interest (as well as the challenge of avoiding buggies and horseapples on the road. ).

Details are still being worked out. We will be based in the small town of Sparta. Official lodging will be at the Best Western motel, though there are also opportunities for camping in the area as well a couple of nice B&Bs.

For those who don't want to ride exclusively, there is canoeing on the nearby Kickapoo river, Amish tours (formal or informal), and hiking at nearby Wildcat Mountain.

Here are two of the proposed routes:

Ontario loop: https://goo.gl/maps/1tHVL 2 1/2 hours 88 miles.

Mindoro Cut loop: https://goo.gl/maps/Bpvzj 2 hrs, 58 miles.

As this is a casual event, plans are somewhat fluid, and suggestions for making this an enjoyable event are welcome.

Last edited by fledermaus on Tue, 24 Mar 2015 22:38:01 +0000; edited 6 times

I'm definitely interested. Keep us informed as plans formalize. I loved the scootering in WI that I enjoyed during Amerivespa a few years ago.

I'm definitely interested and I'm saving the dates on the calendar. By then I should be back on my BV350. I would be coming from the Twin Cities.

Awesome. Great to have some folks coming from out of state. Will be great to get together.

Looking forward to it! I'll be vacationing during the Indy get together, so this will be the next best thing. The scenery is beautiful in that part of the state.

Just saw Amerivespa's latest FB post:

"Top 10 reasons to attend Amerivespa Indy:
3. Even your stock 50cc will be faster than the Amish."

If you miss AV, we'll have enough Amish in Wisconsin to console you.
If you make it to AV, you can have another shot at it.
If you're a bit jaded about dodging horseapples on the road, not all of the routes are well-travelled by buggies.

I just checked with Best Western in Sparta. They are holding a block of rooms at $99 until June 17th. The group name is "Wisconscoot." I checked with Expedia as well..if you're willing to take the risk, they have non-cancellable rates of $89 as well. Maybe senor citizen's rates for some of us.

If you're definitely coming, I'd like a pm or email to have an idea of how many scooters we'll have.

Dave

PM sent

Tightening up plans a bit (with thanks to Rudderpedals as advisor), we're planning on meeting at the hotel noonish on Friday, having lunch, then heading out for a long ride (approx 2 hrs), (likely the Mindoro Cut route). Dinner TBD-fish fry, anyone

Saturday we'll likely meet at breakfast, then head out for another long ride at midday. Chilling time in the afternoon, with the option of more exploring individually. Sunday morning there's one last (shorter) ride before heading home after noon/lunch.

Again, please let me know of your interest so I can be sure to keep you informed as well as have a fair head count of the group.

If you can't make it Friday afternoon, there is plenty of good riding to do on the weekend.

Will post my cell # as we get closer so you have a contact for late arrivals, emergencies, etc.

Dave

Looking forward to riding in that part of the state. Beautiful area for those interested. Perfect for taking the scooter out for a nice weekend of riding. Plus the FOOD, DRINKS and SOCIAL gathering.

Not necessarily in that order, but who cares?

Just updated the "Ontario Loop" for Saturday, as the old map went missing. https://goo.gl/maps/1tHVL

If it's too much for anyone, we can shorten it. Or, well, if it's not enough, it's a long day. We'll likely add a couple of stops along the way...lunch, ice cream....let's see.

Oh, and lodging details: Best Western: 4445 Theater Road Sparta, Wisconsin, 54656 Phone: (608) 269-2664

Count me in for your July event. I've ridden many times in WI and wonderful! Are there camping parks near-by??

Hi Russ, glad you're planning to join us! Depending on your level of camping, there are a few options. The closest seems to be Leon Valley, about 4 miles south of Sparta:
http://www.leonvalleycampground.com/home

$22 for tents, but they also have cabins starting at $50 for 4, bring your own bedding. Pretty cheap lodging if there are several people sharing. Two night minimum.

There are other options, but they're all 10 or more miles away...

Hope that helps.

Dave

Dave,

Unless the sky falls, I plan on attending on my
2013 Vespa 300ie Super. Just a question, are
most attendees riding smaller frame scooters.

I ask, because several members of my Minn-Max
Riding Group may be interested. Most of them
ride the Suzuki Burgman (either 400 or 650).
Are larger size scooters welcome? Don't be
bothered if they are not good for this ride.

I ride my Burgman 400 with the Minn-Max group.
This group is made up of Maxi Class Scooters
250cc and Up. The most popular is the 650 Burgman.

Let me know.

Thanks,

Bob Copeland - Eden Prairie Minnesota
email: rorval48@yahoo.com

Bob,

Good question. I think I'd lean toward having good folks rather than worry about what they're riding. Madison Sully's in with a 500 and I've personally invited someone with a Burgman 400 (though he also has a GTS). I think we'll leave it open to 125+ cc and see how it goes. Can always tweak things in the future.

Not sure what the "typical" scooter is at this point. I'm guessing a few 150s, more 250-300s and a few larger ones, 400-500 cc.

Hope that helps.

Dave

Thanks Dave,

I will make a reservation at the Hotel. I may come
down to Sparta Thursday. Otherwise, I would have
to push to hard covering the 187 miles from Minneapolis
to arrive in time for the Friday noon meet up. I will
be riding my 2013 Vespa 300ie Super (Red).

Background:

I have been riding with my scooter group for the last
12 years. Minn-Max of Minnesota. I am currently one
of the Ride Coordinators for my group. I also ride a
2007 Suzuki Burgman 400AN.

Looking forward to group riding with you.

Bob Copeland
email: rorval48@yahoo.com

I am also planning on coming from St Paul on my Vespa GTS 300 Super Sport. I may bring a few of my fellow Hecks Angels along

The more, the merrier

Wonderful. I wonder though, with the arrival of the Hecks Angels if we need to notify the authorities.

BTW, I'll try to keep folks updated here, but also keeping an email list just in case. If anyone wants to be on that, drop me an email with their address.

I think around May or so I'll try to get a tentative head count just to help with logistics. In the meantime, I appreciate those who can commit....not written in blood or anything. FWIW.

Dave,

Kraig Jones and (self) Bob Copeland are formally
RSVP'ing. We have a double room reserved out
of your block at the Best Western Sparta. I will
be riding my Vespa 300 Sport, Kraig will be riding
his Piaggio 350.

We will represent the Minn-Max Scooter Riding
Group from the Twin Cities. Kraig also regularly
rides with the Hecky's Angels.

Bob Copeland
Eden Prairie, MN
email: rorval48@yahoo.com

I'm in, reservation made. Look forward to the meetup!

Awesome....glad you're all coming!

Just checked with the hotel. Didn't reserve a lot of rooms (started with 6), but apparently can expand that number if needed. Hopefully they can expand to accommodate everyone. Currently it's about $20 more outside of the Wisconscoot group.

Hi my friend and I are part of the min-max group and I just got thru with motel reservations for Jly 16,17,&18 . Probably be traveling down with Bob Copeland thursday. Tim Greiner and Rick Vondemkamp

Great! We're growing.

Looks like Minnesota is well-represented already.

Dave,

Your ride is becoming popular among my Scooter
Riding Group. I am sure will find us friendly, easy
going, and thrilled to be attending.

To extend the fun, we are taking Thursday Off and
riding the back roads to Sparta from the Twin Cities.
So, we will be in Thursday night at the Best Western
and see you Friday at noon.

Attending:

Bob Copeland, Vespa 300 Sport
Kraig Jones, Piaggio BV350
Rick Vondemkamp, Scarabeo 500
Tim Greiner, Burgman 650

You may want to secure more rooms in your Wisconsccot
Block. We have taken 2 rooms Thursday - Saturday.

Bob Copeland

You didn't say a word about being well-behaved, though, Bob.

Looking forward to meeting and riding with all of you. Will be a fun weekend.

Wisconscoot remains on my calendar. Logistics are not finalized yet but I still plan to make the event. It just sounds like it will be fun, so I will make it into a mid summer adventure. Nothing beats a long ride on two wheels.

WLeuthold

Hey Man, are you riding all the way from Flordia?
You need some kind of award.

Bob c

We'll have to work on that. Complementary cheese curds for starters.

No award needed.

Luckily, I have been offered two choices of scooters to borrow in Wisconsin. So depending on available time, I could ride Razzo up and back, taking three days each way. I could go straight to Sparta and ride it the entire time. Or ride my Honda NC, taking two. Or fly in hours. That order represents my preference, but we will see how it turns out.

Dang it my wife and I are in Madison. I recently purchased her a GTS 300. Problem is I have a full sized motorcycle, Honda Valkyrie. If that isn't a problem we would be making reservations. If not, well completely understand. We are from Texas and up here with my work for several months. Not many rally's up here that we've found anyway. She doesn't fit in the motorcycle rally and I don't fit in the scoot rally. lol At least on the motorcycle rally's she can ride on the back of mine. We did the Geneva one last yr. but I was able to rent a Vespa for that.

You know, I'd thought about that. We're not (particularly) prejudiced AFAIK. It's a fairly diverse group already. I guess we could say that if a scooterist invites you, you're in. You might get a bit of good-natured kidding as the token biker, but it's the risk you take.

I don't see any downside...let's say we're good for now...if anyone has any legitimate problems to consider, I'm all ears.

Dave and Rattler60,

Our Minn-Max Scooter group has had motorcycles
on our rides on numerous occasions. It is usually
a friend or someone in the group that also owns
a motorcycle.

Due to the noise difference, we usually ask them
to ride toward the back of the pack. Hey, we have
even had the motorcycle lead the ride.

Bob Copeland
Minnesota

Thanks for the input, Bob. Sounds like a reasonable compromise.

BTW, just wondering about potential liability issues. As this is an informal gathering I'm thinking I don't need to be concerned. OTOH, for those who've had more experience, am I missing anything?

Dave now that you got the cc upgrade you planning on riding the scoot to Sparta? I know I'll be riding mine there. Booked my room last week. If anybody is on the fence you will love that part of the state.

It's looking that way. Someone's gotta keep an eye on you.

Dave,

Our Minn-Max Group has no dues or membership
requirements. This is specifically designed to avoid
liability to any entity. Everyone rides at their own
risk.

The same applies to your informal meet up and ride.
Everyone rides at their own risk. I am not an attorney.
I am an insurance agent. If a member of the group
ride, or a stranger, runs me off the road or hits me,
the liability is only between the two of us.

I will bring copies of the safe group riding handout.
Additionally, you would have a pre-ride meeting and
mention at that time "everyone is riding at their own
risk".

Just posting this email advises, you ride at your own
risk.

Bob C

Our scooter club has been on at least 50,000 miles of group rides since 2009. We have had only one incident where two scooters hit and went down. One of those was on a first ride. They both got up and back on the scooters and completed the ride. It was bad, but we were lucky that they weren't hurt. It doesn't mean that we are immune to issues, but we do ride well together.

I am pleased to hear that having no dues and membership removes liability in he rides. We comply with both but not for that reason. It just feels natural for us to do it that way.

Messing around with setting up a Facebook page for the ride. If you're on FB, may want to check it out.

https://www.facebook.com/events/1084775351539133/

I wasn't quite expecting such an enthusiastic response.... as of today, we have 17 riders!

I'd given a conservative estimate for the room block, just asked them for a couple more rooms. Just FYI, there are only a few rooms left at the lower rate...so if you're not in yet, you might want to book sooner than later.

Really looking forward to this. It should be a great time.