SLAUGHTERHOUSE 23

AUGUST 31 – SEPTEMBER 3, 2017
CHICAGO, IL, USA

Chicago's oldest, best (and only) scooter rally is back for its 23rd year! Join old and new scooter friends in Chicago on Labor Day weekend for a weekend of riding, eating, drinking, and visiting some old favorites and new surprises.

Pre-registration is not required, but please help us plan by checking in on facebook:

SLAUGHTERHOUSE 23 on Facebook.

More info will be posted there (and here) as it's available.

If you have questions, please get hold of us at rally@slaughterhousechicago.com.

Itinerary:

Thursday Aug 31:

8pm Meet/Greet at Archie's Iowa Rockwell Tavern (2600 W Iowa St.). Cheese balls at the #1 Hamm's Bar in Chicago! Get registered and ready to roll, have a drink, play some pool, see your friends.

Friday Sept 1

SPONSORED BY MAYDAY SC:

7pm Meet/Greet/Registration at Bottom Lounge (1375 W Lake St.) If you want food, they haz it. And beer. And rum. And Bobby Orr Power Play pinball. Feel the Rythym DJs will spin classic soulful reggae!

10pm Night ride through downtown Chicago. Because you know you hate tourist traffic, and they all go to bed at 9pm.

Midnight-ish: Ride arrives at Delilah's (2771 N Lincoln Ave). Punk rock dive bar with world-class whiskey and beer selections. Or shitty beer, if that's your thing.

Saturday Sept 2:

10am Breakfast at ACME Cycle Chicago, (NEW ADDRESS: 5035 W Belmont Ave.)

11am Ride ride ride! Listen for instructions, and mind the red-light cameras.

2pm Ride ends at Motoworks Chicago (1901 S Western Ave). There'll be food! Sadly, there's no gymkhana this year, but 2strokebuzz has organized something MUCH SAFER to replace it.

8pm Dance party at The Continental (2801 W Chicago Ave.). Do you like bars that are black inside and open til 5am? We are planning a silent raffle like last year, just before midnight. (Somewhere, Pittsburgh Paul is crying.)

Sunday Sept 3:

10am Beach Brunch Bash! Ride on up to scenic Pratt Beach (aka Tobey Prinz Beach Park) (1045 W Pratt Ave.) for bagels, donuts, and coffee. Enjoy Chicago's beautiful lakefront (and pop around the corner at 11 to pick up a few more cold ones to help shake off Saturday night's festivities). Depending on interest - and severity of hangovers - we may do a small group ride up through the North Shore suburbs to look at/give the middle finger to the huge mansions that line Sheridan Rd.

Registration

You MUST register (including signing the waiver) and wear your wristband at all times to participate in group rides, games, meals, and most events.

$20 registration gets you a goodie bag, an embroidered patch, generally some meals (tbd), maybe a t-shirt (tbd) and your wristband. There is no pre-registration (until the pre-party on Thursday night) so please register as soon as you arrive. (The earlier you register, the more swag you get.) Extra patches (old and new) will be available for sale. We'll hopefully be able to accept credit cards for registration and merchandise, but bring cash to be safe.

Visitors/Spectators

Visitors and spectators are welcome to check out the scene (at their own risk), but anyone who hasn't registered and signed the waiver is not a participant in the rally and may not participate in rides, games, meals, etc.

Kids are welcome (with guardian) at most daytime events, but most evening venues are 21+ Email any specific questions, or check with the venue.

More Information

Schedule

All times subject to "scooter time," and weather but we'll make all efforts to stay on schedule so please arrive early (and gassed-up!) for rides and other events. Check the facebook page for last-minute schedule changes and announcements. Please listen closely to the ride leaders for ride instructions. All riders in group rides must register for the rally and sign the liability waiver.

Lodging

It's Chicago, it's Labor Day weekend. Make plans soon. If you need suggestions or advice, the Facebook group or AirBnB can help. Events this year will be spread out around the city (and nearby suburbs) a bit more than usual, so take that into account.

Riding

Please familiarize yourself with these Motorcycle Safety Foundation guidelines for group riding, Illinois motorcycle laws and Chicago scooter parking laws. Note that all motorscooters including 50cc models ARE considered motorcycles in Illinois and must follow all motorcycle laws. Pay close attention to pre-ride directions about blocking, formations, and regrouping locations. Please do not attempt to be 'helpful' with vigilante blocking. Seriously. please. NO. We will do our best to keep the group together, provide clear directions and route/contact info, and offer help to breakdowns. If you do break down or get lost, just stop somewhere safe, get out of traffic, and call the help numbers printed in the rally booklet. We'll send someone to help, or give you directions to the next checkpoint.

Rides will be held at "scooter speeds," Motormocyclez, mopeds, etc. are welcome if you can safely keep our pace. Shouldnt be too much of an issue in city traffic.

Safety

There is no helmet law for adults in Chicago, but we think brains are sexy, so we wear helmets and we hope you will, too. Eye protection IS mandatory. You must possess a current license appropriate to your scooter in the state of your current residence. Your scooter should have an up-to-date title, plates, and insurance. All lights, brakes, mirrors and other required equipment should be working properly. The temperature/weather can be (and usually is) all over the place, bring appropriate gear. An armored jacket, riding gloves and reasonably-safe closed-toe leather shoes are very highly recommended. If you're wearing flip-flops for a 2-hour group ride on city streets, we WILL make fun of you.

The small but ridiculously important type: This rally is organized by a loosely-knit and ever-changing group of volunteers who do it for your enjoyment in the spirit of the long tradition of reciprocal hospitality across the worldwide scooter culture. Please understand that the individual organizers, sponsors, and venues accept no liability for damage, theft, loss, or injury on behalf of the rally. By signing the waiver and participating in this event, you've chosen to accept accountability for any risks incurred. If you do not sign the waiver, you are not a participant in the rally.

Ride responsibly! There's a time and place for a bit of goodnatured jackassery and we respect that. We're adults. But riding/driving drunk or under the influence of drugs, violating the rules of the road, endagering other riders, pedestrians or drivers, and/or vandalizing property will annul your participation in the rally an you will be asked to leave and/or be reported to the police. If you're going to drink, remember that one in three Chicagoans is an Uber or Lyft driver and there are 12,000 rideshare vehicles within a mile of you at all times. We can help get your scooter locked up somewhere safe, and get you home safely.

One more thing: Feeling left out? Feeling DIFFERENT? Scootering is full of subcultures and inside jokes. A lot of us have been friends for decades, and yeah, it gets a little clique-y. Please don't take that personally, we're glad you're here, we're all insecure introverts, some of us just manifest that by being obnoxious extroverts. Whatever our differences, we all love scooters, so we can get along. If you wanna make some friends, offer to help out with something, that almost always works!