Scoottoronto Updates: What’s planned for 2021

2020 was not a good year.

This statement might be slightly more obvious than ones like “Fire is hot” and “Manure probably isn’t a good idea for cologne.”

Motorcycle events – cancelled. Travel was curtailed. Places we’d normally ride to – closed. We had to cancel our Junk Run event.

And that’s just looking at things from a scooter rider perspective – we all know the human costs of 2020, COVID-19, and the political chaos in the US.

2021 – or so we hope.

But, though it may be a slow recovery and return to something at least approaching normal – we have at least hopeful signs. Vaccines being rolled out – and hope that maybe, just maybe we will get to a place where we aren’t bunkered down, waiting for the world to get better.

It’s still early days – but there’s hope we might be able to do *something* if things improve enough that we can do more than a ride around the countryside. Though it’s likely to be months – certainly well past the winter and the COVID-19 spike that is underway – before we know just what will be open, and when.

But we can at least have hope that *maybe* by August/September, things will be improving and we can get out for more than a socially distant day trip. Here’s what we know about our plans, and things in general for 2021 – subject of course to *many* potential updates over the next several months.

Shh. Your scooter is sleeping. Try and keep the Vroom Vroom noises down until the spring.

According to the MMIC (Motorcycle and Moped Industry Council) website 2021 shows are cancelled – unsurprisingly given many of them run in the winter and early spring when we’ll still be fighting a COVID-19 spike and the vaccine’s have barely rolled out. (And those vaccines being still uncertain when they needed to start planning those shows.)

Press Releases Archive – MMIC

Toronto, November 2nd:  Power Sport Services (PSS) today announced that they will not proceed with their six show Canadian Motorcycle Shows circuit in 2021. Robert Ramsay, President of PSS stated that over the last 6-months, the team at Power Sport Services has been working actively, with our venues and suppliers, as well as the Canadian Association of Exposition Management, to find a safe and viable way to produce the 2021 Motorcycle Show tour.

Unfortunately, despite these great efforts, due to ongoing health and safety concerns surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic, Power Sport Services made the difficult decision to cancel the six shows of the 2021 Motorcycle Show tour.  The shows that will be impacted are:

  • Calgary Motorcycle Show – January 8-10, 2021
  • Edmonton Motorcycle Show – January 15-17, 2021
  • Vancouver Motorcycle Show – January 22-24, 2021
  • Quebec City Motorcycle Show – February 5-7, 2021
  • Toronto Motorcycle Show – February 19-21, 2021
  • Montreal Motorcycle Show – February 26-28, 2021″

You can find the rest of the press release at https://www.mmic.ca/press-releases/

CVMG has it’s 2021 CVMG National Rally listed as happening on June 18th, 2021 in Paris, Ontario. But given the unknowns, we may have to take any spring/early summer dates with a certain degree of skepticism – but hopefully it’ll be safe to attend. (Especially since this is a worthwhile event to go to for anyone interested in motorcycles, scooters and mopeds)

#TheMotoSocial has announced they will be back in 2021, though they do say they are on pause globally due to COVID. (Auckland, NZ being the one exception to this.) However, as soon as attendance restrictions on events are lifted they plan to hold events again – so the Toronto Moto Social meetups will resume likely late summer or fall – depending on how things go. (Personally I’m eagerly looking forward to attending their next MotoSocialCamp event)

The Distinguished Gentleman’s ride did a solo ride event for charity in 2021, and they are still working on their plans for 2021. You can find out more about their plans at https://www.gentlemansride.com/rides/canada/toronto

As for us – we *might* try for a scaled down Junk Run in late August, or September. All depending on how things go. We are also loosely planning on a minivan camper/scooter adventure (hopefully) in August, if things are opening up enough. (That may be a last minute decision.)

This summer we hope to do a solo ride celebrating the MBSR rally and the legacy of scooter madness.

We’ll be doing some solo rides as well – socially distant of course – and may do one celebrating the Mad Bastard Scooter Rally – a recreation of part/most of the route of one of the rallies on our scooters. Because we miss that event, and it deserves a bit of a celebration – even if it cannot be as mad as the real thing was.

For the Scoottoronto Blog/magazine/thing that we occasionally toss articles at to see what sticks to the wall – we may be looking at doing more interviews, and *maybe* adding some guest content now and then.

Certainly we’d like to get suggestions – if you have someone who you think might be interested for us to interview, or have a story you’d like to tell with us about scooter/mopeds or smaller CC motorcycle adventures – do let us know.

We’re hoping the dumpster fire that was 2020 is on it’s way to being put out, and maybe – just maybe – 2021 won’t end up being quite the same heap of hot flaming trash.

We can but hope and do what we can do make it so – safely, and together with our two wheeled rider compatriots.

Let’s hope we see you on the road this year.

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