Hold on there, launch time has been rescheduled ...

Did we say that Straight Jacket class pre-registration would commence as of 00:01 AM on the morning of April 1st?

Can we claim that as an April Fool's joke? No?

Okay, apologies but we haven't-quite-but-almost-have-it-but-not-quite done the Registration form. We are really almost there but we don't want to post it prematurely and have it all go horribly wrong. As we know from bitter experience, premature posting can be very embarrassing.

So we're going to move that time to 12:01 PM (still on April 1st) and pretend that that's what we meant in the first place.

Seamless really.

Apologies to anyone logging in at 00:01 AM ...

Pre-registration for the madness starts on April 1st!

We've been doing some thinking (painful but necessary) on the registration process and have decided to adapt it slightly into a two stage process.

The existing wave of openings for the different classes as outlined on the registration page still applies but will now be seen as an application to partake in the rally, not the actual registration.

As of 00:01 AM EST on the day specified for each class (starting April 1 for the Straight Jacket class), rallyists will be invited to fill in their basic details but will not be forwarded to a payment page.

Please note, that any applications dated before the specified time for their particular class will not be processed.

Instead, once we've given enough time for the applications to be completed (that's April 6th BTW) we will send email invitations to all the successful applicants with a link to the payment page to secure their spots. As soon as payment is received, then the spot is secure.

As of April 13th, any remaining spots or spots for which payment has not been received, will be offered to any non-successful applicants before being put up for grabs to all and sundry on a first come, first served basis.

Long shadow, long day.

With the 2009 Mad Bastard Scooter Rally now less than three months away we thought it was about time that we got our collective arses in gear and not only issued an update, but launched our new site to boot.

So welcome to the new Mad Bastard site!

As you'll notice from the main menu above we have lots of sections for you to peruse.

If you're eager to get registered for the 2009 rally then you'll have to wait a few days as the registration is not open until April 1st (we thought it a very suitable date).

However, due to the large amount of interest in the rally we will have to place some restrictions on the registration process – more info on this is available on the Registration Page.

Your admin team.

Otherwise, take a look at the Forum and post on anything that interests you. Just be sure that if you're asking a question to check out the FAQ section first as the answer may well be there.

This year we've decided against giving away a rough route in advance of the rally but we will give some details as to how long it is and what you might expect to have to deal with along the way. We've also selected the rally hotel, which we're very happy about. But of course, you can read all about that in the hotel section!

Finally a huge thank you to our main sponsor this year - KYMCO Canada! KYMCO are simply mad about the Mad Bastard and have taken the massive step this year of becoming the sole sponsor of the rally. In doing so they have ensured that the 2009 rally will be bigger, better and (if I get my way) madder than before.

So there we have it. The countdown to the 2009 Mad Bastard Scooter Rally has begun. Get your scooter ready, your mad head on and we'll see you in Ottawa on Friday 12th June.

Cheers, Rob Harris

P.S. We'll be updating the site regularly from now on with snippets and any thoughts from me posted on this blog page, so be sure to check back regularly.