MANKATO — If, during some bitterly cold day this winter, you see one or more scooters motoring down some Mankato road, do not pity them.

Well, maybe a little pity wouldn’t hurt. But they won’t put their Vespas and Lambrettas in storage simply on account of subzero temps.

At least two Mankato riders are looking to win a blog’s contest to see who can ride for 10 miles in the coldest temperature. Last year’s winner hailed from Ithaca, N.Y., and rode in minus 6.5 degrees.

Peter Lundgren figures he can beat that. All he needs is some Minnesota cold and some clear pavement (riding in the cold may sounds painful, but scootering on snow or ice is asking for trouble).

What he doesn’t need is an excuse.

“I love to ride scooters,” said Lundgren, 28. “It’s what I do.”

Life before scooters is a blur. He assumes he must have talked about something, but he can’t begin to think of what it might have been.

He doesn’t even need a contest.

On Saturday, he scooted in to work (yes, he sells scooters) at Starr Cycle Yamaha. He has five scooters (one doesn’t run) and this time he chose a Lambretta, which can do 70 mph.

You see, Lundgren loves his scooters too much to hang them up for six months. He tries to get out at least once a month, every month.

And when he massages his scooter to life one bitingly cold day this winter, Reggie Williams will probably go riding with him.

But the difference between the two is that once Williams is done for the day, he’ll hang it up and wait for the trees to start budding.

“I don’t have the heart for the cold-weather ride like I used to,” said Williams, 50.

Even so, it only takes a few questions to determine that “hobby” is too soft a word to describe his relationship with scooters.

How many does he have?

“Thirteen ... or is it 14?” he asks. Only a half-dozen run. The others sit waiting to be assembled in boxes or waiting to be repaired ... on the living room floor.

Before catching the scooter bug, his wife barely tolerated trespasses like that.

Even though his old bones have lost their tolerance for cold weather riding, Williams still spends the winter thinking about scooters. Prowling eBay, searching for parts, thinking about ways he can modify, better known by the vernacular “pimp,” his scooters.

Mark Lachmiller repairs and sells scooters as the owner of Quality Pawn.

“Mechanically, they can be driven in 20 to 30 degree weather,” just as snowmobiles are, said Lachmiller, a small-engine mechanic.

The scooters at Starr Cycle Yamaha are in storage (it’s ATV season) but Lachmiller says he sold two during last year’s mild winter.

For some, cheap gas is the lure. Others might crave a two-wheeled, open-air ride without the hassle of an extra license, which is only required for scooters that can go faster than 30 mph.

Lundgren doesn’t care about gas. It’s all about the ride. But there’s one topic that does seems to rub him the wrong way.

The macho thing.

The taunts (“cute scooter”) don’t even make sense to him. When he started four or five years ago, he saw scootering as a “bad dude” thing to do, a way to stick it to the man without the leather outfits or subculture associated with motorcycles.

“If they don’t understand ...,” he says, trailing off before finding the words: “Once you ride one, it all makes sense. It’s just stupid fun.”