We went riding Sunday and had some fun...

Take a look at this picture of the Toys for Tots ride last weekend...

This is one of the pictures from Tallahassee.com. Notice anything?

Here's a question I posted on ActualRiders.com

I've sort of kicked around the idea of maybe eventually, possibly moving up to a motorcycle in the far, far distant future. But I can't get a straight answer about a very simple question. Anyway, here is my post from Actual Riders, feel free to comment:


If you read my intro, you know I may be looking into buying a motorcycle in the somewhat near future. The thing is, trying to get an unbiased opinion is hard to do in the bike shops. Most of what they say is exactly the wrong thing to say to me. It seems that everyone but me wants to go 150mph in 4 seconds, and that is the bike that the shp people point me to.

Anyway, if you don't mind, I'd appreciate some general advice.

If I do move up, I think I'd be more than happy with a 650cc bike, like the Kawasaki KLR or the Versys or the Suzuki 500 or something similar. I think I prefer the naked bike/standard look.

So, my question is:

When is enough power, enough?

I mean, the KLR 650 does 0-60 in six seconds, according to the review I read in one of the magazines I have. I don't want to go faster! Well, I probably do, but I don't really need to go faster. According to the review, top speed on the KLR is 93mph, so it will probably cruise at 80mph with no problems. Does anyone really need more than that? Why?

Some of the reasoning I hear seems crazy to me. Besides the 'Because you can', which you can't argue but is a pretty weak argument. The one that kills me but that I hear a lot is 'Well, at 75 mph sometimes you need that extra power to get out of trouble.'

Ummm, seems to me that you shouldn't be driving that fast if you're in a situation where you can get into trouble. Sure, I completely understand that stuff happens but is that a valid point?

Anyway, thaks for trying to help a new motorcycle enthusiast out and I hope I haven't set off a fame war on my fourth post.

One last thing, if you know of a bike other than the three I listed that will top out around 100 mph and is comfortable but still pretty quick, let me know. I'll add it to my list.

Thanks again!

The pictures I posted below....

Th pictures posted below were taken and/or posted by memebers of the Tallahassee No Club Motorcycle Club. I should have made mention of that when I posted them, but I didn't.

As you can see, there were a lot of bikes there (and two scooters! Word!) The Police Department had some beautiful BMW's that I purposely didn't go check out.

The last picture of all the bikes on the road is really cool. I'm not sure how much of the actual number of bikes that were present for the ride is shown in that picture, but I don't think that is the whole line. There were a lot of motorcycles there.

Anyway, I just wanted to clarify that I didn't take those shots. I did take a few shots of some of the cooler motorcycles that were there, but the pictures haven't been sent to me. When they are, I'll definitely post them.

Tallahassee Toys for Tots Motorcycle Ride.

Tallahassee Toys for Tots Motorcycle Ride

After the week I had, I needed some scooter time!

I'm not trying to bum anyone out but let's see, my wife got pnuemonia, my 16 month old caught it and spent a day in the hospital (they are both fine) then my son got strep throat........

So, I took a couple of hours Saturday for a ride. I didn't have any particular place to go but after a few miles riding, I decided it would be a good time to go find some gloves. Plus, this would give me an excuse to go look at the Yamaha FJR1300whateveritis, which is an absolutely beautiful sport touring motorcycle. Which I do not need. Which gets half the MPG I get on my scooter. Which costs three times what my Kymco cost. Which has more power than I'd ever need but would be too tempted to not use.

Anyway. Here is what the motorcycle looks like. And, no, I'm not getting one.

So, I'm riding up to the Yamaha dealer when I see a Scarabeo leaving. A friend, John of Combat Scoot fame, who I haven't seen in a few months rides a Scarabeo and as soon as I saw his rider, his four year old son, Tal, I knew it was him. So I honked the horn and he waved as he pulled out into traffic and kept going. I was in the turn lane and there was approximately 458 cars that were going by before I could turn onto the road. I decided to see if I could catch up and passed by the Yamaha Dealer, which is probably a good thing, huh?

Anyway, he had pulled into the turn lane and I pulled in beside him and we chatted for a bit before the light turned green. John was headed to the other motorcycle shop so I decided to follow. I really enjoy riding with someone else and John led a good ride through some nice neighborhoods before we pulled into Florida Powersports, on Capital Circle NE.

This is also a bad, bad place for me since they also have some absolutely beautiful bikes, such as this one, which also brings the same points as the FJR.

Anyway.

They did have gloves for sale but I didn't feel like paying $75 so after talking to John and Tal a bit more, I headed over to All About Scooters, where I found a nice pair of plain leather(ish) gloves for a reasonably $25. They were just what the doctor ordered and very comfortable on the ride home.

I may have some interesting news to report soon so stay tuned.

Wow, Mickey Rourke rides a Vespa!

Too bad he rides it while drunk. And man, has aging really messed him up or what?

Mickey Rourke gets a DUI on a Vespa.

I'm looking forward to the Scooter Event in Saint Augustine...

I pitched it as a quick trip for the family and my wife thought it would be fun so I'll ride down on my scooter and she'll drive down in the HHR with the kids. Sounds like fun to me.

In other news, the weather isabsolutely perfect outside right now. If I could find somewhere with weather like this year round, I'd move in a heartbeat.

I'm planning on riding somewhere this Sunday, maybe up to Lake Seminole or east to Greenville, just for kicks.

Anyone want to go?

Scooter Event in Saint Augustine!

FIRST ANNUAL ANCIENT CITY SCOOTER RALLY
Solano Cycle is sponsoring the FIRST ANNUAL ANCIENT CITY SCOOTER
RALLY. The rally will include food, scavenger hunt, scooter vendors,
giveaways, silent auction, and a scooter ride.

Saturday, November 3, 2007, from 11AM-5 PM, weather permitting.
This rally is a benefit event for BETTY GRIFFIN HOUSE, a shelter
for abused women and their minor children.

Carabas Italian Grill is catering the event, free of charge!! Great
Eats!!
Free Tee shirts, too!!

St. Augustine is the oldest permanent European settlement in the USA.
It is a super place to just look around, even better if you have a
camera. It is a scooter friendly city, with narrow streets, and
reasonable traffic. I like it, that's why I've been here for 60
years!

Visit www.solanocycle.com, or call 904-825-6766 for registration or
information. If that doesn't do it, contact me, and I'll find out.
swampsniper2000@yahoo.com


Tim and I both want to go. We are trying to figure out a way to get there without going on the interstate, so a 150cc scooter may be able to go with us. So, if you may want to go, go vote on the forum and show some interest!

So, I went geocaching on my scooter....

And even remembered to take the camera. I decided to return to a cache I had tried to find a long time ago, back when I had only found a few caches. I didn't find it that day, ending up 400 feet away from the cache and with no apparent path to get me closer to it, I gave up.

This is the entrance to the park. The park is huge. And today it was huge, hot and extremely muggy.



Can you see the little x on the left side of the map? I was there, so you can see how huge the park is. You'll have to trust me that the park was also hot and muggy.














This was one of the nice shaded paths I took on the way to the cache. Too bad it wasn't the right path, but you can't really blame the path, can you? This park has a lot of diverse scenery.


These are your choices for getting around the park. I was hiking...or walking and sweating really bad.

Well, I managed to basically retrace my steps and wound up 400 feet away from the cache and I didn't feel like bushwhacking that far so after doing some checking to see if the path suddenly turned towards the cache (it didn't) I decided to try another nearby cache.

Now, if you have never cached before, most caches are hidden in, behind or even under something. Nothing is allowed to be buried (technically) so basically, you can sort of gravitate towards the area the cache is going to be. Like a tree, a pile of sticks, a stump, a fence, a WalMart lamp post, etc.

Anyway, I headed to the cache, 'You've got to be kidding me' and even before I made it to 'ground zero', the cache location, I figured I was in trouble. You see, people that hide caches like to use the name of the cache as a hint. Or warning. So, a cache with this name had me wondering how bad it was going to be.

So, this is what I saw when I got to ground zero:



That's not the actual meadow, but you get the idea. Absolutely nothing that could hide a cache. The cache is somewhere in that grass. It is a nanocache, which means it is molecular in size. The grass was also knee high. Absolutely impossible to find unless I spent hours and hours looking for it.

So, after twenty minutes searching in the hot and muggy day, I gave up. I'm getting bummed out.

Luckily, there is yet another cache near by. It's also termed 'kid friendly' so that means I may have a slight chance of finding it.

Eggo my lego is an excellent cache in a beautiful wooded shady area of the park. It was also easier to find. But it is a great cache, so go find it. Then walk around in a huge field looking for a cache the size of a penny. In the middle of a very hot and muggy day. Then ask yourself why you are doing that :)

Seriously though, Alford Arm and the caches there are very nice and I'll be back (again) to find those remaining caches.

Next on the list was St. Mark's Trail Head cache, which is the first of six caches that when found will give a code for a final bonus cache. I had thought of putting some caches on this treail but never got around to it so I'm glad to see someone do it. I found the cache easily and took some pictures at the trail head.

The nice paved parking lot at the St. Mark's Trail head.


Nice of them to provide scooter parking, huh?

Next, I found Life, Duty, Honor, Country, a cache near the really cool Korean War Memorial here in town. It replaces a cache that had fallen victim to the thirty pound rock it was sitting under but the new cache ought to be ok. While there, Dash, a fellow cacher, showed up so we found it together and then headed over to the nearby Prime Meridian Cache. This was a very cool cache, since there is so much history in this tiny site. Read the info on the cache page, it is really interesting.

I haven't been able to ride all week...

Nor was I able to ride last weekend so I am definitely going to ride somewhere tomorrow. Maybe to scout out my next camping trip and to do a little geocaching at the same time. That ought to keep me occupied for most of the morning...

Seriously, what the heck?!

Found on the
Scootgirl.com site.

I've gotten into a bad habit on the People....

Since it has a wind screen, and since my face shield is scratched from when it dropped off the seat, I have sort of stopped wearing the face shield down. The shield deflects wind and bugs (mostly) over my head.

However, on the trip to Lake Seminole (which was a lot closer than I thought) out of the approximately 8 million love bugs that either splattered on the windshield or were deflected over my head, a few did splat right on my helmet.

Thsnkfully, I realized that riding out of town meant that the chance of bugs hitting me in the face was a lot higher, so I had the shield down. Some of the bugs were quite juicy, for lack of a better word, which was sort of nasty.

I dont think I'd ever enjoy the bugs in the teeth part of being a rebel biker.

I-10 on my scooter? No problem!

I woke up Sunday morning and got ready to go meet up with whoever from the No Club that was going to ride. Heading out of Killearn, I realized that if I went the long way, I may be a bit late. So, seeing as it was 7:30 am on a foggy Sunday morning, I thought about taking I-10.

It would only be a short run, taking the next exit, but still, the People is a pretty light scooter and I-10 is pretty mangled from the expansion work. However, the expansion work does keep traffic a bit slower.

So, as I approached I-10, I only saw two cars cross over the overpass so I pulled onto the on ramp. Yes, I had a big grin on my face and a tight pucker on the seat of the Kymco.

There were two cars ahead of me as they soon merged onto the Interstate, then it was my turn.

There was no traffic at all, I only got passed by one car. It was actually a nice ride. Sunday morning was cool and very foggy. I even opened up my heater vents and they put out a little warmth for my knees.

A few minutes later, I took the exit and then headed north on Monroe and quickly made it to the meeting spot at Hardees. Pulling in, I saw two big cruisers and pulled up next to them.

We said our hellos and talked bikes and scooters for a few minutes to see if anyone was going to join us. Noone did so we headed out.

I wish I could tell you how we got to Wingate's, but all I know is we took some really nice back roads and had some really nice scenery on the way. Soon we pulled up to Wingate's and went inside for a nice old style breakfast (but get the grits instead of the hash browns) and plenty of stories.

I'm horrible with names but the two guys were a few years older than me so I shut up and listened and thoroughly enjoyed the stories. After a long while, we paid up and headed back to Tallahassee.

It was a lot of fun and I'm glad I joined the club (especially since the normal scooter guys haven't been up for a ride lately....) and I must say my Kymco did just fine with the two Honda 1200 and 1300 cc motorcycles. But, they absolutely sounded better.

Can I get twin pipes on my Kymco?

This is the ride Im going on tomorrow...

Reminder from: No_Club Yahoo! Group

Title: Breakfast Run & Winuhfuhgahwee Ride

Date: Sunday September 23, 2007
Time: 8:00 am - 11:00 am
Location: Hardee's
Notes: Assembly Point: Hardee's, on N. Monroe. (Just past Capital Circle, in the PUBLIX parking lot)

Destination: Wingate's, for breakfast.

Kickstands Up: 8:00 a.m.

After breakfast there'll be a spin through the piney backwoods back to Tallahassee. Should be fun. It'll be a lot more fun if you're there! Knock the cobwebs offa that scoot and saddle up! ALL RIDERS WELCOME.

So, if you want to join us, meet up at Hardee's! See you there!

About that ride we are sort of planning for this weekend...

My 3 year old has his first soccer game (and I'm the Coach) Saturday, so I will find somewhere to go riding on Sunday morning. There is a ride scheduled for the No Club motorcycle group, of which we are invited, so we could do that or we could ride to Greenville. Or Havana. Or just about anywhere in the area.

So, if you are interested, post on the forum and lets get something set up.

Tallahassee Scooters Ride this weekend,anyone invited.

How does meeting at the McDonalds on North Monroe at 8 am sound? We can then head to Monticello or Havana. Come on guys, let's have some fun!

Last weekend's road trip and a movie

Saturday, I had a few hours to kill so I went riding. My stepdaughter and wife had seen a yellow Helix off Mahan so I rode over to take a look. Unfortunately, the business where the scooter was displayed was not open so I couldn't take a look.

So, I was on Highway 90 with at least a couple of hours to kill. What to do, what to do.

So, I was heading east on 90 and at the Publix near I-10, some idiot in an SUV on a cell phone decides to pull out in front of me. The Kymco has a nice loud horn. Doubt she cared, she was pretty intent on her cell phone jammed in her ear.

Anyway, it had been years since I had taken 90 to Monticello and it was a nice ride. A few more curves would have been nice but it was a quick run to Monticello. Once there, since my Parents live a few miles out of Monticello, I decided I couldn't ride over to Monticello and not swing by and see them, so I headed out of town to their home.

I spent an hour or two hanging out with my Dad, the FSU game was on, but it soon got time to go since it was getting late.

I headed out on Highway 19 and turned right onto 27 and rode back into town just as it got dark.

The Kymco did fine and I like that scooter more and more every time I ride it.

After my first real road trip, the next time I rode was the next day, to the No Club movie night. Tim was sort of maybe going to meet me there but when I rode up, all I saw were motorcycles...except for one blue Silverwing (I think) but it was out in the parking lot, not in the special parking area for the group, which happened to be right in front of the entrance to Beef O'Brady's.

I parked to the side of the bikes and took a quick look at them before I went in. There were a lot of cruisers, a sport bike or two, a chopper and a few standard bikes. There were some really nice bikes there. I was looking forward to talking to their owners and get a bit of information on them since I really don't know a lot about motorcycles.

I headed in and went to the back room and took a seat. It kind of sucked, though, because there were three tables completely full of the group. So, for a while I sat by myself but it was ok since I could watch football. Soon a couple came in and sat at my table and they were very nice. They also have two of the nicest looking bikes I've ever seen.

Taking a look around at the group, it was evident that they really go by the mantra of 'anyone is welcome, no drama, just ride' (yes, I paraphrased). There were some college kids, some older couples, one or two true biker looking types and a table of young tatted rocker types. This group is my kind of group, I think. Unless they cruise over 60mph...that is. I am on a scooter, you know.

Anyway, the movie, 'Wild Hogs' soon started and it was pretty good, fairly goofy and enjoyable.

I was hoping to be able to take a longer look at the bikes after the movie but everyone left pretty quickly and I headed home. Two of the group headed out with me for most of my ride home.

All in all, quite a nice weekend

Scooter/Motorcycle movie night tonight!

WILD HOGS Ride-in at Beef O’Bradys!

Sponsored by the NO CLUB Independent Riders Group
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/No_Club

Join other riders at Beef O’Brady’s on Thomasville Road for a night of great food and fun on Sunday, September 9th! Around 6pm we’ll fire up the very funny motorcycle buddy movie, “Wild Hogs”. If you haven’t seen it you’re in for a treat. If you have seen it, well, once just ain’t enough!

Beef’s is reserving their back room for riders and some parking space for our motorcycles right out front too. We can seat about 60 people in the back room, so get there early. There are several TVs in the room so you’ll get a good view no matter where you sit.

Ride in with your friends, enjoy Beef O’Brady’s excellent chow, and have a great night out with your friends and fellow riders. All riders are welcome.

NO CLUB = No drama, no politics, and no attitude!

Took a ride around town Saturday...

I left home around 10:30 am and it was really humid and sticky. No matter, it was still time for a ride. Riding down Tharpe Street, it was a little misty but nothing too bad.

I had to stop for gas so I went to the station on Monroe.

Gas prices are killing me!

The Kymco at the gas pump.


So, after filling up, I headed down Monroe and turned on Gaines Street and decided to head home. But, first, I decided to head over to the FSU Stadium and take a picture or two. I read somewhere that the FSU Stadium is the largest brick building in the world. It is certainly huge, regardless.

Nice background for the Kymco.

My scoot!

Ridin' with Mr. and Mrs. Harley.

Tim and his wife and I had a nice ride yesterday out Meridian Road, into Georiga and then over to Thomasville Road back to Tallahassee. It was the first time I had the Kymco out of town and I was itching to see how it would do at 60 or 65 mph.

Short answer? WOW. Seriously, this scooter is awesome, very powerful and smooth. Compared to the Piaggio, you have to countersteer, and I sometimes think too much about it and scare myself, then quickly countersteer and head right through the corner. I've been working on the corners and some roads in town, like the new Blairstone extension and Shamrock Circle are really nice. Lots of long sweeping curves where you lean over forever and slide right around.

I did a search a few nights ago and found a motorcycle group based here in Tallahassee, named No Club. Seems they are all about the ride, without the drama or brand envy/bias you might sometimes encounter. Not to say anything about motorcycle riders, you run into that brand bias in anything. Anyway, on a lark, I joined their group and sent the head guy a short email saying I'd be interested in riding with them but I am on a scooter, a 250cc scooter, but a scooter, nonetheless. I got an email back and he said we (meaning anyone of us that wants to ride with them) are more than welcome to join. Seems they really are all about the ride.

So, I plan on meeting up with them sometime, seems like a good group.

This afternoon, I rode over to Hobbit Hoagies in Killearn to meet the fmaily for lunch. Afterwards, I was heading home and saw two beautiful Harleys ride by, just as I was suiting up to leave the Hobbit. I decided to see if I could catch them and I couldn't due to the two cars between me and the Harley's. However, finally, at the light at Killearney and Thomasville, I pulled up next to them. I was going to turn left and they were going straight across Thomasville Road. Hmmm, I pulled over and got in behind them.

Those two bikes were really spotless. They also weren't so loud your ears almost began to bleed but they did sound good, nice low rumble. The light turned green and we headed across Thomasville onto Maclay Road.

The People followed them quite nicely and it was pretty funny. I'm sure to the casual observer, I fell in quite nicely with the Harleys, but with a little less chrome and a lot less rumble.

Anyway, at Meridian, they were going right and I was taking a left to go home. I pulled up beside them and one of the riders was grinning at me. I complimented their awesome rides and the light turned green so we headed in our seperate directions.

Hmmm.......how much do Harley's cost? :)

Ok, I want to ride this weekend so let's plan something.

Ok, I'm riding this weekend, with or without other riders :) What about a nice ride to Monitcello? Or maybe somewhere west of town? Or maybe Thomasville?

It's early enough that we can all figure out somewhere to ride so start posting, people!

Wow, I'll never ever ever complain about Tallahassee traffic again.

Watch this video and then tell me how 99% of these people don't die every night. This is crazy. This video was linked on the Scootdawg forums. Take a look, it is insane!

Capital Circle? Northeast? No problem!

Well, I was out working on FSBO's (For Sale By Owner's) and stopped by All About Scooters to check on the 300 KM service and headed back to work. Reaching Park Avenue, I decided not to turn left and take the city streets.

Nope, I turned right and then took a left onto the Tallahassee Speedway, also known as Capital Circle Northeast. Ummm, it wasn't nearly as scarifying as I thought it would be (yes, I just created the word scarifying, cool word, isn't it?) The People is bigger and faster than the Piaggio 150 and cruising along at high speeds on Capital Circle was a breeze. I even passed well, a whole lot of people.

I am really loving this scooter. It is a blast to ride.

Speaking of rides, anyone up for one this weekend?

So, about the Helix I bought....

Well, if you remember, I won an auction on Ebay for a 1999 Honda Helix. I won the auction for a very good price, especially when you add the cost of the free new parts that came with the scooter; two new tires, new belt, brake pads and shoes. All Honda parts.

I spoke to the Seller by phone several times and exchanged email, also. We were trying to figure out how I was going to get the scooter and we talked about him bringing it down, if I paid for his gas both ways. I agreed and the next morning he emailed me asking for the deposit so he could bring the scooter down, since he was going out of town in three days so the sooner, the better. He had almost 700 feedbacks on Ebay so I figured he was good for it.

I sent the deposit on July 31st and called and emailed him that day. And the next day. And the day after that. And again and again, just for kicks. I never heard from him. He had said he was going through a divorce and had been having tests run at the Hospital and he was going out of town, supposedly.

So, I contacted Paypal and Ebay to get my money back. They are currently working on it, although the Ebay guy didn't sound too aware. He kept asking me if I could call him and get in touch and solve the problem. He didn't seem to hear me when I kept telling him I had called every day since the 31st and had not heard back from the Seller.

It's just a bit puzzling, this guy had a ton of good feedback and had been responsive before I sent the deposit. I don't think he took the money and ran so I guess something happened. But, unless he keeled over dead, if he was such a decent guy, wouldn't he either send an email or make a quick phone call and tell me something came up?

It's just weird. Then again, I now have a Kymco in the garage, so I'm better off. But a Helix for $1575 would have been just fine to me.

Motorvational poster

Ouch.

Papa's got a brand new bag...

Well, I was definitely going to buy a Bandit. But, our local shop was getting in a brand new TNG 250cc scooter. I stopped by Friday to see if it was in, and it was. It wasn't quite ready to test so I decided to return later in the day and test drive it.

When I got back, it was ready to ride. It looks really nice, shiny red in color, comfortable seat, very light feeling. It cranked right up and was really quiet. I headed out the back way, towards Park Ave. The acceleration on this scooter is very nice, on par with the higher priced scooters, in my opinion.

However, at indicated 60-65 mph, I didn't feel too secure on it. I think I'm used to larger wheels since my Piaggio has 16 inch wheels up front. The scooter did drive well and I think it is a great alternative to higher priced scooters.

So, now, I was really worried. What if the smaller wheels and lighter weight of the Bandit caused the same concern? Would I get used to the feel of the scooter at 60-65 mph?

I didn't know. It didn't help that the store was full of Kymco's. I finally got a chance to test drive the Xciting 250 and it was amazing. Fast, stable and fun. Wow, so there is a difference in scooters.

Now, I'm the first one to say that I like middle of the road items because I really think that usually there isn't enough of a difference between the slightly above average and the top of the line to warrant such a big price difference. To be honest, I am quite sure that TNG 250 is a good quality scooter with a great price. But it didn't work for me.

Well, to make this post a little shorter, after trying the free financing for 30 days (you write four post dated checks....but apparently, I don't write $900 checks frequently enough for that finance company to accept my checks) I wrote one big huge check and rode home on my band new (2 miles!!!) People 250!!

Pictures to come, I'm going to go ride!

And someone better meet me tomorrow morning for a nice ride!

No new tale to tell...

And no new scooter, either. At this point, I'm contacting paypal tomorrow to get my deposit back and then I'll see what I can get. I'm bummed, I want a Helix.

But, I have some options. I can maybe get a Burgman, Majesty or Morphous. Add a People 250 into this list. It all depends if I want to stretch things. After looking at these scoots, I have pictures of me tearing down the interstate, but in all actuality, I really don't have any need (or desire) to get on I-10, do I? But, I also thought 55 MPH would be fast enough for me, and it quickly became evident it isn't. These scooters will definitely get me on the Interstate and keep me there but do I really need that much scooter?

The other option is this 250cc scooter or this one. Yes, they are Chinese scoots, but Bandit Motorsports has an excellent reputation and they have good quality. I have exchanged many emails with Jim, the owner of Bandit and trust that he sells decent products for the price.

So, for half of what I may be able to get a Morphous, Majesty, etc for, I could get a reliable, decently performing scooter with a full warranty. I'm going to give him a call tomorrow and see if his scoots will cruise at 70 or 75mph. If they do, I think I'll grab one of those.

I'm really thinking a closely comparable scooter for half the price is the way to go. Advice, anyone?

Anyone want to go on a road trip?

See, I was looking at a local Helix, and although it was beat and the frame was bent, it was the most comfortable seat I had ridden on. So, deciding I really needed a Helix, I looked on Ebay to see what was there. Take a look at this:

MY NEW SCOOTER!!!

*Ahem*

Ok, so I think I got a great deal (how much are those parts worth alone?!?!) but the scooter is in North Georgia. So, how cool would it be to go get the darn thing and make a road trip out of it? I might even go and stay over night and pick it up the next morning. Ok, that's a lie, I'll pick it up the minute I pull into town.

But seriously, anyone want to see North Georgia? :)

Hey, we are meeting at the Sonic on North Monroe tomorrow....

at 10am. We then are going to ride out to take a look at a scooter that might make it into my garage later that day. So, if anyone's interested, ride over to the Sonic near Lake Ella by 10am. Especially if you are a mechanic and can tell what's up with a scooter simply by listening to it for 15 seconds. If you have this ability, I'll buy you breakfast.

Pictures from our ride to St. Marks last Sunday...

Glynn and I met Sunday morning at the McDonald's at Tharpe and Monroe. After a bite to eat, I spotted a scooter across the street at Albertson's, so we headed over to take a look.

As we rolled up, an older gentleman walked up. The scooter was a Roketa Cayman, 150cc, and he had 1200 trouble free miles on it. It looked pretty cool and the guy was funny. I told him about our group but he wasn't too interested. Then he reconsidered : 'Well, if a lot of those college girls join, I'll come by....'

With this guys Roketa doing well, and Glynn's Roketa doing fine (more on that later) I'm really starting to wonder if the big name scooters are worth the price difference.

We took off down South Monroe, headed for the St. Mark's lighthouse. Along the way, we had to stop for a picture with the big Gorilla, did't we?



We kept riding and had a nice trip, except for the idiot in the Kia Rio that decided to attach himself and the car to Glynn's tailpipes. The Rio somehow managed to top 50 mph and passed us when we slowed to let him go by.

We made it to the St. Mark's Park with no troubles and stopped at the rest area for a minute. The park is really nice, but the gnats were incredibly annoying.




Glynn's Roketa Tahiti 150cc.





My Piaggio LT150 150cc.

We wandered around the Lighthouse area for a bit but the gnats were terrible and it was getting late so we headed back. Besides, riding our scooters was the point, right? On the way back, I was thinking that I hadn't really seen any wildlife today when I saw this:



Closer to home, Glyyn pulled over to take a picture of this:

A few things I have learned on a scooter and other random thoughts...

1. Honda Civics and Acura Integras might as well equal bad drivers. Every time I see someone driving stupidly around me while I'm on the scooter, it is one of these cars.

2. Some people will drive insane speeds to keep from being out run by a scooter.I was at a stop light on Tharpe Street, where the road goes from two lanes to one and next to me in the lane that had to merge, was some guy in a brand new Cadillac STS. When the light turned green, he absolutely floored it so he could get around me...and it took a few seconds before he could. It would have been funny if it wasn't so sad.

3. Woodville Highway, The speed limit signs there (45 mph and 55mph) are really just a suggestion. Glynn and I were passed by people that had to be doing 70 mph. Sheesh, slow down, people!

4. Isn't it strange what you get used to? To me, having spent most of my life in Florida, except for six months in Alaska, alligators don't bother me, if I'm a reasonable, watchable distance away. But people from other parts of the country get really freaked out when they see one.

5. The grass IS greener..... I love my Piaggio...but wouldn't it be cool to be able to cruise at 60mph? 65mph? It would, indeed.....

Thinking about my last post...

About something cool to do here in town or the general area, I came up with two basic ideas of events that might be pretty cool. Take a look and give me some feedback:

1. What about a well planned out drive from Tallahassee, across the Georgia border, then across the Alabama border, then home? We could try for a torture ride or we could camp somewhere along the way and finish the trp the next day.

2. How about a 12 or 24 hour Capital Circle run? No real point to this, I guess, other than it just being cool to do. Hmm, maybe we could make a party out of it, get some sponsors....OHHHH maybe some exposure for our group?

Sound good? Insane? Got any other thoughts of cool rides?

Ok, read this....

24 Hour Marathon Scooter Drive

Then we need to figure out something to do here in Tallahassee that is as cool as that!

Ideas?

Wow! It's HOT!!!

And HUMID!!! Ok, this isn't a big suprise to anyone that has lived here longer than 2 days, but it bears saying.

I wanted to see how comfortable I'd be riding the Scooter in this nasty hot and sticky weather so I decided to drive over to the shop and drop my scooter off so they could replace the valve cover gaskets and have my wife pick me up when she got off work. So, it was a little after four when I left.

Except for the wait at Monroe, it wasn't bad at all, really. Sure, it was warm but not so bad I'd rather be in the van with ac and radio.

All About Scooters was a big swamped with work and since the scooter isn't leaking much oil at all, just a drop or two every few days, I didn't leave the scooter. I returned home but about halfway home, I noticed my oil light come on. It stayed on for about two seconds, then went off. I was at a stop sign when it came on. I hadn't driven WOT at all but was riding at a decent speed. The rest of the way, the light stayed off but it is worrisome. Anyone have any idea why the light came on for a couple of seconds? There was plenty of oil in the scooter.

All advice welcome!

Scooter Storage!!!!

I have storage on my scooter now! I bought what is essentially a small duffel bag with a vinyl bottom and two metal clips on bungy cords for securing the bag to the scooter rack.

Well, I had to make a rack. I didn't want to special order a rack or pay whatever it would cost. So I decided to take a look at the local Lowes and see if I could find something that would work. Shelby, my 11 year old stepdaughter and I stopped by today and found a wire shelf that they cut to the right size. So when I got home, it was pretty simple to use some zip ties to tie it down and some felt strips to (hopefully) protect the scooter's finish.

Once it was attached, the case sat right on top and clipped right on. I stuffed the scooter cover inside (main reason I wanted storage, now I can ride to work and leave the scoot outside) and took a ride around the neighborhood.

Isn't it amazing how a short little ride on your scooter can really just smooth everything out? Today wasn't really a bad day, but I was getting a little cranky, since I got very little sleep last night (one year old beautfiul, sweet, loving, insomniac daughter free to good home) but the ten minutes I spent riding around pretty much erased my looming crankiness.

Also, anyone have any idea why Blogger no longer allows me to post Headlines with my posts? Weird. Ok, I went to the help function and found the answer on another blog. It seems you have to center your mouse slightly above the title window. Wow, wonder what caused that?

My First Youtube

Two new links.

I added two new links, one of them is from a local rider, so make sure to check out 'Me and My Bug'. The other link is a good blog, too. Very good posts about safety and other scooter related issues.

Picture of the scooters on the July 4th 80 mile trip.

A nice collection of scooters, left to right: Glynn's 150cc Roketa, Tim's 650cc Suzuki Burgman, Troy's brand new 150ccTNG Verona and my 150cc Piaggio LT150.

Just look, this is funny....

Stolen from Scootdawg.com.

Drove the van to work today...

I have to pick up the two youngest this afternoon and with a 70% chance of thunderstorms, I decided to take the van.

I hated the trip to work today. Sure, the AC and radio was nice but after four days of riding to work in a row last week, I'm already spoiled. I think I need to pick up a top case and a rain suit before I really dedicate myself to riding to work everyday.

Bah, I'm not even really looking forward to going home...might as well just stay here all night and work....

Meet, ride, Museum, chicken, ride, rain!

Well, that pretty much sums up today. See you guys later.

No, actually, that doesn't nearly describe today. We met up at Lake Ella this morning at ten (more or less) I was the last to arrive and :

Glynn on his Roketa Tahiti 150
Roger on his orange Kymco Exciting 250
Me on my green Piaggio LT150
Tim on his Suzuki Burgman 650
and Troy on his brand new black TNG Verona

After some chat we headed out. Glynn led us around Lake Ella onto Meridian. We turned on Betton and rode across Thomasville Road and turned left on Centerville. We turned onto Fleischman and then hit Miccosukee Road, a very nice, shady, canopy road. It was really nice riding on that road, I didn't want to turn off it, but we did and soon ended up on Mahan at the Tallahassee Antique Car Museum.

I had never been so I was looking forward to it. I was blown away, there are a lot of seriously cool cars here. There are even several Cushman and All State scooters. There are even two Batmobiles and a Bat Boat for good measure. This is a seriously neat museum. While we were all looking at the cars, Roger asked me which car I would pick if I could choose one car to take.

I looked at the VW Bug that was present but since it wasn't a really rare Split Window Bug (49-53) or a rare Oval Window (54-57) I didn't pick it, although it was a really nice '70 Bug. I didn't think I'd be able to single one of these cars out but a few feet down the row, I found the car I'd take, hands down, no questions. A Ford GT. What an awesome car. There were two at the museum, but I liked the yellow one best, but I'd take the red one if I had to. One of them had the original window sticker. For such a powerful car, it gets 13 mpg in the city. Impressive, huh? It also listed a price of only $154,000. Yup, $154,000.

After we left the museum we walked over to the Rose and Thorn where a waitress met us outside. She told us the kitchen wasn't open and when asked why, she said the cook didn't show and the other cook didn't want to come in. Ok, then.

We headed over to Wing Stop and that was a good choice, the food was great. After some lively conversation about such topics as classical music, politics and world affairs, Roger suggested another ride. We all agreed, so Roger led us out onto Mahan Road.

We turned on Pedrick, then took a left on Buck Lake, through Chaires, across 27 and then took a right on Old Saint Augustine Road. This was another really nice narrow canopy road. We rode it all the way back to town where we ended up at All About Scooters.

Roger kept talking up the 250 size scooters and I broke down and sat on a 250 People and a 250 People S. That was a bad bad decision. They felt nice......

This is where I repeat to myself, 'I love my Piaggio, I love my Piaggio, I don't need a 250, I love my Piaggio'.

Roger headed out and a few minutes later, we all decided to head home. Glynn and I shared part of the ride but right at Monroe Street, it started to rain. We got soaked and Glynn had problems seeing so we took shelter at the What-A-Burger on Thomasville Road where we waited out the storm.

After yet more intellectual chat, this time about history and literature, and after I found out where I could meet my wife to pick up a key to the house, we headed down Thomasville Road, He turned off on Metropolitan and I went on to Timberlane where I met my wife.

Todays meet and ride was a lot of fun and I'm sure we can schedule some more rides. Pictures will be posted soon, stay tuned.

Meet, ride, car museum, Irish pub!

Can you think of a better way to spend a few hours on a Saturday?

The plan is to meet at Lake Ella (parking lot off North Monroe) take a ride over to the Car Museum, walk around and gawk at all the cool cars, then eat lunch at the Rose and Thorn Irish Pub near by.

If anyone that hasn't already joined the forum (link to the right) wants to meet up, ride, gawk and eat with us, all you have to do is show up at Lake Ella at 10 am. See you there!

Saw some scooters on the ride home.

I saw one really interesting scooter. I didn't see the whole scooter but the rear had a full sized fender. It was silver and the rider had a top case. Very cool looking scooter. Hopefully I'll see it again and get a better look. It looked sort of like a People but I'm not sure.

It was hot today but not too bad. I rode over to All About Scooters to check on the valve cover gasket I ordered. It will be in in about a week. I then headed to get some gas so I will have plenty for the ride tomorrow (check the forums!) and headed home via Tennessee to Monroe to Tharpe. The Piaggio is very nice, very powerful and drives very well.

Since it was Friday, I decided to head home a bit early in case there is a monsoon this afternoon.

See you guys tomorrow! (Check the forum!)

Rain!

Well, living in North Florida, I knew I'd get soaked while riding. It happened today. I was at the office near I-10 and Thomasville Road and decided to head home slightly ahead of 5 o'clock traffic. I walked into our lobby and noticed it was dark. I stepped outside and headed out quickly. About a mile down Thomasville road the first few drops hit with a nice loud thunk on my helmet. Soon, it was pouring. My upper legs stayed dry for a while but eventually I was pretty soaked. I decided to pull over and hide under the roof of a gas station and the rain let up a little. I decided to try it and headed out.

It wasn't that bad, actually. I took my time and drove as carefully as I could. The only problem is my glasses got wet so it was a bit hard to see. The roads were white with the salt and chemicals and whatever else gets baked onto a road.

But, although it's not something I want to do every day, I was ok driving in the rain.

Oh, one more thing, we have people joining our group almost everyday. This is very cool. If this keeps up, we can show up at Hooters or Famous Daves and outnumber the Harley riders!

But seriously, if you are interested in maybe meeting and riding with other scooter owners, send me an email or simply sign up on the forum to the right, ok?

I was sitting at the stoplight on Monroe Street...

across from McDonalds and had this deep thought:

If a cheeseburger is 69 cents, a double cheeseburger is 99 cents, then why is the triple cheeseburger $1.49?

I wish I had some excuse as to why exactly this thought popped into my head, but it wasn't too hot, I wasn't dehydrated, no cars or trucks near me were blowing tons of smoke nearby...

Saturdays Lunch, Ride and Museum Tour

Tallahassee Scooter's second meet and ride was great. We had a total of five scooters show up and five and a half riders show up. We had my Piaggio LT 150, Glynn's Roketa Tahiti, Roger showed up on his Kymco Bet and Win 150 and of course, John and Kristens Scarabeos. I ran a few minutes late due to a business call and they had all pulled into two parking spaces. I had to park across from them but after checking out the scooters and some friendly chat, we headed inside for some What-A-Burger.

After a good meal, we decided to ride over to the Junior Museum.....ok, it's called the Tallahassee Museum now. Here's the link http://tallahasseemuseum.org/ , if you haven't been, make a trip over, it is pretty cool. Roger couldn't make the trip so he left from What-A-Burger and Glynn made the trip but wisely decided to wait til his wife went to the museum with him so he headed out. The trip over was cool, very neat to look in your rear view mirrors and see three other scooters trailing you. We got a few doubletakes at red lights and some thumbs up from other riders.

After saying goodbye to Glynn, we headed inside. In all the twenty plus years I have been to the Museum, I have never seen the bears do anything other than lie like big, lazy, black, fuzzy blobs at the back of their habitat. This time the smaller bear got up, walked all the way down to a spot maybe fifteen feet away from us and scratch his back on the ramp . He then walked by us and scratched his back on a tree then continued in a circle back to where he had been sleeping. Very cool.

We left the Museum after seeing everything and letting Tal play on the neat playground they have and checked out a nice road into Innovation Park. Like John says on his blog, too bad there was a Police Car parked at the entrance or they would have certainly left me far behind....

All in all, it was a great way to spend a few hours of a hot Saturday. We'll plan something else in a couple of weeks so if anyone is interested in meeting up and riding, feel free to email me, post on the forums to your right or leave a comment.

What-A-Burger, 1 PM, Saturday, June 23!

I guess it's official. Let's all meet tomorrow at the What-A-Burger on Thomasville Road at 1 PM for a good burger and some whatever else.

Everyone is invited, see you there!

Ok, new template.....

Not sure if I like it but when I started this blog, I wasn't aware that I used the same template as another scooter blog, one that is linked here. So, I decided to change.

Wow, so that's what having your entire family really sick is like.

Ok, it all started Sunday and between Sunday and today all five members of my family were really, really, really sick. That's as far in depth as I'm going but let me say, it is really nice to be over it. Nasty bug going around and it's highly contagious they say. I was the last one to get it and it's a horrible feeling knowing your time is coming....

Anyway, I'm better and ought to be back to normal by tomorrow (hopefully), especially since I'm planning on driving to work!

Oh, we are trying to schedule a get together this weekend. Problem is, we don't really have a day, time, location or intinerary set. Asking me to do it is not going to work, my brain is pretty much oatmeal, so I'll go with the flow. So, post some suggestions on our forum and let's get together and talk scooters and stuff!

Anyone interested in meeting for lunch next Saturday?

We could have a bite to eat and talk scooters and whatever else. Anyone interested, leave a comment or make a post on the forum, ok?

Added two new links.

Make sure to check them out, ok?

Rode to work today!

Well, I decided that today was the day for my first ride to work.

I had to take two of the three kids to the Junior Museum (No, I won't call it the Tallahassee Museum, thank you very much) so I dropped them off and headed back home to get the scooter.

I had taken a long drive yesterday and the steering felt a little off. Not really bad, but just a little off. I figured it might be the tire pressure so on the way home, stopped and bought a digital tire pressure gauge. Sure enough, the pressure was low so I stopped off and aired the tires up.

I then took off on Tharpe Street and the scooter handled a bit better. I turned onto Old Bainbridge and headed to downtown. There's something about riding the scooter that is just cool. It's impossible to describe but I pulled into the parking lot with a huge grin on my face, hidden by the face shield. I wasn't able to park next to the two huge Harley's in the lot though, no room.

Oh, at my first stoplight, a Mom pulled next to me and from the back seat, a small girl, maybe three, pulled up from her seat to take a look at my scooter. I think she liked it by the big smile she had on her face. I waved and beeped my horn and the lights then turned green so I took off.

I can't wait for lunch to go ride some more.

Have a great weekend everyone!

Internet scooters?

One of the interesting things about the scooter industry is the ease at which you can buy a scooter from an internet site or from ebay. While this opens up way too many issues to discuss here, I wanted to go over some of my experiences with trying to decide where to buy and what scooter to buy.

The phrase, 'You get what you pay for' is pretty true in just about anything, scooters included. However, many people are buying scooters for very low prices and having very good luck with them. You can also find people that spent top dollar for a Vespa or other high end scooter and are having problems with them. If you have a bit of mechanical aptitude and don't mind doing some work on them, the cheap scooters can be a good deal.

When I decided to look for a scooter, my biggest concern was price. I've always felt that buying something slightly above the middle of the pack was best for reliability and price. For example, computers. Noone needs a top of the line computer that costs four thousand dollars. A computer in the one thousand dollar range does everything the more expensive model can do and the differences in performance will be minimal.

So, the thousand dollar scooters were looking appealing to me. If I could find one that was solid, with a solid company behind it, I was prepared to go ahead and buy it. So, I started looking into online scooter companies. And quickly got completely overwhelmed at all the choices. Especially since all of the choices looked exactly the same but with wildly varying prices.

On the scootdawg forums (link to the left), I got a reply to one of my posts to check out Vince at Moto-Fino Scooters ( http://www.ecobikeusa.com/ ) so I sent him an email asking some questions and also sent an email to another company that had insanely low prices but high ebay feedback.

Vince called me back the next day. We talked for at least 20 minutes. He didn't make insane promises, he simply said his bikes were pretty good and he stood behind them. There was a question about how much shipping would be to my home and he called back the next day with that info. To be honest, I was really trying to decide whether to buy from him or spend 35% more at my local shop. There were pros and cons to both decisions.

Luckily for me, the Piaggio was in the paper that afternoon so my decision was made.

I guess what little advice I can give is that if going the internet route is your decision, make sure you speak to someone and ask as many questions you can.

Oh, by the way, it was on May 28th when I emailed Vince and that other company. Remember Vince called me the next day, answered all my questions, didn't hard sell his scooters and called the next day trying to save me a few dollars with shipping. The other company finally emailed a response on June 8th, answered one of the five questions I asked and in my opinion, gave me a bogus answer at that.

Today's Ride (Geocaching!)

Got a bit of time today for a quick ride and decided to go geocaching. There was a new geocache nearby, so I rode over. I'm getting used to being on the road with cars close to me so that's good.

I pulled into the parking area for the 'cache and a van pulled up. I quickly noticed the driver was holding a GPS receiver, so it was a geocacher! We talked a bit and went and found the cache. The cool thing about geocaching is the locations it takes you to. This spot was a mile or so away from my home, encircled by a shopping center, apartment complex and a gas station but the area was so secluded and peaceful. The cache led you to an area where there was a lichgate ( http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/lichgate ) and there was also an oak tree as large as any I have ever seen. It was immense. I've driven by that spot for over 30 years and never knew it was there. Geocaching is a lot of fun.

Anyway, back to riding. I left the cache and stopped at the nearby gas station for a fill up. I put $3 in the tank. I didn't fill it up because I didn't want to spill gas out of the opening. So I have 3/4 of a tank. More than enough.

As I pulled back onto Tharpe Street, a truck passed me, complete with several geocaching stickers. I know these guys! I kept up with them (and on Tharpe Street, that's saying something!) and at the next light, pulled up next to them.

Ron, of TeamHarrison geocaching fame was driving and I got his attention. I'm sure he had no idea why some idiot wearing a jacket and full face helmet on a scooter was trying to get his attention but he soon realized who I was and we spoke for a bit until the light turned green. He turned off and I kept straight. I ended up on Thomasville Road and rode south to the What-A-Burger, where I went in for a diet coke.

It was hot and the drink hit the spot. Riding in this heat was interesting. In motion, it was fine, the double mesh of the jacket is good for air flow, so it isn't that bad and at styop lights you aren't stopped long enough to really get too hot. What was strange was the actual waves of heat on my legs as I drove. It wasn't painful or anything, it just felt as if a blanket of heat was rolling over my legs. It got pretty hot today, I wonder if it will get worse here...

Today's lunch and ride.

John over at Combat Scoot had called and invited me to lunch today. He even suggested a Mexican Restaurant, so I blocked off a large portion of Saturday for that. We were going to meet at El Jalisco, on North Monroe.

The easiest way for me to get there was straight down Tharpe Street onto Monroe, so that's the way I went. This was my first long ride in my new armored jacket and it was fine, not nearly as hot as you'd think.

I got there with no trouble and enjoyed the ride on Tharpe, so I'm getting used to riding the scooter on roads with traffic. I sat outside on the covered patio and a few minutes later, two very nice looking scooters pulled up. The whole Combat Scooter family showed up.

Lunch was great and besides scooters, we had quite a bit on common; we had all lived in Alaska for some time, we both had three year old sons and we all liked good music. After a nice long lunch and nice conversation, they decided to head home and I decided to ride a bit.

I didn't want to drive around my neighborhood so I tried to think of a destination that would make a nice ride. AHA! I'll head over to All About Scooters and ummmmmm....... buy something......yeah, some scooter cleaner! Yeah, that's why I need to ride over there! So, I headed out the back way and rode down MLK Boulevard all the way across Tennessee, then took a left and crossed over Monroe, heading to Park Avenue. That took me across Magnolia and after a turn onto Victory Garden, right to the shop. It was a nice ride and the jacket really is nice, nothing too bad yet. Hopefully, higher temps won't make that much of a difference.

After a nice visit with the owners, I bought some cleaner and headed back home. Instead of backtracking, I took a right on Calhoun and then took Tennessee to Monroe and drove down Monroe (quite calmly, if I do say so myself) to Tharpe, then home.

I'm very happy with the Piaggio, one of these days I'll find out what speed I'm cruising at but it hits 80 KMH easily. Hopefully I'll be able to take a drive tomorrow with the camera, forgot it today.

Today's Scooter Stuff...

Well, I stopped by All About Scooters, the local Tallahassee Scooter shop, and picked up an armored jacket. I felt dorky buying it but it is the smart thing to do, even if it makes feel like Evel Kenevel. But the fact is, if I do go down, I want to be as safe as possible. I have a family to think about, so armored jacket and full face helmet it is. It is kind of cool, though....

I'm meeting some local Scooterists tomorrow for lunch, so I wanted to get a bit more practice in this evening. I decided to take a trip close to the Tallahassee Mall and get on Tharpe Street (a four lane raceway...err, street) on the way back.

I rolled the Paiggio out of the garage and let it warm up a bit and headed out. This scooter is nice, plenty of power and very comfortable so far. I took the back roads heading out and on the way back, I pulled out onto Tharpe and went. I didn't have nearly as much of the panic (OH MY GOD THERE ARE CARS WHIZZING BY MY HEAD!!!) that I had on my first ride home from the shop a week ago. I wouldn't say I was completely calm, but I was ok. I even took the huge hill near the turn to my neighborhood, which is at the top of the hill. It had been a little intimidating, especially since this is where Tharpe goes from four lane to two lane. So, with me? Busy street, four lane into two lanes, big monstrous hill and the turn off into my neighborhood at the top....

I made it fine. No big deal at all. It seems as if I am worrying a bit too much, which is ok. I certainly don't want to be like some of the drivers you see out there.

Anyway, check back tomorrow for some good pictures of some local Scooters and thier owners. Also, click on the Tallahassee Scooter Forum and sign up and say 'Hi!'.

Wow, where did that humidity come from?

I did manage to get a quick twenty minute ride in this evening. Even though it was after six, it was sticky, but not too bad. My cornering is getting noticeably better, smoother and quicker.

I also added a new forum that you can access from the link(s) to the left. I'm also adding more links, so make sure to check them out if you haven't already got them bookmarked.

No riding today....

Ok, we haven't had any measurable rain in months and now it's rained three days in a row? And it was pouring by 8am this morning? Strange weather, to be sure.

I was busy all day with work and appointments and kids and the Tallahassee Museum so no riding today. But that's ok, really. It is. I'll just go check on the scooter in the garage in a minute.

I'm still trying to figure out when and how I started looking at scooters. I'm also trying to figure out what drove me to stop by and test drive one. I've always liked 'cool' vehicles; I was a VW man for many years in college. My best car I ever owned was a 73 Super Beetle that I bought for $400. It wasn't the prettiest thing, but the interior was in good shape, it didn't have much rust at all and it ran forever. I drove it for three years for Domino's Pizza, rain or shine, day or night, summer or winter and it did fine. I also had a couple of vans, a '67 and a '70 Camper that had the ultra rare tent that hooked onto the opening when you opened the sliding door. But that's a story for another time....

I think it all comes down to the fact that I like neat cars and vehicles. I'm not neccesarily into muscle cars or big loud motorcycles, but I can appreciate them. So, when I somehow started looking at scooters, it wasn't anything new.

At first I was thinking about getting one so I could go http://geocaching.com geocaching and not feel bad about taking the van alone solely to go hunt tupperware. Then I got to thinking about how around 80% of the time, I'm driving the van by myself. Sure, the MPV gets decent mileage, but still... Then gas went over three dollars a gallon..... Then, I found the excellent deal on the Piaggio....

And the rest is history. So far.

So what do I want to do with the scooter? Well, I want to get comfortable enough that I don't feel nervous about driving it anywhere in town, or on small trips. It's not big enough for I-10, though, but that's ok. I didn't want a maxi-scooter.

I want to eventually use the scooter for most of my driving, if possible. Of course, lots of times I am going to get the kids, or have the kids with me, so it will be van time, and that's ok.

Of course, I can make all the sensible reasoning for why I bought a scooter but if I'm honest with myself, it's simply because they are so fun to ride. I'm glad I bought a full face helmet for riding. That way noone can see me grinning like a complete fool puttering down the street.

My first ride (YIKES! and WOW!)

The scooter had been at All About Scooters since I bought it. I had it serviced and I had wanted to get a bit more riding under my belt before I drove it across town. I freely admit I was a bit nervous about going out on Tallahassee streets at 40 MPH without a car around me, with other cars driving five feet away from me.

So, Saturday finally arrives and it's raining. Not torrential rain, but still, it's raining. But after we run a few errands, we head over to the shop and both of the kids fall asleep before we get there. I show Jen the scooter and she looks at others and likes the retro style scooters they have. I like that style as well, but when I'd test them, they were too short for me, turning the handlebars would smash my knees.

Roy, the owner tells me I can leave the scooter there but they are closed Sunday and Monday. I wanna ride!!! So, he tells me it will be ok, Jen tells me it will be ok, I tell myself it will be ok, so I decide to do it. I buy the helmet, and head out the door.

I finaally crank up and head out the back way. No way am I going out on Apalachee Parkway today. I make it to Park Avenue and sit at the light. Traffic is light so it ought to be ok... HOLY CRAP LIGHT IS GREEN GO GO!!!

Well, that's what it felt like. This was my first four lane road on my scooter. But I did fine, the scooter did fine, got up to 48 MPH easily and that's as fast as I needed to go. I went through another light and was heading up to the Magnolia intersection and realized I was in the turn lane. So, I pulled into a bank parking lot and made a U -turn (on a hill at that) and waited for the traffic to go by and then got into the correct lane.

I kept going on Park and turned onto Calhoun (I think) and passed over Tennessee (not a chance today!) and end up crossing over Thomasville Road and stopping at the light on Monroe.

By now I had decided things were going to be ok, that every car on the road isn't solely out there to smash into me at high rates of speed. In other words, I had calmed down a small bit.

So, I decided to drive down Monroe and turn onto Tharpe. And it was fine, the scooter has lots of power and drives very well. I made it home with a huge grin on my face.

A little later I rode down to the gas station and 'filled up'. Put just over $3 in the tank.......

Yeah, I can live with this......

My Piaggio LT 150

This is my new Piaggio!



Yes, the rear view mirrors don't match.



No, that isn't a Piaggio design :)

Welcome.

Stay tuned....