Well,
I walked into my local convenience store the other day and the owner threw a canvas bag, with his store name on it, at me.
"Here," he said "use this, I am sick of seeing you ride around on that scooter with your stuff in an Ingles bag. At least advertise for me when everyone stares at you on that thing".
I accepted his generous gift and told him a lot of people might get to see it, as I was thinking of doing the Scooter Cannon Ball. He is a motorbike rider himself and he was very excited about the idea. So excited in fact that he offered to sponsor me. Every time someone gives him a Dollar coin between now and the end of March he will put it in a jar that has my name on it!!!!!!! How bloody cool is that?
Also, listening in on this conversation was the owner of the local BBQ restaurant. Get this, he offered to throw in a hundred dollars for gas if I put two of his stickers somewhere on my scoot!!! His stickers are about 3 inches in diameter, good deal eh? Luckily I have built up good karma with this guy over the last 5 yrs by eating at his BBQ place on a regular basis.
Being the joker that he is, he also said that every time he goes into the convenience store for his daily Doctor Pepper he is going to pay with a Dollar coin. Hahaha. Country boys are so damned smart, he told me I should buy a drink every day too, using the Dollar coin, that way I get a soda and in April I get all my money back !!!
Anyway, the upshot is, I now HAVE to do the Cannon Ball instead of just think about it...yikes.
If you want to know more about the Scooter Cannon Ball Run try this link.
http://www.scootercannonball.com/
But basically the Cannon Ball involves riding a small scooter from Savannah Ga. to San Diego Ca. in 8 days. The rider averages about 350miles a day on secondary roads( to stay away from high speed traffic and semi trucks). So far this year about 30 people are signed up. The route goes through Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas(two days to cross it), New Mexico and finally California. Phew, it even sounds like a long way. It also appears that we will go from 9000 feet above sea level to approx 200 feet below, possibly in the same day.
Now to start planning in earnest.
All the best,
Sir Paul.
Friday, December 23, 2011
Wednesday, November 23, 2011
Meeting a fellow Scooterist.
I had to go into Tennessee today to visit the mighty metropolis of Johnson City in order to buy some boots. Whilst I was passing thru Elizabethton I spotted a fellow on a scooter. As we scooterists seem to be few and far between in this region of pick-up trucks and Subarus I decided to have a quick chat with a fellow scooter-dude. Yes I just made that word up!
It turns out that Mr Addison, the aforementioned Scooter-dude, is also a newbie like myself. He has had his scooter since August of this year. His scooter is a Daelin 125, which means he has the same size engine that I have in Sophia.
Here is a piccy of the Daelin 125. 2008 Model
It also turns out that we have more than scooter riding in common, as this gentleman is also a high school sports official. His game is American Football, whereas mine, of course, is English Football, or Soccer as we call it in America . After a few minutes of chatting at the side of the road we decided that we should try to get together for a ride sometime soon before the weather really deteriorates.
Mr Addison was on his way to have his scooter looked at by a mechanic because he has found that as the weather gets colder his scooter is becoming more difficult to start. He bought it from a workmate so at least he knows its history, in fact this particular scooter has been owned by 3 people at his place of work. I wonder who will get it next?????
Anyhow, looking forward to hearing from you Mr. A. Let's go riding.
All the best.
Sir Paul.
It turns out that Mr Addison, the aforementioned Scooter-dude, is also a newbie like myself. He has had his scooter since August of this year. His scooter is a Daelin 125, which means he has the same size engine that I have in Sophia.
Here is a piccy of the Daelin 125. 2008 Model
It also turns out that we have more than scooter riding in common, as this gentleman is also a high school sports official. His game is American Football, whereas mine, of course, is English Football, or Soccer as we call it in America . After a few minutes of chatting at the side of the road we decided that we should try to get together for a ride sometime soon before the weather really deteriorates.
Mr Addison was on his way to have his scooter looked at by a mechanic because he has found that as the weather gets colder his scooter is becoming more difficult to start. He bought it from a workmate so at least he knows its history, in fact this particular scooter has been owned by 3 people at his place of work. I wonder who will get it next?????
Anyhow, looking forward to hearing from you Mr. A. Let's go riding.
All the best.
Sir Paul.
Saturday, November 19, 2011
A little spill, a little spiel, and a little artwork.
I have now officially put 1100 miles on my Scooter. I have a friend, Mark Cornell, who tells me that if I am to put any great amount of miles on my Scoot I should expect to "lay it down " once or twice. Of course I laughed heartily at the very suggestion that I, Sir Paul, Superscooter himself, would ever be in a situation where "laying down" a bike would be an only option.
I suppose I laughed too soon.....because I finally "laid down" my bike, or as we say in England, I took a spill. Despite the fact that I am extremely alert when riding Sophia, other people are not always as alert when driving their "tin cans" to work or pleasure. I was inadvertently forced off the road by a fellow the other morning on my way to work. He was pulling out of his driveway and turning toward the sun, and , like a WW2 fighter pilot I was coming toward him from out of the sun. He was also pulling a trailer, which meant he pulled out of his driveway wider than usual (I am assuming). I had already anticipated his actions and I slowed quickly and made my way to the far right side of the road, but he just kept on coming, soooo...... I had to head into the roadside ditch.
The best I can say is that my landing was softer than it would have been on the road or in his grill. Apparently 50yr old bodies do not absorb energy as well as younger ones do. I was a bit sore for a couple of days but no bruises, breaks, or cuts to worry about. Sophia did not fare as well as i did, her hips are a little scraped up and her front mudguard/fender now has a nice little dent in it.
Oh, a little piece of advice for new riders out there: Before picking up a fallen bike/scooter, make sure you turn off the engine because in your slightly dazed/enraged/panicked state you might grab the throttle as you grab the handlebars and your bike might try to drive away again, but without you aboard......Just Saying.
The gentleman in the truck did not even notice the MAYHEM he had caused, and carried on, on his merry way. I am much more careful on his stretch of rural road now. Oh and in his defense I will say that probably about 4 vehicles a day go past his house and I am not one of them except for three weeks a year.
On occasion I am called on to help my wife Cheri's friend Tammy do some lifting, moving or woodcutting in their Antique/junk/treasure shop. As a reward for some recent efforts on my part, Tammy offered to do a painting for me. She is quite talented when it comes to painting whimsical looking women and that kind of thing. I asked her to do a painting of a Vespa, as they are my latest obsession/object of interest. She told me she only did girls and birds, to which I, of course, replied "Well draw a girl on a Vespa". Well she did, and here it is.
Pretty cool I think, especially as this is the first attempt ever at a whimsical Vespa. The girl on the bike is a redhead because my wife is a redhead. The Eiffel Tower is there because.....well who wouldn't want the Eiffel Tower in a picture.
The weather where I live has been a bit too cold and wet lately to go to work on the Vespa every day so I only ride to work when it is cold and dry. Road conditions are what decide me on which vehicle to use, not temperature......so far. The change in the weather is just bringing the day closer when I have to strip Sophia down and give her a new paint job.
A final thought.....why do drivers of pick-up trucks insist on passing me where there are double yellow lines even when I am doing the speed limit? I regularly drive downhill on one of our local roads where the speed limit is 55 and I am doing 60, now even allowing for a 10% error in my speedometer I am still doing 54mph, why o why are people overtaking/passing me. Are they embarrassed to be behind a scooter? I just do not know, but I guess it is better to have those people in front of you than behind you!
All the best,
Sir Paul.
I suppose I laughed too soon.....because I finally "laid down" my bike, or as we say in England, I took a spill. Despite the fact that I am extremely alert when riding Sophia, other people are not always as alert when driving their "tin cans" to work or pleasure. I was inadvertently forced off the road by a fellow the other morning on my way to work. He was pulling out of his driveway and turning toward the sun, and , like a WW2 fighter pilot I was coming toward him from out of the sun. He was also pulling a trailer, which meant he pulled out of his driveway wider than usual (I am assuming). I had already anticipated his actions and I slowed quickly and made my way to the far right side of the road, but he just kept on coming, soooo...... I had to head into the roadside ditch.
The best I can say is that my landing was softer than it would have been on the road or in his grill. Apparently 50yr old bodies do not absorb energy as well as younger ones do. I was a bit sore for a couple of days but no bruises, breaks, or cuts to worry about. Sophia did not fare as well as i did, her hips are a little scraped up and her front mudguard/fender now has a nice little dent in it.
Oh, a little piece of advice for new riders out there: Before picking up a fallen bike/scooter, make sure you turn off the engine because in your slightly dazed/enraged/panicked state you might grab the throttle as you grab the handlebars and your bike might try to drive away again, but without you aboard......Just Saying.
The gentleman in the truck did not even notice the MAYHEM he had caused, and carried on, on his merry way. I am much more careful on his stretch of rural road now. Oh and in his defense I will say that probably about 4 vehicles a day go past his house and I am not one of them except for three weeks a year.
On occasion I am called on to help my wife Cheri's friend Tammy do some lifting, moving or woodcutting in their Antique/junk/treasure shop. As a reward for some recent efforts on my part, Tammy offered to do a painting for me. She is quite talented when it comes to painting whimsical looking women and that kind of thing. I asked her to do a painting of a Vespa, as they are my latest obsession/object of interest. She told me she only did girls and birds, to which I, of course, replied "Well draw a girl on a Vespa". Well she did, and here it is.
Pretty cool I think, especially as this is the first attempt ever at a whimsical Vespa. The girl on the bike is a redhead because my wife is a redhead. The Eiffel Tower is there because.....well who wouldn't want the Eiffel Tower in a picture.
The weather where I live has been a bit too cold and wet lately to go to work on the Vespa every day so I only ride to work when it is cold and dry. Road conditions are what decide me on which vehicle to use, not temperature......so far. The change in the weather is just bringing the day closer when I have to strip Sophia down and give her a new paint job.
A final thought.....why do drivers of pick-up trucks insist on passing me where there are double yellow lines even when I am doing the speed limit? I regularly drive downhill on one of our local roads where the speed limit is 55 and I am doing 60, now even allowing for a 10% error in my speedometer I am still doing 54mph, why o why are people overtaking/passing me. Are they embarrassed to be behind a scooter? I just do not know, but I guess it is better to have those people in front of you than behind you!
All the best,
Sir Paul.
A Penny Saved.
My Vespa is costing me between 4 and 5 cents a mile! Compared to my 1977 Ford Truck, which gets about 14 miles to the gallon (26 cents/mile), and my 1987 wagon, which gets 26 mpg( 14 cents/mile), the Vespa is pretty thrifty, and it is my oldest vehicle at 45 yrs old.
Unfortunately the weather will soon change and I will have to start driving one of my other 2 vehicles. Oh did I mention there is a third option...... I also have a, not running at the moment, SAAB 96 which gets about 40mpg (10 cents/mile). The SAAB needs a clutch put in it, I have all the parts but not the one necessary "special tool" that is needed to do a front wheel drive SAAB clutch change. There is a fellow locally who has the tool, he thinks, but he wants 350 dollars to do the job...hmm. That really adds to the cost per mile of running a vehicle over the winter, plus, where does anyone find an extra $350 in this economy?
The aforementioned Station Wagon.
"Old Blue" My '77 Ford Truck.
"Sophia" my 1966 Sears/Vespa
Here is my 1973 Saab 96.
I should have closed the hood before taking the picture. Ah well.
Wednesday, October 19, 2011
Sunday morning ride.
Sunday the 16th of October, my wedding anniversary, dawned bright and sunny with the promise of 70 degree temps up here in the mountains. Luckily for me I have a very understanding wife who said I should go for a ride on my scooter while she and her friend Teresa went to the Woolly Worm Festival. How cool is she for a wife?
Anyway, after lounging around a bit and then washing "Sophia" I headed off toward Tennessee in order to check out a Geocache that I have attempted to find twice before without success. The previous day I had met a fellow named Papa Smurf who gave me a really broad hint as to how to locate this cache. As I said the weather was beautiful, and the road I had to take was once part of the local railway, so it was quite narrow and it cut through a few mountainsides. The hills swept up above me on one side and down steeply to the Doe River on the other side, I was surrounded by tall trees that were all shedding their leaves. Brilliant!
This particular road is over 5 miles long and for the whole, slow, lazy, enjoyable time I was on it, only 2 other vehicles came by.
I had to stop a couple of times to take pics of the fun ride. You could actually see some big Trout in that river back there.
As you can see, not a very wide road at all. The line that ran through there was called "Tweetsie" by the locals and Eastern Tennessee and Western North Carolina by the people who bought shares in it. It was a narrow guage railroad used for carrying, wood, iron ore, and people, in and out of the Mtns. to places like Boone N.C and Johnson City Tenn.
Another view of the "Long and Winding Road"
Another look at Sophia. Did you notice the buddy seat has been removed? Sitting where the seat used to be and crouching a bit whilst going up a loooooong hill gives me an extra 2-5 mph.....Honest. The poor old girl needs all the help she can get going up these steep hills around here. I swear I spend 65% of my time in 3rd gear. It's no wonder I only get 82 -90 mpg!!!
What is the view like from your office? This is mine, for now. In the distance you can see Grandfather Mountain with it's famous "Mile High Swinging Bridge" I have actually driven up there 3 times now on Sophia, AND I talked one of my co-workers into riding up there the last time on his little chinese 50cc Sinski. It was surprisingly fast, course he only weighs 160 lbs to my 220 and I think he has "rodded" his bike a bit.
We had a great time riding up there and an even better time coming down. It sure feels good leaning into a corner at 55mph.(Downhill is where my greater mass has a bigger advantage). Youth has it's advantages too , and Joel goes into a corner as if he is indestructable, in spite of my warnings.
One of the bonuses of making it to the top of the mountain is to see the looks on all the Harley and BMW rider's faces as you crest the hill into the parking lot. One of those guys actually asked me if I had pushed my Scooter to the top!! Cheeky bugger! He wasn't so glib when it was time to leave and he could see me in his rear view mirror the whole way down.....TeeHee.
All the best ,
Sir Paul.
Anyway, after lounging around a bit and then washing "Sophia" I headed off toward Tennessee in order to check out a Geocache that I have attempted to find twice before without success. The previous day I had met a fellow named Papa Smurf who gave me a really broad hint as to how to locate this cache. As I said the weather was beautiful, and the road I had to take was once part of the local railway, so it was quite narrow and it cut through a few mountainsides. The hills swept up above me on one side and down steeply to the Doe River on the other side, I was surrounded by tall trees that were all shedding their leaves. Brilliant!
This particular road is over 5 miles long and for the whole, slow, lazy, enjoyable time I was on it, only 2 other vehicles came by.
I had to stop a couple of times to take pics of the fun ride. You could actually see some big Trout in that river back there.
As you can see, not a very wide road at all. The line that ran through there was called "Tweetsie" by the locals and Eastern Tennessee and Western North Carolina by the people who bought shares in it. It was a narrow guage railroad used for carrying, wood, iron ore, and people, in and out of the Mtns. to places like Boone N.C and Johnson City Tenn.
Another view of the "Long and Winding Road"
What is the view like from your office? This is mine, for now. In the distance you can see Grandfather Mountain with it's famous "Mile High Swinging Bridge" I have actually driven up there 3 times now on Sophia, AND I talked one of my co-workers into riding up there the last time on his little chinese 50cc Sinski. It was surprisingly fast, course he only weighs 160 lbs to my 220 and I think he has "rodded" his bike a bit.
We had a great time riding up there and an even better time coming down. It sure feels good leaning into a corner at 55mph.(Downhill is where my greater mass has a bigger advantage). Youth has it's advantages too , and Joel goes into a corner as if he is indestructable, in spite of my warnings.
One of the bonuses of making it to the top of the mountain is to see the looks on all the Harley and BMW rider's faces as you crest the hill into the parking lot. One of those guys actually asked me if I had pushed my Scooter to the top!! Cheeky bugger! He wasn't so glib when it was time to leave and he could see me in his rear view mirror the whole way down.....TeeHee.
All the best ,
Sir Paul.
Not the best paint in the world.
As you can see from these pictures, although my scooter has not been ridden a lot , she has certainly been around the block a few times. There are several areas where the previous owners have had little scrapes and dings that were too minor to repair. A simple squirt of rattlecan paint was considered enough to prevent the rust monsters from taking hold. So, I have ended up with a very original slightly acned looking scooter. I wonder if the vintage scooter community thinks this look adds to or takes away from the desirability of the bike. I have already had one strong objection from Blackbart to painting her, but I did so want to do the old "Mod" type personalised paintjob. Hmmmm, things to think about.
To the right of the horn cover you can see blemishes on the legshield.
Once again though, not surrounded by the best paint.
So.....opinions please. To paint or not to paint, that is the question . Surely a Vespa of any other colour would smell as sweet.
All the best.
Sir Paul
Friday, October 14, 2011
Coming home from work.
Cheri just happened to be in the front yard with her camera as I arrived home from work the other day. As you can tell it was a wee bit cold, but it takes more than cold weather to wipe the smile off your face when you ride a Super Scooter.
Here is a close-up of my shiny United Kingdom sticker, right next to my all original Sears Bluebadge sticker. Any offers on the Sears sticker , anyone, anyone,?????
I suppose the final picture should have been the first one shown, but hey what the heck, we'll save the action pic for last. In case any of you are wondering, the blue strap around the headlight is/are the handles of my shopping bag, which is where I put my lunch and extra clothes when I am riding. I was going to go with the old"milk crate " method, but I live too far away from the beach to justify that.
Bye for now.
Sir Paul
Thursday, October 13, 2011
One hundred Smiles to the Gallon.
I have a new toy!
I know, I know, why would I need another toy? Well this one is something I have been lusting after for about 4 years on and off, with some six or seven month periods when I never even thought about it at all.
My new toy is a VESPA scooter. Not just any Vespa scooter though, but an antique. It is a 1966 Sears scooter (made by Vespa but sold through Sears stores in America). Whilst riding home from work one day I happened to pass a metal building that had all it's doors open, through the open doors I could see lots of old American cars. As most of you know, I am not shy about pulling over and talking to almost anyone about anything at the drop of a hat. That is how I got to meet a fellow called Bobby McClain. Bobby was an older fellow, sad to say he is gone now {summer of 2011} but not forgotten, and he and I walked around his building talking cars and such for 2 or 3 hours. On this first visit I did not see his little scooter as it was being screened by a 57 Chevy and an old Harley Davidson motorcycle. Anyway, 2 or 3 visits later I came across the wee beastie you see below. Sophia, for that shall be her name from this moment hence, was all dusty and a bit bedraggled looking but I could see the potential for a cool looking ride under all the dust. Fortunately for me I live in an area where everyone wants to be seen in a truck or on a fast motorcycle so I was the only person making any serious noise about purchasing "Sophia".
After being in a warehouse type building for 20 odd years she was a little rough around the edges. A few little bumps and bruises here and there, and a tank full of gas that had turned into a really thick furniture varnish/wood glue looking concoction. Honest....when we cleaned the gas out it actually hung from the cloth like honey or Elmers Glue!!I later found out from Bobbies wife Thelma, that Sophia had not been ridden in at least 6 years.Now for the really good bit.....for 46 years this scooter had hardly been driven AND still had the original tyres on it "CEAT Made in Italy" So, what, you might ask, is the mile-age? Take a look.
Yep that actually is 1700 miles..........
After the exchange of a sum of money which I later found out to be about a quarter of the actual value of this bike to most scooterists, I took Sophia home.Here she is at home with me pretending to ride her.
Fortunately I have a friend, Mark Cornell, who used to work as a BMW motorcycle mechanic. He cleaned the carburettor for me (I can do it myself now!), and we put fresh gas in the newly cleaned gas-tank, crossed our fingers and worked the kickstart. Miracle of miracles, she started up on the fifth kick, (Okay its not up there with turning water into wine but Mark is only human, just). Massive humongous mucho thanks to the best Vespa Mechanic in Avery County North Carolina............Mr. Mark Cornell. Of course I let Mark be the first person to ride my new toy, it was only right. He took it up his driveway and back and dismounted with a big grin. "Cool" he said. High praise coming from a man who drives Buells, BMWs and other fancy schmancy bikes! Here is a pic of me with Sophia actually running (you can tell 'cos the light is on)
Yes I do look a little bit over the moon don't I.
Now then, back to those 46 year old tyres. I was told by a Very nice fellow called Paul, who runs a website called "Den of the Vespa" that the best insurance I could get if I was to ride "this old scoot" would be new tyres. The obvious inference being that the dry rotted old tyres would just disintegrate under the strain of the high speeds and heavy loads I was going to put on them. Being the kind of guy who laughs in the face of danger, I proceeded to ride the heck out of those tyres. I put over 300 miles on them going at mad speeds of up to 60 miles per hour, and leaning daringly into curves and corners like a latter day Barry Sheen. (The only motorbike racer whose name I know. Plus, he is English) Eventually age and strain did get to the tyres and I had a nice gentle blow-out at 45 mph on a smooth straight stretch of road. Lucky me!
Below......Old tyres and old wheels.
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| Front wheel. |
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| Back wheel. |
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