200, not out

Yesterday (Friday, May 8) was my one-week anniversary with my Vespa, and we are just so happy together. Thank you so much for asking. The honeymoon is definitely still going strong. Sure, in that first week we have been through a lot, all of the highs and lows of a new relationship. We’ve had sunny carefree days where we just enjoy each other's company, and we’ve had rain, wind, and the stress of approaching finals. But overall, it has been a great week.

In one week I have put almost exactly 200 miles on my scooter. 199.something to be exact (I just didn’t feel like going around the block to make it official). I have to admit that I am having some new-parent type concerns with it, although I don’t think there is anything to really worry about. This type of engine needs a break-in period (I think even smaller boat engines need one), and so that might have something to do with the fact that I haven’t been getting the gas mileage that I expected. During the break-in period I am using a lighter oil than I will normally use, and so maybe that has something to do with it. Either way, I am still getting almost twice the miles-per-gallon that I did with my car. The one “real” issue is that my front break makes that high-pitched breaking squeal. I don’t know if it is something important, or if it is just annoying. But I’ll be bringing the scooter in for its first checkup in not too long, so they can take a look at it for me.

One thing that I have discovered is that I am becoming increasingly obsessed with scooter gear. Mostly I have been looking at helmets (despite having a great Vespa helmet already) and jackets. Especially jackets. The fact is I don’t really like mine. I recognize that it is important and that keeps me safe, but it is ugly! I spent a lot of money on a Vespa because I like the vintage look (as well as the reliability). I don’t really want to look like I should be on a crotch rocket when I ride it. Are scooter jackets required to look stupid?
The answer is, of course, no. It helps if you are British, but I’ll get to that in a second. During my searchers I discovered Corazzo jackets, made just down I-5 in Portland (http://www.corazzo.net/). These cost a little more than I spent on my current jacket, but they are pretty cool looking.

If it weren’t for the conversion rate between the dollar and the British pound, I would have already purchased at least one jacket from http://scooter-wear.com/. They carry Corazzo jackets, but they also have a number of awesome looking options from brands that I can’t even find on ebay. If you are in the market for some new gear, and/or you are rich, check this site out (I am a large in jackets, in case you rich folks were curious).

While jackets are a big concern for me, most of my time is spent looking at helmets. The sad thing is that I don’t even need one, as I have a great one already (see below left, but mine is white, and I added a face guard). I have managed to convince myself that I should have an extra one in case someone is visiting and wants to go for a ride. I don’t imagine many of my friends will be able to fit into Julie’s non-gender-specific small helmet. So if I’m going to need a second helmet, why not get a cool one that I can use if I feel like it? Right? Two birds, one (expensive) stone. My first choice would the Piaggio Copter (below right, and only $299!). I don’t know if looking like a fighter pilot while riding a scooter will look odd or not, but since they are made by a scooter company, I think it’ll be fine.


There are also some non-Vespa/Piaggio helmets that I like, and that I can probably afford. But at this point, I feel like I should stick with what I know I can trust. And since I can't try on helmets from the internet, I should also go with a size that I know will fit. We'll see what happens.

Well, it’s looking like a nice weekend. I should be out riding rather that writing…

Rain or shine, but mostly rain

As we say in Washington, if you don’t like the weather, wait five minutes!

It’s an old adage that, I have to say, is pretty ridiculous. With the exception of Southern California, and perhaps states like Arizona and New Mexico, everyone in the U.S. uses that saying. Everyone thinks that their weather is crazy and unpredictable. But the truth is that weather is difficult to predict and forecast just about everywhere. I have a couple of weather sources that I check regularly, and I can usually get an idea of what to expect (if it’s spring, fall, or winter = rain!). But as I watched the sky last evening, I just knew that the sun would come out today. Sure, all of my weather widgets, web pages and channels agreed that it would, indeed, rain today. But I didn’t need them! I was watching the clouds clear up in front of my eyes. So I wake up this morning for class, and sure enough, I see sunshine. Mark =1, Weather experts = 0. I saw all my waterproof gear where I left it to dry yesterday, and of course I left it there. My waterproof pants fit nicely into the under-seat-no-pets-carrier, but what would I need those for? The sun was out! All through class I kept an expectant eye out the windows, just waiting for the chance to get back out there in the nice weather, and tried desperately to pay attention to Hannah Arendt’s response to Marx (she disagreed with him, right?). But when I began to pack up my things at the end of class, I glanced outside to see dark clouds and… wait for it…. RAIN!

The truth is that it wasn’t really that bad. It was an isolated rain cloud and I only had to ride in it for about 5 minutes. Still, lesson learned. Those waterproof pants are back in the scooter.
I have noticed something pretty interesting about me since I got the scooter. If the weather is crappy, I spend a lot more time delaying my departure and trying to see if I can get away with not going (I don’t usually skip out on things, but the thoughts do cross my mind). If the weather is nice, however, I leave about 20 minutes earlier than I need to. I just get so tired of waiting to get out and ride that I end up leaving really early. If I actually had friends at my school, this wouldn’t really be a big deal. But as it is, I end up sitting in (or out side of) my classroom waiting for people to arrive.

Well, now I’m looking for an excuse to run an errand. I bet I could convince my lady that she wants dessert.

Blast off -or- A week of firsts

Well, it has truly been a week of firsts.

I purchased a powder blue Vespa LX 150 this past weekend (big thanks to the folks at Northwest Motor Scooters, by the way - http://www.nwmotorscooters.com/ - they are amazing!), and I guess pretty much everything has been a first. I had my first near death experience as someone pulled out in front of me. She looked me right in the eye before she pulled out, and then gave me an absolutely evil look, perhaps because I had the nerve to drive legally on the road at a safe speed. I had a kid at a bus stop laugh at me. Twice. I think that it was the same kid, too. I also had my first scooter-admirers. I thought I would get more “cool” comments, but consensus seems to be that it is “cute”. Take that, bus stop kid.

There is an interesting phenomenon I have noticed that I don't understand. I have lived in Washington since August of 2008, and I still don’t get Washington drivers. Has nobody told them that they don’t have to wait until the absolute last second to move over when a lane ends? Don’t you understand that if you do that, you are causing traffic back-ups? Anyway, I was driving to school down Pacific Ave – a straight shot with no turns and a speed limit of 35 – and I checked my mirrors to see what was going on behind me. I saw that there were no cars behind me, and about 20 in the lane next to me. Is there some kind of assumption that a scooter must be driving slowly? To tell the truth, they can stay in the other lane. I still don’t trust the drivers here, so if they want to stay away from me, they have my blessing.

One of the joys of owning a scooter in the Pacific Northwest (PNW from here on out) is that if you want to have any quality time on your scooter, you’re going to need to get used to riding in the rain. My first experience was a quick trip to Fred Meyer (that’s my local huge grocery store). I took off remembering all of the warnings I received from the Washington State Department of Licensing Motorcycle Manual, which were mostly ways to avoid death. But it wasn’t raining that hard, so there wasn’t going to be much of a problem, right? If you have never taken a scooter out in the rain, be warned: at 35 mph, “not raining that hard” turns into Manila at the height of monsoon season. My pants were soaked, and my lower face felt like it was being bombarded by ball bearings (my face-shield only goes down to my nose). Since I have had only one rain-free day since I got my Vespa – and that was the day I got it – I decided to add some waterproof pants to my collection of gear. That was probably the most useful $25 I have spent so far. I think a full-face shield is on the horizon as well.

Well, I am about to take off again, in the rain as usual. I hope to update this as close to every day as possible, but I’m not making a promise there. My goal is to ride my scooter every day, no matter what. There will be a month (July) where I won’t be riding because I’ll be in Michigan getting married. Other than that, look for updates frequently.