Wireless is hard to come by in the little towns of Sicily. So here is a great experiment, can I blog from my iPhone? Italy is hot in the summer but a good time to visit because everyone goes to the mountains or sea. Rome was empty and we walked up to the Spanish Steps, Trevi Fountain and other sites without having to fight any crowds.
Unlike most people think scooters in Italy are utilitarian. But they have caught on that the rest of us have a love for them and there is Vespa crap all over the place. Most scooters are big wheeled Aprilia or the like and it is not uncommon to see bikes from Taiwan. Old scoots are rare as the government started paying to get them off the streets years ago.
But life is as I remember it, people and food first everything else second.
Be sure to check twitted for daily updates ok our travels. Pictures to follow as soon as I get an Internet connection.

 

 SCOOTERCAST Episode 70: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

There have been a ton of scooter riders out there this summer cutting across the United States in all different directions. So when I got an email from Sean Blake about his ride, I said to my self “so what?” Later, I went to his website, Scooter Quest, I realized that this was something different. Sean and a friend are going to use streaming video to let you see the ride as it is happening and give you a chance to participate while they are on the road. For those of you who don’t have a geek streak in you, this may not be so fascinating, but to me it was exciting. But I should back track a bit.

In podcasting and “new media” there is a lot of interest in building connections, a community of people who have similar interests, like in scooting. One of the emerging tools for doing this is streaming video, a live video platform that allow for conversations not just between two people, but among many from all over the world. Leo Laporte of TWIT is probably one of the most successful techno-buffs who is into this, but there are many more like Chris Pirillo and Robert Scoble.

Sean has wired his Genuine Stella scooter so he can stream video and chat while they do their Scooter Quest ride. In addition, their website will include real-time GPS mapping and video archiving for when they hit spots with no connectivity. I think this is another example of how some people are pushing the media envelope and they are not alone. If you want to see more of this kind of stuff look at the websites for Qik, Ustream,   Mogulus and other video and streaming platforms.

On another note, my luggage and passport are laid out on the bed and I am starting to dream about all the places we plan to visit in Italy. I hope to have another podcast up before we leave, but who knows. If the wi-fi gods are good to me on the trip, I will blog and post a show from the road. If not then just look for my tweets on twitter. For what it’s worth, I have been assured by AT&T that my Iphone will work in Italy.

Music for this show is from the Podsafe music network and features Reel Big Fish a band from California and The Subcity Dwellers, a nine member band from Canada.

SHOW NOTES: One of our friends, a native Sicilian is getting some kind of “Italian made good in the US of A” awards and since most of her family can’t make it back to the old country, Marcel and I “said sure why not, we’ll go.” As you might imagine, this is going to be a festival and italian festivals mean three things, food, drink and music. The town is called Ragusa and in about two weeks we will be hobnobbing with Adriana’s old country folk and making our way around to the sights on the island.

Any of you who have been following the show or watching the web know that Alix Bryan has been traveling around the US this summer talking with people about Peace and answering all kinds of questions about her Buddy 125. I am lucky in that I live here in Richmond, where she started and ended her ride, and it ended in style, with a big scooter party at ScootRichmond. Thanks to Chelsea! Over the course of the evening there were probably 50 or so scooterist, many well-wishers and lots of good food and at the end of it all, Alix sat down with me and reflected on the ride. You’ll need to listen to the podcast to get all the details and make sure you revisit Alix’s website and help her out. She is truly one authentic human being, hopefully something that we all aspire to be, even in the scooter world.

Jeff Culter first emailed me back around the first of the year, talking about getting a scooter, complimenting me on the show and generally kissing up to the host. I guess it didn’t hurt that I was giving away an ipod.  But it became evident, after he didn’t go away, that Jeff really did have a budding interest in scooters. What was even more interesting to me was that he had a podcast called Bowl of Cheese with a website to match. Being the usual dolt that I am, I couldn’t imagine how someone could write or talk about cheese all the time, but then again I guess you say that about scooters. It wasn’t until several weeks later, after subscribing to his podcast that I realized that Jeff, unlike me, was a real writer and his show was not about cheese, but about life’s many absurdities. This is my endorsement, suggesting that you visit Jeff’s websites. You’ll find the kind of writing that many of us aspire to and besides, he’s a big fan-boy of one of my favorite tech guys, John C Dvorak.

Music for this show is from the Podsafe music network. Billy Jones is blues and may be one of the most famous ‘unknown’ musicians you will ever hear.

 

 SCOOTERCAST Episode 69 [30:55m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

SHOW NOTES: It seems that in just about every part of my life these days I am thinking about scooting. At the same time, I think more and more about how riding and safety go hand in hand. I think about is getting hit, even when I’m doing everything right. Several months ago, we were all confronted with what happens when things go terribly wrong. The news came that Josh Rogers of Scoot magazine had been involved in a serious scooter/car accident. The details were never clear until now as April Whitney has chronicled this tragic event in an article in issue #46 of Scoot Magazine. As she recalls, it was a spring ride in March, up a winding canyon road outside of San Jose, California. In her article, April quotes another scooterist who said that Josh had just passed him and a car coming the other way veered across the line into his lane and hit his scooter head on. Josh flew up, over the hood of the car, hit the windshield and fell to the ground just to the right of the car as his scooter went over a cliff off to the right side of the road. I thought April’s recollection of Josh’s questions about the accident were telling. As he lie waiting for the ambulance, he asked, “Did I F— up?” What is so amazing about this question is that I can imagine saying this myself, “what did I do?

For those of you who have studied rider safety or taken the motorcycle safety course you know that the majority of accidents are caused by another driver’s mistake. That is not to say that we don’t do some stupid things. Just look at all the evidence on you-tube where showing off doing a wheelie down the street or eating while they are riding is common. Three out of four motorcycle accidents involve another vehicle, wich is usually a passenger car. Most accidents happen at speeds under 30mph, at an intersection when a motorist fails to see you and turns left in front of your scooter. According to several leading web references in many of these accidents alcohol use is a common factor and the failure to wear a proper helmet and clothing result in many more serious injuries than necessary. No matter the rider’s overall experience, which on the average is close to three years, over half of the accidents occur when the rider has less than five month’s experience on their bike. I mention this is for all you beginners and many of you intermediate riders out there who are returning to scooting. So what should you do?

1. Always wear a helmet, it is the single best piece of protective equipment you can use.
2. Always wear gloves, even on a hot day.
3. Wear over-the-ankle boots, preferably made of strong leather.
4. Wear a jacket made of something sturdy like denim, nylon or leather.
5. Last wear long pants made of a thick material that will resist abrasion and provide protection.

Despite all this, consider developing an attitude towards riding. For me some might say I am a defensive rider, I call it having a healthy dose of paranoia. In short, I consider every car a potential threat and I am always trying to anticipate the need to make an evasive maneuver. And whether it is true or not I keep reminding myself, there are a lot of boneheaded drivers out there.

By the way, thanks again to April for the update on Josh in Scoot magazine and you can follow his recover on the forums at the Scoot Magazine website. In addition, you’ll find an active community of scooterists talking about all kinds of scooter topics.

Music for this show is from the Podsafe Music Network and Ariel’s Publicity, featuring JD and Straight Shot

 

 SCOOTERCAST Episode 68 [22:15m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download