SCOOTERCAST Episode 78 [20:30m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

SHOW NOTES: Have you noticed that scooting makes for a nice diversion from everyday life? I have been riding as often as possible and with every other spare moment running out to the garage or down to the paint booth I built in the basement to work on my Ducati moped. Marcel has made several comments about the amazing transformation of the little bike, from rust bucket to a shiny ride.

I can’t tell you how many times I have gone back to the digital pictures I took before dissembly. This was especially true in reassembling the gear-box, putting the carburetor together and even setting up the frame. Before you start make a note to yourself “bag all the parts and label them.” As you can see by the pictures, this allows you to systematically lay all the parts out and decide what to keep and what to replace. I  replace all the ball bearings in the headset and in the wheels. Another suggestion, get an original parts manual. My conclusion is that it would be a nightmare without one since I am working on a moped that is over 40 years old.
Last, know your limits. I had fancied the idea of a few pin stripes on the tank. I went were we all go for expert instruction, Youtube. It didn’t take long for my masterpiece to turn into an ugly swirl of black lines and mismatched brush strokes.  As you can see from the picture I did recover from this monumental blunder, but skipped the pin striping the second time around. I may develop pin striping skills in the future, just not anytime in the next few years.

Music for this show is from the Podsafe music network and features Ikea by Jonathan Coulton and  The Complainer’s Boogie Woogie by William Clarke

 

 SCOOTERCAST Episode 77 [30:18m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

SHOW NOTES: If you are even remotely in the vicinity next week I am hoping you will consider coming to the Indian Summer Rally in Richmond. This is the premier rally of the 7Hills Scooter Club and I am sure it will include a killer city ride along the river, one like those I am always talking about on the show. Be assured, there will be plenty of over indulging activities of the oral kind. It’s easy to register, just go to the website. The rally starts Friday October 24 and runs through Sunday 26th. For those of you feeling the chill of season, it is still beautiful here in the south. Today I rode home from work in 82 degree weather.

I picked up another Accident Hash podcast from CC Chapman. If you haven’t heard of it, it is a music podcast from Boston, very eclectic with lots of bands that are connected in one way or another to the internet community. He played two artists I have played earlier this year, so I thought I would revist some of their music on this podcast. The first is Geoff Smith, who has a talent for catch tunes. He also was playing Mathew Ebel, a musician I met at Podcamp NYC. Like any good geek musician Matthew has a flashy website which offers premium content along with free music.

On last week’s podcast I cut off the conversation with Ed just as he was talking about producing fringe festivals. On this segment, he talks more about that, about scooting and the development of the St Louis Scooter Club. Click the player to listen to what he has to say.

 

 SCOOTERCAST Episode 76 [38:50m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

SHOW NOTES: Sorry for the delay in getting this podcast out. Once again, I have been consumed by work and all my scooting activities have taken a back seat to attending  meetings and writing reports. But this past weekend I had a well deserved reprieve. If you have been reading the blog, you know that I finally made it to another Sunday ride with the 7hills Scooter Club. In addition to that, I was able to spend most of Saturday working on the freshly powder coated frame of my project moped,
I have often thought that the scooter scene has a lot of big talkers. I don’t mean that as an insult, but more of an observation. My real point is that when I meet someone who is multi-dimensional, into scooters, art, music, reading, history, politics and more, I find that the conversation becomes more interesting and personally challenging. I like that.

I first started following Ed Reggi on twitter after he emailed me about the show and to say that he and his friends were starting up a new club in St Louis. This is nothing new, clubs start-up all the time and I get lots of emails from around the country talking about events and rallies. But Ed’s emails and his tweets are different. He post at all hours of the day and night usually saying he is starting a new project. For those of you who haven’t met Ed check out his website. Last week, during a trip to western Virginia, I took time to talk with Ed who was up in Wisconsin. The conversation lasted over an hour, so I have done some editing and split the conversation up into two parts. On this show, Ed talks about his interest in scooters, the St Louis Scooter Club and his acting career. Go ahead, take a chance, LISTEN TO THE PODCAST! It’s good.

Music for this show is from the Podsafe Music Network and is by The Sojourners, The Clintons and The Fump.

Weekends are for scooting. Well, at least that’s what I say during the week, when I rarely get to scoot enough to quench my thirst for the sweet smell of oil and gas. Yesterday was one of those sweet days when I hooked up with the peeps from the local scooter club and went on a beautiful city ride.

One of the best things about these “first Sunday of the month” rides is that all kinds of people show up. This time there was a rider on an unusual vintage Lambretta painted two-tone blue and white with two spot lights and a first time female owner riding a one day old SYM Fiddle 125. Riding with the 7hills club is an eclectic experience. This time it included Vespas, Stellas, Buddy 50s, a Piaggio MP3, vintage Hondas and an odd moped.

Any ride around Richmond means riding “south of the rivah”, a small lane that runs next to the James River along the upper rapids and flat water. Sunday’s ride ended on Church Hill at the Italian Festival. I strolled briefly along the three block food stalls, but skipped out quickly heading for home where I spent the rest of the afternoon working on my project bike, dreaming about another Sunday ride, someday.