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

SHOWNOTES:You may remember that a while back I took the plunge and bought some real riding gear. I have been riding for years and had never upgraded my outerwear for either safety or fashion. For some reason I started thinking about how it would be safer if I took the possibility of crashing more seriously and I ended up going for a Firstgear Meshtex Jacket and a HJC full face helmet. The helmet has been the best purchase I have made in a long time. Although it blocks out a lot of sound, I like the way that it it keeps my whole face protected from the wind and bugs. Before, I had just become a custom to the sting a bug makes when it hits your face, thinking that it was a part of the riding experience. Let me tell you, it is not. Many riding jackets have armor built in. Mine seems to shift around, mostly inside the elbows of the jacket and never seems to fit right. I like is the mesh design, which keeps me warm but also lets in just enough air to keep me cool as the seasons change. Don’t think I am planning on pitching the jacket, but several weeks ago Steve on the Scooter Scoop showed a riding armor alternative which I think is worth considering. Its called Icon Field Armor. Instead of being built into your riding gear, it is armor that straps on under your clothing and allows you to make your usual fashion statement without sacrificing your safety. It seems to offer all the same protection points, chest, shoulders, back, elbows, knees and legs. For me it will mean I will be able to build my riding wardrobe around the essential sweatshirt/jeans combination and not have to worry so much about the consequence of bouncing off a hard road surface.

All this talk about new safety gear is not just some whimsical review of new clothing options. I noticed several weeks ago that there were a number of blogger and forum posts talking about recent crashes or close calls. Each seemed to document the sheer stupidity of people driving big over-sized SUVs, proving the old riding adage that just when you think you have thought of everything, the unexpected happens. For many years I have been a rather cautious rider, some might even say pessimistic or paranoid, But like other things in life, you have to ask your self, “does it work?” For me the answer is yes.

Since blowing up my Vespa Sprint, I now face the prospect of getting back a hopped up version of the old girl. With great excitement and anticipation, I am looking at a brand new 150 LML engine mounted in a bike that is pounds lighter the Genuine Stella it is usually pushing. From everything I hear and read on the interwebs it seems that this is quite the little power plant. I am going with the no oil injection, 5-port, 150cc motor. It has electronic ignition and reed valve induction and Dave the mechanic tells me he will switch out some of the scooter’s wiring harness to get the lights working with the new 12 volt system. It should mean better reliability and more power and of course, give me a good reason to invest in some new armor protection to match the prospect of all the increased horse power. I am not planning on changing my riding style, I just have the option to go faster and we all know what that will means.

Scooter Blog Posts and News

• Two Close Calls Too Many at Little Billy’s Scooter Tales
• The (Potential) High Cost of Riding at Scooter in the Sticks
• Surgery is over, now it’s time to mend at Dion’s Random Ramblings

Music for this show is from the Podsafe Music Network

• Soccer Mom by Olio
• She’s Got My Darts by Curiosity Shop
• Olive Garden by Paul and Storm
• Revolution Blues by Billy Jones

 

 Episode 49 [25:14m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download