Merry Christmas Scooter World

Last weekend we had Luminaria Night in my neighborhood, Avondale.
Sarah and I returned from a trip to visit relatives and friends in Orlando, so we arrived home just in time to get our luminaries out at the new house.

Our old house was on the corner of Riverside and Talbot Avenues.  It was a double lot with 130 feet of frontage on each street.  It took 6 to 8 luminary kits to cover all of that footage.

Our new house is on an interior lot, 50 feet wide.  I bought two kits and had them set in minutes.  Much easier.

The 7 Bridges Scooter Club decorates scooters and rides in the traffic during luminaria.  I used to ride but prefer country rides and always have parties to attend on that night, so I have missed the last two.

But they rode and the crew included Tom Cyphers from St. Mary's Georgia on his decorated Burgman.  It was beautiful.

Happy Holidays!

The Duplex with luminaries

Tom Cyphers, all dressed up for the ride.

Ken's Holiday Oyster Tour

Ken Wilson, Lostboater to many, planned another Oyster tour for the past three days.  This is the third of 2015 and was as much fun as the others for me.  Meaning lots of fun.

It was supposed to start with me meeting him in Apalachicola on Monday.  But I had a business dinner scheduled to meet with prospective new clients, good friends of one of Sarah's best friends.  They want to move forward, so beginning in January, I have another house to design.

Because of that, I decided to ride the 208 miles to Albany, Ga to meet Ken as he was moving from the panhandle through Dothan, Alabama and Albany.

First stop was for a healthy lunch at Southern Roots

We stayed in a nice hotel that he had selected, Merry Acres.  It had a nice pub on the grounds that we took advantage of, along with a shuttle to various restaurants.  We selected the Catch, a seafood place a couple of miles away.  I had Monkfish.  Never had that before.  It was tasty.

Two scooters in front of the Pub.

I awakened Ken too early, then we had breakfast at the hotel.  Ken wanted to see a memorial for Ray Charles in a park in Albany, so our first stop of the day was there.  On the speaker system there, Blueberry Hill was playing. That is supposed to be a Fats Domino song, but Ray played it too and the tune stuck with me for the entire day.

Ken at the Ray Charles Memorial

From there we had a fine 90 mile ride to Douglas, where we were to meet Jim Mandle and Stephanie Yue for a tour of the restoration of a P-82 airplane in a hangar at the airport.  Jim arrived promptly but Stephanie was delayed as she rode through the cold from Atlanta.  While waiting, we had lunch at the Flyin' Cowboy restaurant, where there was a mock plane crash outside.

And if those cotton fields are rotten, you don't get very much cotton.

Ken, Big Red and Razzo waiting at the Douglas Airport

Jim's arrival

Just missed us

We then went to the hangar to see the remarkable airplane undergoing restoration.  It is one of only 235 built.  I believe I heard that only five exist today.  It is seven years into an eight year effort and will be in the air at this time next year.  I marveled at the complexity of the effort.

Jim and the P-82 under restoration.

Twin fuselage airplanes are rare.

Picture on the wall of the plane flying

What it looked like

Scooterists mucking it up.

Four scooters and a plane

Three dinosaurs and Stephanie

We then headed south for the 90 mile ride to White Springs, Florida, where Jim had arranged a cabin for the night at the Stephen Foster State Park along the Suwanee River.  When we arrived we could see the Christmas lights that had been set for public display.  After dinner in Live Oak, we walked the grounds to take it all in.  It is a beautiful place made special by the displays.

An unusually beautiful day for a ride

Passing Mount Florida, the spoils of Potash mining.

Blurry shot of the lights at Stephen Foster State Park

Lights at the museum in the park

Back at the cabin, Stephanie serenaded us with her ukulele, even singing to a song.  She tried Stephen Foster's Suwanee River, but had never heard it before so it was a challenge for her.  She decided, after reading the words, that it was a sad song and abandoned the effort.

In the morning, Jim brought breakfast and Ken and I departed at around 10:30, Ken heading south with me going east.  I stopped at Everybody's in Baldwin for a pork chop and vegetable lunch.

On the way back home

Lunch at Everybody's

What a great way to spend a couple of days.

The Great Outdoors

Yesterday, the 7 Bridges Scooter Club ride was to High Springs and the Great Outdoors restaurant.  I always like this one as a destination because it allows for a pretty route both there and back.  It includes some of the best roads in the area.  High Springs is an active small town near Gainesville that is one of my favorites.

Because it has been so good lately, I chose Rocket as my ride.  On the way down, it passed 69,000 miles and ended the day right at 69,100.   It was perfect until the end of the ride when I got on I-10, got it up to 74 mph and the power dropped and temperature rose.  I got off and finished the ride on US 90, where it got back to perfect.  It appears that it is going to be fine on all roads where I stay below 70 mph.  That covers most of our group rides and can cover everything if I am careful.

Upon getting home, I have wanted to take Vanessa for a long, fast test ride since Boris replaced the leaking water pump on Saturday.  I took her all around the area, probably nearly 50 miles including I-295 for more than 15 miles.  She is not as fast as Razzo, topping at around 74 on this ride, but she did not overheat, stumble or give me any indications that she is not now capable of any ride. She now goes into the rotation for big rides.

Thanks to Russ Dixon for the photos.

At the start, Jim Skillman and me, on Rocket

Stopped at a light in Maclenny.  The first hour was cold and damp.

Turning, 8 miles north of Sanderson in the Osceola National Forest

The sun finally came out.  Feeling the warmth on my legs made me happy.

Sunny stop near Lake City

Leading the gang onto one of my favorite roads

Price Creek Road, south of Lake City.  Scenic north Florida at its best.

More on Price Creek Road

Price Creek turns into SW County Road 245 just south of 238, and reward the rider with one of the few vistas in the area.

More scenic North Florida

Parked across the street from the Great Outdoors in High Springs.  High Springs is one of the best small towns in North Florida.  It is just far enough from Gainesville to be busy, while not being a sprawling exurb.

Vanessa Yet Again

After the turmoil that has been Vanessa over the past few months, I went to the scooter warehouse last weekend and decided to take the coolant hose off of Zoltan's GT (one of my previous scooters).  It wasn't really on his whole GT as the engine ate a valve last year and has been undergoing repairs since.  The engine was sitting on a table and the hose was loose, laying under the engine.

Russ and I, mostly Russ as that is just him, took the bad hose off Vanessa and installed the new one.  I also checked the rear tire pressure to find it was holding air.  Then after refilling the coolant, I took it for a thirty mile ride, the last 15 at 65 to 75 mph on the highway.

I got back to the warehouse to let Boris know that it was running great, with no signs of damage from the two overheating episodes caused by the crappy hose.

But after the brief celebration, I got back on to go home, but looked down to see coolant on the asphalt.

Boris had noticed a small leak coming from the water pump before the most recent hose disconnect.  We cleaned it off and were hoping it would go away.  It didn't.  The leak was not great enough to stop me from riding, but it had to be repaired.  Boris recommended a new water pump.

So here it is, along with the o-ring and bolts.

If this does not get her stabilized, it is really time for the junk yard.

Let's all hope that it works.

Hi Viz Me

It has been a slow month posting here.  Not many for November as I just didn't have anything to say.

But, because it is December now, I will try to get caught up.

I actually have a few ideas that need to be properly vetted, then posted.

The first new piece is that I have a new riding coat  It was given to me by Bill Dog, my Iron Butt riding companion from October.  I accepted the gift, even though I have been quite vocal in the past about my negative feelings about Hi Viz gear.  I always found it to be unnecessary, and unusually aggressive and ugly.  For years I have been wearing what I call "High Visibility Black", but now don't mind wearing it as I got a bright helmet a year ago that is, by far, the most comfortable helmet I have ever worn.  Those following on group rides often comment about how much they like it because it is easier to spot me ahead while leading.  So I wear it.

It is not an off the rack coat.  It was made by another friend, Bob Arnold, also known as Flordian on MV.  He works for NASA and had the ability to purchase some leftover field coats.  They were the usual government issue hi viz color.  From there he added Vespa and Piaggo patches and reflective tape to make them even more highly visible.

I have found it to be perfect for Florida winter riding as it has a tight closure at the wrists and zips up around the neck, keeping the cool air out.  It is not heavy enough for super cold weather, but we don't have that here.

Me wearing it at the warehouse before a beautiful breakfast ride last Sunday.

Can you see me?

Can you see me?

Turning onto 301.  Can you see me?

At Country Cabin for Breakfast.  Can you see me?

Ten Years with the Rocket Ship

Today marks the tenth anniversary of my purchase of Rocket.

I can't imagine what my life would be like without that wonderful machine.

Most of my free time is now spent on rides with my friends, all of whom came to me because of riding.  It is my first choice for having fun these days.

With over 68,600 miles on the old scoot, it is getting a bit long in the tooth, but I am currently riding it to work and back every day with some longer rides thrown in for a kick.

It is running better than it has in a long while.  I think I will keep it.

Rocket in Alaska.

This was posted on MV by a member, znomit, from New Zealand.  Fitting tribute for a fine machine.

Chicago on a Grom

Sarah and I spent the last five days in Chicago, visiting our son Sam and his friend Sara.  They have been there for the past two years and we have now visited three times.

Chicago is a magnificent city.  So large and busy.

Sara had bought a Honda Grom a few months ago.  A Grom is a tiny motorcycle.  It has a 125cc engine with a four speed manual transmission.  The wheels and tires are identical to my Vespa GT's, 12" at each end. It weighs only 225 pounds, almost 100 less than the Vespas.  It's geometry is much different too, much more like a sport bike than the scooters.  This makes for twitchy steering and manners in general.  I had to think twice about removing my left hand to take photos.

We left Sam's apartment in the Humboldt Park area, then rode to Lake Shore Drive near the Field Museum.

What a cute machine.

Sam checking out his Bike

From there we ran to the north end of Lake Shore Drive, onto Sheridan and various roads heading north to the Baha'i Temple at Wilmette.

Sam with his big bike.

The little Grom at Wilmette Park

Big rider or small bike?  Maybe both.

Lovely color

Tiny

Into the sun

Sam at a stop.  Willis tower in view. 

Along Lake Shore Drive.  Chicago is one big city.

More Lake Shore Drive.  Shortly after this I stopped taking photos.  I felt much more comfortable holding on with both hands riding the twitchy little machine.

Then we rode to Buffalo Wild Wings back near his house to watch the Jaguar Football game that they lost, as usual.

On Lake Shore, with a 40 mph speed limit, we were getting passed while we were riding at speeds up to 62 mph.  The performance of the little Grom was quite satisfying.  I could keep up with Sam and traffic relatively easily.  Considering it is a 125cc, that is saying a lot.  The twitchy handling was a little different for me but not uncomfortable.  I always felt safe and secure.  Braking was fine, but I did lock the rear brake when Sam stopped quickly avoiding a photo controlled traffic light.  It locked but we did stop very quickly.  Piece of cake.

I would love to have one for flicking around town.  It would be fine for many of the group rides out of town too.