Damage Control & Future Plans

It looks like there was some minor damage to the scooter. The cover was ripped in several places--enough to make me leave it until the ice thaws off. I figure if I try to remove it now, it might shred the cover. I will have to get another cover because that one withstood everything but a tree falling on it!

I have not been riding the past many weeks of cold, snow, and ice filled weather. I will likely have to pull the carb and clean it all out. That is almost a given.

My plan is to purchase a new scoot in a month or so. I'm going to look for a used Yamaha Majesty, Suzuki Burgman, or Kymco Xciting. Something in the 400cc or 500cc range. Next stop? That will be the Iron Butt Association Bun Burner 1500. You cover 1500 documented miles in 36 hours, turn in all your paperwork and proof, then they give you an award and certification pack. My first thought is visiting a little bit of Canada.

My Scooter...encased in ice.

Behold...the Icebike. A tree fell on top of my scooter and now it is encased in ice. I called the emergency mainenance at the apartments I live at first, then after that I sent and email to my insurance company. I don't know who will cover any damage, but I hope it's the apartments and not my insurance! It is THEIR tree.

My car also got a big portion of the tree on top of it. Both look mostly unscathed but its hard to tell because they are so completely covered.

86 days and counting for this Kentuckiana scooter club called LSG!

We have 86 days until the Cincinati WKRP Scooter Rally.  I just got info from one of the coordinators yesterday.  I am already making plans to rent a trailer so I can bring my scooter up there.  NOT!  My motto is if I can't get there on my own 2-wheels, I'm not going.  This motto completely excludes towing for repairs! ;o)

 

I hope to see many of my Kentuckiana / Louisville scooter friends there, and meet other folks from the Cincinatti scooter community (and all around really).  Should be a great opportunity to see all manner of Vespa, Piaggio, Lambretta, Aprilia, Yamaha, Suzuki, and Honda, scooters, as well as the poor Chinese step-child scooters like Roketa, Tank, Viva, Flyscooters, Lance, and others.  I also hope to see the Taiwaneese represented more with Sym scooters and Kymco scooters.  I'm specifically looking at the maxi-scooters for my own personal taste like the Suzuki Burgman, Yamaha Majesty, Honda Silverwing, Piaggio MP3, Aprilia Sportcity and Aprilia Scarabeo, Yamaha T-max, Kymco Xciting, etc.  It would be awesome to see a Can-am Spyder in action, not just sitting on the showroom floor.

 

I'm sure there will be plenty of Vintage Vespas, and smaller scooters like the Honda Ruckus, Honda Helix and Honda Reflex.  Yamaha has a good line also with the Yamaha Vino, Yamaha Zuma, etc.  It should be a real kickin time!

 

www.louisvillescooter.org

 

Scooter Club Patches

I finally found a resource for scooter club patches. They are smaller quantity and price because they actually are printed, not embroidered. The minimum quantities I've found for embroidery has been 30 and the total cost has been always more than my humble budget. These guys will print any quantity (even just one) for a good price. I'm sending graphic samples to the other forefathers tonight so we can vote on them!
Kelly via BBerry

Tuesday Meeting

We had a good meeting for a Tuesday night, when it is cold, raining, and gets dark before 630.  Everyone showed up on 4 wheels and we had no ride.  Still it was cool because it got to be after seven and only one person said "Is it time to go yet?"  but that was the guy who showed up hungry.  Highlands Coffee is no place to pick up a substantial meal.

 

We talked about membership, upcoming rallys, routing ideas for this colder weather.  My only problem is that are so many new and interesting places to see, not all of them within 15 to 20 miles of Louisville.  When it's a larger group, then the more people you please, the more restricted the ride is.  You get "I don't like to ride more than an hour." or "I have to be back by noon." or "Its too cold."   I'm pretty close to the opposite.  I won't start out if it's below say 30 degrees, or if it's already raining (spring, summer, fall) or might rain (winter).  I also don't prefer to start out a ride in the dark, but coming back is ok.

 

It's been cold and wet all week.  I'm just grumpy I guess.

Patches

I found a couple companies to do our Louisville Scooter Group patches.  Here in a couple weeks I hope to have some samples to show everyone at the Tuesday meeting.  I'll post them here, too.

Sunday - Good Roads

Typical backroads of Kentucky have scenery like this. I hate that its only the first of November and it's 40 degrees and many trees have lost their leaves. We had a very short fall this year.

Sunday - Downtown Bloomfield

This was such a cool little town. I stopped at the one gas station I found which was right in the middle of the little downtown with these cool old buildings. I got a cup of coffee and sat down and joined a dad and his three sons who were taking a break from hunting deer. There were some after-church people coming in for gasoline, everyone was friendly. It just gives you a real good feel to be in a little town like this.

Sunday - God's Land

I stopped at "Pleasant Hill Christian Church" which was just off the road. The people who attend here could honestly boast the claim their church lies in a beautiful piece of God's land. The scenery around was breathtaking.

Sunday - God's Land

I stopped at "Pleasant Hill Christian Church" which was just off the road.

Sunday - See Beautiful Rock City

At the beginning of my ride on Sunday, I stopped to get a shot of this barn. This type of advertisement was very common. Rock City and Mail Pouch Tobacco were the most common.

Scooting Saturday - Big Industrial Building

This big industrial building is in Speed, Indiana. Looks like it could have been a movie set.

Scooting Saturday - Old Filling Station

Near Hayden Indiana, I saw this old filling station. I don't know if it still runs, it was closed.

Scooting Saturday - The Covered Bridge

I found this cool covered bridge in Scipio, Indiana

Scooting Saturday

Among all the little towns I visited collecting town signs, I saw some really cool stuff.What are you supposed to do when the road is washed out? Luckily I had Eliza to tell me where to go (as usual).


In Butlerville, Indiana, I saw this motorcycle graveyard. I'm sure many would say my Chinese scooter looks at home.

Seat & temperature

For the record, the ATV seat cushion I got last month at Wal-mart works perfect for me! No more bum-fatigue! Also, I think I will have to draw my line at 50 degrees for "all-day pleasure cruises"!

Brewific Nostalgia

I could see Pabst Blue Ribbon, Old Milwaukee (shown) or something like Falls City beer being served with pride in many of the places I rode through this weekend. To commemorate the trip, I am finishing it off with a cold OMW. Not usually my "drink of choice", but oh well... Even though it seemed as cold or colder outside than the brew, it was still a very good weekend. Highlights were things like a flock of wild turkeys, beautifully colored trees among rolling hills, crops being harvested, covered bridges over running streams, little near-forgotten towns where they treat you nice, even if you're a stranger, ancient gray wood barns, and all the other things God has to offer you in Kentuckiana. The only negatives were the temperature, and nobody to share it with. Still, it was a VERY good weekend.

My New Vest

I didn't get the 500 miles in like I had hoped this weekend. I did get about 250 Saturday. I rode up to just North of North Vernon Indiana. The whole reason was to get a snapshot of Queensland, Indiana. It is not quite like my Holy Grain...that would be Xenia, Ohio. I did about 10 of those miles ON GRAVEL ROADS. For some reason over in Indiana, they have 90% of the white roads unpaved! In Kentucky, those roads are traditionally only 1.25 or 1.5 car widths but STILL PAVED! For the first 5, I did about 15mph. Then I started thinking that it would REALLY suck to be STILL on those roads after dark; so I brought my speed up to 20, then 25, and finally 30mph. At that point I vowed to get my arse back onto "solid" road and stay there. At one point I was on gravel, and Eliza (the tomtom) told me to turn onto DIRT!!! I had to go another TWO MILES to get back onto pavement! Anyway, I made it into North Vernon. I was shivering from the cold, and could find no Wal-mart, Target, or anything similar. What I did find was a Goodwill Store. I found there a 2XL sweater and this (pictured) 4XL fleece vest! I threw them on over my shirt, zipped up my tech jacket, and rode off a little warmer, although feeling a little "Maggied" (reference to Maggie Simpson when she is placed into her star-shaped snow suit that immobilizes her).

Scootin today

It is pretty cold. This did not keep me from exploring Indiana. I have been thru places such as Cementville, Sellersburg, Charlestown, Otisco, Marysville, Lexington, Kent, Lancaster, San Jacinto, Rush Branch, Butlerville, Nebraska, Grammer, Scipio, Queensville, and now i'm having a cup of coffee at the McDonalds in North Vernon.

Scootin' to the Polls

I wanted to have a t-shirt or sticker today that says "I Scoot AND I Vote!" but could not find one.  If I had thought about it before like 11pm last night I could have manufactured one...

 

Too tired at that point, however, I DID scoot to the poll and cast my vote.

Anchorage, Alaska

Ok, just kidding...it's Anchorage Kentucky!!!  I'm not going THAT far (well, not in two days).

Sunday...coming home thru Pewee Valley, KY

On the way home, I snapped a couple pictures.  Here's Pewee Valley...funny name.

Ken's ride

Here's a picture of Ken's sweet Vespa!  He says he would love to retire back in the hills behind his scoot.

Old Bridge

Here is the old steel and wooden plank bridge that was replace by the concrete one.

Replacement Bridge

There was this old bridge that had washed out or gotten dilapidated and this one was built to take it's place.

Farm House with Cool Silo

I thought this big old mansiony farm house was really cool.  Plus the stone looking silo was really neat.

Out of Road

After the train bridge we ran into gravel, so turned around.  Here's a side shot of the bridge.

Cool Old Train Bridge

This old train bridge was close to Sulphur.  The road was marked "No Outlet" but Ken's roadmap, the internet, and my TomTom said it went thru.

Sulphur, KY

Ken calls Sulphur the town that time forgot.  It really looks it!

Wilder's Corner

Both our scoots at Wilder's Corner.