Mile 1000

Well, mile 400 on the new odometer. Since it was reset to zero with the replacement dash panel at the 600 mile service. I can't believe I've logged 1K on the BV and 2,500+ on both scooters combined!

Speaking of the Met', I ran into Mrs. Z at lunch today and she said it was sold yesterday. Circle of life, I guess.

We've had three more days of rain this week and I rode every day but one, and that day it didn't rain. Go figure. Luckily the storms have come while I'm indoors working and calm down when I'm traveling. I stay a lot drier on the 250. I think the windshield has a lot to do with it.

Yellow pollen season has begun and the Bev gets coated overnight. I'm going to have to build in some wipe down time in the mornings.

Fueled up today. Couldn't help but catch the previous driver's total...

And here's mine.

My barbershop was saying that gas will hit $4/ga in May.

Family Fun

A beautiful Sunday for riding took to Gentry to formally celebrate my grandfather's 90th birthday. The trip had a few bugs in it...literally. My face and wind shields were splattered with quite a few creatures. No complaints, though. A great day for a ride!

New Roads

We took the Beverly to Gentry to celebrate my grandfather's 90th birthday. Clean living and physical activity in case you were wondering.

We is Robin, Oscar, and I. I removed the hard case trunk and ratchet strapped the small pet carrier in it's place. It may take a few trips for the dog to get used to it.

It was warm but windy. Robin had discovered a new route to Gentry. It's a country back roads starting in Vaughn that eventually connect to HWY 59. It's 55 mph most of the way with a couple 90 degree turns thrown in for good measure.

The country road was hard top and cut through horse ranches, cow pastures, and farmland. The landscape was like a video game it was so perfect. No litter, well-manicured, white picket fences and all. A superior route for a scooter. We even saved at least 10 minutes.

On the way home we "low waved" another couple on a motorcycle. It turned out to be Robin's friend and her husband. The next biker started flashing his lights as we approached and instead of the wave he popped a wheelie at 45 mph. It seemed reckless but I couldn't help but be impressed. We waved at a few more bikers and we even saw an MP3!

I forgot to mention that I gave another friend a ride to lunch. A co-worker that you wouldn't expect to ride felt comfortable braving a quick scoot to lunch. It was fun to share an experience with someone who may not have tried it otherwise. Good day for the BV 250.

Catching Waves

As I hopped off the bike and walked into the building today an older woman on her smoke break said, "You must be a hardcore rider to be riding in the mornings this week." I smiled and said, "With the appropriate gear it's quite comfortable."

Of course, I immediately realized my answer probably drained any street cred I had just earned. I should have quoted Tenacious D by shouting "Well, you're not hardcore unless you live hardcore!"

I had the chance to give a friend a ride home. We passed a middle school and a group of kids waved. As we approached another group of kids they started waving. My friend asked, "Why are all these kids waving at us?" I said, "I don't know. It happens all the time."

And it does. I should be glad. The bright yellow jacket is designed for visibility and I can't help notice that almost everyone watches the scooter go by. Especially kids and old men.

The photo above is courtesy bikerlawblog.com. It's a shot of the motorcycle low wave. It's a gesture of awareness for other riders.

It's like saying, "I see you other motorcycle rider and acknowledge you while I'm also aware of everything else that is going on around us like the idiot SUV driver in front of me with poor lane control, talking on her cell phone, that probably doesn't see either of us and - you're cool."

I do like the variations, like the rider-and-passenger dual wave, the handle bar finger-lift, and my personal favorite - the helmet nod. I didn't get as many return waves on the Metro.

Speaking of the Met', I took the Beverly in to repair the speedometer and have the 600 mile service. The only loaner Vespa o' the Ozarks had was my former Metropolitan. As soon as I sat down I was overwhelmed with how much smaller a bike it was. I can't believe I got by with the tiny frame and matching power. I'm not saying there is anything wrong with the Metro, but I don't think I can come back from the room and get-up-and-go of the BV 250.

At the same time, it was like a visit from an old friend. I do miss a bit of the lighter agility and sense of basic pleasure the Metro affords. No regrets, though. The tune-up did just that and the Beverly runs like a champ now. The brand new odometer was set at zero, so I'll have to add 300 miles to it in my head when I think about it.

Rain Delay

We've had a lot of rain the past two weeks. After the last round, the sun came out and the wife wanted to go for a ride. We found the sign above at the east entrance to Lake Atatlanta.


This is the over run road. You might recognize it from a couple of posts ago when I commented on how the drainage pipes were really running with all the rain. Ha! We took the highway to the other entrance and patrolled the park pathways surveying the unusual amounts of water.

Evening ride

It was a beautiful 76 F today. When I got home for work I took the wife for a ride. We went across the bridge, incidentally behind another couple on a touring bike. We both turned around at the other end of the bridge and rode back.

We stopped at the lake access and picked through driftwood for my aquariums. The lake is higher than I've ever seen it and we have more rain on the way! After a few moments, we got back on the scooter and picked a random side road to explore. It was a paved, wooded road with a an occasional horse ranch. We met another couple on a sport bike enjoying the same ride.

The random road connected to my old "backroad" route to work from my Metropolitan days. It may have been a subliminal decision, as I had been thinking earlier in the day about how the old route was more pleasant than the faster new route.

It was time for fuel and it took $8 this time. Highest yet, with $3.54/ga. for 91 octane. We took the Lake Atatlanta access road home. Plenty of people out enjoying the day.

Of course, I forgot the camera AND my phone. Ah well.

In the Press

I was interviewed at work about the new scooter. The following appeared in our newsletter.

"Donna: Sundance’s PSP saves natural resources and his pocketbook at the same time.

Sundance, let’s talk about your gas expense. How much do you spend on gas per month?

Sundance: About $23.

Donna: How is that possible?

Sundace: On most days, I ride a scooter to work that gets 65 miles per gallon.

Donna: Wow! I would love to trade, I barely get down the block for that! Other than cash savings, what was your motivation to switch to a scooter?

Sundace: It reduces my transportation carbon emissions by half, reduces demand for foreign oil, and gets better parking spaces!

If Americans were to switch just 10 percent of their total mileage to scooters, they would consume 14 - 18 million gallons less fuel per day and carbon dioxide emissions could be reduced by 324 million pounds per day. (Source ICR survey, May 2006)

The activist is not the man who says the river is dirty. The activist is the man who cleans up the river. ~Ross Perot"

Carry Out

Capitalizing on my hipster lifestyle we ordered some 'za online and I took the opportunity to pick it up on the 250. Sometimes it's hard to be humble. : )