Scooter Perks

In addition to getting 1000 miles to the gallon, being able to park in the skinniest of spots, being able to split lanes, and getting to ride in the carpool lane, I have learned that if I arrive on a scooter I can get into Underground (a weekly brit-pop dance party) on Friday nights for free. Not that I ever really went to Underground more than... oh... twice, but it's nice to know the option is there.

Endless Summer V Rally in Santa Barbara

I left work a bit early at 5pm on Friday and headed straight out for Santa Barbara. As I still only have my motorcycle learning permit, I wanted to avoid the freeways as much as possible. (The learning permit does not allow for freeway riding, riding at night, or riding with a passenger. I have broken all of those rules, but have done no more than 2 out of 3 at any given time.) I took Wilshire out to the PCH, then road that up the coast through Malibu and past Mugu state park. The sun setting over the Pacific made for an absolutely gorgeous ride.



I dropped off the PCH at E. Hueneme Road. From there I headed east, then turned north at N. Ventura Road. Took a left at W. Channel Islands Blvd in Port Hueneme, which eventually became Harbor Blvd. This took me up through Ventura where I rejoined the PCH. Eventually I had to hop onto the 101, which I took the last twelve miles into Santa Barbara.

I managed to get Esta up to 74mph on the speedometer, which is the fastest I've taken her. That was down hill completely tucked. On flat ground, tucked, I managed an average top speed of 64mph. I was able to keep up with traffic fine on the freeway in the right lane, and even passed a couple of cars. I got into Santa Barbara around 7:30pm, making the total trip 2.5 hours. A more direct route solely on the freeway would probably have taken 1.5 hours.

The meeting point for the rally was at Moto Paradiso aka Vespa Santa Barbara. The night time activities included an open bar and a ride "for advanced riders only" that I opted against. I met up with members of the Vespastics, had some drinks, and did some socializing. Later, my friend Ashleigh - a non-scooterist, but a lindy hopper who lives in Santa Barbara, swung by and we went out for some excellent sushi on State Street. After dinner, we rejoined the scooterists and socialized some more at a couple of local pubs.

It was then that I was officially inducted into the Vespastics by Brian, the president. They have meetups and rides every Wednesday at the Cat & Fiddle on Sunset and I've been turning out every week. They're great people to hang out with (you can't go wrong with drinks and karaoke) and I was honored to become a member.

As the night wound down, Ashleigh offered me her guest room for the night.

I woke up bright and early for the Saturday ride, which was scheduled to happen at 10am, but on account of the drunkeness from the night before they pushed the ride back to noon. I had not received the memo, but that gave me plenty of time to oggle the beautiful scoots that were rolling in. There was a pretty impressive turnout of what must have been at least 100 scooters. Most were ET4s, but there were plenty of vintage Vespas and Lambrettas. There were also a couple of stray Honda Elites, an Aprilia Mojito Custom, and one maxi-scoot - a Suzuki Burgman.



The ride took us along the beach, up to the hills, through the canyons, and back down to the beach for a barbeque. I can't begin to tell you what the route is, but it was quite scenic, with plenty of fun twists and curves. The weather was a bit overcast, but that didn't detract from the scenery too much.

The primary feature of the barbeque was the raffle at the end. Several prizes were awarded, but the grand prize that everyone present was drooling over was a brand new red Vespa LX 150. In other words, my exact same scoot. Which is fine, because I would have been very happy to win another, though I would have seen if I could've paid the difference for a GT200. Unfortunately, I didn't win it (the owner of a pink ET4 was the lucky lady), but I did win a NoHo Scooters t-shirt and a couple of British scootering magazines.

The rally broke off for a bit after the raffle. I headed with the Vespastics to the hotel room they were inhabiting for the weekend, as it'd be my accommodation for the night. We then zipped down to the wharf for a boat ride along the Santa Barbara coast.



This was by far my least favorite part of the weekend, as I ended up getting sea sick and feeling miserable the entire way. But in theory it was a good thing. After the boat ride, the Vespastics and I grabbed some dinner and headed back to the hotel for the night.

Sunday morning featured a nice easy ride up the 150, past Lake Casitas, and ending in Ojai at a pizza restaurant a little east of town. I wish I had gotten the name of the place, because the food was damn tasty.



Lunch concluded the rally, and we all set off on our separate ways. The Santa Barbarinos headed back west, and the Vespastics, along with Mike from NoHo Scooters, headed east along the 150, hopping onto the 126 east to where it met up with the 5 by Magic Mountain. From there we opened the throttle wide open to jam south to Los Angeles.

Thanks to the Vesparados and Moto Paradiso for an awesome weekend.

I'm itching for the next rally, which just so happens to be the Night of the Vespastics, our very own rally right here in L.A.

More photos from the weekend are available at my Flickr page.

My Scooter

As requested in a previous comment, here's a picture of my scooter.



More photos from last weekends scooter rally, and a quick recap to come shortly.

Endless Summer V

I'll be leaving in a few minutes for my first scooter rally. A report on that and probably a stack of photos when I return on Sunday.

To A Lost Love

I can't believe I didn't post about this earlier...



Last Thursday, I finally sold my dear love, Lenka, the '93 Integra.

Lenka, we knew each other for nearly two years. We've spent nearly 30,000 miles together, three trips up and down the Pacific coast, and multiple trips to San Francisco and back. You've been encased in a quarter-inch layer of ice after a night of freezing rain, and you've seen the heat of the Inland Empire desert. You provided an economical means of transportation with your respectable gas mileage and compact size, while still being able, with the help of Ikea's flat packing, to furnish nearly an entire apartment. And who can forget your essential role in the video epic, Jon Akers - Model Citizen?

But Lenka, times change and I've found myself a new love - Esta. I'm sorry to say it, but there's really not enough room in my life for the two of you. Lenka, while you've meant so much to me since we met back in December of 2003, Esta is everything I could ever want. She's curvy, petite, sexy as hell, and gets 70 miles per gallon.

So nashledanou Lenku. You will be missed.

Riding in the Rain

It rained for the first time in Los Angeles since... May, I think. Being no longer in possession of a car, I had a choice between either taking the bus (which I have yet to do for my commute), or braving the elements and riding Esta (the name of my Vespa, which I don't think I've mentioned yet). Since it wasn't coming down very hard at my apartment, I opted for the scooter.

Like driving a car, riding a scooter in the rain is slightly more perilous. The roads are especially slick with a fresh rain, not so much because of the water, but because of the oil that has accumulated on the surface of the road. That oil tends to sit on top of the water and doesn't get washed into the gutters right away. On a scooter, however, you have only two wheels so if one of the tires loses traction, you don't have three other ones to grip the road.

To compensate, I opted a route on larger, busier roads. The extra traffic would agitate the water and oil so there'd less of a chance of hitting a large slick spot. I also tried to ride in the higher up center lanes, and of course proceeded more defensively at slower speeds.

The ride ended up being a cynch. My only complaint is that, while my Corazzo jacket kept my top warm and dry, my legs ended up pretty wet. The rain came down a bit harder the farther west I travelled. I think I may have to invest either in some rain pants, or perhaps a lap apron or Scooter Skirt.

Actually, that's not my only complaint. My bigger complaint is that I just washed and waxed my precious scoot on Sunday.

Safety and Gear

One of my primary concerns, and a concern that I think anyone who's planning on taking to two wheels should have, is safety.

Here's the thing - my mother was in a motorcycle accident, from which she still has scars, when she was a teenager. My cousin in the Philippines, who is roughly my age, died in March in a motorcycle accident.

This doesn't dissuade me from believing that scooters are a smarter way to travel, especially in an urban environment but it does remind me, just as the reality of motorcycle riding should remind everyone (because in truth, scooters are just another form of motorcycles - like choppers, cruisers, and sports bikes), that scooters ARE NOT toys. There is a risk to the life and property of yourself and others involved with every ride.

With that said, I wasn't about to let fear stop me in my decision to take to scootering exclusively (I don't have insurance for my car anymore, and my car is for sale if anyone is interested), but I was certainly not going to be an idiot about this.

So my first thing was to opt for a full-face helmet, over a 3/4 or half helmet. There is a statistic that says that about 1/3 of the impacts to the head in motorcyle accidents occur to the chin area. Now while I can't, off the top of my head, verify that to be true, it doesn't sound unreasonable. While open-face helmets look cooler (I do agree on this) a full-face helmet is the best way to keep your jaw safe from slamming into the pavement and possibly ramming into your skull. Sorry to get graphic, but I just want to stress my advocacy of safety.

I got a Z1R Stance. It's Snell and DOT approved. All helmets must be at least DOT approved in California. The Snell Memorial Foundation is a private, non-profite, organization that is dedicated to helmet safety. They subject helmets to slightly more rigorous tests than the DOT standard. I bought it at the same Vespa boutique in Sherman Oaks where I got my LX - I DO NOT suggest getting your helmet there. There's lots of great people working there, but, as I sadly learned later, they GROSSLY overcharge for their helmets. I'd suggest checking out other scooter shops, like NoHo Scooters, or checking any motorcycle dealership for their supply of helmets. Definitely try them on before deciding on one to make sure they fit well, and then you can try scoping out a better price online.

The second step was an easy one - gloves. Since I'm in L.A., it's generally pretty warm so I looked for some leather gloves with good venting. Can't find a link to what I currently have, but they're simple and should (hopefully) keep the pavement from acting like a cheese grater to my palms.

As for the torso, I opted for a Corazzo Urban Riding Jacket that I got from Metroscoot. Or rather I convinced my mother to buy it for me as a birthday present (she was quite willing since she was concerned about my safety). It's great - makes me feel very secure and will likely keep me quite warm when the weather does get nippy (that is, of course, a relative term). The downside is it's a bit bulky and has gotten pretty hot in warmer August and July weather. I'm anxious to try it out in fouler weather as winter approaches. I'm thinking for next summer I may pick up the Corazzo Riding Hoody as an alternative.

My pants and shoes are my only weak points in my gear in that I don't wear anything special. Generally it's jeans and Chucks. I'm thinking I may get a pair of riding jeans in the future for longer rides.

There are two more safety steps I'm planning on taking in the future. One is to enroll in a Motorcycle Safety Foundation RiderCourse. Taking the course is pretty much universally recommended and many states, like California, will waive the riding test for a motorcycle endorsement upon successful completion of the course. The other step is to get a copy of and read David L. Hough's Proficient Motorcycling. It's another source of information that has been pretty much universally recommended by seasoned riders.

That pretty much sums it up for now. Tomorrow I expect that I'll be riding with a local scooter club, the Vespastics, so I expect my next post will be a reflection as a newbie easing into the local scooter club "scene".