Movin' On...

Obviously, it's been quite a while since I've posted here...
but I've decided to start blogging again...With a different focus – and that one being not so fine.

So, please visit Piccolo Takes All for links to my new blog and shop.

Here's to movin' on! (clink!)

The Heat is On...On the Streets.

It was unseasonably warm today folks... It was in the 20s last week, and today it was around 45 and sunny in the afternoon. So, I had to go and pay a visit to Julep, who I've been neglecting for the past 2 1/2 months.

When I got to the garage, I realized I had left the fuel cock open all this time. Since she has a minor kink in the fuel line, this is not usually a problem. She started up on the first kick... Wow, great! But it wasn't that easy. I let her warm up for a minute, and she seemed to be holding the idle, so I decided to put her in first and go, but she stalled out almost immediately. I had to try several more times before I got her out of the driveway, and then she stalled when she hit the street. I went 5 blocks, then, when sitting at at a light for a couple minutes she stalled again. Sigh... I guess she needed more time to warm up than I gave her... I got her going again (after having three cars go around me) did another loop, and then parked her at home. About an hour or so later, I drove her back to the garage.

All in all, she actually did better than I was expecting. I'm proud of her. And I'm glad – I didn't forget how to ride either!

High Flying Woman

My riding jacket arrived about two weeks ago. And I'm finally getting around to posting some pictures of it. Stylistically, it draws on early barnstorming jackets of the 1920s, Panzer wrap jackets of the WWII German Army, and the classic "Wild Ones" style motorcycle jackets of the 1950s.





the back:



A detail. Check out the sleeve zipper pulls. I love it! (click on image to enlarge)

You're a Heart-braker. Don't you mess around.

I realized the other day that the ball on the end of my brake lever had broken off... Strangely enough, it had been several days before I had noticed.

I think it happened the night I rode Julep (with Nereida as passenger) over to Tiffany's for a girls' movie night. For the ride back home, I hopped on and decided to try the electric start. It didn't work, so, I had to get off and pull the scooter back onto the center stand in order to kick start it. Now, the street is on an incline, and I didn't realize that I was at the edge of the driveway, where it ramps down a little to the street. So when I pulled the scooter back onto the stand, the right leg of the stand was not fully supported and the scooter fell over on it's right side. $@#! I wasnt sure I was going to be able to get it upright by myself. But with a 1...2...3... aargh!!! I got it up, alright. It was dark, so I felt the cowl for scrapes or dents, but there didn't seem to be any damage done. It semed the kickstart lever must have taken the brunt of the impact and spared any painted surfaces. Whew!

But then the following Sunday, when I parking the bike in front of our house after my ride home from church, I realized the end of the brake lever had broken off! I guess THAT'S what had taken the brunt of the impact. oh, well... It's a $9 part, but I'm thinking I'll leave that repair to the pros (when I eventually get the front fender replaced). I didn't even realize it was incomplete while I was riding. It still works. It's definitely still rideable. I'm not putting her on the shelf for the season just yet.

The Streets of Philadelphia

a selection of photos from last weekend's Revolution IV rally from scoot.net...

Meeting in front of the Art Museum in the wee small hours of the morning:


Riding downtown:


Griffin (and his girlfriend) on his Stella:


Showing those Vespa colors:


Lined up at Johnny Brenda's:

In the Midnight Hour

There are two scooter clubs in Philly. And each hosts a rally. The Hostile City Scooter Club has their "Independence Day" rally the first weekend of July (This year was "ID7: Lucky Number 7), and The Rabble Rousers have their "Revolution" in the fall. This weekend (Oct 5 - 7) is "Revolution IV: Rise of the Machines". Suffice it to say, I am not planning on going... I'm just getting into the swing of riding alone. I'm not sure I can handle being around dozens of scooters, not to mention their riders...just yet.


The weekend's activities vary from hanging out in bars, to breakfasts at Vespa Philly and IKEA, Karaoke at Johnny Brenda's, time trials, and various group rides – these include one up Kelly Drive to the Laurel HIll Cemetary, as well as a 2am cheesteak run to Pat's & Geno's, and finally, the most intriguing of rides – The 2am "True Crime Ride through Kill-a-delphia", where you can visit some of the city's most notorious crime scenes. Eek.

If interested, check out http://www.rabblerousersc.com/RRSC/revolution.html

You Spin me Right 'Round

Saturday was beautiful. And a riding day if I'd ever seen one. So I walked over to the Prunés' to take Julep out for her first spin in weeks. It took a few tries, but the kick start was successful. I felt like I was a little rusty, since I hadn't ridden in weeks, so I did my typical Northwood loop to warm up, and then stopped off at home to show Tim it was working.



Next goal: get gas (for the first time!). I rode over to the Exxon on Oxford Ave (another first), and filled the tank – it took a whopping 1.14 gallons (I told you it was still half full!).

I was feeling good, so I decided to get more daring. I rode farther down into Northwood than I ever had, and looped around onto Castor Avenue, a fairly busy street. I think I got up to about 35mph. All without going into 4th! Whatever Griffin did, the bike is riding noticeably better. It gets off better at corners and can go faster before requiring a shift which is greatly appreciated.

I felt really confident, so I decided to finally take the plunge and ride across the Boulevard to church. I did it without a hitch. I had one car pass me on a stretch of road with five stop signs... (excuse me for actually stopping at stop signs).

I returned home and gave the deserving Julep her first bath. Scrubbed up the "whitewalls" as best as I could (they are still not white), then dressed her up in her rubber floor mat, rear rack, and bag. And finally, I rode her back to the garage and tucked her into bed.

The sun had set on a pretty good day.