Category Archives: Scooters & Motorcycles

4/22/2009 — I’m happy to say that I’ve transitioned from being a statistic of the economic downturn to a statistic of the economic recovery — i/e it looks like I’ve got a job now. As such, a big part of my day’s focus is actually now gone. I no longer need to job hunt, which is awesome, but I won’t start until May. With most of our house packed up for an upcoming move and no useful packing left to do, …

4/17/2009 — Today I succeeded where I mostly failed yesterday: I got pleasantly and completely lost. A few TWAAM episodes ago, one of their intrepid panelists recommended County Road 40 in the southwest metro. After some rather boring and un-fun highway miles on what turned out to be the wrong road, I finally intersected CR-40 and was not disappointed. It’s a fantastic 2-lane, winding, lazy road with a 55 mph limit and simply immaculate road …

4/16/2009 — The weather today was simply gorgeous, so I geared up, put in my ear plugs, and decided to get lost in the west metro. Unfortunately, not far up the road my infamous wobble returned and remained for the duration of the ride. It came and went here and there, but was pretty consistent. On the upside, I felt a lot better on the bike in terms of leaning and cornering. I think I finally got my feel back. I …

4/15/2009 — With my Vespa at the vet overnight, I figured I’d extend my light rail travel from the day before and see the city. I caught a ride with The Mrs to her office and hopped on the train from there. She’d just passed her riding test with flying colors, so good scooter mojo was in the air. During the off peak times, it’s less than $2 for 2-1/2 hours of ride time. I rode the rail all the way …

4/14/2009 — For the most part, I’ve been able to treat my lack of employment as a much needed vacation. Most days I scour the net for opportunities, email out resumes and portfolio links, do some odds and ends around the house, and then my day is my own. It’s not a bad way to live, actually, but the pay is awful. Now that spring seems to have actually arrived (knock wood) in Minnesota, I’ve been lucky enough to spend most …

4/13/2009 — When my role as a statistic of the recession is over, I have a number of purchases I want to make. The MINI needs tires, the Vespa needs cowl guards, and I badly need a new helmet. My current lid is a $100 Fulmer Modus — good enough to keep my melon intact, but it’s heavy, LOUD, and starting to get frayed around the edges. I also want to make the switch from a modular (flip-up) …

4/11/2009 — This morning I got a fantastic invitation from two scooter buddies for a trip to Como Zoo in St. Paul and some grilln’ goodness. We set off from their place in the Linden Hills area down Minnehaha Parkway, then across the Mississippi River on the Ford Parkway bridge. The weather was positively gorgeous. Blue, sunny skies and temperatures in the upper 50s. We made our way, the three of us, up Snelling and Lexington amid relatively light traffic. I …

4/10/2009 — Sometimes a ride doesn’t go the way you plan. Sometimes a ride doesn’t go at all. The day before, I’d replaced the tire valve cores on both my front and rear tire. It seemed prudent advice from the community at Modern Vespa. My main concern was the rear tire, as that had been my issue the previous week. After pulling the cores and refilling the tire, everything seemed fine and I rode home. …