a lesson too late for the learning

Well, today I thought I was smart. Oh the irony of it all. I called down to HotShots to pre-order my double espresso, so I wouldn't have to stop the engine on my scooter, and I could just run in and pay. On the way there I had to switch it over to the reserve tank, and since I wanted to toodle around the hills for a few minutes after the coffee stop, I thought I had better fill up. Gambling all, I pulled into Esso and pumped $5.60 into the tank. Paid. Then first kick, she roared to life again. Encouraged by this sign of improvement, I headed off to HotShots for my morning coffee. When I got there, lulled into a false sense of security by the easy start down at the Esso, I killed the engine, went in and had my shot, came out and gave Couchette a good kick. Then another. And another. And so on.

nada.

It is at this point the panic starts to rise in me. I pushed it home from HotShots once already, and just about had to do it from the Village Baker, and I have enough work to do at home that I can barely spare the time for a 15 minute ride, let alone 30 minutes trying to start the scoot. The curse words begin to rise in me like monkeys in a banana tree.

You'd think I would have learned. There is a Bermuda Triangle for scooters around coffee shops, and I keep sailing right into it.

After 15 minutes of pushing and kicking I am starting to resign myself to some form of humiliation, whether it be pushing the scoot home, or leaving it there and calling for Anie to pick me up, either way I feel foolish, mostly because I am so reconizable on the scooter. I can hear people saying "there goes that guy pushing his scooter again". Eff off.

And then the miracle: With one last frustrated kick, Cochette sputters to life and I work the throttle to burn out the excess gas in the combustion chamber. I purr softly to her "I won't let you die, I won't let you die, come on baby, you can do this". After a couple of minutes of warm sputtering, she levels out and we roar off into the sunrise.

I head for New Lake area, as yet unexplored. It turns out to be a 15 minute long road through rolling hills, ranches, and forest that ends up in a dead end cul-de-sac about 8km out of Cranbrook, but I need to head back anyways. Work calls. More exploring later. For now I am happy to be out with the wind on my face. How do you tell a happy scooterist? Count the bugs in my teeth.

because she lives, i can face tomorrow

I just got back from a scoot around and a coffee, with a brief pause to work on the short-twich muscles in my right leg for 30 minutes or so. Still struggling with starting warm... but she lives.

yesterday she didn't, today she does

I've been a bit forlorn due to the sudden down-turn of my beloved Couchette, I thought she needed some medium-strength surgery before we could be out roaming the hills around Cranbrook again. After some consultation with the surgeon (Dennis @ Scooter MD) who was the one to do the heart transplant earlier, he told me not to worry.

Run it out he said, there's no way in 200 miles you'd build up enough to make it an issue. Take the air filter out, and we'll try to find the right jets (loosely paraphrased).

So I'm back in business. I went up to the blacksmith shop tonight to re-weld my muffler mount, which was strangely misplaced for my scooter...the new muffler I ordered didn't quite fit, but now it does. Tomorrow, I ride.

alternate plans

Well, I had to take a couple of days to remove and replace the alternator on our Jetta, so that has been my focus for the last couple o' days. The only thing notable about the process was that the alternator belt, which is about 8" end to end, cost me $18.14 at Lordco. Do I look like an idiot? because only and idiot would pay that much for a glorified elastic band. Sheesh.

it doesn't look good.

I'm a bit sad right now because one of my online scooter friends tells me that I might have to pull the head, that I have been running very rich and that the carbon build up needs to be cleaned off. Bollocks. Not looking forward to that. This learning curve is pretty steep.

the tale of the spark plug

The experts say every spark plug tells a story: Dry and light brown = lean, Dark and wet = rich.

I went down to Hot Shots yesterday and couldn't get the bike started again. I pulled the spark plug and the photo above tells the story. Half of it is clean and new, the other half is dark and wet. If only I could understand the nuances of the language. What does it all mean? I think it is an existential question...

the short arm of the law

Yesterday I popped down to Hot Shots, a small cafe in Cranbrook, who in my opinion have the best double shot of espresso in town. Consistent, small, strong, and sweet. (Which also adequetly describes my wife...heh). I was pulling up on my scoot, and I noticed three police cars parked near the patio area, and I realized I could get in serious doo doo.

Back in early March, when I went down to get my Class 6 learner's license, and after getting into the mind of the question writers (I failed the first time from poorly worded and double meaning questions) I was getting my picture taken by the lady behind the counter. I asked her "So, when can I do the parking lot test?" She told me that they hadn't set up the parking lot yet, and once the snow stopped flying, they would do that. So I asked here where I could practice in the meantime. Since I don't know anyone with a motorcycle, and technically you are supposed to have someone following you all the time, until you get the restricted Class 6. She shrugged her shoulders and said "Practice where you can". I took that to mean "Drive around, but take it easy".

So when I pull up at this coffee shop, my first realization is that I still haven't done the parking lot test, and that technically I shoudn't be driving this thing by myself (even though I can't really go any faster than a 50cc scooter, the Lambretta is a 150cc and qualifies as a motorcycle) and here are 4 cops sitting there watch me pull up.

I hesitated...did i really need a shot of espresso that bad?

I did.

I gambled.

I won. I felt like James Dean, flaunting my lawlessness wantonly in front of the apparently not-very-long arm of the law. I am a Rebel without a Hog.

Solstice Ride

I had to go for a ride this evening. Just nipped around the neighbourhood for a few miles, thought about the fact that it's all downhill to winter now (blah) and rejoiced in the fact that I am special because I have the only vintage scooter in town. Nobody else in my whole town was out on the Solstice, putting about on their cool scoot. Just me. I am blessed.

Gold Creek and back

Well, today's ride was work-related. I rode up to my client and friend's shop to meet with him about a fireplace screen design. My friend/client Paul, who is the owner/founder of the old blacksmith shop is a blacksmith. I also worked for him, and when I left to pursue design full time, we kept working together.

At any rate, Paul lives up in Gold Creek, just outside of Cranbrook, so i rode up there. It was a fairly uneventful trip, though I had a hard time starting the bike when i left. I think it's running rich (which is good for the engine break-in) but makes it hard to start.

I also got our car hooked up with a trailer hitch, so we can tow the scoot on our holidays and explore some new roads.

For those of you who have not read the comments, I have had some great suggestions for the Cranbrook Scooter Club name, thanks to Morganne Jones and Rob Hepher (my bro) for the groovy suggestions:

1. cranbrook boy scoots
2. kootenay boy scoot club
3. east kootenay scoots

and

4. The Lambretta Jazz Ensemble
5. Cranbrook Old-School Scooterists
6. S.K.O.O.T.S - South Kootenay Outdoor On-road Team of Scooterists.
7. M.O.D.S. - Mike and Other Dude on Scooters.

too funny. Any more thoughts?

Scooter Bambino

Here is a picture of my son, 16 months, who is already crazy about scooters. Apparently he put the hat on and wouldn't take it off. Anie ordered this patch from Scooter Works a couple of years ago, then sewed it onto the beanie for me for my birthday. The funny thing about this hat is that when I wear it, the patch starts around back, but usually by the end of the day it is facing the front...now sure how that works.

Cranbrook Scooter Club is born

Today I was having coffee at the Village Baker, when in walked a fellow who came up to me and said "What year is your scooter?". Right away I knew I had a scooter fan on my hands. People that aren't interested don't just ask for the year...

Anyways, turns out he has a Honda Jazz, one of the retro-styled scooters, and he zips all over town on it. Looks like there is hope for Cranbrook, we may have a two-person scooter club. Now we need to start thinking of a good name for the club:

Cranbrook Scooter Authority
SKootenay (um...no)
Kootenay Council of Motor Scooter Enthusiasts
Redneck Scooter Club

Any suggestions?

Lambretta Lady

I was coming out of the bank yesterday, hopping onto the scoot, and there was an older lady that was maybe about 60 or 65 coming up behind me. She stopped when I went to kick start it, and I thought she was just waiting to walk past until the 'ordeal' was over. (In truth, the scoot most often kicks over first time, and I am getting to know it better, so it's not really an ordeal anymore). When the scooter started purring, however, the lady came up to me and said "Is that a Lambretta?". Shocked I was. She is the first person in Cranbrook to identify the scooter by name. Most people call it a Vespa or say "What is that thing?".

Well, it turns out that in 1967 this lady spent some time in Burmuda, where she owned the first Lambretta on the island. It was a silver/grey, brand new Lambretta, and she was the envy of the island were there were plenty of Vespas, but only one Lambretta. Her eyes got a little far-off at that point, and it looked like she was thinking back to those days of her youth, cruising the island on here silver 'bretta.

I think I made her day.

windburned hands

I went for a 50 mile scoot today, up to Kimberley and back. I have some things to learn: Sunscreen on hands. I eneded up getting a heat rash and sunburn on the backs of my hands...just noticed it now.

All in all the scoot did really well, considering the lack of oxygen in Kimberley, which is the highest township in Canada. Took some scenic roads, and ended up at Max's on Victoria for a coffee.

After the ride we took this photo of my son Finn on the scooter. When you say 'scooter' in his presence, he puts his arms out in front of him on pretend handlebars, and makes 'brrmmmmm brrrmmmm' sounds with his mouth. Pretty smart considering I have had the thing running for just a hair over a week.

peace.

rainy day blues

Today was rainy all day...I was able to get down to the local coffee shop to top up on espresso, but then it started to rain. The tires on my scoot are old and dry, so I am nervous about the riding in the rain thing. I took it easy on the way home, but was hoping the rain would clear up so I could go for a longer ride. Maybe tomorrow.

the life of a scooterist

I have signed up to this only so i can post comments on my wife's blog, but we'll see if I get motivated to add it to my daily routine...