Going "vintage"

It's occurred to me that to truly get into the spirit of things for the 2016 Distinguished Gentleman's ride, I should be riding an older vintage motorcycle or scooter.  While I love my 2008 Kymco Xciting scooter, it's not really "vintage."

"Vintage" according the to the Merriam Webster dictionary is defined as "used to describe something that is not new but that is valued because of its good condition, attractive design, etc."  While my beloved Kymco (or Kimmie as I like to refer to her as) fits the strict definition in my understanding of the definition.   She fails in two very important ways.

She is not that old.

Nor is her style exactly "classical."

When people think of scooters they are thinking about the lines of a Vespa.  Not the modern sleek design of my Kimmie. 

To the right is a picture of a more traditional and vintage scooter against my more modern Kimmie. 

Dressing up in vintage clothing and going out for a ride is all fun and games.  If I happen to raise some money for a good cause then so much the better.  I'm just hoping that Kimmie doesn't stick out like a sore thumb to much...I know, I'm worried about nothing and I know she can hold her own against nearly any bike on the road. 

I'm letting my social anxiety show.  Call it the curse of an introvert. 

First ride of the new year

I had a couple of options Saturday, I had the chance to do a group ride.  A chance to meet up with an old friend for lunch.

Instead I decided to spend Saturday working on the house first, taking care of some business second and "taking a ride" was actually fifth on my to-do list.   One nice thing about waking up really freaking early on a Saturday is getting 1 - 4 done pretty early.

I left about 11:00 AM.  It's finally starting to feel like fall/winter in Florida as the sky's were overcast with a 15% chance of rain.  The temperature was about 62 degrees F (16.7 C) when I took off.  I did have a destination in mind...but was not really concerned about getting there.

Every Saturday Ybor City has a farmers market.  It's small and really not that interesting but would serve as a good excuse to point Kimmie's tires in that direction.  I have recently acquired a taste for hard cider from Cigar City Cider and Mead as well as being turned on to a little coffee shop called Joffrey's.  You can thank one of my work mates for that newest addiction.

I was also thinking about riding along Bayshore Boulevard, which would provide some wonderful views of both the waterfront and the city of Tampa itself.  I had my camera with me, and one of the goals I have for this year is to take more pictures when I am out and about.  There are just to many interesting pole barns and lonesome cows out there that need a little photographic love.

However I love Ybor.  I found myself wondering about on foot and finding some interesting little stores.  I ran into a friend from work and chatted with him for a bit.  A phone call from my brother meant that I soaked up the new warm winter sun for a half hour or so as we talked about my mother and his daughter.  I meandered over to the Ride Factory which I've been told has the best mechanics in the city.  Like nearly all dealerships they had mostly low milage Harleys in stock, but their bay was as big, or bigger, than their showroom floor.   There was a early 70's Honda on one of the racks looking like it was off the showroom floor.  Another bike, which the mechanic guessed was an early 1940's BSA, was being lovingly restored.  Frankly I could not take my eyes off it.


Sadly I had let time slip away.  I had to turn back, so I pointed Kimmie's wheel back north towards home.

That's okay though, it was a warm day now, the sun was at my back and I started back taking the long way.  I've been thinking about Ybor a lot lately because I've been kicking around a business venture in the area.  It's an up and coming area and their are parts of the city that can be had for a song.  If I and my partners do this right that is.  That however is another project, another song.

I pointed my wheels north and thought about how the New Year was full of promise...and what I would have to do to make those promises become fulfilled.

Riding Kimmie today was a good start, sadly starting Monday there was a damn good chance I would be off her for two weeks.   Ah, business..

Jacksonville, Fl, bike week and Susie's Side Door Cafe

This past week I've spent in Jacksonville, FL.  The company I work for put me up for a week in a Candlewood Suites motel, rented me a car and offered me a nice per diam.  I was up there to do some additional training and generally help bring on of our satellite office up to snuff.  I've spent a few days in St Augustine before but never Jacksonville, so I was looking forward to getting away some.

Well I certainly enjoy business travel, I had a job a few years ago that sent me away for weeks at a time, I always feel like I'm in a old Steve Martin movie when I go out to eat.

I've wanted to take a ride to the East Coast of Florida for some time, but with the company buying the gas and with me still not being released to ride, the rental option was the best option.  The route On Star picked for me to Jacksonville was boring...there is a whole lot of nothing on route 301.  Good to know if I ever head that way again.

In the past when I've gone on business trips; I've been able to get away for a few hours at night and explore the area around me.  I might have a beer at the local watering hole or just drive around.  I also knew that roughly an hour down the road from me was Daytona's (in)famous Bike Week and it be damn silly for me to let that chance pass me by.

So one night after work I decided to jump in the rental and head on down the road a bit to see what I could see.  I felt really out of place...for a couple of reasons.  One, I was in a bright yellow Hawaiian shirt.  Two, I was not on a bike.  I'm a scooterist gosh darn it...and I didn't even have that.  Three, no leather on me at all.  Four, no tats man.  Nope, not a one.

So here I am at one of the Dealerships - J and P - astonished and amazed at the variety and color and shear freaking number of motorcycles about.  I'm wondering about, mouth agape, along classic Harley's, more than a few BMW's.  One or two Indian's...even a cafe racer Royal Enfield!  Is that a Vincent!  My God it is!

Sadly since I was there to work and was not really expecting to go to bike week, it never occurred to me to bring a camera.  Nor did I ever think to pull out my phone and point and shoot with it.  As the French say:  "La Sigh!"

I have a beer and then two, talking to a nice Belgium couple from New England about everything but bikes and then head back to the hotel about an hour away.  Well, at least I can say I attended something at bike week.  It was also nice to see so many bikers actually wearing helmets as well.

Coming back home was uneventful.  Just in time in fact for the annual community wide Garage sale.  For the second year in a row we will be serving hot dogs and other light meal time things.  Last year we made over $200 bucks.  Today we spent most of the day doing set up and buying the good food that we need to make it a success.  We actually started preparing about two weeks ago.

I bring this up only because for the last few weekends the desire to ride really has not been there - not that I could anyway.  Now, after a long beautiful mostly free weekend and seeing Daytona...my desire to ride has been reborn.  I'm still not free to ride, as the doctors want my ankle to strengthen....but the desire to ride is starting to stir again, and that is not a bad thing.

So lets see what happens next...but first lets get the one day only "Susie's Side Door Cafe" going and off the ground.  After that...we will see what happens.

Hipsters and their bikes (another look)

From a certain point onward there is no longer any turning back. That is the point that must be reached. - Franz Kafka

It's not that rare for me to comment on someone else's blog.  A good blog entry or article in a magazine should engage your mind, make you learn something or consider something in a new light.  Sometimes something should just piss you off enough that you need to fire off a comment just to show that moron that you know more than them.  If it does that then it is a successful piece of writing in my mind.

A dated article recently linked to the Motorcycle Obsession blog got me thinking.  The piece, which you can read here, basically dealt with Hipsters and Motorcycles.  Or what they - which I suppose is young people - are riding today.  Now I am not a hipster.  I would have no idea on how to even define such a thing.  After all I don't smoke clove cigarettes, I have never owned a beret, nor do I find the music of the Decemberists all that interesting (Hey Kids, lets do a song about dying of famine in 1860's Ireland!  Won't that be fun!)      

Now I will agree that poking non-malicious fun of a group other than your own can be enjoyable at times (for example, H-D riders).  The Motorcycle.com piece certainly has it's tongue planted firmly in it's cheek at times, but the problem is that instead of embracing this movement towards greater numbers of people riding it sort of blows them off.  The article lumps a whole lot of people into one category without understanding some of the logic behind the reason why motorized bicycles, small "cc" scoots and vintage bikes are "in."  That I'm afraid I have to take issue with.

The article starts with "hipsters love vintage" and mentions Grandad's old Goldwing.   In fact, several times "vintage" is mentioned and the term "vintage" is used to conjure a certain look or emotion.  A few of the brands mentioned, such as the Triumph Bonneville and the Royal Enfields speak to a much simpler time and, as Motorcycle Obsession points out, simply looks like a motorcycle.  

Let's be honest.  Some bikes are simply more easier to work on than others.   Today's youth, saddled with impossible student loans to pay back and a bleak job outlook, are looking to save money any way they can.  Buying a motorcycle/scooter is certainly one way to do that.  Buying an older motorcycle/scooter is certainly one way to do that.  Guess what might be easier to work on?  The newest computerized high performance engine or your simple two-stroke?  Grandad's old Goldwing might have 130,000 miles on it, but it was lovingly taken care of.  Plus Pop's would be more than willing to throw you some knowledge on it's care.

Hipsters are supposedly riding motorized bicycles as well.   I've not seen to many of these around the streets of Tampa but with top speeds of maybe 30 miles an hour and 130 mpg of gas I can certainly understand the attraction to the "hipster".  It, much like the lower 'cc' scooter, is built for city life.  You're able to ride it to work, to the bus depot or train stop.  You're able to take it inside the building and place it in your cube.  Well at least where I used to work you were able to take your (non-motorized) bike in.  

Scooters of course offer higher gas mileage and  more storage than either a motorcycle or motorized bicycle can.  Vespa's are pretty common and hold their value well and you have a lot of online sources to turn to if you have issues.  The Honda Ruckus is a do anything, go anywhere scooter which again is easy to work on. It also has a very active online presence   Do you see a pattern emerging here?

There was one bike in the article that did surprise me, till I thought about it for a moment.   The Ural however offers a lot other than a slick marketing scheme.  You can carry three people on a Ural without much difficulty.  It's sidecar offers excellent storage and frankly it's go anywhere attitude and ability to go anywhere makes it a perfect year round ride.  Sure it's got issues but if you're serious about making your life car free (and this is a growing movement) the Ural is a near perfect solution.  Is it any wonder their sales keep increasing?  I know I am slowly but surely heading that way and one of the reasons I'm attracted to the Ural is it's unusual pedigree.  There is something to be said for that as well and frankly that is one of the reasons I think "hipsters" are attracted to it as well.

What bothers me in the end is not the article.  Nor the disdain it showed, after all the audience the piece is written for is older and have ridden for years.  I guess what bothered me is that we need to grow the brotherhood of two wheels.  We need to communicate better, to rethink how we market, act and treat each other.  People buy bikes for 1001 reasons, it's up to us to make sure they buy the right bike for their needs and abilities.  

It may finally be "hip" to be on two wheels...why shoot that down?