365 Days of Scooters: Day 31

The only thing better than a a two-wheeled scooter...

is one with three!

Lambro, spotted at Not Summit Point 18 Scooter Rally. 2009.

365 Days of Scooters: Day 30

Snow Day!

365 Days of Scooters: Day 29

You might be a scooterist...if you've got a patch jacket.

(A beautiful vintage Lambretta doesn't hurt either!)

Spotted at ID8 Scooter Rally, Philadelphia, Pa. July 2008.

365 Days of Scooters: Day 28

Make it your own.

Spotted at ID7 Scooter Rally. Philadelphia, Pa. 2007.

365 Days of Scooters: Day 27

New School: 00s style.

The new Honda Elite.

I'll admit, last year a made fun of Honda 'cause the Elite looked the same as it did forever ago. But, I think I preferred that to the new look...which looks the same as 90% of the other modern scooters out there...

Spotted at the 2010 International Motorcycle Show. Washington, D.C.

365 Days of Scooters: Day 26

Old School: 80s style.

Honda Elite 250. Spotted outside Scoot Richmond, January 2010.

365 Days of Scooters: Day 25

Oh, let's go, for a ride.

2008 Charm City Scooter Rally. Baltimore, Md.

365 Days of Scooters: Day 24

In case you're wondering what a scooter sounds like...

On the "course," are a 1977 Vespa P200E and a 2005 Stella by Genuine Scooters.

365 Days of Scooters: Day 23

An ode to the bits and bobs that help to make a scooter grand.

Today we took a quick road trip to Scoot Richmond for the garage sale of all garage sales. We brought home this little pile of treasures for the P200, Lambretta and smallframe. Score!

365 Days of Scooters: Day 22

Guess what?

Scooter butt!

Spotted at 2008 Charm City Scooter Rally. Baltimore, Md.

365 Days of Scooters: Day 21

There is metal under all that plastic!

A Torpedo 4T by Italjet.

365 Days of Scooters: Day 20

The beginning of the new year started us on a bit of a cleaning/organizing/furniture rearranging binge. The bedroom is one of the places we have plans to do a bit of updating to, and it didn't escape the whirlwind of de-cluttering.

As a result, I could not find a spare scrap of paper in there as I searched in vain for something to write our pizza order down on. However, I did rediscover a set of nifty note cards by French Kitty. Fear not, I did not write our pizza order down on this gem: instead I took a picture of it!

Rediscovering a bit of scooter swag is almost as fun as finding it for the first time!

365 Days of Scooters: Day 19

This end up?

Spotted at Scootergate 4. Washington, D.C. 2009

365 Days of Scooters: Day 18

Bus or Scooter? You decide!

Spotted at Vespa Markham (outside Toronto). Summer 2007.

365 Days of Scooters: Day 17

It's the bits and pieces that help make a bike special.

Spotted at Not Summit Point 18. Gettysburg, Pa. 2009.

365 Days of Scooters: Day 16

Red Hot.

Spotted at ID8. Philadelphia, Pa. (2008)

365 Days of Scooters: Day 15

We'll leave this one a little shrouded in mystery.

What is it? And is it really a scooter? You be the judge.

Spotted at the 2010 Cycle World International Motorcycle Show.

Washington, D.C.

365 Days of Scooters: Day 14

Going old school for this one. Sign said:

"1960 Allstate Sears Roebuck Styer-Daimler-Puch 50cc"

Spotted at the 2009 Timonium (Md.) Motorcycle Show.

365 Days of Scooters: Day 13

Ah, lucky 13.

The new Vespa S is one of those bikes that I want because it's just so darn sexy looking, but know I just don't need. It would look silly and rather un-sexy with a back rack (essential for hauling crap on a daily commute or long road trip) and comes as either a 50 or 150 cc (both of which I have already). But that doesn't stop me from stopping to stare every time I pass one by. The one pictured above was spotted at the 2008 Motorcycle Show (headed to DC again this weekend.)

365 Days of Scooters: Day 12

Directions are good. Finding a way to affix them to your scooter is even better.

These directions were affixed to a scooter ridden by one of riders of the 2008 Cannonball while traveling through Washington, D.C. What's the Cannonball you might ask? A coast to coast race across the United States--on scooters! Click here to learn more.

365 Days of Scooters: Day 11

Okay, day 10 is coming a day late. D'oh.

I'll share a pic of an outdoor scultpure that seems fitting and an inside shot of a row of shiny new Buddy 125s from Scooter World in Kansas City.

365 Days of Scooters: Day Ten

Mod. 'Nough said.

ID8 Scooter Rally. Philadelphia, Pa. 2008.

365 Days of Scooters: Day Nine

Yo!

Bring me one of those!

Honda's Big Ruckus, some mojo and a good ride followed by an egg custard snowball.

Good times.

Charm City Scooter Rally (Baltimore) 2007.

365 Days of Scooters: Day Eight

Today's ode is to the venerable Vespa P200:

a workhorse who can go the distance.

Pictured is Ryan's 1977 P200 outside the Allegheny Observatory in Pittsburgh, Pa.

365 Days of Scooters: Day Seven

Okay, for day seven I'm gonna try something a little different. Here's a how-to for something you can make to take along on your next scooter adventure.

It's fairly quick and easy to make, can be decorated in all kinds of ways (scootery or not) and is handy for jotting down some quick directions, recording a favorite new-found scooter route, leaving a note for a friend--you name it! So, put your creative helmet on and make your own matchbook notebooks!

What you'll need:

• cardstock or other fairly stiff paper (plain or decorative--this is your cover)
• thinner paper for the interior (I like to use orphan tractor-feed paper)
• stapler
• paper cutter (scissors would work too, but a paper cutter helps keep the lines straight)

Getting started:
The size of these can really vary--it all depends on how big a matchbook you want to end up with.

The cover: I make six covers using one 8.5" x 11" piece of card stock. That means each cover piece is approximately 2.5" wide and 5.5" tall when cut. (This makes a finished book that is about 2.5" x 2.5")

Interior pages: You'll want your interior pages to be slightly smaller than the cover. With the above cover specs, my interior pages are approximately 2.25" x 2.25." How many pages you'd like to include in each book is also up to you. Experiment to see what works best for your books and stapler (12 pages works well for me).

Assembling:

• Fold each cover piece approximately a quarter inch up from the bottom.
• Insert your interior pages and place a staple in the center.
• Fold your cover over so that it tucks into the flap above the staple.

If you haven't done so already, decorate your cover!

Now bundle up and find an adventure!

365 Days of Scooters: Day Six

Making it your own.

Mickey and Vespa GS friend spotted at the Smallstate Rally (Rhode Island), Summer 2008

365 Days of Scooters: Day Five

Okay, I probably should have waited until December to post this one, but I just couldn't resist--it cracks me up!

Rudolph the red-nosed scooter (all decked out for the Mayor's Christmas Parade in Baltimore, frigidly cold winter of 2008). I love what scooterists do to their bikes!

365 Days of Scooters: Day Four

It's always fun to see the pretty scooters that folks will ride (or bring out) to a motorcycle show. The Virginia British Motorcycle Club hosts a great event every year and Ryan and I had the pleasure of riding to the show in 2006.

His silver and purple Vespa P200 is at the end of this row which starts off with two lovely Lambrettas.

365 Days of Scooters: Day Three

For day three I'm digging deep into the picture album for a pic from what I do believe was my first scooter rally. This hot vintage Vespa was spotted at "Hostile Takeover" in Philadelphia, 4th of July weekend 2004.

365 Days of Scooters: Day Two

Probably the first scooter photo in my collection, day two features a scoot spotted in Dublin in May of 2003: the Honda Shadow.

This 50cc scoot was found securely parked outside Trinity College.

365 Days of Scooters: Day One

With a grand total of 32 posts in each of the last two years (how weird is that number-wise?), it may be a bit ambitious to embark on this, the first day of 2010, on a new a rather grandiose blog ambition, but here goes. I'm setting out to document 365 days of scooters.

I won't try to show 365 different models of scooters, but I will seek to show 365 different scooters or related paraphernalia. And, because I have a lot of scooter swag in addition to a lot of scooter pictures, that includes photos of scooter swag as well--just FYI.

Without further ado...

365 Days of Scooters: Day One

My inaugural scoot is one near and dear to my heart: a 2003 Yamaha Vino and my very first scooter.

This little scoot is a workhorse. At just 50cc, it may not be the fastest pony in the stable, but is certainly the most reliable (knock on wood). At six and a half years old and with just over 6,000 miles on the odometer, this is the scooter I rely on to get me somewhere if I have to get there on a scooter. Why? Because it runs! No matter how little maintenance it has received or how long it has been since I last rode it, it just keeps going. Rain, sleet or snow (and we've ridden together in each), this Yamaha Vino will get you there.

Need to get to Baltimore to ride with your scooter club in the Christmas Parade? Now room in the trailer? No problem! And wonder of wonder, it will even run when you get there.

Yup, day one just had to go to my trusty Yamaha Vino. Vroom, Vroom!

And Happy New Year!