Modern Buddy

LA Scooter Service is proudly sponsoring the one and only ericalm in his bid on this years cannonball run.
GO #98 GO

i've been servicing eric's ride since the dealership days (i've been there thru the heartache and the tire changes for all of the stellas) and i consider myself lucky to have ridden with him and honored to be his friend and mechanical consultant.



while it's not a buddy, i think the rolling barcalounger is an acceptable replacement-- given the task at hand.

ride swiftly, ride safely my friend. godspeed & good luck!

best,
-greasy

ps: custom grafix by yours truly

Good Luck on the cannon ball....

Sweet! Good to know he's in good hands.

I have a Helix, and even though we don't have a real need for it in the stable, it's a really nice bike.

Can't wait to see how well Eric finishes!

I am hoping just too finish!

Greasy and others have been amazingly supportive and instrumental in getting me and the scooter to the starting line. I must admit feeling a bit relieved when I dropped it off in Wrightwood this afternoon, the first leg of its journey to Canada. (It's getting the rest of the way without me, again, thanks to friends.) No more futzing with the scooter, obsessing over packing and parts and tools. All my stuff is gone and from here on out, I can't add anything I'm not carrying on a plane. Whew.

Thanks to everyone! It apparently takes a village (of scooterists) to get my ass to the starting line!

Greasy and ericalm, what a great duo. Good luck!

ericalm, what's all this about just finishing? you've done so much work just to get to the starting line, I hope you WIN!!!

Thanks to everyone! It apparently takes a village (of scooterists) to get my ass to the starting line!

What will it take to get you to the finish line? Should we call the government?

Thanks, lascoots, & Good Luck, Eric! Can't wait to hear some trip stories.

good luck Eric!

Some advise that I wish I took heed of in 2012...

Make the most of the trip, and the people. The spirit of cannonball and the parking lot camaraderie each night is what makes the trip even more amazing. While I did get some parking lot time each night, I spent too much time over-wrenching and blogging. Basically each night, I was "looking" for things to do that probably didn't need to be done. It's important to be ready for each day, but I was a bit OCD about it. The next thing that I wasted time with was texting, blogging, calling, and facebooking. Keep it short and sweet, and get back outside and have a great time. Live in the now. We lost 2 amazing people shortly after the 2012 run, and I regret not spending more time with them and enjoying everyone's company. If I could re-do 2012, I'd scrap the blog and FB posts, and just make a couple of short video updates each day and upload them to a separate youtube channel.

I wish you the best my friend, and to Cheryl as well. I'm sorry I won't get to make it and share this adventure, but I'm drooling with envy.

Best of luck! One piece of advice that was given to me regarding CBR.

"It's not how fast you go...It's how slow you don't go"

Have your camera at the ready for check points

Put a piece of blue tape on your headset for each check point. Make sure a sharpie is tied, whatever..in EASY reach. Write your check point times on the blue tape, saves time not digging for paper.

Eat "pocket food" during the day. Broken up granola bars in a baggie, nuts, grapes, gorp etc. Toss those groceries down your neck while rolling!

best to you ---ride safe---AND WIN!!!---i also ride a 2007 helix(great scoot!!)-----bkrdoug

ericalm wrote:I am hoping just too finish!

As Larry Myers always says, "To finish first, you must first finish!"

Good Luck Rockin' the North American Continent!

BootScootin'FireFighter wrote:good luck Eric!

Some advise that I wish I took heed of in 2012...

Make the most of the trip, and the people. The spirit of cannonball and the parking lot camaraderie each night is what makes the trip even more amazing. <snipped>

I wish you the best my friend, and to Cheryl as well. I'm sorry I won't get to make it and share this adventure, but I'm drooling with envy.

Wish you were going to be in Hyder and I hope you will make Amerivespa. Not being someone who enjoys wrenching I chose a scoot that can easily handle twice the mikes of the cannonball without required maintenance and has done long multi day trips without problems. While I'm taking spares & tools I hope not to need them. So I'm really hoping to have lots of parking lot time. The plan is to take lots of photos on the way up so I'm not tempted to stop and take them during the cannonball. Setting up a YouTube channel ahead of time sounds like a good idea but I think I'll follow your advice about concentrating more on experiencing than documenting.

FWIW, there have been a couple last minute scooter substitutions that I found to be interesting choices. Aprilia Scarabeo 50 for Yamaha C3 and 2014 Piaffio Fly for SYM HD 200

I have to admit I am disappointed that you, Classic Rider, Absurd Ruse and a few others have had to drop out in the last few weeks. Bad enough when others had to drop out earlier (BuddyRaton)I looked forward to seeing you all again and being part of the cannonball for more than just a Texas BBQ evening. One evening was not enough time to do more than meet & greet.

As for checkpoints I will have mounted camera & Spot that I intend to push buttons on. I'm not sure I'm coordinated enough to use write down times without stopping. Hopefully, my distance riding experience will help.

BTW, my husband is driving support and will be filming the start from a quad copter so if he has time to edit and upload that maybe posted before the cannonball and Amerivespa are over.

See y'all in NOLA.