"All I Want for Christmas" Tulsa Sunday World

Elm Creek Smith · Post by **Elm Creek Smith** » Mon Nov 20, 2006 2:51 am

From this morning's Tulsa Sunday World:

All I Want For Christmas Comes On Two Wheels

BY JESSICA NEAL
Special Sections Editor

Freedom. Adventure. Fun. Hit this holiday trifecta with a spectacular gift on two wheels.

â€œYou just canâ€™t get away from the fun factor of a scooter,â€? said Sacha Wycoff-Lanford, who co-owns Tulsa Scooters with her father David Wycoff. Wycoff-Lanford said the scooters are a hot item during the
holidays for a variety of reasons.

â€œThey come in fun colors and designs, and they fit just about everybody,â€?
she said. â€œTheyâ€™re nice to look at and very useful, and as everyone knows, saving gas is a big thing because we all know itâ€™s going to go back up.â€?

Prices for a street-legal scooter begin at about $1,000. To get the color and design you want itâ€™s best to order early, Wycoff-Lanford said.

Riding a scooter is as easy as a bicycle, but a motorcycle license is required.

Tulsa Scooters can arrange for a Christmas present to be stored until the big day to surprise your loved one.

â€œAnd donâ€™t forget to get a gift certificate so they can get a helmet,â€?
Wycoff-Lanford said.

If someone on your list already has a scooter, accessories such as detailing and anti-theft devices are great gifts to help them customize
their scooter.

---

After this came the off-road bikes and the Harley dealerships.

Cool!

Post by **ericalm** » Mon Nov 20, 2006 10:22 pm

I moved this from the "Greatest Dealerships" topic because it seemed to warrant its own thread. Always good to see scoots getting a good word in the press!

But, I kind of disagree on the "east as riding a bike" part. That attitude seems to lead to a lot of crashes.

lobsterman · Post by **lobsterman** » Tue Nov 21, 2006 1:12 pm

ericalm,

I thought the same thing when I read the "easy as riding a bicycle" part. Yikes, what kind of idiot said that?

Maybe we should have a contest:
In what way is riding a scooter as easy as riding a bicycle?

I considered myself a fairly proficient bicyclist prior to buying a scooter. Man, the scooter is easy to ride, but it is not so easy to ride that it's a no-brainer to ride it well or safely just because you can ride a bicycle. There is a lot more going on than on a bicycle, and you're generally going faster and more likely to be right in there with cars and trucks.

It isn't clear from the context whether the "easy as ... bicycle" statement was from the author or the scooter shop owner (I expect it was the author), but I think including it in that article is borderline reckless endangerment.

Post by **ericalm** » Tue Nov 21, 2006 4:42 pm

Since the comment was made without attribution, we can only guess it came from the writer or, as is often the case, was inserted by an editor who wanted to make mention of how a scooter might be different than a motorcycle but didn't have time to have the writer provide a quote or call the shop to get one.

I found this in a recent Detroit News column:

Fast scooter, an oxymoron?
OK, gang, let's finish with the question of the day: Just how fast can a motor scooter go?
The reason I ask is that recently I was tooling along on a Metro area freeway at about 65 mph when I caught sight in my rear view mirror of a two wheeler coming up fast from behind. I didn't get a clear look, but could see that it was weaving in and out of traffic.
I figured it for one of those low slung, ultra-fast, crotch rockets that blast past with a blurring snarl. To my shock I saw that it was a motor scooter and it had to have been doing at least 75 mph. It went by so quickly that I couldn't determine the make.
Does Vespa (or any scooter company for that matter) make a machine that goes that fast? Whenever I think of motor scooters I envision Sophia Loren on the back of a Vespa, waving and cooing "ciao, Marcello."
Well, this wasn't Rome and it definitely wasn't Sophia Loren. Brutal la vita!
If you know the answer, please let me know. Ciao!

I was pretty happy to write in and explain that, yeah, there are several Vespas and other scoots capable of that kind of speed.

lobsterman · Post by **lobsterman** » Tue Nov 21, 2006 5:18 pm

On further reflection, I would like to tone down my criticism, albeit slightly, for the "easy as a bicycle" comment.

Saying something is "as easy" doesn't mean "the same as" or indicate that if you can do one thing you can automatically do the other without effort or learning something new.

I still think the comment (no doubt by the author or editor) was evidence of either poor judgement or lack of understanding and experience in scooter riding.

A modern scooter is easy to ride, yes. It is not as easy to ride as a bicycle.

Be that as it may, I do agree that a scooter would make a wonderful Christmas gift, as would various accessories for the existing scooter owner.

castleton · Post by **castleton** » Tue Nov 21, 2006 5:53 pm

I want to put in a caveat re: "easy as a bicycle"--bicycles these days are not as simple to ride safely as you may think!! In fact, I believe that riding on the side of the road, going 15-20 mph on a bicycle (which is my average speed) requires a notch higher 360 degree alertness, esp. from side road interactions. When you are hugging the curb on a bicycle, if someone cannonballs out of a driveway or side road, you don't have that extra 3 feet or so of space to negotiate the swerve.

But this is not to say a Buddy is easy at all. I was a much more careful driver and respected the machine and the road conditions more mindfully after the MSF course. The only carryover for me (from bicycling to scootering) was taking curves well. (I aced that part of the test!)

Elm Creek Smith · Post by **Elm Creek Smith** » Tue Nov 21, 2006 6:28 pm

Okay, folks. I posted this to show that scooters are in the news locally in a positive way. I never figured that someone would latch on to one line and run with it in some other direction. My bad. It's a newspaper article fer Pete's sake! How many times have newspaper writers let not knowing their subject get in the way of making stupid misstatements? Geez.

lobsterman · Post by **lobsterman** » Tue Nov 21, 2006 6:35 pm

ECS,

So sorry, I shouldn't have hijacked the thread.

I agree it's cool to see scooters mentioned in the press in a positive light.

Maybe I should write something myself and submit it to CiN Weekly (www.cinweekly.com).

Post by **ericalm** » Tue Nov 21, 2006 6:36 pm

Elm Creek Smith wrote:Okay, folks. I posted this to show that scooters are in the news locally in a positive way. I never figured that someone would latch on to one line and run with it in some other direction. My bad. It's a newspaper article fer Pete's sake! How many times have newspaper writers let not knowing their subject get in the way of making stupid misstatements? Geez.

All press is good press, we guess. And it's good for local dealers to get mentioned in the news, yup.

Sorry, didn't mean to hijack and take this in a negative direction!

It just seems that scooterists are always having to counter misperceptions in the public about us and our rides, so it's a little frustrating when we see that reinforced. But having worked in journalism and media for 10 years and having been misquoted nearly every time I've been interviewed for something, I know exactly how these things get in there.

GatsbyGirl · Post by **GatsbyGirl** » Tue Nov 21, 2006 6:50 pm

Elm Creek Smith wrote:It's a newspaper article fer Pete's sake! How many times have newspaper writers let not knowing their subject get in the way of making stupid misstatements? Geez.

Ahem. As a journalist, I must protest. True, I cover the entertainment industry, but the same principles of integrity and responsibility do apply. If you can't back it up, don't put it on paper.

castleton · Post by **castleton** » Tue Nov 21, 2006 11:43 pm

Not to worry--I don't think it was a hijack, just a meander. I enjoyed the article! And I don't think anyone was getting hot, just commenting. A variety of musings is to be expected when you put something out there.

It's all good! Thanks for posting the article in the first place.

Elm Creek Smith · Post by **Elm Creek Smith** » Wed Nov 22, 2006 7:01 am

GatsbyGirl wrote:
Elm Creek Smith wrote:It's a newspaper article fer Pete's sake! How many times have newspaper writers let not knowing their subject get in the way of making stupid misstatements? Geez.
Ahem. As a journalist, I must protest. True, I cover the entertainment industry, but the same principles of integrity and responsibility do apply. If you can't back it up, don't put it on paper.

As the former subject/participant of several interviews/stories (don't ask), I've seen too many cases where the "journalist" put stuff in the interview/story that didn't happen/wasn't correct/was just plain stupid. I see it on the television news all the time. There is a tendency in television news to use video clips to show one thing while the narration is talking about something else, thus misleading the viewers who may not know any better. This is not meant to be personal, but most journalists are apparently bent on being "stars," lack grammatical skill, and don't use the "4Ws and H." Whenever I see something on "60 Minutes" or "Dateline," for example, I automatically doubt the veracity of the "story."

Your mileage may vary.

ECS

Corsair · Post by **Corsair** » Wed Nov 22, 2006 7:22 am

ericalm wrote: I found this in a recent Detroit News column:

Fast scooter, an oxymoron?
OK, gang, let's finish with the question of the day: Just how fast can a motor scooter go?
The reason I ask is that recently I was tooling along on a Metro area freeway at about 65 mph when I caught sight in my rear view mirror of a two wheeler coming up fast from behind. I didn't get a clear look, but could see that it was weaving in and out of traffic.
I figured it for one of those low slung, ultra-fast, crotch rockets that blast past with a blurring snarl. To my shock I saw that it was a motor scooter and it had to have been doing at least 75 mph. It went by so quickly that I couldn't determine the make.
Does Vespa (or any scooter company for that matter) make a machine that goes that fast? Whenever I think of motor scooters I envision Sophia Loren on the back of a Vespa, waving and cooing "ciao, Marcello."
Well, this wasn't Rome and it definitely wasn't Sophia Loren. Brutal la vita!
If you know the answer, please let me know. Ciao!
I was pretty happy to write in and explain that, yeah, there are several Vespas and other scoots capable of that kind of speed.

Have you read the follow up? "Speedy Replies Solve Motor Scooter Question"

GatsbyGirl · Post by **GatsbyGirl** » Wed Nov 22, 2006 7:33 am

Corsair wrote: Have you read the follow up? "Speedy Replies Solve Motor Scooter Question"

My favorite part:

"It's called a Silver Wing and it's one sexy looking motor scooter. It will do wheelies and, with a professional rider on it, can hit 130 mph. They're very popular with women riders because it's an automatic; there's no shifting to contend with.

"They can go for a ride with their husband -- who's on his Gold Wing -- and they're on their scooter."

Cause, you know, us women are scared of those shifters. So many gears. Whatever shall we do?

Post by **ericalm** » Wed Nov 22, 2006 8:01 am

Corsair wrote:
ericalm wrote: I found this in a recent Detroit News column:

Fast scooter, an oxymoron?
OK, gang, let's finish with the question of the day: Just how fast can a motor scooter go?
The reason I ask is that recently I was tooling along on a Metro area freeway at about 65 mph when I caught sight in my rear view mirror of a two wheeler coming up fast from behind. I didn't get a clear look, but could see that it was weaving in and out of traffic.
I figured it for one of those low slung, ultra-fast, crotch rockets that blast past with a blurring snarl. To my shock I saw that it was a motor scooter and it had to have been doing at least 75 mph. It went by so quickly that I couldn't determine the make.
Does Vespa (or any scooter company for that matter) make a machine that goes that fast? Whenever I think of motor scooters I envision Sophia Loren on the back of a Vespa, waving and cooing "ciao, Marcello."
Well, this wasn't Rome and it definitely wasn't Sophia Loren. Brutal la vita!
If you know the answer, please let me know. Ciao!
I was pretty happy to write in and explain that, yeah, there are several Vespas and other scoots capable of that kind of speed.

Have you read the follow up? "Speedy Replies Solve Motor Scooter Question"

Nice! That showed 'im.