Cleveland Ride - Sunday, October 8, 2006

bwilms · Post by **bwilms** » Sat Sep 23, 2006 6:27 pm

This ride was originally posted on the Pride of Cleveland message board, so I figured I would share it here:

Hey POCers!

Who: You and many scooter friends (current and future!)

What: Another awesome ride! (This time it's a Fall theme: Area
Colleges and Changing Leaves)

When: Sunday Oct 08th

Where: From Baldwin-Wallace College in Berea to Hiram College in
Hiram (with a stop in Chagrin Falls in-between) then back to Berea.
(Three incredibly beautiful towns of the Western Reserve and two
colleges all bedecked in Fall colors.)

How: Astride your scooter whatever it may be: (e.g. Vintage-Vespas &
Lambrettas, Modern-Kymcos & Genuine Buddys,etc.)

Meet 8:30 AM-ish at : Cafe Ah Roma -on the doorstep of Baldwin-
Wallace College
38 W Bridge St, Berea, OH
(440) 260-0286

Fuel-up with Coffee, tea, bagels, pastries, etc.

Mount-up c. 9:00-ish Leave lovely Berea and ride through beautiful
countryside via backroads to scenic Chagrin Falls.( c. 1 hour). Stop
on Main St., show off our scooters to the tourists, take the
stairway down to the Falls and have a look, bathroom break, etc.
Back on the bikes and off to sleepy Hiram (c. 45 min.). Enjoy the
views of our third quaint town glowing amidst the colors of Fall.
We'll then take a direct route back to Berea (c.1hr ,15 min)
stopping for lunch along the way.

Ride and weather info will be posted on the POC Yahoo group. If
a "serious" threat of rain develops we'll move date to Oct 15th
(check the back for last minute updates).

I'll be there. Let me know if anybody else will be attending.

BoneGirl · Post by **BoneGirl** » Sat Sep 23, 2006 6:43 pm

This sounds awesome. I hope the weather cooperates but you have a rain date which is cool. We have somewhat of an event down here in Cincy that day but me and my husband may trailer the scoots up for the ride. We'll see what's up and let you know for sure! Thanks for the offer.

peabody99 · Post by **peabody99** » Sat Sep 23, 2006 8:00 pm

I am husband and I are planning on going, but maybe meeting in Chagrin falls, and then after Hiram diverting north to pick apples at pattersons (gotta have my fall pies)

bwilms · Post by **bwilms** » Sat Sep 23, 2006 8:36 pm

BoneGirl wrote:...but me and my husband may trailer the scoots up for the ride.

That's dedication! I don't think anybody will hold it against you if you don't make the 3.5 hr drive.

peabody99 wrote:...diverting north to pick apples at pattersons (gotta have my fall pies)

[Homer]Mmm...apples[/Homer]

I'll bump this post with more details when they are updated on POC.

smorris · Post by **smorris** » Sun Sep 24, 2006 3:08 am

Yep, Tim posted this on Vespa Club of Cleveland a while back, too. I plan on going!

bwilms · Post by **bwilms** » Wed Oct 04, 2006 12:26 pm

Here are a couple of follow up notes on the 10/8 ride. The main details for the ride have not changed.

There have been a few emails with similar questions about 10/08 Sunday
ride.
This may be helpful:

--See the many postings of the ride announcment, link or
search "Berea" under POC Yahoo Groups for current info.

--There WILL be ride maps at Cafe Ah Roma pre-ride (scooterists are a
patient bunch generally so it is unlikely that you would get lost
anyway).

--IF, or as our mathematician friends like to say IFF, wx provides a
SERIOUS threat of rain, etc ride will be postponed until 10/15.
You'll know by 7 AM Sunday 10/08 Watch for postings.

--This is a "ride". Very simple, casual, low key. You can join for
all or part of ride. Good start/stop points will be Cafe Ah Roma in
Berea, Starbucks on Main St Chagrin Falls, downtown Hiram, etc. We'll
do our best to stick to the times listed BUT traffic, breakdowns, etc
can occur-please be aware.

--All you need is your scoot and you, some $ for: gas, refreshments
and lunch (place tbd- but won't be expensive). Maybe a camera, cell
phone, etc.

--This is just a bunch of scooterists getting together it is NOT
sanctioned by any club, organiztion or individual. Your participation
is optional and your choice.

--Relax, meet other scooterists, have fun!

Some East siders are forming a separate pack to meet up with the rest of the ride in Chagrin Falls at 10:15am. Here are some of the details they have been talking about...

Fairmount it is. We can head south on Coventry from Caribou, turn
left on Fairmount and take that just about all the way to Chagrin
Falls. I will make a map. I would guess the trip will be about
45mins. That is why I was suggesting 9am start, figuring that means
scoots rolling around 9:15, pulling into CF around 10. We could push
the departure to 9:30, but that means on scoots waiting for the light
to change at Euclid Heights Boulevard, got me?! Coming from your side
of town I would consider Carnegie to Euclid Hts Blvd, make a left on
Coventry and Caribou is on the left. That would be your quickest
route, the sight-seeing isn't so great though. I live right around
the corner, so I will pull in to Caribou around 9:15. Because I don't
like riding in the rain I will post my go/no-go status around 7:30
that morning. Hope to see you Sunday. Peter

So it looks like Coventry Caribou Coffee at 9:15am or Berea Cafe Ah Roma at 8:30am.

I'll be leaving Macedonia about 7:30am, taking Pleasant Valley out (route), to be in Berea a little before 8:30am. See you then!

smorris · Post by **smorris** » Wed Oct 04, 2006 5:39 pm

The weather is looking great, albeit a bit cool , for Sunday!

So far there are responses from Modern Buddy, Modern Vespa, POC, and Vespa Club of Cleveland. I'm not sure if the Rovers are participating, as there is a big club wedding the night before.

I'm the bald guy on the blue Vespa LX150 with the tealish-blue leopard seat cover, black Corazzo w/red strip jacket, and the bright yellow FF helmet (if it arrives from New Enough tomorrow as it is scheduled.)

I am west of town, so I'm coming into Berea on Bagley. See y'all there!

smorris · Post by **smorris** » Fri Oct 06, 2006 9:45 pm

Here's Irish Tim's latest update:

Wx Channel is forecasting near 70 F and ZERO CHANCE OF RAIN! (Let's hope they're right!).

IF you're trucking/tailering-in IMHO you might park at one of the hotel park lots or big retailers (K Mart, etc.) on Bagley Rd just west of I 71. (Use your prudent person-type judgement as you are parking at your own risk.) It's about a 2 to 2 1/2 mi ride to Cafe Ah Roma (go West on Bagley, left Mulberry/237, then left on Bridge. You'll see it on your left. ) There is a Giant Eagle around corner/behind Cafe Ah Roma but it's not a huge lot so it might be an even greater towing risk.

Best place to park scoots will be on Bridge St. in FRONT of Cafe Ah Roma. I have confirmed with them that this is OK and LEGAL. C.A.R. opens at 7:30 AM and has the usual coffee, tea, smoothies, bagels, pastries, etc. plus clean bathrooms. Gas can be had at the Shell station (assuming they're open-if not plenty of stations on Bagley) at corner of Bridge and 237-one block West of C.A.R.

Once in Chagrin Falls we'll seek to park in front of or close to Starbucks (west side of Main St). BE CAREFUL if crossing the street to park. Oncoming cars and NO U Turn signs can be a challenge. (It might be easier/safer to pass Starbucks and turn left on River St. or W. Orange St. and go around the block to be on the Starbucks side.) Also, pedestrians have the RIGHT OF WAY in the cross-walks. By law you MUST STOP to let them cross. Bring your camera as the Water Falls are beautiful (not to mention the leaves!).

Item for thought: there's a nice family-run farm/orchard/store on the way to Hiram. We can stop here if the group wishes to. Keep in mind the small amount of storage scoots have but you may wish to squeeze in some apples, cider, maple syrup, etc. They grow ALL their own fruit and it is awesome.!

Lunch-wise it'd be easy and inexpensive to stop in Aurora on our way form Hiram back to Berea. On/immediately adjacent to our route are Wendys, Quiznos and McDonalds (all within 1/5 mi of each other).

This will be the last post UNLESS the Wx turns bad. If that should occur we'll post BY 7 AM Sunday to notify (not likely!).

See you Sunday!

See ya Sunday,
Steve

bwilms · Post by **bwilms** » Mon Oct 09, 2006 12:08 am

It was great meeting you peabody99 and smorris. Hopefully we'll be seeing you again soon. The Buddys were well represented - 2 Orange, 2 Black, and 1 Cream. Here are the pictures I took:

And a very short video of the scooter line-up on Main St. - http://youtube.com/watch?v=-GnCWsr_nRI

peabody99 · Post by **peabody99** » Mon Oct 09, 2006 12:19 am

Brett-great job! it was great meeting you too. You know I did not catch if the other orange and the black Buddy riders were on this board. Are you guys out there? Steve it was good seeing you again and hope you can post more pics. Next time I will use your camera to get your picture so people can see you too!
P.S the Buddy's held their own on the ride in case anyone is wondering.

smorris · Post by **smorris** » Mon Oct 09, 2006 12:59 am

(Cross-posted on POC Yahoo! Group, Vespa Club Cleveland, ModernBuddy.com, and ModernVespa.com)

What a fantastic ride, again. Thanks, Tim for organizing this. Again, I was on some roads I didn't know existed around here. Very cool! And the size of the group was great! We left Berea with we think 21 or 22 scoots, and I counted 28 at the orchard. LynnLee said 32 in Chagrin Falls, and I *thought* I heard someone say they counted 38. But I could be mis-remembering again. We had everything from an '83 Honda Cub (Passport) up to the Honda Silverwings. There were probably more Genuine scooters than any other brand, but Piaggio (including Vespa), Kymco, and Honda were well represented, with a few other makes in the mix as well.

We clocked 94 miles for the ride from start to finish, plus getting there and back home for a total of 125 miles. This is certainly going to be a record tank for me, as I still have more than 1/4 tank left. The most I've ever ridden on one 2.32 gallon tank was 145 miles.

Photos from today are on my SmugMug gallery at http://smorris.smugmug.com/gallery/1981510 [edit: SmugMug seems to be having upload problems and I can't post any photos! ]

As always, just click on the thumbnail to see a larger image, and then on that larger image to see an even bigger one up to the full 2.5 MB original (by clicking "O") Note that there are multiple pages, so be sure to see them all. (Michelle, I only got the back of you in one photo, so no need to smack me.

)

A couple of people asked about the deal on the bright yellow Icon helmet. I got it from New Enough.com. I wore a large in my M2R helmet, and needed an extra large with the Icon. I went to Kennedy Cycle in Elyria to verify the size to order. They had the current model for $220, mail order cycle places had it for around $180, and New Enough had last year's version for $54.99 It was too good of a deal to turn down!

I know that a couple people got gas at the Shell station just around the corner from the start. Did anyone keep their receipt and can you tell me how much premium was per gallon? I lost my receipt, but I know how much I spent. I keep track of fuel mileage, and don't want to have a blank for this tank. Thanks.

So, thanks again, Tim, and it was great seeing everyone from all the clubs and forums.

If anyone plans to do any more rides yet this fall, let us know. You know we'll come!

Steve

Added: I did get one photo on my ISP server. Here are 4 of the 5 Buddies. That's Peabodyin the pink. bwilms seems to be missing here. The two in the back are mother and daughter from Elyria. Mom, on the orange Buddy reads here, but doesn't post ( Hi!)

Check the SmugMug gallery tomorrow and see if it works.

dahuffy · Post by **dahuffy** » Mon Oct 09, 2006 1:02 am

bwilms wrote:It was great meeting you peabody99 and smorris. Hopefully we'll be seeing you again soon. The Buddys were well represented - 2 Orange, 2 Black, and 1 Cream. Here are the pictures I took:

And a very short video of the scooter line-up on Main St. - http://youtube.com/watch?v=-GnCWsr_nRI

What, no Pink?

peabody99 · Post by **peabody99** » Mon Oct 09, 2006 1:18 am

^ I know, no pink. what gives? our ohio city scooter gang needs a pink member (please folks, no jokes). I have no idea where the pinks are. Someone is buying them b/c I see them on the showroom floor at POC scooter shop and then they are gone. ..forever

peabody99 · Post by **peabody99** » Mon Oct 09, 2006 1:30 am

steve- sorry I did not get gas at that station. I did get 106 MPG on this trip though. I think my Buddy had to get out on the open road a little instead of all the stop and go I usually do.

bwilms · Post by **bwilms** » Mon Oct 09, 2006 2:49 am

smorris wrote:Added: I did get one photo on my ISP server. Here are 4 of the 5 Buddies. That's Peabodyin the pink. bwilms seems to be missing here. The two in the back are mother and daughter from Elyria. Mom, on the orange Buddy reads here, but doesn't post ( Hi!)

Where was I hiding? Was that at the gas station?

smorris · Post by **smorris** » Mon Oct 09, 2006 3:19 am

bwilms wrote:Was that at the gas station?

Yep, just as we were leaving. Don't know wheere you were at the time.

Damn SmugMug still is giving me errors loading images. Tim created a scoot.net list, so I'll add them there when it gets listed.

bwilms · Post by **bwilms** » Mon Oct 09, 2006 11:15 am

Ahh, I think I was just in front of you, lining up to take off. I could have made a complete set (Collect All 5)! Oh well.

smorris · Post by **smorris** » Mon Oct 09, 2006 9:57 pm

OK, the problem seems to be fixed. All 47 photos are at http://smorris.smugmug.com/gallery/1981510

Steve

vitaminC · Post by **vitaminC** » Mon Oct 09, 2006 10:02 pm

smorris wrote:OK, the problem seems to be fixed. All 47 photos are at http://smorris.smugmug.com/gallery/1981510

Steve

Nice pics!

As an aside, is that your MGA? LBCs (Little British Cars) are my favorite old cars!

peabody99 · Post by **peabody99** » Tue Oct 10, 2006 12:27 am

Thanks Steve for being a staff photog again. I am not sure why I smiling maniacally in one...oh well...I am still giddy from the ride and really tired too.

bwilms · Post by **bwilms** » Tue Oct 10, 2006 12:36 am

smorris wrote:OK, the problem seems to be fixed. All 47 photos are at http://smorris.smugmug.com/gallery/1981510

Thanks for the pics.

Man, I did a really good job of hiding from your camera. You almost got me here (I'm hiding behind R.D.)...

Oh wait, here I am.

I look so happy taking that map from Tim.

smorris · Post by **smorris** » Tue Oct 10, 2006 1:45 am

bwilms wrote:Oh wait, here I am.

I look so happy taking that map from Tim.

I thought I had everyone I "knew" photographed at some time. The only person who emphatically did not want to be photographed was Michelle, the black lady on the greenish ET. I think she is in the witness protection plan. I obliged, but still got the back of her in one image.

That's a great photo of Tim, too! He always looks so happy. Must be because he has a scooter for every ride. (I've been on three with him so far, and never seen the same one twice.)

Yes, VitaminC, that's my MGA. Right now, it is out of commission. I was cruising the interstate west of town here about two months ago, when it started rattling and had zero oil pressure. I think I spun a main bearing, but it was four days before we left for Alaska, and I wasn't going to start on it then. Still haven't ...

(Actually, the Morris Garage, is *my* garage, not a business. See the disclaimer at the bottom of the Morris Garage home page. My last name is Morris, and since I practically live in the garage and have an MG, what better domain! )

It was a blast seeing everyone, and if you get out this way, definitely let me know. There's a stocked fridge in the garage, a TV/DVD/VCR, stereo a rocker, Pachinko game, maybe a couch (we got a new one and I'm negotiating garage space) Oh, and a couple scooters (maybe more!) and an MG. I need a bigger garage! Here's me: http://tinyurl.com/77b4v (actually, that is my neighbor. I'm one house north.)

[edit] Oh, did y'all hear the Scorpion pipe on that black GT in the above photo? That's what I had on my LX for part of the summer. Sounded great, but a little loud for riding around the cul-d-sacs with my wife on her Metropolitan. Once I put on the 190cc kit and the variator over the winter, I'll stick the Scorpion back on. Then maybe I can keep up with those Buddies!

vitaminC · Post by **vitaminC** » Tue Oct 10, 2006 2:08 am

smorris wrote: Yes, VitaminC, that's my MGA. Right now, it is out of commission. I was cruising the interstate west of town here about two months ago, when it started rattling and had zero oil pressure. I think I spun a main bearing, but it was four days before we left for Alaska, and I wasn't going to start on it then. Still haven't ...

Dang, that sucks! Don't let it gather dust too long before you get it running again, as lots of other stuff will start to go bad from disuse.

Ironically, I used to own a Morris Minor. Sadly, it never moved under it's own power while in my ownership. Still wish that I hadn't had to let that one go.

Back on topic: I am looking forward to my first scooter event- whenever it may be!

smorris · Post by **smorris** » Tue Oct 10, 2006 2:41 am

vitaminC wrote:[ Don't let it gather dust too long before you get it running again, as lots of other stuff will start to go bad from disuse.

It won't. I have an entire off-season here coming up soon, and my wife enjoys riding in the MG, so it won't sit long. If there is too much damage (cranks are impossible to find, original or repro) I know of a 3-main 1800 MGB engine taken out of a full-on MGA resoration that is available to drop right in while I rebuild the 1500. Of course I might not want to put the 1500 back in at that point!

smorris · Post by **smorris** » Fri Oct 13, 2006 2:56 am

From Tim:

If you shot any photos on this great ride please post your best ones at:

http://scoot.net/gallery/2006/10/clevelandfallcolors/