whats up with scooter clubs and alcohol?

Discussion of the Genuine Buddy, Hooligan, Black Jack and other topics, both scooter related and not

Moderator: Modern Buddy Staff

User avatar
jasondavis48108
Member
Posts: 2919
Joined: Fri Apr 24, 2009 12:36 pm
Location: Ann Arbor

whats up with scooter clubs and alcohol?

Post by jasondavis48108 »

I'm not sure if this is wide spread, but I just joined a local scooter club and all of thier meet-ups seem to involve bars. I would think that the last two things one would want to combine are scooters and alcohol. Is this common or are they just a wee bit nuts? Its a shame really cause now I don't want to go on any of thier rides and I had just worked up the courage to join (I'm an extreame introvert). Oh well, guess its just more proof that lone ridin is the way to go (for me for at least).
"Only the curious have, if they live, a tale worth telling at all" Alastair Reid
jijifer
Member
Posts: 1450
Joined: Mon Mar 30, 2009 4:18 pm
Location: San Diego

Post by jijifer »

I went to High School and College in Ann Arbor/Ypsi. I don't know if that was just the time in my life where that's where everyone was meeting up anyways or what but yeah, just about every social outing involved a bar. But then just about every restaurant was a bar.

Most of the San Diego Meetups involve eating at some point along the way. Last one I went on was to the Stone Brewery out in East County. We had lunch and some had beer. There was lots of whispering about how wise it was in that heat and that distance to be having beer but in the end half had beer and half didn't. No one gets shitfaced and back on the scoot.

Now this may sounds nuts to suggest to a self described introvert but maybe you could start your own meetup and thus form the agenda? Out here, 50cc couldn't really keep up with our group rides. About every 3rd one, there's a disclaimer that 125s shouldn't join unless a "fast" 125 which mean 1 guy's modded Vino and the Buddys. It's tough for the group to keep pulling over and waiting.

I can imagine a whole group of 50cc enthusiasts getting together and making their own fun, though. I know one other 50cc Italia owner in Ann Arbor currently. She may be down for joining such a group. Do you know a woman named Jessica that has an Italia? I used to work with her at Schoolkids' Records in the late 80s-mid 90s.
User avatar
jasondavis48108
Member
Posts: 2919
Joined: Fri Apr 24, 2009 12:36 pm
Location: Ann Arbor

Post by jasondavis48108 »

I hear ya on the starting your own 50cc scooter club. Unfortunately I don't have the time ( I'm currently working toward tenure, only two more semesters) and even when I do finaly have the time, I'm not sure that I have the kind of personality that could pull somehting like that off. I hate the idea of being the one responsible for trying to get a bunch of humans to do anything as a group. So, I think I'll just stick to solo rides and the occasional ride with my wife :) But who knows, I may just start the introvert mathematicians with 50cc scooters club. Now that would be one wild club :lol: Maybe we could call ourselves the hypercube holigans

H^2 +SC = NERD
"Only the curious have, if they live, a tale worth telling at all" Alastair Reid
jijifer
Member
Posts: 1450
Joined: Mon Mar 30, 2009 4:18 pm
Location: San Diego

Post by jijifer »

jasondavis48108 wrote:I hear ya on the starting your own 50cc scooter club. Unfortunately I don't have the time ( I'm currently working toward tenure, only two more semesters) and even when I do finaly have the time, I'm not sure that I have the kind of personality that could pull somehting like that off. I hate the idea of being the one responsible for trying to get a bunch of humans to do anything as a group. So, I think I'll just stick to solo rides and the occasional ride with my wife :) But who knows, I may just start the introvert mathematicians with 50cc scooters club. Now that would be one wild club :lol: Maybe we could call ourselves the hypercube holigans

H^2 +SC = NERD
I hear ya. I don't like being the leader. I'm sorta a social pariah and can't really speak unless spoken to. Once spoken to, I don't shut up.

Are you teaching at one of the High Schools? I went to Community. Had the best math teacher there: Carolyn Siebers. Ann Arbor is a great town for learnin'! Good luck with tenure and the potential for the hypercube hooligans!
User avatar
Syd
Member
Posts: 4686
Joined: Wed Jul 18, 2007 6:41 am
Location: Tempe

Re: whats up with scooter clubs and alcohol?

Post by Syd »

jasondavis48108 wrote:...Is this common or are they just a wee bit nuts?...
Both.

The one group that I occasionally associate with seems quite responsible about it (lots more talkin' about drinkin' than drinkin', if you know what I mean). But alcohol and engines go way back, probably as far back as engines go. Add to that the fact that most vehicle related club members tend to be younger males, and there you go.

But I'd say don't give up on the club yet (unless their get-togethers always end up in drunken brawls, anyway). Just watch what goes on. Chances are that there will be many in the group that won't drink because they're riding, or will quit drinking long before they ride, or don't drink at all. Scooter clubs are collections of random people with just one thing in common, after all.

To paraphrase Lincoln:
"You will like some of the people all of the time, and you will like all of the people some of the time, but you will not like all the people all the time."
The majority is always sane - Nessus
User avatar
Lookin' To Scoot
Member
Posts: 151
Joined: Sat Mar 28, 2009 8:56 pm
Location: Arizona

Post by Lookin' To Scoot »

Just because the meet up is at a bar, doesn't mean you have to drink. While I personally don't have a problem with anyone who drinks responsibly (such as a beer or two over a couple hours), there are probably a lot more who would never drink and ride. So maybe you should get more involved with the SC and suggest some other venues where alcohol is not served. I would imagine in a college town like Ann Arbor there are plenty of interesting place to go and things to see without having a drink. I also think most people won't look down on you for not drinking at a scooter meet up. You could also trying drinking a ginger ale, in a dimly lit bar it looks a lot a mixed drink.

Or what the hell, ride cupcake behind your wife or girlfriend (whoever is available) to the meet up, have a few drinks and maybe you'll find out your more of an extrovert than you think.
User avatar
jasondavis48108
Member
Posts: 2919
Joined: Fri Apr 24, 2009 12:36 pm
Location: Ann Arbor

Post by jasondavis48108 »

jijifer wrote:
jasondavis48108 wrote:I hear ya on the starting your own 50cc scooter club. Unfortunately I don't have the time ( I'm currently working toward tenure, only two more semesters) and even when I do finaly have the time, I'm not sure that I have the kind of personality that could pull somehting like that off. I hate the idea of being the one responsible for trying to get a bunch of humans to do anything as a group. So, I think I'll just stick to solo rides and the occasional ride with my wife :) But who knows, I may just start the introvert mathematicians with 50cc scooters club. Now that would be one wild club :lol: Maybe we could call ourselves the hypercube holigans

H^2 +SC = NERD
I hear ya. I don't like being the leader. I'm sorta a social pariah and can't really speak unless spoken to. Once spoken to, I don't shut up.

Are you teaching at one of the High Schools? I went to Community. Had the best math teacher there: Carolyn Siebers. Ann Arbor is a great town for learnin'! Good luck with tenure and the potential for the hypercube hooligans!
I teach at Washtenaw Community College, but I did some of my pre-student teaching at Commie high :) Also, alot of the guys in the Jedi Knights scooter club went to Commie high so I'm very familiar with the school and its alumni, great school!

As for the suggestions that I go to the bar and not drink, well, I'm a recovering alcoholic and so don't much like the atmosphere of a bar. I also couldn't watch someone drink any amount of booze and then hop on a scooter and be o.k. with it. The last guy I knew who died on thier bike was under the legal limit but it was just enough to effect his judgement and now he's dead and that sucks, so I don't think they'd want me around while they were drinkin if they were going to ride afterwards. It's not that I mind folks drinking, its just that people who have been drinking are not the best judges of they're state of mind and I hate to see them die. What I really hate to see is them killing someone else for thier poor decisions, so hopefuly you can see now that me meeting some folks at a bar for a scooter meet-up is not a good idea for me or for the other folks. I think I'd probably be a real downer for them.
"Only the curious have, if they live, a tale worth telling at all" Alastair Reid
TVB

Re: whats up with scooter clubs and alcohol?

Post by TVB »

My local scooter club has a bit of a bar association, but not a dominating one. The meet-up place for rides is a coffee shop, so the rides themselves are apparently pretty safe. I get the impression that a lot of the riders tend to gather at a particular bar afterward, which I think is fine, but I know there's been at least one incident of someone drinking too much and getting in trouble on the way home from there.

The point about scooter clubs being groups of diverse individuals is a good one, though. I don't participate in the local one mostly because several of the core members tend to behave like asses, and another member started posting abusive messages to me on their board (which no one did anything about), and it just left me feeling rather unwelcome. I've been assured that they're only one clique in the group, and making friends in the area with a common interest in scooters would be nice, but I'd rather ride solo than deal with that kind of high-school type drama.
User avatar
jasondavis48108
Member
Posts: 2919
Joined: Fri Apr 24, 2009 12:36 pm
Location: Ann Arbor

Post by jasondavis48108 »

Sorry to hear about your bad experience TVB :( I havn't had much interaction with my local scooter club yet, but they seem like decent folks. Quite a few of them ride Burgmans which suprised me but hey, variety is the spice of life :) Anyway, I hope my post didn't offend anyone, I was just tryin to figure out if this meeting at bars stuff was common amoungst scooter groups (like it is with alot of the biker guys I know) or if there were lots of groups that didn't incorporate booze into thier rides. I supose if someone is going to drink and then get into traffic, I'd rather they be on a scooter than in an SUV, less of a chance that they'll kill anybody other than themselves.
"Only the curious have, if they live, a tale worth telling at all" Alastair Reid
Keys
Member
Posts: 2037
Joined: Mon Jul 24, 2006 9:57 pm
Location: Next to a big dirt lot.
Contact:

Post by Keys »

Too much alcohol is the main reason I'm avoiding rallies from now on. At the last one I attended, they ended up drinking, then shooting a BB gun in camp at anything they wanted to, then went about 100 yards out of the camp and began target shooting with handguns. With rocks in the background. Morons.

If you need to have alcohol in your system to be able to call it a good time, you have issues...

--Keys
"Life without music would Bb"
n2tattoos
Member
Posts: 198
Joined: Sat Jan 10, 2009 4:11 am
Location: San Diego, CA

Post by n2tattoos »

jijifer wrote: I'm sorta a social pariah and can't really speak unless spoken to.
Get the f***outta here with that!!!
jijifer wrote: I don't shut up.
That's more like it. :D
jijifer
Member
Posts: 1450
Joined: Mon Mar 30, 2009 4:18 pm
Location: San Diego

Post by jijifer »

n2tattoos wrote:
jijifer wrote: I'm sorta a social pariah and can't really speak unless spoken to.
Get the f***outta here with that!!!
jijifer wrote: I don't shut up.
That's more like it. :D
Oh yeah, I totally know how I am. If you hadn't approached me that first ride, I probably would have continued to stand there and looking lost. Then Derrick and Able wanted to find out about my speakers and now look: 3 friends but you all DID have to approach me. I can't figure out what to say beyond "Hi, I'm Jen" to which I will assume everyone will go "SO?!" so I just don't even get to that part.

groups of strangers are one of my most angst addled endeavors. that's why I'm always looking for a confident wingman.
User avatar
standup
Member
Posts: 108
Joined: Tue Jun 17, 2008 7:58 pm
Location: Baltimore

Post by standup »

Schoolkids records is a blast from the past. I think the one I knew was in Chapel Hill in the 80s/90s. I think I knew somebody who was involved in the running of schoolkids, but I had no idea they had stores as far-flung as Ann Arbor. Neato. Makes me want to get out the dB's vinyl and go back in time.
User avatar
jasondavis48108
Member
Posts: 2919
Joined: Fri Apr 24, 2009 12:36 pm
Location: Ann Arbor

Post by jasondavis48108 »

Thats funny, I thought Skool Kids was an Ann Arbor thing.
"Only the curious have, if they live, a tale worth telling at all" Alastair Reid
jijifer
Member
Posts: 1450
Joined: Mon Mar 30, 2009 4:18 pm
Location: San Diego

Post by jijifer »

standup wrote:Schoolkids records is a blast from the past. I think the one I knew was in Chapel Hill in the 80s/90s. I think I knew somebody who was involved in the running of schoolkids, but I had no idea they had stores as far-flung as Ann Arbor. Neato. Makes me want to get out the dB's vinyl and go back in time.
Oh yes, Mac from Superchunk & Merge records worked at the Schoolkids' in Chapel Hill even when "No Pocky for Kitty" came out in '91

Yeah, Schoolkids was a small chain of a few college buddies wanting to open stores in College towns. It didn't last long - the chains or the buddies. Steve Bergman owned ours in Ann Arbor. I know the one in Columbus changed its name to Used Kids. Chapel Hill kept the name as did the one in Gainesville, FL. I don't know the history of any others.

I worked at the Ann Arbor one from ages 16-23 - easily the coolest job a high school kid could have! :) I was guardian of the roped off cassette section for 11th and 12th grade. I think Steve thought kids would steal from a kid.
User avatar
jasondavis48108
Member
Posts: 2919
Joined: Fri Apr 24, 2009 12:36 pm
Location: Ann Arbor

Post by jasondavis48108 »

Now the old skool kids is called skool kids underground. It reopened in a new location on state near stairway to heaven. Its crazy to hear from folks who used to live hear and now live in Cali, but I guess folks do move away from here. Though generally they come back so watch yourself :lol:
"Only the curious have, if they live, a tale worth telling at all" Alastair Reid
jijifer
Member
Posts: 1450
Joined: Mon Mar 30, 2009 4:18 pm
Location: San Diego

Post by jijifer »

jasondavis48108 wrote:Now the old skool kids is called skool kids underground. It reopened in a new location on state near stairway to heaven. Its crazy to hear from folks who used to live hear and now live in Cali, but I guess folks do move away from here. Though generally they come back so watch yourself :lol:
yeah, Steve kept his dream alive. I left in 1996 because I could see it was going under and I just never wanted to walk down Liberty and see it be something else.

I left A2 for Boulder, CO. When that place got too small I went to Chicago for 6 years and now have been in San Diego for 4 years. I love So. Cal so as long as I can make it work here, I'm staying! But I'm not ruling out Ann Arbor some day. Lots of folks have gone back, many more never left and all and all, it's a great little town with lots and lots to do.

Did you know Robbie Stapleton when you were a student teacher? I was her kid's nanny for 5 years! Really small world!
TVB

Post by TVB »

standup wrote:Schoolkids records is a blast from the past. I think the one I knew was in Chapel Hill in the 80s/90s. I think I knew somebody who was involved in the running of schoolkids, but I had no idea they had stores as far-flung as Ann Arbor. Neato. Makes me want to get out the dB's vinyl and go back in time.
But you, what of you?
What do you propose to do?
Live in the past.
Recall what was.
And lonely is as lonely does.


Damn, I have got to get my turntable fixed.

Oh, and here in West Michigan, Schoolkids Records of Ann Arbor was a legendary, nigh-unreachable dream, while we made do with Crazy Larry's, Believe in Music, and (later) the Vinyl Solution.
jijifer
Member
Posts: 1450
Joined: Mon Mar 30, 2009 4:18 pm
Location: San Diego

Post by jijifer »

TVB wrote:
standup wrote:Schoolkids records is a blast from the past. I think the one I knew was in Chapel Hill in the 80s/90s. I think I knew somebody who was involved in the running of schoolkids, but I had no idea they had stores as far-flung as Ann Arbor. Neato. Makes me want to get out the dB's vinyl and go back in time.
But you, what of you?
What do you propose to do?
Live in the past.
Recall what was.
And lonely is as lonely does.


Damn, I have got to get my turntable fixed.

Oh, and here in West Michigan, Schoolkids Records of Ann Arbor was a legendary, nigh-unreachable dream, while we made do with Crazy Larry's, Believe in Music, and (later) the Vinyl Solution.
seriously so much fun to work at. I remember having to decide, as a 16 yr old, btwn a Soundgarden show at the Blind Pig or Camper Van Beethoven with American Music Club at the Nectarine (1989) I chose CVB since I had already seen Soundgarden and CBV was sneaking me in as a roadie so I could hang out all night backstage. Worse choices have been made since :)

One my my former co-workers posted this on Facebook from a 1992 in-store. I'm the in the white shirt behind the guy in red next to George Clinton. The tall drink of water to my right is listed as "A dude jen made out with" since no one (even I) can remember his name but I really don't recall making out either.

Image

I'm happy to find folks who remember Skids' as legendary!!!
User avatar
kneil67@yahoo.com
Member
Posts: 1078
Joined: Thu Jul 10, 2008 1:26 pm
Location: Manchvegas NH

Post by kneil67@yahoo.com »

420
jijifer
Member
Posts: 1450
Joined: Mon Mar 30, 2009 4:18 pm
Location: San Diego

Post by jijifer »

kneil67@yahoo.com wrote:420
free your mind and your ass will follow.....
User avatar
ericalm
Site Admin
Posts: 16842
Joined: Sat Jun 10, 2006 3:01 am
Location: Los Angeles, CA
Contact:

Post by ericalm »

jijifer wrote:I remember having to decide, as a 16 yr old, btwn a Soundgarden show at the Blind Pig or Camper Van Beethoven with American Music Club at the Nectarine (1989) I chose CVB since I had already seen Soundgarden and CBV was sneaking me in as a roadie so I could hang out all night backstage. Worse choices have been made since :)
I met CVB at an in-store at Waterloo Records in Austin during that tour. Saw them play an amazing show on the UT campus that night. The power went out and they told everyone to be quiet and played acoustic for the rest of their set.

Then-violinist Morgan Fichter totally stood me up for a bowling date in Dallas the next night. Okay, that's not exactly the way it happened (not even remotely, actually) but that's how I prefer to remember it.
Eric // LA Scooter Meetup Group // Stella 4T // Vespa LX // Vespa LXS // Honda Helix // some, uh, projects…
jijifer
Member
Posts: 1450
Joined: Mon Mar 30, 2009 4:18 pm
Location: San Diego

Post by jijifer »

ericalm wrote:
jijifer wrote:I remember having to decide, as a 16 yr old, btwn a Soundgarden show at the Blind Pig or Camper Van Beethoven with American Music Club at the Nectarine (1989) I chose CVB since I had already seen Soundgarden and CBV was sneaking me in as a roadie so I could hang out all night backstage. Worse choices have been made since :)
I met CVB at an in-store at Waterloo Records in Austin during that tour. Saw them play an amazing show on the UT campus that night. The power went out and they told everyone to be quiet and played acoustic for the rest of their set.

Then-violinist Morgan Fichter totally stood me up for a bowling date in Dallas the next night. Okay, that's not exactly the way it happened (not even remotely, actually) but that's how I prefer to remember it.
Morgan was CRAZY at least to my 16 year old mind. All through American Music Club she kept going out on stage pretending she lost something just to hear the crowd roar. She'd leave her bow - oh had to go back to get it. That made David Lowery throw a temper tantrum and all this is why you shouldn't let a 16 yr old hang out back stage: memories of steel traps and big mouths striking again and again!

I'm giddy on ONE mojito so this is a picture of me from around the time of camper van show --- notice the MOUTH full of braces, which is why I needed to be "snuck" in - couldn't pass for 18 to save my life!

Image

Jason, I'm sorry to have hijacked this thread :(
User avatar
jasondavis48108
Member
Posts: 2919
Joined: Fri Apr 24, 2009 12:36 pm
Location: Ann Arbor

Post by jasondavis48108 »

I'm not jijifer. This is a far more pleasent topic than why folks need to booze it up and then ride off into the sun set and possibly a telephone poll :D Unfortunatly I do not recall meeting the individual that you mentioned previously. Very crazy that so many folks have such fond memories of skool kids. I havn't thought about that place in quite some time really. Then again, I'm a bit (just a bit) on the young side for skool kids. It was going down hill fast by the time I was in highschool 91-95. It also got quite the rep for being, well, a bit elitist, although they had stuff that you just couldn't get anywhere else. For most of my blues, folk, and pre-punk stuff (I'm an MC5 nut) I usually went to Wazoo which is still alive and kicking and the guys who run it are still a bit uptight :D
"Only the curious have, if they live, a tale worth telling at all" Alastair Reid
jijifer
Member
Posts: 1450
Joined: Mon Mar 30, 2009 4:18 pm
Location: San Diego

Post by jijifer »

jasondavis48108 wrote:I'm not jijifer. This is a far more pleasent topic than why folks need to booze it up and then ride off into the sun set and possibly a telephone poll :D Unfortunatly I do not recall meeting the individual that you mentioned previously. Very crazy that so many folks have such fond memories of skool kids. I havn't thought about that place in quite some time really. Then again, I'm a bit (just a bit) on the young side for skool kids. It was going down hill fast by the time I was in highschool 91-95. It also got quite the rep for being, well, a bit elitist, although they had stuff that you just couldn't get anywhere else. For most of my blues, folk, and pre-punk stuff (I'm an MC5 nut) I usually went to Wazoo which is still alive and kicking and the guys who run it are still a bit uptight :D
S'kids always had an elitist vibe, I think, not me so much but I was perceived as guilty by association. This kid I went to high school with was the step son of one of the Wazoo guys. You know, that store was so easy to steal from - lots of kids did - so I can imagine that'd make you up tight, you know?

There's something infamous about the band shell where the MC5 busted out the Jams. I can't recall if "reggae fest" ended at that bandstand before '91 or not. Ann Arbor is a great place to be "from". Did you ever hang out in the woods behind pioneer knowing that Iggy Pop used to smoke pot back there? Or drive through the trailer park out by the Meijers on Carpentar since that's where he lived? My mom was a big Bob Seeger fan so I can call out those landmarks too :)

Did you go to Pioneer or Huron?
User avatar
standup
Member
Posts: 108
Joined: Tue Jun 17, 2008 7:58 pm
Location: Baltimore

Post by standup »

Again I'm reminded of my senility. There was ALSO a Schoolkids records in my hometown, Athens GA, but it opened after I had moved away. I think it's still there.

Everybody should rent High Fidelity immediately if you want to go back to the hip-dork-record-store-clerk! I haven't seen it in a few years.
User avatar
jasondavis48108
Member
Posts: 2919
Joined: Fri Apr 24, 2009 12:36 pm
Location: Ann Arbor

Post by jasondavis48108 »

jijifer wrote:
jasondavis48108 wrote:I'm not jijifer. This is a far more pleasent topic than why folks need to booze it up and then ride off into the sun set and possibly a telephone poll :D Unfortunatly I do not recall meeting the individual that you mentioned previously. Very crazy that so many folks have such fond memories of skool kids. I havn't thought about that place in quite some time really. Then again, I'm a bit (just a bit) on the young side for skool kids. It was going down hill fast by the time I was in highschool 91-95. It also got quite the rep for being, well, a bit elitist, although they had stuff that you just couldn't get anywhere else. For most of my blues, folk, and pre-punk stuff (I'm an MC5 nut) I usually went to Wazoo which is still alive and kicking and the guys who run it are still a bit uptight :D
S'kids always had an elitist vibe, I think, not me so much but I was perceived as guilty by association. This kid I went to high school with was the step son of one of the Wazoo guys. You know, that store was so easy to steal from - lots of kids did - so I can imagine that'd make you up tight, you know?

There's something infamous about the band shell where the MC5 busted out the Jams. I can't recall if "reggae fest" ended at that bandstand before '91 or not. Ann Arbor is a great place to be "from". Did you ever hang out in the woods behind pioneer knowing that Iggy Pop used to smoke pot back there? Or drive through the trailer park out by the Meijers on Carpentar since that's where he lived? My mom was a big Bob Seeger fan so I can call out those landmarks too :)

Did you go to Pioneer or Huron?
I went to Huron, and my friends grandma used to babysit Iggy Pop :)
"Only the curious have, if they live, a tale worth telling at all" Alastair Reid
User avatar
KRUSTYburger
Member
Posts: 3366
Joined: Sun Feb 10, 2008 1:54 am
Location: Pee-Cola, FL

Post by KRUSTYburger »

jasondavis48108 wrote:I went to Huron, and my friends grandma used to babysit Iggy Pop :)
:shock: :!: that's awesome.
Image
User avatar
ericalm
Site Admin
Posts: 16842
Joined: Sat Jun 10, 2006 3:01 am
Location: Los Angeles, CA
Contact:

Post by ericalm »

standup wrote:Everybody should rent High Fidelity immediately if you want to go back to the hip-dork-record-store-clerk! I haven't seen it in a few years.
I was the vinyl and music guy at a used book & record store for almost 9 years and was a semi-serious vinyl collector for a while. When I saw High Fidelity, I thought, "Wow, I was probably one life's decision from turning out like this." Except for the part where I date Catherine Zeta Jones and sleep with Lisa Bonet. (Actually he was much dorkier in the book and the women were probably plainer.) Maybe I was more like Belle & Sebastian guy, but then I would have wound up with Roseanne's daughter, which would have been weird.
KRUSTYburger wrote:
jasondavis48108 wrote:I went to Huron, and my friends grandma used to babysit Iggy Pop :)
:shock: :!: that's awesome.
Hilarious. My friend Curtis' parents had Iggy over to their house when he was a baby. Iggy said, "Cool baby." It was like a blessing; Curtis grew up to be supercool.
Eric // LA Scooter Meetup Group // Stella 4T // Vespa LX // Vespa LXS // Honda Helix // some, uh, projects…
User avatar
Skootz Kabootz
Member
Posts: 4305
Joined: Sat Nov 15, 2008 12:47 pm
Location: West Hollywood, CA
Contact:

Post by Skootz Kabootz »

jasondavis48108 wrote:...my friends grandma used to babysit Iggy Pop...
Now if that doesn't make Iggy feel old... :lol:
Image

"It's only fun if you live to talk about it." | Adventurists Scooter Group |
User avatar
Animaetrix00
Member
Posts: 115
Joined: Sat Jan 03, 2009 2:44 am
Location: San Diego, CA

Post by Animaetrix00 »

I have to say this is the main reason I haven't even tried tagging along on any of the club rides with my motorcycle friends. They *always* meet at bars. What the frak!
User avatar
ericalm
Site Admin
Posts: 16842
Joined: Sat Jun 10, 2006 3:01 am
Location: Los Angeles, CA
Contact:

Post by ericalm »

I've talked to many scooterists about the fact that our alcohol consumption has dropped significantly since we started riding. I have friends who don't ride who've remarked on it, then treated me like I'm in recovery.

Bars and restaurants that serve alcohol are natural meeting places. I've just made a rule that I won't drink more than one beer if I'm riding. Even then, I'll nurse it and make it last or give myself a fair amount of time (hour or whatever) between imbibing and riding. If I stick around longer, I switch to Sprite.

I've never felt any undue pressure to drink while or right before riding, especially from other scooterists. I can't say it's like that everywhere or with every group, though. Still, if you can resist the temptation to drink in a bar, I say give the groups a chance. There are often other people who are riding who won't be drinking. And even if they are, they're probably not counting how much you drink.
Eric // LA Scooter Meetup Group // Stella 4T // Vespa LX // Vespa LXS // Honda Helix // some, uh, projects…
User avatar
ScooterDave
Most Likely to Spontaneously Combust
Posts: 867
Joined: Tue Oct 31, 2006 6:43 am
Location: 127.0.0.1
Contact:

Post by ScooterDave »

I do not get it. What is the big deal with meeting at a bar before going out on a group ride or meet there afterwards?

I know plenty of scooterists that do not drink. They still come out and ride with us and nobody cares. I can absolutely have a beer or 2 before a ride and not impaired in the slightest.

If you plan on going to a scooter rally and think that people will not be drinking, you will be mistaken. The Vulcan Scooter Secte (the club I belong to) is supplying 5 kegs of beer to the Roll in The Hay Rally next month in Dayton, OH. One of the better camping rallys I go to outside of PVSC Band Camp.

It is just the way that it is. People ride and people drink. If anyone in Cincinnati is absolutely opposed to drinking & scootering, they are absolutely welcome to create a ride that does not involve a bar. But until then the Cincinnati scooterists will meet weekly at a local pub and end the ride at a local pub.
User avatar
Lookin' To Scoot
Member
Posts: 151
Joined: Sat Mar 28, 2009 8:56 pm
Location: Arizona

Post by Lookin' To Scoot »

The OP is a recovering alcoholic. Therefore, in his case meeting at a bar is a big deal. Agree or not, one has to respect a guy for that.
User avatar
bluebuddygirl
Member
Posts: 880
Joined: Sat Sep 20, 2008 1:34 am
Location: Akron, OH

Post by bluebuddygirl »

Lookin' To Scoot wrote:The OP is a recovering alcoholic. Therefore, in his case meeting at a bar is a big deal. Agree or not, one has to respect a guy for that.
Agreed! Besides, there are plenty of other places to meet, I mean our country in inundated with coffee shops. I know that there is a history of motorized vehicles and drinking, and I do drink, but I agree a little that drinking and riding is an odd combination. That whole balance thing. It is something that I don't combine, and I am uncomfortable when others do, even in small quantities.

One can go to a bar and not drink, but as the daughter of a recovering alcoholic, I would never put my dad in that situation, and let's face it, some people cannot go to a bar and not drink.
User avatar
Ray Knobs
Member
Posts: 683
Joined: Wed Jun 18, 2008 3:55 pm
Location: Rochester NY
Contact:

Post by Ray Knobs »

but do you change your whole club to accommodate one person that you don't even know?
User avatar
bluebuddygirl
Member
Posts: 880
Joined: Sat Sep 20, 2008 1:34 am
Location: Akron, OH

Post by bluebuddygirl »

Ray Knobs wrote:but do you change your whole club to accommodate one person that you don't even know?
Don't new members inevitably always change the dynamic of a club. :?

and isn't that sometimes a good thing?
Last edited by bluebuddygirl on Tue Jul 21, 2009 5:46 pm, edited 1 time in total.
User avatar
polianarchy
Moderator
Posts: 2163
Joined: Mon Dec 04, 2006 6:16 pm
Location: SJCA
Contact:

Post by polianarchy »

:+!:
ericalm wrote:Bars and restaurants that serve alcohol are natural meeting places. I've just made a rule that I won't drink more than one beer if I'm riding. Even then, I'll nurse it and make it last or give myself a fair amount of time (hour or whatever) between imbibing and riding. If I stick around longer, I switch to...
...water. :D
ModBud #442
User avatar
ScooterDave
Most Likely to Spontaneously Combust
Posts: 867
Joined: Tue Oct 31, 2006 6:43 am
Location: 127.0.0.1
Contact:

Post by ScooterDave »

I still don't get it. If you have a problem with people drinking then do not go around them.

If you are going on a ride and it meets at a bar, I guess your option is not to go or call a ride that meets at a coffee shop.

The Ten Year Lates Scooter Club, the main club in Cincinnati and the ones that put on the WKRP rally each year, have their weekly meetings at a bar. That is not going change no matter how many non drinkers want to join.
TVB

Post by TVB »

Skootz Kabootz wrote:
jasondavis48108 wrote:...my friends grandma used to babysit Iggy Pop...
Now if that doesn't make Iggy feel old... :lol:
From the looks of him, I wouldn't have been surprised if the above comment had said "my friends grandma used to date Iggy Pop. :)
TVB

Post by TVB »

Ray Knobs wrote:but do you change your whole club to accommodate one person that you don't even know?
Do you set up your club to automatically turn away certain people before you even get to know them? I hear people in scooter clubs wish they had more members, but meanwhile they're doing things to make some would-be members hesitate to join. Starting rides at a bar seems like one "good" way to do that.
User avatar
ScooterDave
Most Likely to Spontaneously Combust
Posts: 867
Joined: Tue Oct 31, 2006 6:43 am
Location: 127.0.0.1
Contact:

Post by ScooterDave »

TVB wrote:
Ray Knobs wrote:but do you change your whole club to accommodate one person that you don't even know?
Do you set up your club to automatically turn away certain people before you even get to know them? I hear people in scooter clubs wish they had more members, but meanwhile they're doing things to make some would-be members hesitate to join. Starting rides at a bar seems like one "good" way to do that.
What am I missing here? So, if someone is afraid of clowns, there should be no group rides to the circus?

If someone wanted to join The Vulcan Scooter Secte, one of the oldest scooter clubs in the world, and told me if they joined, the club could no longer hang out at a bar if they joined, we would tell them to go pound salt.

A club was around long before a prospective member wanted to join and to say that you can no longer do something if they join is absurd. I guarantee there are more drinkers than non-drinkers in scooter clubs. And if drinking adult beverages is not your thing then cool.

Is it me or is this whole thing sound silly.
User avatar
kneil67@yahoo.com
Member
Posts: 1078
Joined: Thu Jul 10, 2008 1:26 pm
Location: Manchvegas NH

Post by kneil67@yahoo.com »

dave its just plain silly
User avatar
bluebuddygirl
Member
Posts: 880
Joined: Sat Sep 20, 2008 1:34 am
Location: Akron, OH

Post by bluebuddygirl »

Well, if someone is afraid of clowns maybe you just don't have EVERY group ride go to the circus. Just as in this case maybe EVERY meeting doesn't have to be at a bar. I don't think that anyone is saying you ban meeting at bars, but it seems like it is a simple idea to not always meet at a bar if you have people who would be interested in an alternative venue. I am willing to bet that there is more than one person already in the group who would find that preferable.

This is the last I will say on the subject, and I won't be checking responses. I think both sides have been stated, I just always believe in a middle ground.
User avatar
illnoise
Moderator Emeritus
Posts: 3245
Joined: Wed Sep 06, 2006 9:23 pm
Location: Chicago, IL

Post by illnoise »

Eric's right, if you think it's bad now, look back at 1995 or so when I got into this, we all did some really stupid stuff and many of us learned the hard way, either through our own mistakes or others...

But we still have a long way to go, there's still a lot of drinking at many scooter events. That's not all bad, some people like to drink and can do it responsibly, or at least without putting themselves or others in danger.

Some clubs like to drink, some don't. I think it's a lot to ask a bunch of longtime friends to change everything about their club overnight to accommodate you, and if you're not comfortable going to a bar, then simply don't go. Organize your own events and invite them, and others.

And as far as preventing drunk riding and meeting at bars, don't whine about it and tell people what to do, instead, lead by example. Show people how easy it is to have fun without alcohol. Offer alternatives to people that don't want to drink. Encourage responsible behavior. It needs to be done.

It goes beyond alcohol, it's sociology. There are a million clubs out there, and they're all different, and most of them were started in response to another club. And there are plenty of people who can hover between the clubs and/or on their own and enjoy themselves without worrying about fitting in. Everyone has low self-esteem, just some people are better at hiding it, or overcompensating for it by drinking, or dressing up in 60s period costumes (scooter rallies used to be like a renaissance faire), or with misdirected violence, or whatever.

If you're responsible, cooperative, and make any kind of effort at all to make friends, you will. Just be yourself. If you can't make friends by being yourself, you don't need those friends.

I sound like a junior-high-schooler's mom, but apparently a lot of people didn't learn this stuff in junior high school, ha.
2strokebuzz: When news breaks, we put it under a tarp in the garage.
User avatar
illnoise
Moderator Emeritus
Posts: 3245
Joined: Wed Sep 06, 2006 9:23 pm
Location: Chicago, IL

Post by illnoise »

Cincinnati in particular, there are some serious freaks in that club... like that guy Lowell, he's one of a kind and never made any apologies for how he looks or dresses. And he shouldn't, because he's awesome. If a 45-year-old hair metal hillbilly can fit in with those guys without shaving his head and trading all his Whitesnake albums for Desmond Dekker, anyone can. And they've got soccer moms, too. There's a central core of hipsters in most clubs, sure, but I can't think of a club anywhere that doesn't have a few square pegs. The people that get ignored/ostracized/hated are the people that show up out of nowhere demanding instant gratification and acceptance.

And all that's not just scootering, it's life. You don't show up your first day of kindergarten bragging about how many Barbies you have and "My house has ten baffrooms and my dad's an astronaut and no, that's not how you play tag your dad is unemployed" You show up, act like yourself, be nice, hope you don't pee yourself, and hope like heck that there's someone else in your class as weird as you.
2strokebuzz: When news breaks, we put it under a tarp in the garage.
User avatar
jasondavis48108
Member
Posts: 2919
Joined: Fri Apr 24, 2009 12:36 pm
Location: Ann Arbor

Post by jasondavis48108 »

hmmm, well I think some folks got the wrong idea. I wasn't saying that the local scooter club should change where they meet to accomodate me or anyone else. I was simply asking if meeting at bars was common so that I'd know wether to persue group riding or not. If scooter culture is wrapped up in booze then its a culture that I probably don't want first person contact with. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that drinking and scootering is right either, personally I think its dumb as hell and hope anyone who does it gets busted before they kill themselves, but I'm also for personal freedom as long as one is willing to pay the concequences of thier actions. Hell, I still know guys that get all liquored up and coked up and hop on thier bikes and go screaming down I-94, I don't tell them not to (they'd just laugh at me anyway) I'm just glad they're on a bike and not in a Hummer. I do find it a tad bit ironic that lots of scooter folks are all about ATGATT and the MSF class but seem to think its o.k. to drink and ride. Thats the most rediculus crap I've ever heard of. But once agin, just to make it clear. I think everyone has the right to make thier own decisions, its just that if thier decision is to drink and ride, then I just don't want to ride with them.
"Only the curious have, if they live, a tale worth telling at all" Alastair Reid
User avatar
Ray Knobs
Member
Posts: 683
Joined: Wed Jun 18, 2008 3:55 pm
Location: Rochester NY
Contact:

Post by Ray Knobs »

jasondavis48108 wrote:If scooter culture is wrapped up in booze then its a culture that I probably don't want first person contact with.

It's human nature, gathering and drinking. I doubt it has anything do with scooters.
User avatar
jasondavis48108
Member
Posts: 2919
Joined: Fri Apr 24, 2009 12:36 pm
Location: Ann Arbor

Post by jasondavis48108 »

Ray Knobs wrote:
jasondavis48108 wrote:If scooter culture is wrapped up in booze then its a culture that I probably don't want first person contact with.

It's human nature, gathering and drinking. I doubt it has anything do with scooters.
Oh I'm sure it doesn't. Even the local bicyclists clubs tend to meet at bars :lol: Although I don't find that quite as freightning I still don't go on those rides.

Its not that I can't not drink, its just that all i tend to think about when I'm in a bar is drinking so it tends to make the whole expereince not very fun. Guess I need to find a bunch of straight edge kids to go ride with (no not really :lol: )
"Only the curious have, if they live, a tale worth telling at all" Alastair Reid
User avatar
Kaos
Member
Posts: 4892
Joined: Mon May 19, 2008 5:39 pm
Location: Portland, OR

Post by Kaos »

jasondavis48108 wrote:
Ray Knobs wrote:
jasondavis48108 wrote:If scooter culture is wrapped up in booze then its a culture that I probably don't want first person contact with.

It's human nature, gathering and drinking. I doubt it has anything do with scooters.
Oh I'm sure it doesn't. Even the local bicyclists clubs tend to meet at bars :lol: Although I don't find that quite as freightning I still don't go on those rides.

Its not that I can't not drink, its just that all i tend to think about when I'm in a bar is drinking so it tends to make the whole expereince not very fun. Guess I need to find a bunch of straight edge kids to go ride with (no not really :lol: )
Hey, don't knock the straight edge kids ;)
Post Reply