a curse upon the LA Scooter Group! hmph

[Edwub]

I went to my first ride this weekend, and had a whole lot of fun. Met a lot of fun and interesting people (though if you guys can read this, I initially introduced myself as "Ed," and unfortunately never made it around to mentioning 'Edwub' on MB.) I actually was among the earlier people there, so got to meet a few fellow newcomers. Pretty pleasant (and really delicious scones!)

Anyway, in short, this ride was the first time I got to truly completely enjoy my Blur. What a great experience. No worries about cars, about getting lost, felt like I was in a pretty protected safe bubble of fun.


Until it's this chilly, foggy Monday morning and I was on my way to work. CURSES ON YOU, LASG.

Where were the roads with those fun twisties? The nice views? Why can't I see Skootz up ahead leading the way? Where are the friendly people in front of and behind me, instead I'm seeing a lot of tired drivers drinking coffee, checking their emails and putting on makeup.

Why are there so gosh-darned many red lights - how come the blockers aren't doing their jobs?!?! After a sad, solo ride....I'm now sitting at my desk planning out a lot of work instead of recapping highlights of the commute.

[LunaP]

Awwww haha, there will always be more rides. When I got my buddy, boyfriend said to me "This is awesome, it's like Scooter Club every day!" XD

You'll learn to just find things to fiddle with and occupy your time until the next ride...

[black sunshine]

LOL, that's exactly how i felt about my commute to work after the rally here in Atlanta - luckily, we have meetups twice a week, with rides on Sundays. yesterday we went on a tour of Halloween-decorate houses in Atlanta (including one that had a coffin that some dude popped out of and scared the HELL out of us in broad daylight!).

[Drum Pro]

I can't wait for my first group ride. Hopefully there will be one next month sometime that I can get to. Ericalm mentioned one this Friday or Saturday on another post but I'll be working (I really should move back to Los Angeles).

[Southerner]

Interesting way of looking at it.

Got that spoiled that fast, did you?

No groups around here for me to join. Unless I want to wear colors and do poker runs. Not bloody likely.

[Edwub]

Interesting way of looking at it.

Got that spoiled that fast, did you?

It's really the extreme difference between riding with the group, compared to most of my commute experiences. I'm in West LA parallel to the nation's most traveled freeway (the 405 sees over 375k cars pass through, per day [averaged]), and that infamous gridlocked traffic extends out onto the city streets. I think I've mentioned before I tend to ride home driving on the white line between two lanes, going from red light to red light when all the other cars are bumper to bumper. During rush hour, I, 100% of the time, pass ambulances and firetrucks when they have lights on and sirens blazing. It is just physically impossible for them to drive on some of these roads. And they're not small roads: Wilshire Blvd is at least four lanes each way, plus two left turn lanes each way. There's just too much traffic.

Not a problem with my scooter.

So it's a world of a difference in scenarios. LOVED the weekend ride!! I've been up in those canyons and roads once or twice solo, but the group ride experience was just so much more than I could have imagined.

[jonlink]

I'm now sitting at my desk planning out a lot of work instead of recapping highlights of the commute.

EDIT: "I'm now sitting at my desk thinking about how much I want to do another group ride when I should be planning out a lot of work."

[Southerner]

You're looking at it the wrong way.

You could be one of those poor sods stuck in traffic with your cage. Instead you just breeze between them with your scoot.

[Skootz Kabootz]

Edwub, I remember you introducing yourself! I had no idea there was a MB connection! It's like we're a secret society even to ourselves Clearly we need a secret handshake or something It was a really fun day. So glad you came out and joined us. There are definitely many more miles of fun ahead! Cheers.

[Southerner]

Maybe you guys need a sticker like the guys on ADVRider.

[Syd]

[AWinn6889]

Try being the only girl, and the only one on a scooter, riding with a bunch of Harley dudes!

Riding in a group is usually a great time, and you tend to gain a lot of knowledge from those around you. Once spring rolls around I'll probably be checking out my local Scooter Club, but it doesn't seem like they have a planned ride once a week or anything, just random ones to random places. I just wish they didn't start out so early on Sunday mornings

[Southerner]

At least you stand out.

When I went to that Bike Night recently, there were so many V-twins )foreign & domestic) that they all blended in and faded into the woodwork. The green Buddy really stood out. Her BF followed on an older Rice Rocket.

[Stormswift]

I just enjoy riding. Even riding to and from work to me feels great. Today was a bit chilly in the morning So I put on my warm gear. I now have warm gear and I rode to work. Loved every minute of it. We have a small riding group in our area but with weather getting colder there have not been any rides. Most of the folks in the group wear minimum gear and that would not work well in cold weather. No matter. I kind of like riding on my own any way

[AWinn6889]

At least you stand out.

When I went to that Bike Night recently, there were so many V-twins )foreign & domestic) that they all blended in and faded into the woodwork. The green Buddy really stood out. Her BF followed on an older Rice Rocket.

When we stop places, and there are other bikes around, I usually get asked the most questions
It's nice, but it's also kind of annoying. I've noticed people are more likely to touch, and fiddle with something they aren't quite used to seeing.

[ericalm]

Edwub, sorry I missed you! I had to sit this one out. Going out of town next week and have let too many things slide because I've been out riding so much.

That said, I'll be on the Friday night ride before heading out of town Saturday morning! It'll be a good one; come on out!

One of these days, I'll get around to doing "Hello, My username is…" patches for MB AND MV. I go to way too many events where I forget, never know, or fail to connect real life person to online person.

[still shifting]

Clearly we need a secret handshake or something

Now that is a great Idea! Except it will probably have to work with gloves! R

[viney266]

Yeah group rides are always fun. One of the few things you get to do alone with a group...One of the things I love. Whether its 2 of us riding or 2 dozen.

[LunaP]

One of these days, I'll get around to doing "Hello, My username is…" patches for MB AND MV. I go to way too many events where I forget, never know, or fail to connect real life person to online person.

OMG that would be hilarious XD

[AWinn6889]

One of these days, I'll get around to doing "Hello, My username is…" patches for MB AND MV. I go to way too many events where I forget, never know, or fail to connect real life person to online person.

...people from my local VW group still call me "Gator"/"Gatorpie" because for some reason they can't remember the "Ali" part.
(my username on there is gatorpie89, for 3 or 4 years now)

[Edwub]

I'm now sitting at my desk planning out a lot of work instead of recapping highlights of the commute.

EDIT: "I'm now sitting at my desk thinking about how much I want to do another group ride when I should be planning out a lot of work."

heheheh, exactly!!

Edwub, I remember you introducing yourself! I had no idea there was a MB connection! It's like we're a secret society even to ourselves Clearly we need a secret handshake or something It was a really fun day. So glad you came out and joined us. There are definitely many more miles of fun ahead! Cheers.

I felt slightly bad when I first met you, because it was one of those "ohh...I know who he is, but he doesn't know who I am" things. I meant to come up and mention MB later. It's all good though, because Eric actually paid me $20 to attend the ride incognito and report back to this board on whether you're qualified to lead. I'm happy to report that you can, and you handled the detour on Sunset pretty well with a quick loop around. I felt bad about that too, because I knew that was there and just forgot it was in the route (luckily it turned out to be a 30 second issue, and I think it was actually more fun: obstacle conquered! )


Eric, I'll be coming out to more rides for sure! Not as many as I'd like (every.single.one) but at least sporadically, depending on the routes/destinations.

I'm pushing---er, encouraging-- my fiance to speed up the hunt for gear. She's skittish about riding on the back, so we need to practice a lot on local roads and/or parking lots. The good news is that the Holiday Lights ride excited her, but I'm worried it was just the 'idea' of it. She hasn't seen the route, and we'll have to eventually get back to the westside in the dark after a hefty ride. Probably will be beyond her comfort zone, but I think a ride like the one this last Saturday would be perfect for getting her hooked, especially since it ended in our area.

[Southerner]

Uh....Gatorpie?

[pdxrita]

Clearly we need a secret handshake or something

Now that is a great Idea! Except it will probably have to work with gloves! R

More than a secret handshake, we need a secret MB wave for when we pass other Buddys on the road!

[AWinn6889]

Uh....Gatorpie?

My name is Ali.
Since I can remember my entire family has called me "Ali-gator."
Even my nephew calls me "Aunt Gator" because he couldn't pronounce "Aunt Ali" when he was little.
Dave Matthews came out with a song called "Alligator Pie" a couple years ago. I'm not a DMB fanatic, I like a couple of his songs here and there, this happened to be one of them that I liked.

My boyfriend at the time thought it was a great idea, and made that the username for my account.

I regret it.... it's annoying to have random people yell out "hey gator!" all the time. It was fine when it was just my family, now it's most of my friends too, ugh. I have since had it changed to AWinn6889, just like it is here, but "Gator" still seems to stick in everyone's minds.

I will admit that I have a lime green alligator vinyl sticker on the lower right-hand corner of the driver-side front window on my Jetta. For the reason that everyone knows me by "Gator," and two of us in the Saratoga/Schenectady area have lowered, silver, de-badged Jetta wagons, on bigger, dark wheels. Allan has some kind of sticker in the same place on his car, so others can differentiate our cars at a quick glance. Though, he has a VR6, and I have a 2.0, you can't exactly tell that just by looking at the outside of the car.

[/side track]

[Southerner]

Oh.

Now that I understand, I think it's cute.

It just bugs you because you hear it so much.

[AWinn6889]

Oh.

Now that I understand, I think it's cute.

It just bugs you because you hear it so much.

I shouldn't complain really. I've found that a lot of people pronounce "Ali" funny, and it bugs me. I also have a lot of people call me "Alison" to be funny, like how a parent would say your full name if you were in trouble... when in fact, my name is Alexandra.
So I have resorted to Paul Simon's "Call me Al" as a valid reason for people to not actually call me Ali anymore. Everyone seems to be able to pronounce "Gator" just fine, though. I would probably prefer Gator over Ali, if people didn't make it a point to say "Gator" every single time they are talking to me, it just makes me a little crazy.
(I would have to agree, Gator/Gatorpie is much cuter than AL)


...now, back to everyone having a good time riding in groups, and not knowing who their Modern Buddy friends are in real life

[JHScoot]

this is a very nice group. hopefully some have a chance to experience group rides with people as good as this, and with riders who are fun, friendly, and definitely non elite. eric, skootz, and noho mike do a great job organizing and scheduling rides, and they would seem to be first rate

i say 'seem to be' because i have only been able to go on ONE this past year on account of not having many weekends free and some only half free. out of town, working (gotta eat ), other commitments, and an occasional riding schedule that i am not skilled enough for. i almost made it to roller derby, though!

can't make it to mike's upcoming philippe's ride. i did make it to his Dodger Party. weekday afternoon, not many were there. met skootz and he is a really nice guy

i am rsvp for the annual holiday lights ride, however. and i will clear my holiday calendar to get there! that was my lone group ride this past year and will also be my last of the year. it was great last year and although the lights were sort of a bust we got to see some nonetheless. i sat across from our esteemed admin here at mb for dinner and had a nice convo. all should know eric is as good a guy in person as he seems on the internet

eric, skootz, mike, and the rest who run this gig deserve one big kudos, not a curse! don't have to do it, but they do for the love of the ride. makes riders like myself very grateful to always have a fun bunch to ride with

641 members strong! i believe this represents somewhat over 140 NEW members in the last year alone if i am not mistaken?

[ericalm]

641 members strong! i believe this represents somewhat over 140 NEW members in the last year alone if i am not mistaken?

I actually don't keep track of the total number because it's always been many times more than our roster of "active" members. There are people who lurk for a year or more before coming out for their first ride. Others only come out once or twice a year.

The growth in participation has been amazing, though. We've basically doubled (or more) RSVPs and attendance for our average rides and have had to cap attendance for some of them. Our retention—the people returning after their first or second rides—has also been pretty high with a lot of new people becoming fairly regular attendees.

Skootz gets big props for doing most of the rides this summer, as I was scooterless for much of it.
Mike gets a lot of thanks for letting me ride the shop Stella a few times, too!

[Skootz Kabootz]

It really is pretty awesome all the new people coming out for our rides and that word of the group is spreading very much thanks to people having plain old fun. Seeing everyone having such a good time is what makes organizing the group so rewarding to me.

I always joke that at its root organizing the LASG is really very self serving as I simply recruit my own companions for rides I'd like to do anyway. But hearing feedback like yours Edwub, and similar feedback from other people, is so nice. It feels really good to create an activity that puts a smile on so many peoples faces. Very worthwhile.

But as you can tell from attending, leading a ride, and organizing the LASG as a whole, can not be done by any one person alone. Having the three group organizers as we do (NoHo Mike, Eric, and myself) works very well. First because we share the workload of coming up with rides ideas and then organizing the ride, but also because each of us come up with quite different ideas for rides. That makes things more interesting and enjoyable for everyone. Plus each one of us has good organizational ideas so working together helps us to keep things in check and the group evolving in a good direction.

What really can't be left out, is a huge thank you to our blockers and sweepers (Syl, Sergio, and recently Charles, and Liam). They really are a key asset in ride management—keeping the group together and making rides safer.

I have to say I especially appreciate your (Edwub) comment that you felt like you were riding in a "protected safe bubble of fun". Really nice. Tells me that we were all doing our job well. Thank you.

[ericalm]

It's all good though, because Eric actually paid me $20 to attend the ride incognito and report back to this board on whether you're qualified to lead.

I have to say I especially appreciate your (Edwub) comment that you felt like you were riding in a "protected safe bubble of fun". Really nice. Tells me that we were all doing our job well. Thank you.

$20 well spent!

[Edwub]

I meant what I said, so cheers

As an aside, I rode there with my (soon to be) brother-in-law. I believe his first experience with you guys was purely coincidental a few months back -- he was out running an errand and the group passed him by honking, so he went with the flow and followed. He's been on a few rides since...


I actually saw this process first hand when we were in Santa Monica on Saturday! A guy with his girlfriend were turning onto the road just as the group approached them; we all honked and waved and they rode with us for a mile or two. At each stopsign/traffic light people were leaning over to talk to them about his scooter, and about the group.

Was very neat. Good times are contagious!

[Skootz Kabootz]

That's was your soon to be Brother-in-law? How cool. I remember the day he joined up with us. I believe it was the day we rode through Tajunga Canyon. What a small world! 6 degrees of separation, as they say People spontaneously joining us has happened maybe 4 times that I know of. Always very fun. My kind of people

[LunaP]

I actually saw this process first hand when we were in Santa Monica on Saturday! A guy with his girlfriend were turning onto the road just as the group approached them; we all honked and waved and they rode with us for a mile or two. At each stopsign/traffic light people were leaning over to talk to them about his scooter, and about the group.

Was very neat. Good times are contagious!

That's so cool... that does not happen to us on rides. I'm jelly.

[Edwub]

I think one of the things that cracked me up about the ride was that I was imagining David Attenborough narrating parts of it.

There were a heckuva lot of high pitched lil' 'beep-beeps!' Especially towards the later part of the ride, it felt like we were communicating mainly via scooter horn.

Like a flock of goofy birds! beepbeepbeephonkbeephonkbeeeeep x 1000. It certainly put a smile on our faces, and on the faces of most of the bystanders witnessing our migration. Cute, but we were certainly goofy and borderline ridiculous. Not neccessarily in a bad way, but like penguins or ducks or something similar. Kiwi birds?

That's why I loved it when we got joined by the random scooterist couple - it was like we invited and drew them into the fold with the loving caress of beepbeepbeepbeepbeepbeepbeepbeephonkbeepbeep filling the air.


hehehe

[still shifting]

Look up a video a song, I wish it was Fiday for a join the ride kind of thing... R

[BootScootin'FireFighter]

met skootz and he is a really nice guy

that he is.... I still think my wife has a secret crush on him.

People spontaneously joining us has happened maybe 4 times that I know of.

I remember one of those, that older guy on Mulholland who had a life-long suntan that his skin was like leather. There's a guy with some riding experience you could write a book with!

[Skootz Kabootz]

met skootz and he is a really nice guy

that he is.... I still think my wife has a secret crush on him.

Jeeze! I'm flattered, doubtful, and blushing, all at the same time!

People spontaneously joining us has happened maybe 4 times that I know of.

I remember one of those, that older guy on Mulholland who had a life-long suntan that his skin was like leather. There's a guy with some riding experience you could write a book with!

That was Manfred! Such a character and a really, really nice man. He has ridden that scooter from Malaysia back through Europa, to Alaska, South America, and most recently he just cane back from traveling Rt.66. I swear he never goes over 45 mph! Definitely a book could be written. He also goes on these huge bicycling adventures—like to Baja and such. Quite the retirement.

[ericalm]

People spontaneously joining us has happened maybe 4 times that I know of.

I remember one of those, that older guy on Mulholland who had a life-long suntan that his skin was like leather. There's a guy with some riding experience you could write a book with!

You could probably write a book on it.