Amerivespa: Ride Reports, Pics, Etc.

Post by **ericalm** » Thu Jul 02, 2009 3:17 pm

Okay, this is the final AV '09 thread (from me at least). I know it's getting a lot of play here, but it's a huge event, many Genuine owners and MB members attending, Genuine is a sponsor and the Love Bus is our support vehicle on the ride up. (Also, there are like 10 AV threads on ModernVespa, so…

)
Since there will be many of us there, I figured it would be good to have one place to gather ride/rally reports and pics.

Starting with…

Nine scooters, one MC and twelve riders are in our group riding up from L.A.: Mike from NoHo Scooters is leading on a SYM RV250, Skootz Kabootz on his St. Tropez, two Black Jacks, Vespa GT 200, Vespa GTS 250 (+1 passenger), Vespa LX 150/190 (me), Piaggio MP3 500, Piaggio BV 500 (+1 passenger), Triumph Thruxton 900.

I'm a bit too tired to write up lengthy and eloquent descriptions of the ride. Though this was the less scenic of our two days up, we hit some really beautiful stretches through hilly passes around Ojai and outside Santa Barbara. Hopefully some of the video I shot is salvageable; I mounted the cam to my shoulder bag and had issues with getting it aimed right.

Unfortunately, the day's big incident was a crash on some twisties. One of the Black Jack riders leaned into a curve too far at about 20mph, hit the center stand, and lost the back end. (These were some serious curves; the other Black Jack rider scraped the stand and his pipe.) The rider got up quickly; he suffered a scraped and bloody elbow, scraped up ankle and bruised and road rashed hip. (Gear note: He was wearing just a helmet and gloves. His sneaker got caught under the scoot and was shredded.) The Black Jack had the common scraped headlight bezel and broken brake lever and, worst of all, bent front forks. We were able to load it onto the Love Bus and continue.

Jimmy from NoHo Scooters determines the fork's bent:

Lunch was provided by Genuine dealer Kawasaki of Santa Barbara. Big thanks to Chris Nelson and his crew for the pizza, hospitality, letting us camp out in their shop for an hour and for use of their service bays.

A few other episodes along the way: one out of gas (we have a big jug in the Love Bus); one set of eyeglasses flying off scooter and getting broken by a car; one awkwardly long bathroom break while the rest of us sat around saying, "Hope he's okay."; one Buddy practically sold to a Harley-riding couple from Oregon who approached us at a truck stop.

We ended the night by stumbling into the only bar in San Luis Obispo with The Jam on the jukebox. (That's cool, but did the l'il Mods at a table near us have to play "That's Entertainment" three times?) Turns out the bartender is a local scooterist. This was probably a smarter choice than our other option, karaoke.

jmazza · Post by **jmazza** » Thu Jul 02, 2009 4:28 pm

Thanks for the update! So sorry about the Blackjack wreck (damn center stand!) but glad the rider is ok.

ScootStevie · Post by **ScootStevie** » Thu Jul 02, 2009 5:58 pm

Sounds like you guys are off to a fun start (minus the crash). But I guess every experience adds something good to look back on. Keep it up guys!!

polianarchy · Post by **polianarchy** » Thu Jul 02, 2009 6:13 pm

I will pay THREE DOLLARS AMERICAN to whomever posts a video of Eric singing karaoke. CHALLENGE!

jmazza · Post by **jmazza** » Thu Jul 02, 2009 7:32 pm

polianarchy wrote:I will pay THREE DOLLARS AMERICAN to whomever posts a video of Eric singing karaoke. CHALLENGE!

I'll add in three as well! That's SIX BIG ONES!!

Tenchi · Post by **Tenchi** » Thu Jul 02, 2009 9:24 pm

I will accept cash NOT to sing karaoke tonight!

Hope to meet up with Eric here in Los Gatos for tomorrows run. I'll just look for the guy with the big yellow head....oh, that's NOT a portrait?

jijifer · Post by **jijifer** » Thu Jul 02, 2009 10:30 pm

thanks for the update! Sorry to hear about the crash! That sounds like the same kind of damage my scoot sustained when tipped and slid. It's an expensive fix if you want it back to perfect

Have fun! Stay safe!

maribell · Post by **maribell** » Fri Jul 03, 2009 3:19 am

Eric, you must post as soon as you find out there they are holding the next Amerivespa. We have our fingers crossed down here.

Post by **ericalm** » Fri Jul 03, 2009 7:54 am

Wow, what a day of riding. As I keep saying over and over, the ride north on CA-1 from Cambria was the best route I've ever been on. Twisties and tight curves all along the coastline with some breathtaking scenery. I'm too beat to get into the details, so here's a pic pulled from some video I shot:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/82788703@N00/3684078804/

That's Skootz Kabootz there, having the time of his life.

Pic of the day, though:

Genuine Love Bus and the guys doing the guy thing.

Met enzomatic at last! Hope to hook up with more tomorrow.
I'll be on the San Juan Batista ride. Look for the guy with a ModernBuddy patch on his Corazzo jacket. Riding a blue Vespa LX. (Sorry, Buddy 125 would not have fared well on this trip!)

Syd · Post by **Syd** » Fri Jul 03, 2009 8:03 am

It's almost like Who's Next for the Modern Buddy crowd!

Post by **ericalm** » Sat Jul 04, 2009 7:53 am

Meeting online people offline—or sometimes not meeting them—is pretty funny.

I met Tenchi today. He approached and started talking to Skootz and I then said he was looking for the MB people. Hey, that's us!

Also finally met paige, who has the honor of owning the first Buddy sold in CA, and jaded, who is MB member #2. In fact, they were both here before I was (by a matter of hours, but still…). They're both super cool and provided the support for today's long ride.

Over on ModernVespa, a member saw me post about today's ride to San Juan Bautista and asked why I never said hi to him. Turns out, he was leading the ride and made all the announcements. I didn't know who it was.

Then tonight, a MB member, Laura, won the SYM HD200 raffle. I was standing next to her but didn't know who she was.

There were around 150 scooters on today's ride. The line stretched for miles, it seemed. From the middle of the pack, it sometimes looked like a line extending to both horizons. Running such a big ride is no easy task. MB founder jess (member #1) and his fellow Quitters SC members did a bang up job of keeping things smooth.

By the end of our 3rd consecutive 200-mile riding day, all of us were feeling fatigued.

enzomatic:

Time for some shut eye. More hanging with the MBers tomorrow. I hope they're on hand to see me win that Vespa GTS Super 300.

Tenchi · Post by **Tenchi** » Sat Jul 04, 2009 5:24 pm

Sorry, Eric, it's (the Vespa) gonna be mine (or the wife's). My wife was really impressed with the whole scooter thing, was talking about how different it was from the motorcycle crowd! She's usually pretty shy about talking to strangers, but she found herself talking scoot to several ladies at the event last night in Campbell. Might be time to pick up a comfy two-seater scooter before she changes her mind about the joys of two-wheeling.

enzomatic · Post by **enzomatic** » Mon Jul 06, 2009 5:57 am

ericalm wrote: We ended the night by stumbling into the only bar in San Luis Obispo with The Jam on the jukebox. (That's cool, but did the l'il Mods at a table near us have to play "That's Entertainment" three times?) Turns out the bartender is a local scooterist. This was probably a smarter choice than our other option, karaoke.

Also a member of the Vampires MC, he's a cool guy, ran up a pretty good tab with him at rides of march.

Hope you guys made it to SLO on your ride back ok. I had a great time up at big basin, then making daring cuts around cars on twisty roads to catch back up with the group, great fun.
See you all at other rallies hopefully and someday I'll ride down to LA.
And perhaps San Antonio???????
Also you could perhaps now back up my claim below.

maribell · Post by **maribell** » Mon Jul 06, 2009 6:06 am

I am dying to know. All signs seem to be pointing to San Antonio. SA is a hop, skip, and a jump away for the Austinites. But someone is going to have to think of another cowboy themed logo if so.

Post by **ericalm** » Mon Jul 06, 2009 6:21 am

San Antonio is the official location for Amerivespa 2010. It'll be Memorial Day weekend.

Special MB honors go to enzomatic, for taking a lot of extra time to lead us up on an incredible route through the Basin today. It was definitely one of the highlights of the trip.

Skootz Kabootz gets the Balls Out Buddy award for his performance on the 101 today as we hauled ass to San Luis Obispo. His St. Tropez was the slowest scooter in our group going home and, well, I'll let him share his story.

paige and jaded, you guys win the Hospitality award. Thanks for being awesome.

teacherquinn gets the "I won a scooter that's taking a spot on the trailer so can I ride back with you guys?" award. Congrats! And we're glad to have you.

jess gets the founder's award. Newer members often think that I started MB. Not so, we owe it all to him. Glad we finally got to meet.

Met many other MB members, including Tenchi, Laura, Fifi, and others whose usernames I may not recall. Also met a ton of MVers and twitter pals.

Lot more pics and videos to come.

alienmeatsack · Post by **alienmeatsack** » Mon Jul 06, 2009 3:13 pm

Looks like lots of fun! I want more pics!

Speaking of pics. I saw a SPAZ 08 patch up there, woot!

Post by **ericalm** » Mon Jul 06, 2009 3:39 pm

My Flickr set from the trip. Still adding pics to it…
http://www.flickr.com/photos/82788703@N ... 719513183/

Enzo (to the right) leading us through Big Basin Redwoods State Park:

The view to the left:

You may recognize this tree from other pics:

Check out the lean angle on this turn. I was testing my tires, which I am in love with.

Winnah! This lucky lady will soon be the owner of a new Black Jack, courtesy Genuine. She currently rides a Piaggio LT150. That's Genuine's Trey Duren next to her. He's one of the most likable guys I've ever met.

Out of 8 scooters raffled at Amerivespa, 2 went to ModernBuddy members. Given how small we are compared to MV and what a small percent of the overall attendance were MB members, I feel confident in saying ModernBuddy members have a statistically higher chance of winning a scooter than other schmoes.

BTW, I have some of those green Genuine t-shirts to give away. More on this to come…

Skootz noted last night that his Buddy got a lot of love and respect from the Vespa crowd. The Buddy was without a doubt the most represented non-Vespa/Piaggio model at the rally. The modern Vespa riders in particular recognize what a great scoot it is.

toneyl · Post by **toneyl** » Mon Jul 06, 2009 7:30 pm

ericalm wrote:Winnah! This lucky lady will soon be the owner of a new Black Jack, courtesy Genuine. She currently rides a Piaggio LT150. That's Genuine's Trey Duren next to her. He's one of the most likable guys I've ever met.

Hey it's me!! I just won a Black Jack!!

I just joined last night and look forward to getting to know my new Buddies! I've lurked around every so often but now that I'm a Buddy owner... Trey was wonderful and obviously I'm really happy that Genuine donated this scooter to AmeriVespa! Laura & Enzo have been talkin' up the Buddy for awhile so I know I'll love it. Pictures to follow! Lisa

ericalm wrote:Out of 8 scooters raffled at Amerivespa, 2 went to ModernBuddy members. Given how small we are compared to MV and what a small percent of the overall attendance were MB members, I feel confident in saying ModernBuddy members have a statistically higher chance of winning a scooter than other schmoes.

Out of the 6 scooters raffled at Amerivespa, 3 went to San Francisco girls. I feel confident in saying San Francisco scooter girls have a statistically higher chance of winning a scooter than other schmoes.

ericalm wrote:BTW, I have some of those green Genuine t-shirts to give away.

I was lucky enough to get one of those shirts at the Genuine booth. Now I know why.

enzomatic · Post by **enzomatic** » Mon Jul 06, 2009 9:00 pm

welcome to the family lisa, now we can take the bay bridge on buddies together, you were just saying you were never going to get rid of the LT but wouldn't mind another scooter. I'd be happy to show you the little quirks and such about the buddy and we can play around with upgrades together.

I think this would be a great time to push MBers to go to So Far So Good, it'll be a blast, Sept 12 & 13th in san francisco, hopefully some of the scooter girl luck will rub off. www.sfscootergirls.com[/url]

pugbuddy · Post by **pugbuddy** » Mon Jul 06, 2009 10:47 pm

San Antonio is the official location for Amerivespa 2010. It'll be Memorial Day weekend.

Rockin' COOL! I am making hotel reservations now. I'll be riding down from Tulsa OK (You with me, Alienmeatsack?)! If anyone is coming "down", let me know if you'll pass through or near Tulsa and we can all ride together! WAHOO!

BTW, I have some of those green Genuine t-shirts to give away.

DIBS! (Probably won't work, but I have to try...).

And, congrats to Lisa and everyone else! Way to represent MB everyone!

toneyl · Post by **toneyl** » Tue Jul 07, 2009 12:04 am

enzomatic wrote:welcome to the family lisa, now we can take the bay bridge on buddies together, you were just saying you were never going to get rid of the LT but wouldn't mind another scooter. I'd be happy to show you the little quirks and such about the buddy and we can play around with upgrades together.

I think this would be a great time to push MBers to go to So Far So Good, it'll be a blast, Sept 12 & 13th in san francisco, hopefully some of the scooter girl luck will rub off. www.sfscootergirls.com[/url]

Thanks for the welcome! Quirks? What are these quirks you speak of? I need to know. I am a little concerned about the tiny tires... I'm used to my big (unavailable in the US) tires.

I'll be at So Far So Good. SFSG put on a good rally!

maribell · Post by **maribell** » Tue Jul 07, 2009 2:00 am

pugbuddy wrote:
San Antonio is the official location for Amerivespa 2010. It'll be Memorial Day weekend.
Rockin' COOL! I am making hotel reservations now. I'll be riding down from Tulsa OK (You with me, Alienmeatsack?)! If anyone is coming "down", let me know if you'll pass through or near Tulsa and we can all ride together! WAHOO!

BTW, I have some of those green Genuine t-shirts to give away.
DIBS! (Probably won't work, but I have to try...).

And, congrats to Lisa and everyone else! Way to represent MB everyone!

You can pass through Austin and ride the rest of the way down with the Austin Scooter Club, which will be out in full force. That would be amazing if y'all cruised down from T-town. I'd like to get my scooter up there at some point. My parents grew up in OK and I would love to reviist some of the places of my childhood.

pugbuddy · Post by **pugbuddy** » Tue Jul 07, 2009 3:26 am

You can pass through Austin and ride the rest of the way down with the Austin Scooter Club, which will be out in full force. That would be amazing if y'all cruised down from T-town. I'd like to get my scooter up there at some point. My parents grew up in OK and I would love to revist some of the places of my childhood.

Excellent! If you ever head north, let me know. I'm already looking forward to this in a big way....

Post by **ericalm** » Tue Jul 07, 2009 7:44 pm

toneyl wrote:
ericalm wrote:Winnah! This lucky lady will soon be the owner of a new Black Jack, courtesy Genuine. She currently rides a Piaggio LT150. That's Genuine's Trey Duren next to her. He's one of the most likable guys I've ever met.
Hey it's me!! I just won a Black Jack!! I just joined last night and look forward to getting to know my new Buddies! I've lurked around every so often but now that I'm a Buddy owner... Trey was wonderful and obviously I'm really happy that Genuine donated this scooter to AmeriVespa! Laura & Enzo have been talkin' up the Buddy for awhile so I know I'll love it. Pictures to follow! Lisa

ericalm wrote:Out of 8 scooters raffled at Amerivespa, 2 went to ModernBuddy members. Given how small we are compared to MV and what a small percent of the overall attendance were MB members, I feel confident in saying ModernBuddy members have a statistically higher chance of winning a scooter than other schmoes.
Out of the 6 scooters raffled at Amerivespa, 3 went to San Francisco girls. I feel confident in saying San Francisco scooter girls have a statistically higher chance of winning a scooter than other schmoes.

Congrats, Lisa!

I remember reading on MV and the AV pages there would be 8 scoots given away but when we counted yesterday, only came up with 6. 2 went missing! So, then, out of 6: 2 went to MB members (both women); 4 went to women; 3 went to SFSG members (all women, one of whom is an MB member). So, those with highest odds of winning at AV were female MB members who are also in SFSG.

And some guy from Seattle made off with my Vespa GTS Super 300.

alienmeatsack · Post by **alienmeatsack** » Tue Jul 07, 2009 8:19 pm

I'd love to do Amerivespa in TX next year but unfortunately Memorial Weekend is our family reunion. That has been in effect for longer than I've been alive, so it gets priority.

Actually I can't believe they picked Memorial Weekend since it is a holiday that many people have plans for!

ScootStevie · Post by **ScootStevie** » Tue Jul 07, 2009 9:44 pm

alienmeatsack wrote:I'd love to do Amerivespa in TX next year but unfortunately Memorial Weekend is our family reunion. That has been in effect for longer than I've been alive, so it gets priority.

Actually I can't believe they picked Memorial Weekend since it is a holiday that many people have plans for!

Maybe that's why. People might have the time off anyways

Post by **ericalm** » Tue Jul 07, 2009 10:12 pm

ScootStevie wrote:
alienmeatsack wrote:I'd love to do Amerivespa in TX next year but unfortunately Memorial Weekend is our family reunion. That has been in effect for longer than I've been alive, so it gets priority.

Actually I can't believe they picked Memorial Weekend since it is a holiday that many people have plans for!
Maybe that's why. People might have the time off anyways

I think the idea was a 3-day holiday earlier in the summer. 4th of July in SA is hot and humid compared to much of the country.

It's a 3-day drive from LA to San Antonio. May need to rent or borrow a scooter if I go!

pugbuddy · Post by **pugbuddy** » Tue Jul 07, 2009 10:19 pm

It's a 3-day drive from LA to San Antonio. May need to rent or borrow a scooter if I go!

I'm thinking day-trip from Tulsa to Fort Worth, crash at my Aunt's and follow up from FW to SA! Easy ride on the Buddy! Google-mapping like a madman to find the funnest route....

BuddyRaton · Post by **BuddyRaton** » Tue Jul 07, 2009 11:14 pm

Oh I am so in for next year!

BuddyRaton · Post by **BuddyRaton** » Tue Jul 07, 2009 11:15 pm

toneyl wrote:
ericalm wrote:Winnah! This lucky lady will soon be the owner of a new Black Jack, courtesy Genuine. She currently rides a Piaggio LT150. That's Genuine's Trey Duren next to her. He's one of the most likable guys I've ever met.
Hey it's me!! I just won a Black Jack!! I just joined last night and look forward to getting to know my new Buddies! I've lurked around every so often but now that I'm a Buddy owner... Trey was wonderful and obviously I'm really happy that Genuine donated this scooter to AmeriVespa! Laura & Enzo have been talkin' up the Buddy for awhile so I know I'll love it. Pictures to follow! Lisa

ericalm wrote:Out of 8 scooters raffled at Amerivespa, 2 went to ModernBuddy members. Given how small we are compared to MV and what a small percent of the overall attendance were MB members, I feel confident in saying ModernBuddy members have a statistically higher chance of winning a scooter than other schmoes.
Out of the 6 scooters raffled at Amerivespa, 3 went to San Francisco girls. I feel confident in saying San Francisco scooter girls have a statistically higher chance of winning a scooter than other schmoes.

ericalm wrote:BTW, I have some of those green Genuine t-shirts to give away.
I was lucky enough to get one of those shirts at the Genuine booth. Now I know why.

Sweet score! congratulations!

toneyl · Post by **toneyl** » Wed Jul 08, 2009 12:19 am

ericalm wrote:
toneyl wrote:
ericalm wrote:Winnah! This lucky lady will soon be the owner of a new Black Jack, courtesy Genuine. She currently rides a Piaggio LT150. That's Genuine's Trey Duren next to her. He's one of the most likable guys I've ever met.
Hey it's me!! I just won a Black Jack!! I just joined last night and look forward to getting to know my new Buddies! I've lurked around every so often but now that I'm a Buddy owner... Trey was wonderful and obviously I'm really happy that Genuine donated this scooter to AmeriVespa! Laura & Enzo have been talkin' up the Buddy for awhile so I know I'll love it. Pictures to follow! Lisa

ericalm wrote:Out of 8 scooters raffled at Amerivespa, 2 went to ModernBuddy members. Given how small we are compared to MV and what a small percent of the overall attendance were MB members, I feel confident in saying ModernBuddy members have a statistically higher chance of winning a scooter than other schmoes.
Out of the 6 scooters raffled at Amerivespa, 3 went to San Francisco girls. I feel confident in saying San Francisco scooter girls have a statistically higher chance of winning a scooter than other schmoes.
Congrats, Lisa!

I remember reading on MV and the AV pages there would be 8 scoots given away but when we counted yesterday, only came up with 6. 2 went missing! So, then, out of 6: 2 went to MB members (both women); 4 went to women; 3 went to SFSG members (all women, one of whom is an MB member). So, those with highest odds of winning at AV were female MB members who are also in SFSG.

And some guy from Seattle made off with my Vespa GTS Super 300.

To be honest, Laura is the only official SFSG, I just hang with them

.
Were you the one who gave me the MB patch? So much was going on...
Very cool, THANKS!!

Post by **ericalm** » Wed Jul 08, 2009 12:24 am

pugbuddy wrote:
It's a 3-day drive from LA to San Antonio. May need to rent or borrow a scooter if I go!
I'm thinking day-trip from Tulsa to Fort Worth, crash at my Aunt's and follow up from FW to SA! Easy ride on the Buddy! Google-mapping like a madman to find the funnest route....

I'd love to ride from FW (my hometown! 817 4EVAH!) to SA. I just need to find a scoot to ride.

Post by **ericalm** » Wed Jul 08, 2009 12:26 am

toneyl wrote:To be honest, Laura is the only official SFSG, I just hang with them .
Were you the one who gave me the MB patch? So much was going on...
Very cool, THANKS!!

Yup. That was me!

I was surprised to see so many (meaning 3 or 4) LT150s at AV. I never see those around here!

pugbuddy · Post by **pugbuddy** » Wed Jul 08, 2009 2:06 am

I'd love to ride from FW (my hometown! 817 4EVAH!) to SA. I just need to find a scoot to ride.

Hmmmm, what about putting your scoot on a trailer to FW and then scooting down to SA? I bet we can find a safe place to leave it. My aunt may even be able to "store" it.

Post by **ericalm** » Wed Jul 08, 2009 2:30 am

pugbuddy wrote:
I'd love to ride from FW (my hometown! 817 4EVAH!) to SA. I just need to find a scoot to ride.
Hmmmm, what about putting your scoot on a trailer to FW and then scooting down to SA? I bet we can find a safe place to leave it. My aunt may even be able to "store" it.

Problem is, doing anything other than flying will add 4-6 days to any trip.

Mike @ NoHo Scooters · Wed Jul 08, 2009 4:55 am

Amerivespa was awesome. Lots of scooterists I have not seen in awhile and plenty of ones I just met.

For San Antonio next year we will probally have Jimmy drive my truck out with a trailer. That means we can take five scooters. Figure Jimmy and I will have scooters, so that leaves three slots. This is 10 months away, thus nothing is set in stone.

lmyers · Post by **lmyers** » Wed Jul 08, 2009 5:02 am

I can bring down the Elite

paige · Post by **paige** » Wed Jul 08, 2009 5:57 am

There is a Kymco Super 8 and another Fiddle being raffled online.

ericalm wrote:
toneyl wrote:
ericalm wrote:Winnah! This lucky lady will soon be the owner of a new Black Jack, courtesy Genuine. She currently rides a Piaggio LT150. That's Genuine's Trey Duren next to her. He's one of the most likable guys I've ever met.
Hey it's me!! I just won a Black Jack!! I just joined last night and look forward to getting to know my new Buddies! I've lurked around every so often but now that I'm a Buddy owner... Trey was wonderful and obviously I'm really happy that Genuine donated this scooter to AmeriVespa! Laura & Enzo have been talkin' up the Buddy for awhile so I know I'll love it. Pictures to follow! Lisa

ericalm wrote:Out of 8 scooters raffled at Amerivespa, 2 went to ModernBuddy members. Given how small we are compared to MV and what a small percent of the overall attendance were MB members, I feel confident in saying ModernBuddy members have a statistically higher chance of winning a scooter than other schmoes.
Out of the 6 scooters raffled at Amerivespa, 3 went to San Francisco girls. I feel confident in saying San Francisco scooter girls have a statistically higher chance of winning a scooter than other schmoes.
Congrats, Lisa!

I remember reading on MV and the AV pages there would be 8 scoots given away but when we counted yesterday, only came up with 6. 2 went missing! So, then, out of 6: 2 went to MB members (both women); 4 went to women; 3 went to SFSG members (all women, one of whom is an MB member). So, those with highest odds of winning at AV were female MB members who are also in SFSG.

And some guy from Seattle made off with my Vespa GTS Super 300.

enzomatic · Post by **enzomatic** » Wed Jul 08, 2009 7:29 am

I would love to be able to make it to SA next year, we'll see if I can find a spot on a trailer.

Post by **ericalm** » Wed Jul 08, 2009 3:43 pm

Mike @ NoHo Scooters wrote:For San Antonio next year we will probally have Jimmy drive my truck out with a trailer. That means we can take five scooters. Figure Jimmy and I will have scooters, so that leaves three slots. This is 10 months away, thus nothing is set in stone.

A plan is already starting to take shape!

polianarchy · Post by **polianarchy** » Wed Jul 08, 2009 4:46 pm

I am 100% in for AmeriVespa San Antonio. ONE HUNDRED PERCENT. It's gonna anchor the back-home vacation I take every five years.

alienmeatsack · Post by **alienmeatsack** » Wed Jul 08, 2009 4:48 pm

I had planned on doing Amerivespa next year, but now I cannot due to the date. Stupid poor planning on the Amerivespa people's part. Seriously... I don't know ANYONE who doesn't have family plans for that weekend.

lmyers · Post by **lmyers** » Wed Jul 08, 2009 4:53 pm

alienmeatsack wrote:Seriously... I don't know ANYONE who doesn't have family plans for that weekend.

I have family plans. My SCOOTER FAMILY!

alienmeatsack · Post by **alienmeatsack** » Wed Jul 08, 2009 5:01 pm

Yeah, try to tell my family who's had this family reunion on Memorial weekend for 50 years that I won't be there because they are not as important as strangers.

lmyers · Post by **lmyers** » Wed Jul 08, 2009 5:12 pm

I'll get you a t-shirt, babe.

alienmeatsack · Post by **alienmeatsack** » Wed Jul 08, 2009 6:37 pm

::whine::

I wanna go.

We need a big COOL rally that is not during something else so I can go. I want to go to something that is far away!

Skootz Kabootz · Post by **Skootz Kabootz** » Wed Jul 08, 2009 6:44 pm

Eric, where do you get your energy??? I am just coming back to consciousness here. Man was I pooped. But ohhhhhhhh what a great time!!!

Amerivespa was one fantastic adventure. Well, about 20 fantastic adventures actually, all strung together. The ride up the coast is spectacular. I would do it again if all we did was get there, grab a burger, and ride back. Such beauty is not to be missed. And I couldn't ask for a better group of people to ride with. Just a nice, nice group of people I am lucky to have as friends.

Also met so many great new people form MB and beyond. One real highlight was the ride Enzomatic led us on through the old growth Redwood Forests. I don't have words for the majesty of that place. If any of you are in that area, take Enzo up on his offer to go for a ride.

The rally was organized to perfection. 500+ attendees in all (I believe). The biggest ride we went on was about 180 scooters all riding together. That is no easy thing to make safe but the VC Los Gatos did it beautifully and made it look easy - right down to the neon vests worn by the leaders and blockers who blocked intersections in a most official way... well, except for that one intersection where the police car showed up and flustered everyone for a moment

It was wonderful to see so many different types of scooters and have all brands equally welcomed and celebrated. People came from far and wide with the longest individual ride being a 36 day odyssey from Halifax, Nova Scotia made by a solo woman. Makes our journey from LA seem like not much more than an errand.

The ride up and back on my St. Tropez, the smallest scooter in our group, pushed my scooter to its limits and definitely beyond its intended use. I will write another post about all I discovered along the way. But in short, while 150cc's definitely have their limits, the 150cc's of my stock St. Tropez were nothing short of remarkable.

More later. Lot's of catch up to do here. Not to mention 3 pages of MB posts to go through! Damn!

Nice to be back in my own bed but really, I wish we could have kept riding to Alaska. This was some real living.

Cheers.

Post by **ericalm** » Wed Jul 08, 2009 8:07 pm

BuddyRaton · Post by **BuddyRaton** » Wed Jul 08, 2009 8:43 pm

NOW you can understand why after going down on the Lookout Mountain ride at last years Amerivespa I still had a great time!

Lets see some more pics from this year!

bgwss · Post by **bgwss** » Thu Jul 09, 2009 12:48 am

Flaming Vespa paint job in the second video is awesome!

Modern Buddy

Amerivespa: Ride Reports, Pics, Etc.

Amerivespa: Ride Reports, Pics, Etc.

Agenda Lounge tonight...Amerivespa rocks!

Re: Amerivespa: Ride Reports, Pics, Etc.