Category: 2sb’s So-Called Life

Stories about our personal lives that aren’t particularly scooter-related.

Why customize?

This may be a no-brainer for most folks, but I’ve always wondered why scooter and motorcycle people have always had the compulsion to add accessories and/or custom paint jobs to their vehicles. I’ve always gone along with it because I’m a creative-minded person and it appealed to me, but that didn’t answer why it was so commonly done in the first place. The current scooter boom, and my first new scooter, have answered the question for me. Ten years ago, it was nearly impossible to find two similar bikes at a rally. Perhaps there would be three silver P200s, but their states of repair and accessories would generally set them apart. These days, there’s an ever-increasing number of similar scooters at any rally, there were maybe a dozen or more orange Stellas at Amerivespa, for instance. Minneapolis was three-quarters comprised of more-or-less stock Stellas. When you show up to a rally or ride on a new scooter, there are very good odds someone else will be there on the EXACT SAME scooter in the SAME color. And that pretty much explains it all. Obvious to anyone thats ever bought a new vehicle, but funny that in ten years of riding vintage bikes, I’d never figured that out.

2sb Photo Gallery

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I finally figured out how to prevent personal photos from appearing in the menu bar, so now you’ll see only randomly chosen marginally-scooter-related photos there. If you actually enjoy perusing pictures of my relatives and vacations, you can always visit the Gallery directly, they’re still there (in fact, I just uploaded many new family photos and sorted everything a little better). (Above: Indianapolis Motor Speedway, photo by Vina Vroom)

Scooter tent!

Lambretta tentAgain, sorry we’ve been kinda slow here, it’s been a nutty couple of weeks. I’m taking the Blur camping this weekend, and while I’m not nearly as stylin’ as these two fine ladies and their Series I Lambretta tent (so simple even a woman can assemble it!), I’m looking forward to a nice long ride on the Blur. I’m really enjoying the Blur, and I have a lot to say about it, when I get time to organize my thoughts. (Thanks to Aimee for the link, the video is from the amazing British Pathe Archive.)

Back from vacation

If 2sb seemed a little slow last week, it was, we were in Michigan all week. Thanks to Cy for knocking out some posts, and we managed a few posts from a coffeeshop, but we’ve got a big backlog of news waiting to be posted, so check back often. In the meantime, let us add our best wishes to Zac Johnson and his family, as Cy noted, you can track his progress and help out via zacsfund.blogspot.com.

2sb World Cup Contest!

I’ve really dropped the ball on World Cup coverage this year, so rather than try to catch up, I’m going to refer you to John O’Neill’s commentary at 146 Degrees, and throw in a few of my own comments here once in a while. Cy’s putting down £5 on Croatia for me, so if they win, I’m going to England to pick up my money (and then use it to pay for my plane ticket home). If England does well, I imagine we’ll hear from Cy as well. One more note: I’m not bothering with “spoiler alerts” this year, the matches are on at decent hours, if you don’t watch it live, just stay off the internet until you know the score.

Just to keep it interesting for 2sb readers, let’s play a game… Pick a country (while they last) in the comments… first person to call dibs gets that country. (I get Croatia, Cy gets England). I’ll post a list of which reader is representing which country, and the winner will get a cool prize from 2strokebuzz. Ready? GO! Be careful not to pick a country that’s already been picked.

Galewood 2K6:
Swine o’ the Times

Rye loves the 80s

bacon2Tv.jpg“I give you Chicago. It is not London and Harvard. It is not Paris and buttermilk. It is American in every chitling and sparerib. It is alive from snout to tail.�
– H. L. Mencken.

I shouldn’t even have to post this, if you read 2strokebuzz, you know about Galewood. It’s all about scooters and bacon. It’s our neighborhood. It’s our rally. It’s our birthdays. It’s this weekend. Same deal as usual (though this year we’re adding a Bouncy Castle and a three-wheel ATV.) You know the drill. This will be the last Galewood Rally, so don’t miss it. Read on if you need more info. All are welcome.
Continue reading “Galewood 2K6:
Swine o’ the Times”

What you missed if you’re not a hopeless loser that stalks scooters on the internet

The Vespa turned 60 this week. If you missed the news on 2strokebuzz, or here, here, here, here, here, here, here, or here, I’ll summarize it for you:

Audrey Hepburn Jennifer Lopez symbol Italy espresso economical style wasp 1946 Vroooooom Can of Corn.

So this is just a reminder that we filter through the PR blather, endlessly rehashed wire stories, ‘Scooter’ Libby updates, high school athletes’ volleyball stats, and Indian stock market reports several times daily just to find those precious nuggets of trivia (“Piaggio is unveiling a commemorative bell tomorrow!”) you care about. Any time Brooke wants to write out his theories about the false economy of scooters, I’ll be happy to print it, because I’m getting really bored with the “As gas prices top three dollars…” stories too (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15— that’s only about half the stories from this week).

D.C. Rob’s Cannonball for cancer research

If you spend any (most) of your time on Scoot.net Chat or the BBS, you’ve probably met Rob Downs III, AKA “D.C. Rob.” If that doesn’t ring a bell, you might remember him as “Rob who got hit by a semi on the Cannonball Run.” A few months ago, Rob’s father, Robert Downs Jr., was diagnosed with a rare form of skin cancer. Rob is riding again in this year’s Cannonball Run, and decided to try to raise money for cancer research and awareness. He’ll be riding about 3500 miles, and his goal is to raise one dollar per mile ($3500) for the ACS. Donations can be made directly to American Cancer Society online (no amount is too small), and he’s looking for corporate/equipment sponsors as well (email Rob).