I am not afflicted with
wanderlust and I don't really consider this an adventure; but, like
all good adventures, I signed myself up for a bit more than I
expected. I suppose almost everyone would not choose to do a trip
like I planned, which is all the more reason to write about it here
and give the trip a full recount.
Over this summer, I had
a lot of time but not a lot of money. So, I took my white Vespa on
three really fun trips. First, I rode up from NYC to Rochester, then
back through Geneseo and Alfred. The following weekend I rode from
NYC to Montauk and camped overnight. Then, I rode from NYC to
Washington, DC for a weekend trip. Those trips were really fun and
went well – and by a small stretch of the imagination were
relaxing, so I decided to do a bigger trip. I wanted to ride my
little Vespa out to Colorado for my brother's wedding. But, I
decided I would need at least a few days to make it out there.
Because I have a summer job, I was pressed for time. So, I decided
to commit a little bit of my savings to buying another scooter. I
watch Craigslist all the time for deals, and figured about $3000
would do it. So, I sent my brother a check and told him to be ready.
I was really torn on
what scooter to get. I really wanted a new 2015 Vespa Sprint S
150cc, but the out the door price is around $5700. It was too much
for me to pay. So, I found an interesting Aprilia on Craigslist. I
hesitated to buy it at first, but then I got excited about it and
told Timmy to cash the check and purchase the scooter. He did.
I went to Colorado, went
to the wedding (which was wonderful), and didn't bother preparing the
scooter until after the festivities died down. Then, I went to test
pack the scooter. I bought this particular scooter because it had a
topcase and two hard sidecases, or panniers. I figured I would be
able to hold all my “knick knacks” for camping. In Timmy's yard,
I test packed the scooter. Unfortunately, I noticed the tires were
completely dry rotted! This was a major problem! So I called the
scooter shop, Sportique. Sportique hooked me up with a rear tire,
but couldn't find a front tire. They told me the tires were a really
rare type, which I was confused on. I figured the tires were
ordinary 16” motorcycle tires. My Vespa has an 11” front tire,
which is the funkiest size I could possibly imagine. Sportique did
an oil change and a tune up on the scooter, and after many, many
phone calls I found a shop in Fort Collins that could supply a front
tire.
Because I had been
focused on the wedding, I really only had one day to prepare the
scooter and get it going for the trip. I knew I could get a trip
permit from the DMV. I had called the Colorado DMV twice to confirm
this. While the scooter was at Sportique, my sister Meg and I to the
DMV. I was really nervous that I might not be able to get the trip
permit, but I did with no problem. The permit was only $6 and it was
good for two weeks, expiring on September 11, 2015. Then we went to
the AAA offices and got a stack of maps. We took a break and went to
all you can eat indian food, which was delicious, and then we went on
a shopping spree at REI. At REI, I bought a Thermarest mattress, a
titanium camp stove, a compass, and a mini-tool for a bicycle.
When we came back to
Timmy and Elyse's house, we met a dude named Joel who was from
Montreal and also has an Aprilia Scarabeo. So, I invited him over to
have some leftover beer from the wedding kegs and talk about science.
Day 0: Longmont to Fort
Collins and back.
The next day I rode to
Fort Collins. The scooter was very stable and rode nicely. I got
caught in a major downpour. The rain was warm and came down with a
force that rivaled the water pressure of most apartment showers. The
mountains in the distance were beautiful, like a painting. The
scooter shop in Fort Collins was called Moto Italia and it was on
Horsetooth Road. They had Moto Guzzis, Piaggios, Vespas, and
Aprilias. They had my scooter in their shop before I even blinked.
I walked to Panera Bread for lunch, then came back and the scooter
was done. I even bought a nice motorcycle tool roll from them.
I rode back to Longmont
and had a nice dinner with my family there. We looked at the map and
I decided I would take Route 36 across Kansas.
Day 1: Longmont, Colorado
to Norton, Kansas
I could barely sleep
because I was so excited. The next day I woke up very early. I had
everything packed already and was off right at 6 AM. I rode all day.
I wanted to stop and take a picture in Last Chance, Colorado but
totally missed it. I rode past many sunny sunflower fields. I was
just so focused on covering distance on that first day. My mind was
really clear and I was just focusing on aiming the scooter down the
road. One really cool thing I saw was High Plains Raceway, in
Eastern Colorado. I stopped in Atwood, Kansas. It was a really cool
town, very foreign and interesting to me. I met Kenny, a local
farmer, who talked to me for a while about grain sorghum. Then I
stopped to chat at a motorcycle shop in Oberlin, Kansas. They liked
my scooter a lot. It was hot out, with totally clear skies, and I
got a bit sunburned. The first state park I saw, mid afternoon, was
called Prairie Dog State Park. I decided to get a campsite there. I
set up my tent and went to get some food at their supermarket,
backtracking a bit on the way out of town. I realized I had no idea
what to eat, so I bought some yogurt even though yogurt is not really
even close to making it into a list of my top 10 foods. The
campground was so calm and pleasant, and uncrowded. I got to go
swimming in the lake, which appeared to be man-made and sort of
reminded me of the quarry in the film “Breaking Away.” I slept
really well. On the first day I established what became the only
rule of this trip: my waterbottle and my camera have to go in
different panniers.
Day 2: Norton Kansas to
Wallace State Park near Cameron, Missouri
I slept so well in the
tent on the first day. One of the biggest surprises, though, was how
wet everything got. The tent had a lot of condensation. My sneakers
were all wet in the morning. My helmet was wet. Route 36 through
Kansas can only be described as desolate. Other people might be
worried about traffic, but I was worried about no traffic! If I
broke down, there weren't many opportunities for people to stop to
help me. I almost ran out of gas a few times. The Aprilia's gas
gauge was doing its own thing.
I wanted coffee. I love
drinking coffee. As it turns out, there were no Stumptown Cafes in
Kansas. I stopped mid-morning in Scandia, Kansas. I saw some old
ladies drinking coffee in front of their antique shop and decided to
stop and talk to them. They gave me some of their coffee and I sat
and chatted. When I was almost to St. Joseph, Missouri, my scooter
suddenly lost power and I rode it to the shoulder. Almost
immediately, two people on Kawasaki Ninjas pulled over to help me. I
was out of gas! I had been trying to keep track of my gas
consumption and refill every 100 miles, but in a trance I had lost
count. I gave them $20 and they rode off. Another rider on a Harley
also stopped to help me. They came back a while later with a gas can
and gas for me.
I rode into St Joseph.
This was the first blighted town I stopped in. It reminded me of the
poor towns of upstate New York - Albany or Utica. I tried to find
Jackson's Motorcycle Repair, which came recommended by the Harley
rider. I wanted them to give my scooter a quick tune up. Because I
had come down in elevation, I was guessing the scooter was running
lean. Unfortunately, by the time I found Jackson's it was closed.
It's too bad, because it looked like a nice shop. They sold Kymcos,
which are very similar scooters to my Aprilia. I didn't know what to
do, so I went to McDonald's. I tried to use the wifi there, using
Meg's old iPhone, but I couldn't get it to work. I went to the
counter and asked them if there was anywhere I could camp. They
were, like, stumped! But then, the manager said Wallace State Park,
so I rode there.
At Wallace, I got the
last campsite, or at least that's what they told me – maybe to make
me feel special. I suspect they would have let me camp in the field
near the bathrooms if the campground were really full because they
seemed very friendly. In line to pay for the site, a dad and little
son started talking to me. At a break in conversation the little boy
looked up and just said, “My dad talks a lot.” I told him
something to the effect of “I've noticed, and I don't mind.” The
campground was crowded with families – little kids were riding
razor scooters in the loops. I set up my tent and walked around.
One camper had a BMW R motorcycle. He came over and asked me what
type of bike I had. When I told him, he just nodded and said “They
make a lot of race bikes.” I told him I was worried about the
scooter not running right. He said that if it were his, he would
just ride and ride and not worry. A few days later, I followed his
advice. I couldn't sleep well because there was lots of noise.
Day 3: Cameron, Missouri
to Clinton Lake, Illinois
I woke up to the sort of
weather conditions known as “pea soup fog.” At first, I didn't
mind it, but when I saw some of the highway, I realized Missouri
people don't believe in foglights or daytime running lights. I
stopped at a diner to wait it out and read books. I made fun of the
diner because they had “roll-up sandwiches” instead of wraps.
The diner had a fifty cent vending machine and I bought one. Some of
the stickers said “YOLO” or “Princess” and I decided before I
opened it that I would put the sticker on the scooter. My sticker
said “LEGIT” so I thought to myself, wow, that worked out great.
I also went to an auto parts store and bought a really long
screwdriver, with the intention of adjusting the carb, and I also
bought a quart of oil. I didn't use either item on the trip, but it
felt like I was being prepared by buying these.
I rode and rode through
the slightly rolling hills and thought about the Native Americans. I
wish I had researched this trip more and found out where there are
good places to learn about Native Americans. On my next trip I am
going to make this a priority.
Then, I crossed another
border! It was the grand Mississippi River. I pulled over and
followed a sign for the dryly named “John Hay Public Use Area.”
My lunch there was water from my water bottle and trail mix. It was
super hot, so I went swimming. I felt that this was a very American
thing to do! Later, I found out I was across the river from Mark
Twain's childhood home.
I was refreshed after
this swim, and really feeling confident about the ride. I kept going
into Illinois. I rode and rode. I got to Springfield and had dinner
at a pizza place. Then I got off of 36 and headed northeast. I rode
down some great country roads. I was aiming for Clinton Lake. It
was really dark by the time I got there. The groundskeeper was not
friendly. He gave me a campsite really far away. It took me a few
tries to even find the site. It was dark! When I did find it, no
one else was around – or so I thought! I wheeled my scooter into
the campsite and woke up a sleeping camper in a tent. I yelled hello
to him, but he was also unfriendly. I set up my tent in the dark.
The woods were really loud and I had a tough time sleeping.
Day 4: Clinton Lake,
Illinois to Kickapoo State Park, Illinois
When I woke up I was
treated to a nice surprise! It was the most beautiful campsite of
the trip! I hadn't noticed in the dark! I made coffee with my
titanium stove and it tasted delicious! I went swimming in the lake
and it was like bathwater! I didn't want to get out of the water!
I rode into Champaign,
Illinois. First, I stopped at an outdoor goods store. They told me
where to camp next. Then, I went to a cafe. It was weird, because
it felt like a return to civilization. I was nervous about my
scooter, so I parked it behind a dumpster behind a bar. I walked to
their record store, Exile on Mainstreet. I was delighted to see
Braid records in the local music section, because they are one of my
favorite bands. I wasn't going to buy anything, but then I started
talking with the people who worked there and I bought a Sarah Records
release of a group called St Christopher and I bought another record
by the band Slint. I compromised, because both were 10” records
and not 12”s! I made it clear I was a record nerd with those
picks, so they started talking to me about this label called Numero
Group. A month or two later, I started listening to the releases
from this label, specifically their Eccentric Soul series, and it's
now my current favorite.
I rode across town to
the campus area. Campus was really big! I parked the scooter in
front of some frat and sorority houses, then wandered around campus.
I ate at their Qdoba burrito place in the dining hall. Then I went
back to the scooter, but I couldn't remember which street I parked it
on! I overshot it by a few blocks.
I called my sister and
had her look up where the house is on the cover of the emo album
American Football. I stopped and took my picture in front of it.
I found Kickapoo State
Park. It was a while off the main road outside of Urbana. I set up
my tent in a large meadow area. It was very lovely. There were deer
wandering around, which reminded me of my old apartment in Alfred.
It overlooked a quarry type of area with a large dock. However,
swimming was prohibited. I had really wanted to go swimming every
day, and was frustrated when I couldn't achieve that goal.
I tried to work on the
scooter in the meadow. I checked the oil. Then, I looked at the
exhaust. Two bolts were gone! I got very upset. This was bad!
Across the way in the
meadow I saw what looked to be bikes with big Ortlieb bags. I
wandered over and sure enough it was Ortlieb bags! It was a couple
from England crossing the US by bicycle. They graciously offered me
some of their couscous and I sat and had dinner with them. Their
names were Sophie and Tom and their website is detourtomoosejaw.com.
It made me feel so much better to eat with them. They told me how
their bikes had given them trouble and they had Paul at Rock Lobster
bicycles in Santa Cruz help them. I thought my Aprilia was doomed,
but they encouraged me that I would get the scooter sorted out fine.
I gave them my email contact information and told them they could
come stay at my house in Queens whenever they want.
Day 5: Urbana, Illinois
to Dayton, Ohio
I woke up really early.
I backtracked from Kickapoo State Park to Urbana. When you ride
headed west, you often ride into thunderstorms, and that is exactly
what happened to me. It rained hard. There was lightning in the
distance. I struggled to wipe the raindrops off of my helmet. I saw
a flipped car on the highway. I brought the scooter to the shop in
Urbana, and I was there before they opened the doors. It was a Honda
dealership. They said they couldn't fix it. The service manager was
scared. I was really, really upset that they could not help me. It
didn't help that they had a really nice BMW F650CS and a brand new
Stella scooter in their shop for right around the same price as I had
spent on my Aprilia. At that point, I would have swapped for either
bike! The BMW even had a stereo on it.
I decided to get on it
and ride. It started raining more. Indiana was terrible. I think
around Indianapolis I even did the classic pull over under an
overpass and wait out the rain move. I ate a red hot atomic fireball
and got splashed by big rigs. My desolate, picturesque Route 36 had
passed and now I was on Route 70. I wanted to go north to Toledo to
visit my relatives and my grandma, but I knew the scooter's exhaust
was eventually going to fall off, so I decided it was best to go
straight home.
The rain subsided by the
time I got to the Ohio border, but also so did my fuel levels. The
gas gauge was not playing on the team with me. I ran out of gas and
I didn't know where I was. There were no signs. I didn't see any
mile markers. No one stopped to help.
On the other side of a
cornfield and a fence I saw a garage with lots and lots of junky
cars. So, I walked back to an overpass and climbed up on to the
bridge. I kept my leather gloves on to negotiate the barb wire
fence. Unfortunately, the dudes at this garage had no gas for me. I
walked back to my scooter and started pushing. I made it to another
overpass and climbed that one. There was a really nice brick house.
I startled this woman in her yard. She was like “Wait right there!
I'm going to get my husband.” People in the country are so easily
scared. Her husband came out and gave me gas and told me to tell
everyone people in southern Ohio are really nice. His name was
Chuck. Right as I was handing him his gas can back over the fence,
two AAA cars showed up to give me gas. I had been on the side of the
road for 2 hours. One of the AAA people, a youngish hippyish guy
started filling up my scooter for me, to top it off, and said “You
said you wanted Diesel, right?” I couldn't even speak before he
said, “Just kidding – that's just a bit of roadside humor for
you.”
I rode a bit more and
then stopped at a Chipotle. I had a big burrito. Whenever I go
places on my scooter, I more often than not carry my helmet with me,
as an invitation for people to talk to me about my scooter. In the
restaurant's line, I started chatting with a guy who had one of those
Can Am Spyder three wheelers. He was bragging about how it cost
$22,000. I checked it out and complimented him on it, but he didn't
bother to peek at my Aprilia, and then flew out of the parking lot
full throttle. After that stop at Chipotle, it was dusk, so I
decided to stay at the Comfort Inn and Suites. I got to go swimming
in their pool. In the hotel bed, I slept like a rock.
Day 6: Dayton, Ohio to
Somerset, Pennsylvania
It wasn't my earliest
start, but it was still early. I got on the road. I rode all day.
I stopped at Tim Horton's for breakfast somewhere in Columbus. Then,
I saw a large display for the Motorcycle Hall of Fame. “This
directly pertains to my interests,” I thought, and I pulled over to
stop.
Maybe I liked it a lot
because I was on a motorcycle trip, but I think anyone could enjoy
this museum. I liked that I was one of only a handful of people
there. They had lots of cool stuff. They had old Indian
motorcycles, a lot of flat track racers, a lot of tourers. My
favorite was a KTM race bike from the Paris-Dakar. They also had a
whole room dedicated to the lobbying that the AMA has done on behalf
of motorcycle riders. For example, they campaigned against a beef
tax / under 500cc tariff.
The museum gave me a lot
to think about, and I rode off in the afternoon.
I passed another state
border – West Virginia! The Hop Along song “I saw my twin”
played in my head a lot, because it has West Virginia as part of its
lyrics. I wanted to stop in Wheeling, because it looked really
really neat, but I also wanted to keep going.
Pennsylvania got very
mountainous. I almost went camping at a park called Cedar Creek
State Park. They actually let you camp there for free! But, you
have to sign in with the guard, who locks the gates. So, you can't
get out until 7 AM. I didn't like the sound of being locked in, so I
opted out. They did have a runway for radio controlled airplanes
though (
http://www.monvalleyrc.com/).
Also, the creek was pretty shady, muddy and mosquitoey, so I didn't
want to go swimming there.
I kept riding until I
got to Somerset, Pennsylvania. I stayed at an even cheaper hotel
with a pool and got to go swimming again. I went out to dinner at
some weird Italian restaurant and had a beer there, my first since
Colorado, and it tasted terrible. Then I watched American Pickers
because our town was on it.
Day 7: Somerset,
Pennsylvania to New York City
I got on the road right
away. My goal was to get to visit Scooters Originali in Allentown,
Pennsylvania. I rode and rode. The scooter didn't feel that great.
I had the address of Scooters Originali, but somehow I still had
trouble finding it. When I got there, it was a nice office space and
I chatted with Gene and Andrea. I had met Gene at the scooter rally
in Niagara Falls about 10 years ago. I had even been to their old
scooter shop, where he had let me sit on some really nice Lambrettas.
I totally interrupted their day, and they were super nice about it.
After I left Scooters
Originali, I had major problems. The scooter lost power on the
highway. I got it restarted. Then it lost power again. It was out
of gas. Luckily, I coasted on the shoulder of the road downhill for
a mile and pulled right into a gas station. I left and the scooter
lost power again. It felt really weak. I tried getting off of the
main highway, but at one point I had no choice. I stopped for some
food mid-afternoon at a diner in Clinton, New Jersey! I was so close
to the finish! I was close enough where I could probably beg my
friends to come pick me up, close enough to have AAA tow me to my
house. I looked ahead on the map and found I was going to go right
through Newark, so I texted my friend Liz who lives there. She told
me to meet her at The Monk Room. I got stuck in traffic for a long
time. I made it to the Monk Room and had a beer with her and her
friend Jean. We had pizza. Then we went to another bar and saw our
old friend Angela. It was a really nice almost ending to my trip.
I was so tired and my
scooter was too. It was so humid. The scooter was overheating. I
rode back on to the highway and some weird industrial bridges. I was
confused about what direction I was going, but I looked up and saw
two beams of light guiding me home - the twin towers memorial. It
turns out that night was the first night they were testing them out.
I rode through some of Jersey City. Then I found the Holland Tunnel.
The scooter was really hurting at this point and I rode it oh, so
gently. Finally, I got to Manhattan! Even if the scooter had died
at this point I could call my trip complete! It was so strange to
see CitiBikes and midtown. I rode over the Queensboro Bridge back to
Astoria! I pulled up on the sidewalk in front of my house and was
both relieved I had made it, but also disappointed my trip was over.
Post Ride:
Immediately after the
trip, I took the scooter to the shop down the street to get a tune
up. They tapped the sheared bolts and changed the oil. It wasn't
cheap, but the mechanic said they spent a whole day working on just
my scooter – and I believe him. They had the scooter back to me
the next day. I rode it up to Kurt's in Wanaque, NJ and we rode to
Bear Mountain, the go to spot for twisties loving sport bike riders
of the greater NYC area.
Of course, if I were to
do the trip again I would do things differently. Part of my thinking
on this trip was to just get any scooter and ride it. I was going to
use it and lose it, kind of treating the bike as an appliance. I
realized that isn't 100% possible. The rider needs to understand the
bike in some way, not in a zen and the art of motorcycle type of deep
meaning way, but a bike and its rider need to have some sort of
understanding between them. I didn't, which is why I ran into some
trouble and why the tires and carb were huge problems for me.
I'm as confused as ever
about what motorbike I want to ride. I really, really think the Moto
Guzzi V7 is my style. I still see my name written on all the
vintage Vespas and Lambrettas at Scooters Originali. I desperately
want to try the 2015 Vespa Sprint S 150 with ABS. And I think I'd
probably be very happy aboard a Piaggio MP3. I also think the Vespa
946 is amazing. I'm not a speed freak and 150ccs is just fine.
In the meantime, it's
Autumn 2015 and I've been riding the Aprilia still. I still like my
Vespa S150, but the Aprilia is by all measurable means a better bike.
I like this scooter a lot! It's a weird bike - it's smooth, it's
stylish. I'm not sure I'm totally in love with it, but I'm close. I
ride two up on it a lot and don't even notice a passenger back there,
while on a Vespa this still feels like a date night or a stunt.
In any case, I want
something more durable. This led me to checking out the BMW dealer
on 57th on the West Side of Manhattan. I walked in and
said I wanted to do a bit of touring. I was eyeing their 650cc, and
they said “Nah man for touring you have to get the 800. - you
really need to have 800ccs for touring.” So I pulled out my phone
and showed them pictures of me touring on the 250cc Aprilia and they
just started cackling. I tried on motorcycle gear there and chatted
with them for a long time. As I left, they said “You'll be back!”
Packing List:
Glovebox:
registration &
insurance, snow peak titanium spork, knog blinder bicycle headlight
Left Pannier:
Water bottle, maps,
boots, some dirty clothes, tool roll
Right Pannier:
Camera, snacks, camp
stove, titanium mugs, toothbrush, toothpaste, backup titanium spork,
SOTO coffee maker, iPod and headphones (did not use on trip), iPhone
(broken, did not use)
Top Case:
clothes, vinyl records
purchased in Champaign, Illinois
Bag on backseat:
REI Passage 2 Tent, REI
Lumen sleeping bag, Thermarest Pad, blankettowel, hat, Chaco sandals
(strapped to outside)
Riding gear (not
recommended, and will be upgraded):
Corazzo armored hoody,
Icon Mainframe helmet, Rev'it gloves, Adidas ZX700 sneakers
 |
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