5000 Miles by Scoot

Another Update

2008-06-07T06:06:00.000-07:00

I've been really busy between the shop and work.

But, I did get one hell of a gift this week, three weeks late, but hey.

A truck load of awesome right there.

What's in the box?

Here she is in all her glory.

So after a long wait I'm finally on the scooter I wanted. I've already put 140 miles on it and I've had it for less then 48 hours.

Awesome.

Good News!

2008-05-16T19:36:00.000-07:00

I know am running my own scooter maintenance, performance, and restoration shop, Eazy's Scooterwerks.

Me and Jake finished working out the details of our partnership today.

I've already got a scooter ready for me to work on starting tomorrow.

I'll get pictures of my new digs.

Hopefully the Stella (which I've decided to name Louise) will be here next week.

The weather is getting gorgeous

2008-05-15T20:11:00.000-07:00

I've been reading about a few other long distance scooterists and I feel utterly inspired.

My 5000 miles seems measely compared to a 20,000 mile trip to make a peace sign, a trip across the country on Route 66, or PJ's trip along the east coast.

I would love to do something like that.

I find it interesting that out of all these people who claim to be hardcore scooterists there are very few who are willing to ride more than just around their own town. A scooter club from Boise is planning a ride in West Yellowstone in August and they seemed somewhat surprised when I asked if they were riding from Boise or not. Some of the Utah guys think I'm nuts for the Provo run I am planning. I keep finding bigger and better runs. Once my Stella is here and broken in I feel it's going to be like opening Pandora's box.

As a side note I am looking into opening my own scooter shop, just doing performance and maintenance crap, as well as restorations. I'll post when I have more info on that.

Whew-Hew

2008-05-12T15:18:00.001-07:00

It finally warmed up. Snowed clear til May 1st but it finally has seemed to lighten up.

So I'm up about 400 miles, and my Stella should be here next week.

STOKED!!

Expect more updates now that I can actually ride.

Still Cold

2008-03-19T18:28:00.001-07:00

So an update, haven't been on in a while. I've been working the 6am shift so I've been tired and it's been snowing/cold for the last little bit so I haven't been riding too much. I've put about 50 mile on my scooter before but like a moron forgot to take a picture of my odometer so they're not official miles. When it stops raining I'm going to go take a picture. I also stayed off my scooter because they thought I had some problems with my brain. Turns out I'm going to be fine just need to watch what I eat and figure out my sleeping situation.

10 degrees

2008-03-06T19:33:00.001-08:00

It was about 10 degrees when I left the house this morning... on my scooter. I froze my balls off but it was worth it.

I'm getting anxious

2008-03-05T19:04:00.001-08:00

I received a catalog from scooter-works today. They are a scooter parts and restoration company from Chicago who also owns Genuine Scooter Company. There's a lot of pretty things in there. I sent Jake an email to see if he knew when my Stella will be here, no response yet. I have no internet at home right now, so I'm posting at work. Maybe tomorrow I'll break out the scooter for a little cruise.

The Big One

2008-03-04T19:19:00.001-08:00

As part of our quest for mileage and adventure Danger and I will be making a trek to Provo, UT. We haven't quite picked a day yet but I have been working on routes and plans. We're probably looking at either sometime in June because of some openings in the auto cross schedule and what not or possible August for the Provophenia scooter rally. Why Provo? More than anything because I have a lot of friends down that way that will put us up and we can hang out with. Maybe get some tattoos at Death or Glory to commemorate the trip. I do oficially have a researched, measured, and plotted map ready to be tried out. Danger and I are going to see Earth Crisis this Friday so we're going to follow my map and make sure there's nothing we're missing. One big concern of mine right off is there is a rather large distance between noted cities. This isn't too much of a problem for me as the Stella gets about 80mpg and has a 2 gallon tank. Danger's Zuma however, gets about 45mpg and has a 1 gallon tank so that could become an issue, but we'll see. Another big concern of mine is hauling gear, like camping stuff and extra fuel, oil, and tools. I've been looking into getting a bicycle trailer and just modifying it but they're about $200 for a piece of crap so I may see if I can get someone to build me one. I'm counting down the days til the 15th. I'm trying to not ride my scooter too much before the 15th so I can just get a straight run at it. The urge is there though, and it is strong.

I hate Idaho

2008-03-04T08:19:00.001-08:00

This morning we woke up to even more snow. Last year I was riding my scooter by mid February, this year maybe June will be snow free.

In the mean time

2008-03-03T20:57:00.000-08:00

Amber decided to start a blog as well. Help her pass the time.

Check it out here.

http://mrsk2005.blogspot.com/

Sometimes you have to get shocked shitless to realize what's important.

2008-03-03T18:36:00.000-08:00

In search of something new I've decided to set myself a goal for this summer. This goal, 5000 miles by scooter. This may seem a measly goal but one must first realize that 5000 miles is very difficult to do on a scooter that goes 45mph fully throttled in a riding season that for most people is only about 5 to 6 months long. The last two years I have managed 2500 a year, this will be doubling that. As part of this I've also decided to start logging and blogging about my travels, adventures, and progression.

Why do this? It took the death of someone close to me to make me realize that life is short. I didn't realize how close Aaron had become until he passed. For those of you who don't know, Aaron was a man my mother was dating. They had met in Boise and Aaron had moved to Idaho Falls to live with my mother. They were very much in love. One day she left for work at 3:30 in the morning and when she came home he was dead on the couch. His stomach had ruptured. I learned and saw a lot of things that day that I had never encountered before. I learned a lot about myself. Most importantly I realized that I need to take time to appreciate things.

You see, I have been working a minimum of 2 jobs since I moved out on my own. This hasn't really been much of an issue. I've lived a fast paced life and scheduled things in when I could. In the pursuit of paying bills and buying material goods I lost sight of what's really important, family and friends. I remember a few months before Aaron died he and I were talking about how much he enjoyed swimming. He asked if I new of any good spots and I shared stories of skipping school and spending entire days at the river. He asked if I could take him to one of these places so he could swim. I agreed. Then one thing led to another and as always happens I got busy, too busy to make time to act upon that agreement. I know it's a little dramatic to state it like this, but he died before I could make time for him. It was at his funeral that I realized how much he meant to me. I know I didn't know much about him and verse-visa. But he has taught me something, something that I can never repay him before.

So here I am, 23 years old, married, a father, and for the first time in my life I am only working one job. I am taking time for my family, my friends, and myself. That's what this is all about. To accomplish 5000 miles I am going to have to learn a lot about myself. I'm going to have to face a lot of things that I haven't dealt with in my life.

My ride, a 2006 Honda Elite 80. It's been a trusty little pig for the last couple years. This will scooter will do the first part of the work and hopefully early summer I will be upgrading to a Genuine Stella.

So far this is something that Danger and I will be doing. Danger may not have the same reasons as I, but he's a good friend and person and I'm glad he's along for the ride. It's nice to have someone to push you and motivate you carry on. The beginning date for the "5k Challenge" as I have been calling it is the 15th of March and it will go until the 15th of November. That's eight months to do 5000 miles. I'll be updating this as much as possible, so if you're interested read on.