Singing & scooting...

Today, it is very windy and overcast in San Jose. The dark rain clouds that dumped rain upon us over that past few days have receded and it's just a gloomy day. On days like this I sometimes lookout the window an try to image what it will be like in a few months. Clear blue skies, dry, hot air and sunlight that causes me to shade my eyes or don big sunglasses. When the weather seems likely to get me down, I try to remember those days--look out at the view from my house and actually try to recreate in my mind one of those spring or summer days.

One of these moment got me thinking about what rides I'll want to go on as soon as the weather turns. And that got me thinking about one of my favorite *secret* pastimes: singing while I ride.

I am a terrible singer. I know lots of people say that in mock humility, but I really do suck at singing. I've been to karaoke and got up to sing-- not because it brings me pleasure, but mostly be a good sport and not be a party-pooper. But, I've discovered that it really is best for all involved if I just stay seated and clap politely for those who do a mediocre to fabulous job. Once, I was singing karaoke at a friend's house--a pretty ego-safe location-- and when I got a few lines into the song, a few people poked their heads in from the kitchen to see who was beating a cat or trying to dull drill bits. That was my last karaoke effort.

So, singing and scooting is a great combo for me. I love to just sing out loud to songs that I love. Doing it in the car is too risky, unless you wear a bluetooth earpiece and make it look like you are talking on the phone.

But, on a great ride, when the temperature is mild and the air is clean, the roads are inviting and my scooter is dialed in, I really just feel like singing. And since I have the wherewithal to wear a full-face helmet, no one is the wiser about my *secret*.

What do I sing? I'm partial to "25 Miles" by Edwin Starr. Can be very appropriate, especially on a long ride, although it is usually my butt rather than my feet that is "hurting mighty bad." Sometimes, the day can be so beautiful that other songs come to mind. Perhaps, "Astral Weeks" by Van Morrison for a sweet summer morning ride through the grassy hills around San Jose. During the summer, when the air is filled with the smell of BBQ grills, my appetite gets going and I think of "Bar-B-Que" by Wendy Rene that you can get on that Rhino Boxed set.

What songs do you sing when you're riding? Comment on your suggestions for cool scootin-n-singing songs.

Make Your Own Scooter Wallpaper

Years ago, I lived with a scooterist friend who has a large poster made of a very famous black & white photo of a man racing a Vespa around a track. It looked like a huge photocopy, with the grainy pixels noticeable. While I don't recall he exact dimensions, it was two long sheets of paper that when put together were something like 3 x 5 ft. It was impressive and gave us a cool scooter house advantage.

Now, with technology making custom printing more accessible, the dream of having a cool, but well-done custom wall treatment is simple. Check out Wall Collection, a Danish company that can create custom wallpaper for you using your own artwork.

Checkout some examples of what they have done:


and



While prices aren't listed on their site, they do charge $60 for shipping to the US. May be a cool ay to turn your basement or spare bedroom into a scooter shrine.

New Storage Cabinet

On New Year's eve, Jon and I went to Ikea in search of a new display cabinet for my scooter collectibles. While there was a huge cabinet that would have looked great, the $300+ price tag was a bit much just to store my scooter toys. So, I ended up settling on the smaller Biby cabinet. It came in white or red, and while I was leaning towards Red, Jon convinced me that the white would look more industrial, almost like old dentist's furniture. So we got it and put it into Jon's new Honda Element. Once home he and our friend Christian put it together while I cooked out new year's eve gluten-free feast.

While our GF pot pies cooked, I stocked the cabinet and tried to divide my collectibles between the two cabinets. After about an hour I had my new cabinet stocked. The old cabinet (also an Ikea product, which is no longer produced) still had lots of stuff in it, all in disarray, but I was tuckered out and still had to serve dinner.

After dinner we celebrated the new year with some Dom Perignon and a roaring fire in the fireplace. I still haven't finished tidying up my old cabinet, but I'll post a photo of it anyway. : )

Wanna share photos of your collectibles? Send me an email!

Louisville, Kentucky is a scooterist town...

A recent article in the Courrier-Journal
talks about the scooter scene in Louisville, Kentucky. One of the accompanying photos featured an issue of Scoot!. Sweet!

Swap Meet: February 24th

Need parts for your project? Building your ride for Cannonball?

It's that time of year again!

Scoot! Magazine & Vespa Club Los Gatos present
SCOOT! MAGAZINE SWAP MEET

When : Sunday Feb. 24th 2008
Time : 9:00A to 3:00P
Where : Scoot! Magazine Headquarters
190 Martha Street, San Jose CA
Phone: 888-337-2668

* The cost for entry is free!
* All scooter types and riders are welcomed!
* Food and drink will be available for lunch!
* Bring the schwag you don't need!
* Arrive early to get the schwag you DO need!

For more details, visit www.vespaclublosgatos.com
Questions? E-mail us at vespaclublosgatos@yahoo.com

Scooter in Fool's Gold

The new Matthew McConaughey Kate Hudson film Fool's Gold has the leads riding a scooter off a cliff into the water. The film is about treasure hunting ex-spouses and promises to be an action/adventure/romantic comedy. Can't imagine it will be that great, but I may rent it for the scooter footage.Opens February 8th. If anyone sees it & wants to pass on a mini-review, lemme know.

Thanks to Josh for the tip!

Scoot! in New Countries

We just found out from our new distributor that Scoot! is now being sold in some new countries. Although I won't get a breakdown of which shops are carrying it, I do know that we're in the following countries:
Austria
Finland
Australia
Taiwan
New Zealand
Singapore

I'll see if I can find out where. This is super exciting news as people from all over are often asking us for distribution in their area.

Got a better collection?

Rolf's toys Pt. 2

If you think that you've got a better collection than Rolf? Send me your pictures and prove it! : )

Rolf's toys Pt. 1

Weebles Wobble but do they Scoot?

Apparently they do! Jon said he heard that there was a scooter out there for the Weebles. We didn't see it at Toys R Us, but I did find it on the Hasbro site. $9.99 for the set.

Get yourWeebles Weeschool Playset.

Japanese Scooter Delights

Jason from Battlescooter just got back from Japan and brought me 2 cool toys. I love getting scooter stuff that I couldn't get here. I just hop he didn't get walloped by the exchange rate.



The first item is a Lambretta which is listed as a 1953, but Jon thinks it is actually an earlier model. It is very detailed and quite precious. I'm leaving it in it's packaging. The Yen price tag is cool.



The second item is a commercial scooter rickshaw-like thing. Neither of us read Japanese, but Jason suspects that it is a model of a scooter that was in a movie. The graphics on the packaging look like kitchy 60s-style movie poster stuff.

Groovy Girls ride-on scooter

Groovy Girls $149

Took this photo with my cell phone. I need a new camera phone, methinks!

Calling all scooter collectors!

I'm working on an upcoming article series focusing on people that collect certain scooter collectibles or who make items that are scooter collectibles. If you are an exceptional collector or specialize in a particular type of collectible (i.s. owners manuals, chocolate molds, stamps etc...) then I would love to speak with you.

My deadline is coming up, so email me asap. If I can include you in the issue, then I'll need some high-resolution photos of some of your collectibles and of you, too.

Also, if you collect scooter memorabilia and other stuff and have an impressive display of your collections, I'd love to see them. If I get enough good quality photos, then I can do a photo spread in the magazine. Sweet!

Lucky Jeans Scooter Shirt

Thanks to Michelle H from Erico Motor Sports for sending me the link to his cute scooter shirt from Lucky Brand. The shirt is cotton and sells for $38.
Buy the shirt from Lucky.

Here's a detail of the scooter, which has a Lucky emblem instead of a Vespa badge.

Scoot! Contributor's Deadline 1/15

If you are thinking about contributing to the next issue of Scoot!, your deadline is January 15th.

How can you contribute? Send us a good photo of yourself with your scooter for our Show Us Your Scoots section. If you've got an exceptionally custom or unique scooter, submit a Reader's Ride by filling-out the questionnaire and submitting several high-quality photos of the bike. Send us a report on a rally you participated in.

For more information on how to contribute, check out our contribution guidelines on our website.

Show Us Your Scoot: Blog-style!

Edward Moniz of Titusville, FL sent us a photo of himself with his '66 Vespa SS that he restored himself and rides daily.

Nice bike, Edward!

If you've got a bike you want included in the magazine's Show Us Your Scoots section, send us an image at the highest resolution possible (at least 300 dpi) to my email address (see previous post). We really enjoy seeing & sharing our reader's scooters.


Blog entry soundtrack: "Jump into the Fire" by Harry Nilsson