Another thing from Comic Con...

I forgot to mention another thing I saw at Comic Con that I wanted to get! This book is sooooo cute! I don't know how to crochet, but I think it is time I did! Maybe I can make some of these and put them with the scooter listed in the post below?
Buy it from Quirk Books.

this blog soundtrack: "For the Wars" by Clinic =why did it take me so long to discover this awesome band?=

Scooter Collectible Contest

Many folks will have received the new issue of Scoot! and discovered a new contest in the Scooter Collector column. I have asked readers to email me some of their discoveries to share. If you email me a collectible, I'll enter you into the contest. It's pretty easy and a few folks have already sent some in.


This crochet pattern was spied on etsy by Kyle Bryner. You can buy it and crochet your own (in your fave color combo) at maliamather's shop. Give it a try!


Jim Bravo wanted to share his soda can Vespa. I have a few of these. I've seen them at flea markets and I *think* they were sold briefly at Cost Plus, but I'm not sure. I took me a few tries to get an actual Coke can (sweet elixir of life!).


Dawn Hampton found an espe wallet that I hadn't seen (and I even exchanged emails with the company!) I gotta get one of these!

Maxine Levy sent in a photo of the Miso Pretty tote bag made by Blue Q. I have lots f their stuff with this motif. You can get beauty products and stationery products in the range, too.

We've ot plenty of time until the contest is over, so send in your collectible photos and share the love of being a Scooter Collector!


Tonight's blog soundtrack: "Red Rain" by Peter Gabriel. =it never gets old=

Rock paper Scissors SALE ends Friday @ midnight

If you want some cool custom scooter stationery, order this set of personalized stationery from Rock Scissor Paper.

They are holding a sale until 11:59pm on Friday for 20% off. I have two sets of my own and send them out to special folks who will appreciate the scooter on it.

The company also sells cute birthday cards.

Back from Comic Con!

I just got back from a week of working Comic Con. It was fun but next year I will definitely take advantage of more panels ad events.

I scoured the exhibit hall for more scooter collectibles, but didn't really find any. I did get to meet Patrick Ma of RocketWorld who did the Insurgent Wilderness Gruppo collection of animals on scooters. He had some special one-of-a-kind smaller versions of the figures on display.


I also met Rob Reger who is the creator or Emily the Strange and Bonbon (who was a cute scooter-riding mod gal that his company Cosmic Debris no longer produces). he signed books and did drawings on each one with cool custom inscriptions. Neat!


Something totally un-scooter related... I got to meet Ryan Buell at the PopCandy party hosted by Whitney from USA Today's PopCandy blog. (I met Whitney, too, and she's a Peach!. But I was thrilled (and a little tipsy) when I met Ryan. He was kind and gracious. :)


Finally, you may remember my previous post about R. Black making his scooter journey down the coast to San Diego. Well, he made it & I caught up with him at his booth. Way to go! h said he had one minor breakdown, and it was close to NoHo scooters, so it all ended well.

Parking Alert: Motorists moving scooters

I've hard of it happening in the past, but it looks like it is a real problem in Seattle: car drivers moving scooters so that they can take their parking spot. Read the post from the Seattle Post-Intelligencer's blog. (!grrrr!). It happened to my boyfriend years ago with his custom muraled Lambretta. The person who moved it scratched the headset.

Documenting these incidences is a great way to demonstrate to your elected officials the need for designated motorcycle parking.


Has this happened to you?

Scoot! Magazine # 46 en route...

The next issue of Scoot! is on its way from the printers. We're still playing a bit of catch-up from Josh's accident. We actually have to slowly catch up as the magazine has to be on newsstands for a certain amount of time in order for the sellers to get an adequate amount of time to sell their issues.

The next issue has lots of cool content including the story behind Josh's accident, a story on NYPD police scooters, an article on how your brain reacts to scootering, a super-fresh women's riding gear photoshoot and much more. One thing that is also in the issue is a contest! But, I'm letting my blog readers hear about it first! The kind folks at Espe products have given me a cute scooter wallet to give away. So, I'm asking folks to send in a photo of their favorite scooter collectible. Send me an image of your fave and I'll randomly select a winner. Deadline is September 1st. Don't forget to include some descriptive text, your name and mailing address so that I can send the prize. Good luck!

Amerivespa Starts this Week!

I went to last year's Amerivespa and had a great time. It was a blast to meet scooterists from all over the USA. The VOCA has been putting it on for years with the hard work of local clubs that step up to the plate to make it happen.

This year, it will be in Chattanooga, TN. The complete event goes from Thursday, July 24 through Sunday, July 27th. You can see the fun activities they have planned on the event agenda.

A successful Amerivespa takes lots of heads, hands and hearts, not to mention sponsors, too. :) Scoot! is a sponsor and we'll be represented by Josh who is flying out for the event. When I asked him if he was sure he wanted to travel at this stage in his recovery he said, "I want people to see that I am actually alive!" Ah, such a kidder!

Comic Con next week: you going?

I'm heading to Comic Con for my other gig, but will be hooking up with some scooter folks while I'm there. Anyone else going who wants to say hello?

I'm bringing my copy of the Scoot! Magazine scooter art issue (#40) for R. Black to sign. I forgot it when I went to his book signing...doh! also looking forward to meeting Patrick from Rocketworld who submitted art for the same issue and made those cute IWG animals on scooters figures, one of which has premium placement in my cabinet. There will be lots of other folks there to see, so I am excited.

Ed Brubaker, who has done LOTS of fancy-schmancy cool comic-related work will be there, but his Deadenders comics were closest to my heart. I interviewed him about them in Scoot! #19, I believe. Maybe I'll bring #1 with me.;)

Ride to Work Day 2008!

I rode today to the train station so that I could make the 46-mile trip to my office. So, I didn't scoot the whole way, but that would have taken me about an hour & 50 minutes one way. Coincidentally, there was a problem with the train tracks which backed up all of the trains, thus my train trip took 2 HOURS! I shoulda ridden the whole way!


Self portrait while riding to train station....


Sneaky parking spot at train station. Cars gotta pay $2 per day, but I get to park for free. Mwah-hah-hah-ha!



Well, some cars try to be sneaky, too. This person had a parking permit. I would have been mad if they took up my whole scooter space, but I still got mine. :)

My commute to the train is pretty easy. I got a PacSafe helmet bag and store my gloves and jacket under the seat and I'm ready to go!

Did you Ride to Work today? If so, send leave a comment or send me a pic.

Reminder: Ride to Work Day Wednesday, July 16

Don't forget that Ride to Work Day is next Wednesday, July 6th. I'll be riding to the train stations at least. 60 miles on the freeway is a bit much for a P200, but I can certainly ride to the train station, get my car off the road and take up less space in the parking lot.

For those of you who ride, send me a photo of you with your bike from that day and let me know what you thought of it. If it was your first time, how did it go? Do you think you might be able to ride more often than drive? For those who ride already, what do you enjoy most about riding to work? Got any tips for new commuters? Send me your feedback and I'll share it with blog readers.

Josh Walks!

Josh and Jon at R. Black signing over the weekend.

I realized that I hadn't posted an update on Josh's condition in a while. So here it goes....

Josh' recovery has been going fairly well. A few weeks ago, he was nearly walking unaided, something they said would take about 6 months. He was ahead of schedule, but had to undergo another surgery on his right knee which has all its CLs (ACL, PCL etc) messed up in the accident. So, under the knife he went, When he got out he was unable to walk again. Two steps forward, one step back. He has been recuperating and taking physical therapy. He can now hobble around a bit if he uses his brace. They gave him some heavy-duty pain meds, which he learned *must* be taken on time or else mind-crushing pain ensues. It looked like the surgery went well & he should recover nicely.

Josh's biggest concern is the nerve damage and lack of full motion of his left arm. It was a result of his shoulder being disconnected. The doctors hope that his nerves will regenerate and fix themselves, but no one knows for sure. Not much "therapy" for that, but they try to measure his progress with shock tests and other creepy sounding metrics.

Our next issue is at the printers and should be arriving this week. It has the story on Josh's accident and some great safety info. It should be in shops by the 2nd week of August, and to subscribers shortly thereafter. Keep an eye out for it.

MSN Article Shows Complexity of Scooter Choice

I love scooters. I'm glad to see more people getting into the scooter frame of mind, but I often meet folks that just haven't thought it through all the way. I'm not one to dissuade a person form becoming a scooterist, but I think that if someone does he research and invests some time into the purchase s/he will end up with a better fitting scooter that will be with him/her for quite some time.

So I was pleased to see this story on MSN where new scooterist Tracy Harger put in some investigative work before buying a scooter. I'd suggest that those wanting to buy a scooter read and use it as inspiration for their scooter hunt. Scooters are a great way to get around town using minimal gas, but if you buy a new scooter it can take a while to see the savings if you are paying off a new scooter. So I say look at it from several points of view. Back in June, I ran a post which had some of my top reasons to ride a scooter. Fuel-efficiency was only one of them. I also posted some tips on buying a new scooter. If you are a new viewer of this blog, sgo back a few months and you'll find various postings that may help you with your new hobby/lifestyle. Also, feel free to send me an email if you would like.
Happy Scooting!

R. Black on scooter tour

Many long-time Scoot! readers will instantly recognize R.Black's work. Most recently, he illustrated the cover of our art issue #40. He has also done ads for scooter clubs in past issues. He has now combined much of his art into a book called Art de R. Black: Futura. He's embarked upon a cool cook tour where he rides his Vespa P200 from his home in the San Francisco Bay Area to San Diego for the Comic Con convention.

One of his stops was San Jose Vespa. Josh, Jon and I showed up to get books and support his cool trip. Here are some photos:


April & R. Black after he signed my copy. Photo by Jeff Brashear.


On his trusty steed!


His tour poster.



Signing for the many folks who come to meet and greet.

If you are in the cities where he stops, make sure to say hello!

Hot enough for you?

Honestly, I love riding on a warm, clear day, but this heat wave is crazy! It was nearly 100-degrees today which makes for not a good experience sitting at a stoplight in a full-face helmet. I try to park in the shade at the train station, but sometimes cars hog up the good spots, even those that aren't meant for cars!
I can also get cranky in the heat....
One thing that concerns me in this heat is my seat cover. It gets super-hot and very s-t-r-e-t-c-h-y. It can't be good for the longevity. MRP sells a seat-cover which is supposed to keep a seat cool. I haven't used one yet, but I think this weather is asking for it.



How do you keep cool during these hot weather spurts?

LA Times Review of Buddy

Susan Carpenter is the motorcycling columnist for the LA Times. She is a fair reviewer, so when she gives a favorable review of the Genuine Buddy, folks will take notice. For us "old-timey"scooterists the beginning of the review may solicit some chuckles, since she seems to have a "Vespa is it" bias that many people have when they approach scooters: "The Buddy may be the best Vespa knockoff on the market." she says. But this attention can only do great things for Genuine which already can't keep their great product in stock.

Target Nick & Nora Scooter Jammy Pants

A couple of weeks ago my housemate Lori and I were in Target shopping with Sara. I was chatting with Sara while Lori looked for a new robe. She came bouncing back with these in hand. Nick & Nora now sell a pair of pajama pants that have girls with scooters on them. You can get them for a steal, $12.99 at last look. Cute for those scooter girl sleepovers or when you wanna impress your new scoooterboy boyfriend. Also would make a great gift for the cutie-pie scootergal in your life.

I thought I'd post a cute photo of one of us in the pants (I HAD to get a pair, too!) but it never materialized, so I'll cop-out and use the Target web images. Go there & order some! Oh..and 100% cotton is good during these HOT months.

Reminder: Ride to Work Day Wednesday, July 16

Just a reminder that Wednesday July 16 is Ride to Work Day! If you have never ridden your scooter to work, why not give it a try? You'll cut down on traffic, reduce emissions and have a fun time doing it. The weather should be great in most parts of the US, so take advantage of the special date to try it out.

Alix's PeaceScooter Update

IN our last issue, we ran out of space and moved Alix's Peace Scooter Update to our web as an online article. If you haven't had a chance to read it, check it out.

Alix is a courageous person on many fronts and I wish her the best on her future endeavors to wake up the country to the possibility of peace. She's about to go back on the road, so if you can meet up with her, offer her some floor space or buy her a meal. I had a great time visiting with her.

Hot Dog! It's an APE

This APE was featured in a past issue of Scoot! which has long since sold out. I spotted this photo on the FLikr photostream and it brought back memories. What a fun job it must be to vend hot dogs on a nice summer day (i.e.not sweltering) out of the back of an APE!

Karaoke Par-tay

Last Friday night I was at the book release party for Hit Me With Your Best Shot a new book about "ultimate karaoke domination." The party was held at 7 Bamboo a San Jose karaoke bar that broadcasts the karaoke performances over the internet. I sent a shout-out to my local scooterists and told them if they rode to the event I would buy them a drink. Mike B, Lisa, Bagel, Christina and Bicycle Brian showed up and we had a blast! Here are some of the video performances of the evening:


Nim rocks Little Red Corvette!



Author Raina Lee & her boyfriend John make Islands in the Stream their own!


Bicycle Brian gets the crowd going with the House of the Rising Sun

This might be a fun event to have for the next San Jose scooter rally.