Scoot! Swap Meet Cancelled

The weatherman says that the sky shall open up and it will poureth!
So, we're proactively canceling the Swap Meet with a promise to reschedule. Check back on my blog for news as it develops.

Win Geoff Rowley's Stuff!

In the current issue of Scoot! I interviewed some legendary skateboarders that also have scooters; Geoff Rowley, Lance Mountain, and Matt Hensley.

Geoff Rowley & Flip skateboards donated an insane skate pack for one lucky Scoot! reader. It includes: a Rowley deck, HKD Red Wheels, Independent trucks, a Union Jack t-shirt, Militia socks and some stickers. How awesome is that? To enter, send a postcard with your name, mailing address, phone number to:
Scoot Free, Skate Hard c/o Scoot! Magazine, P.O. Box 9605, San Jose, CA 95157.

Entries must be received by March 15. A winner will be randomly selected. Good luck!

You can also see a video of Geoff skating & sitting on his P200 here:
Vans Website. Select the video in the lower left with the black/white arrow.

Vectrix in Sacramento, CA

The city of Sacramento is trying out Vectrix scooters for their Parking and Police departments. The announcement was made this week that four bikes would go through a 3-month trial lease where the city pays $1 per bike and has the option to buy after the period. Vectrix did something similar with the NYPD. I'm not sure if the trial period is over for that city, and if they will buy the scooters afterwards.

I test rode the Vectrix, and think it is a great vehicle for police. It is quiet, so you can sneak up on evildoers, and when they stop for coffee, they can plug it in for a recharge. It is also an unexpected vehicle. Everyone knows the silhouette of a police care and always behaves when they are a round, so the police can probably catch more people in the act (of whatever it is that people do). Finally, the bike is more versatile and nimble than a car or one of those big Harleys.

Hopefully the cities will go forward with the scooters and not just use them for some short-term PR.

Ride to Baja

Some friends are embarking on a trip to Baja by scooter. From the San Francisco/ San Jose area it would take about 12 hours to drive a car on the freeway to the border of California/Mexico, so you can imagine how long it is going to take on scooters!
Brian Holm will periodically post updates to his blog if you are interested in checking up on the group.

The ride isn't just scooters, there will also be motorcycles as the ride is lead by the San Francisco Motorcycle Club which celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2004 (!) They have a close relationship with the SF scooter clubs and participate in the annual Mods vs Rockers event.

I wish them lots of fun!

Vespa Cafe in Turkey

The Turkish Daily News has run an article about a new Vespa Cafe in the Nişantaşı/ Teşvikiye area of Turkey. It sounds like a small, quaint place with a fun Vespa theme. They apparently even sell some scooters from a separate menu.


If you find yourself in Istanbul craving an American-style hamburger and a gander at a Vespa, stop by...

Vespa Cafe, Orhan Ersek Sokak, Şimek apt. No. 1, Nişantaşı Istanbul


I tried mapping it out on Google, but wasn't sure if I got it correctly.

Another Vegas shot

Modified's scooter offerings have grown. Look at their impressive table. I bought a little kid shirt for a friend's new baby.

Spring Catalogs Love Scooters

I was flipping through the pages of two catalogs recently and found some scooters. J Crew (which I wish I could afford & fit into) has a Rome theme going and combined it with their wedding line for a scooter wedding shot, complete with a trail of tin cans. Keeping with the Rome theme, they chose the popular P125 Vespa.

Lands End also chose to use a scooter in their recent catalog. It's a yellow Vespa GT. Both catalogs are using scooters to illustrate the sunny, carefree feelings of spring, of which I am all for...even if it is raining and windy outside as I type this. How I long for one of those breezy, sunny days!

Scooter Cutting Board

Check out this cutting board with a scooterist on it. Cute! Found it on Elsewares for $38. If you are truly obsessed with scoots and even want to think about them when making dinner,this is an item for you. Or maybe you are a scooter-riding chef like Jamie Oliver or Rocco DiSpirito who mike like the fusion of both interests. or, maybe you just like it. : )

Vegas Update

This year's High Roller Weekend has been fun. The weather is beautiful, no rain this year. Smaller attendance than in the past, but the quality of bikes is mind-blowing. Several owners have spent lots of time and money tuning their bikes. A last-minute addition of some dyno testing revealed the two bikes put out 32hp! Not to mention noxious fumes....

Since we couldn't bring bikes, we missed out on the rides, which should have been gorgeous with the desert scenery and clear blue skies. It feels much like spring here, except that nights in the desert can be frigid.

We've met folks from Phoenix, LA, Cleveland, Montreal, Boston, Sacramento, Boise and even Wyoming. Apparently all roads lead to Vegas.

Today is a poker run & a hang-out at the Star Trek Experience for some drinks at Quark's bar. The main event which is the raffle, awards and BBQ, happens in the afternoon. I'm eager to see which bikes will take the top prizes.

En route to Vegas...

Scoot! Intern Ashley had these cool magnet logos made for Jon's
Element. We look pro!

April Whitney +Sent from my iPhone

Vegas,Baby!

Who's going to Vegas for the High Roller's Weekend...show of hands! Well, I can't really see your hands, but feel free to post a shout-out here if you are going. We were lucky enough to get a room at the main hotel, which was a miracle since I booked my room a week & a half ago.

This will be my fourth year attending, as I took the past 2 years off. One of the years I was in Indianapolis for the Dealer Expo. Josh does the Dealer Expo and this will be his 4th year in a row. If you are at either of the shows stop by to say hello to one of us!

"Penelope" Puts Ricci & Witherspoon on Vespa

I'm eager to see the new film, Penelope, starring Christina Ricci. There's been lots of media coverage about the fact that Ricci plays a girl born with a pig's nose, but I'm more interested in the scooter that she and Reese Witherspoon ride. For some reason (and this happens a lot) pictures of scooters in films are elusive. But, I did a sneaky screen grab off of the movie's official website for this pic of Witherspoon with the Vespa.

While I doubt I could sit through Fool's Gold, I think this film will be an enjoyable one to watch. Not to mention that there is something oddly appealing about a scruffy James McAvoy. I am such a sucker for accents. Let's hope I never have to work in the UK. People could steal my purse and I'd never know...I'd be too charmed by the accent.

Back to my original post....you can go to the film's official site and see the trailer which has a few shots of the actresses riding. But for the full thing, you'll need to see the film which opens February 29th.

Scoot! # 44 February 2008 Now Available!

Well, actually it has been available for a few weeks, but I have slacked on posting about it, which is silly since I am so excited about this issue. We've got some great content in the issue:
* Scoot Free Skate Hard: Three professional skaters who are household names in the skateboarding industry spoke with me about their appreciation for scooter. The cover shot was taken by Dan Bergeron who went toSkatelab in Simi Valley and got this shot of a grom pulling a sweet maneuver over Todd Huber's Vespa Rally. Todd is partial owner of Skatelab and also a member of the Westside scooter club.

*Cool contests: Readers can enter to win a cool skateboarding prize pack donated by Geoff Rowley and Flip Skateboards. Other Readers can win one of 10 calendars from ScootRS.

* Scooter Reviews: We ride the Vectrix, Yamaha Majesty and Genuine Rattler

* I Married a Scooterist: ladies and gents, the duly betrothed...get some hints from Josh's wife Katie on how to incorporate scooters into your ceremony.

* Ask Hot Rod Al: takes on performance mods in baby steps for vintage Vespas and Lambrettas.

The issue is available now, but hasn't been updated on the website. You can get it at your local scooter shop, bookstore. Subscribers should have it by now, or the end of February, depending upon if your postal carrier reads your magazines first.

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.