Glad to be joining such a friendly, welcoming group. Ride on, scooter friends!
Tuesday, October 6, 2015
Hey scooter friends, in case you're interested
My other blog, Sinister, contains snippets of my current writing projects. I just posted a chapter from the novel I'm working on, and there are other bits and bobs down the page. Read and comment if you wish. Cheers!
Sunday, October 4, 2015
So many rides, so little blogging
Over the last few weeks I've done some really fun group rides - two with the Portland Scooter Social Club, and one with the Oregon Scooter Club. Riding with people is an entirely different, and entirely delightful, experience.
A few things I've learned: the Fly can keep up with most scooters unless we're going uphill, in which case it tends to bog down a little. I also need to work on my confidence in corners, and stop putting a foot down when I corner a little too quickly. Well, stop cornering too quickly, really, is the lesson there.
I've also been amused by how many other scooterists insist that in a year or two I'll be pining for a big bike, something in the 250-400cc range, so I can go on the really long, really fast, much more dangerous rides.
It might happen, but right now I'm pretty content with the little 150cc Fly I bought. He's a good scoot, serves me very well around town, and mostly holds his own on the highway as long as I can swallow my pride and hang out in the slow lane. And it's not like I'm yearning for a really long ride on a 70mph highway - frankly that just sounds exhausting and terrifying all at once.
Still, on to the reports!
The first group ride I did was a simple trek out to the Gorge, and that was a lot of fun. We had a nice lunch at Multnomah Falls and then came back. Simple stuff, but a great intro to group riding.
Yesterday I did the 'Pressed Penny Ride.' Well, I did half of it - I had to bail partway through to go to a writing meetup. It was another great group ride around town stopping at tourist spots that have those machines where you put perfectly good money in and get a squashed penny with a souvenir stamp on it that you can't spend.
Finally, today I took my first ride as a member of the Oregon Scooter Club. We started off having breakfast at an adorable country breakfast place that had some connection to a bomber airplane - I couldn't be bothered to read the whole story, even though I brought a pamphlet home about it that I will promptly lose - anyway, big plate of corned beef hash and much coffee was consumed.
The ride went...somewhere near Estacada, to a restaurant across the road from a stunning view of Mount Hood and the Clackamas River Valley. There were about twenty riders, more or less, riding everything from 125cc Zumas to huge three-wheeled thingies called Can Ams, which sound like a soda you'd get on a defunct airline. Can Ams seem like a lot of fun to ride. The Fly was in fine form everywhere except the hills, where he struggled to keep up with the 200cc Kymco in front of him. There really is a difference in the 10 or so ccs separating the two scooters. Still, I have very few complaints about the Fly, and I expect to be riding him for some time to come.
Today's ride finished off at a place in Oregon City where they keep all the scotch whisky and potato bugs. I don't think the potato bugs were actually on the menu, but they were everywhere. Very tasty beers and good conversation, and ride leader Rick gave me info on a great route to the coast that avoids the big highways. Might try that soon, although with the preparations Matthew and I are making for the impending arrival of a mysterious foster child, my weekends may become too busy to do much serious riding for a while. Plus, the weather's about to get bleah.
A beautiful fall day, a gorgeous weekend of riding, and back to work tomorrow.
Hasta la scooter.
A few things I've learned: the Fly can keep up with most scooters unless we're going uphill, in which case it tends to bog down a little. I also need to work on my confidence in corners, and stop putting a foot down when I corner a little too quickly. Well, stop cornering too quickly, really, is the lesson there.
I've also been amused by how many other scooterists insist that in a year or two I'll be pining for a big bike, something in the 250-400cc range, so I can go on the really long, really fast, much more dangerous rides.
It might happen, but right now I'm pretty content with the little 150cc Fly I bought. He's a good scoot, serves me very well around town, and mostly holds his own on the highway as long as I can swallow my pride and hang out in the slow lane. And it's not like I'm yearning for a really long ride on a 70mph highway - frankly that just sounds exhausting and terrifying all at once.
Still, on to the reports!
The first group ride I did was a simple trek out to the Gorge, and that was a lot of fun. We had a nice lunch at Multnomah Falls and then came back. Simple stuff, but a great intro to group riding.
Crown Point
Lunch at Multnomah Falls
Yesterday I did the 'Pressed Penny Ride.' Well, I did half of it - I had to bail partway through to go to a writing meetup. It was another great group ride around town stopping at tourist spots that have those machines where you put perfectly good money in and get a squashed penny with a souvenir stamp on it that you can't spend.
Lined up at the Portland Rose Test Garden
Finally, today I took my first ride as a member of the Oregon Scooter Club. We started off having breakfast at an adorable country breakfast place that had some connection to a bomber airplane - I couldn't be bothered to read the whole story, even though I brought a pamphlet home about it that I will promptly lose - anyway, big plate of corned beef hash and much coffee was consumed.
The ride went...somewhere near Estacada, to a restaurant across the road from a stunning view of Mount Hood and the Clackamas River Valley. There were about twenty riders, more or less, riding everything from 125cc Zumas to huge three-wheeled thingies called Can Ams, which sound like a soda you'd get on a defunct airline. Can Ams seem like a lot of fun to ride. The Fly was in fine form everywhere except the hills, where he struggled to keep up with the 200cc Kymco in front of him. There really is a difference in the 10 or so ccs separating the two scooters. Still, I have very few complaints about the Fly, and I expect to be riding him for some time to come.
The gang's all here.
An intimidating bunch of scooters.
This is a thing called a 'Can Am.'
A fly on the wall. Well, a Fly on the tarmac. Pavement. Whatever.
That's a viewpoint. Hello, Mount Hood!
Not sure why this photo came out with a double rainbow effect. WHAT DOES IT MEAN??
What my phone camera calls "zoom," I call an impressionist painting made of pixels.
A beautiful fall day, a gorgeous weekend of riding, and back to work tomorrow.
Hasta la scooter.
Sunday, August 30, 2015
A rainy Sunday means no ride
After a packed Saturday that had me busy from morning till night, I had hoped to take the Fly to the coast today. The weather, however, had other plans - after a hot, dry summer, the rains have come back with quite a vengeance. There was a period around noon when the roads had dried out enough and the sun was out, and I thought to myself 'Self, maybe there's an opportunity for a ride today after all.' Unfortunately, the sun stayed out only long enough for a delicious brunch with my husband at an outside table, and just as we were paying the tab, the drops started falling again. Since then, it's been alternating between bright sun and torrential downpours.
No ride next weekend either - we're taking a little Amtrak trip to Seattle for Labor Day. Maybe I'll take it out on a weeknight. We'll see.
No ride next weekend either - we're taking a little Amtrak trip to Seattle for Labor Day. Maybe I'll take it out on a weeknight. We'll see.
Friday, August 28, 2015
Training wheels are off.
Hit the 600 mile mark and took the scooter in for its first servicing. The training wheels are off, and this Sunday I'm taking him for a long ride somewhere, possibly the coast, unless it's raining (which it might well be).
The Fly also got a sweet new top case, so I finally have a home for my helmet now.
The Fly also got a sweet new top case, so I finally have a home for my helmet now.
Saturday, August 22, 2015
A quick note about a helpful tech gadget I've been using
I'm a gadget guy. I like gadgets. And there's a particular gadget I bought a couple of months ago that has helped me immensely in finding my way on my scooter.
It's a 'smartwatch.' Specifically, it's a Moto 360 by Motorola. It runs Android software and syncs with my phone.
The best thing about the watch is that it displays turn by turn directions. That means that when I'm lost on my scooter, I don't have to stop, fumble with my gloves, open my scooter visor, pull my phone out of my pocket, and figure out where I am. I can just look at my watch, and it'll tell me where the next turn is.
I can also (theoretically) use the watch to dictate text messages and emails to send (while I'm stopped at lights, of course), although the speech recognition tech is a little shaky, and I've sent some confusing and incoherent messages to my husband on a couple of occasions.
I'm probably going to add a Bluetooth earpiece to my setup soon that'll allow Google to speak directions directly into my ear from my phone, but it's still really helpful to have directions right on my wrist.
Plus, it's just a nifty little gadget.
It's a 'smartwatch.' Specifically, it's a Moto 360 by Motorola. It runs Android software and syncs with my phone.
The best thing about the watch is that it displays turn by turn directions. That means that when I'm lost on my scooter, I don't have to stop, fumble with my gloves, open my scooter visor, pull my phone out of my pocket, and figure out where I am. I can just look at my watch, and it'll tell me where the next turn is.
I can also (theoretically) use the watch to dictate text messages and emails to send (while I'm stopped at lights, of course), although the speech recognition tech is a little shaky, and I've sent some confusing and incoherent messages to my husband on a couple of occasions.
I'm probably going to add a Bluetooth earpiece to my setup soon that'll allow Google to speak directions directly into my ear from my phone, but it's still really helpful to have directions right on my wrist.
Plus, it's just a nifty little gadget.
Ride Report 3 - Over the river and through the woods
It's a smoky day today - wildfires nearby have made our air 'unhealthy.' Still, I managed to get a ride in before it got too bad.
From my house in far southeast Portland, I went north to Columbia Boulevard, which is a surprisingly nice road that goes east west at the very north edge of the city, near the airport and a swath of industrial developments. There are few stoplights, and though the road is nominally a 45 mile per hour zone, ahem, that wasn’t exactly the speed people were going. Lots of fun.
I nearly ran out of gas, though, because I got confused trying to get from Columbia Blvd into St. John, and then trying to find a gas station in St. John was a challenge. I stopped in at this little convenience store with gas pumps out front only to discover that the gas pumps were apparently decorative or just not in use. I should have taken a picture with a Magritte-ish caption ‘this is not a gas station.’ Still, I did manage to find gas in time.
I rode down to the piers of the St. John’s Bridge, where there is a nice little park and some great views. I discovered this big metal plaque that commemorated some kind of a textile mill that was once on the site, and it had little viewfinder things you could look through to see pictures of the site at the turn of the century. Pretty cool.
I rode back up and across the St. John’s Bridge, which is always a little scary since it’s so high up, and I have acrophobia. Once across the bridge, I entered Germantown Road.
Germantown Road is a wonderful, narrow two-lane twisty road that goes through the West Hills of Portland. It has great hiking trails, and it was full of bicyclists and weekend road trippers (including a phalanx of BMWs – must’ve been a group ride for people who drive BMWs). It was slow going at times because the switchbacks were so twisty I had to take them very slowly or risk losing control of the scooter. There’s a part of the road that has a 45 mph speed limit, but I was not about to take the scooter through the twisties at that speed.
I found myself in the middle of nowhere, and yet I was something like 10 minutes from the city proper. Germantown opened up a little and became a wonderful country road that was leading me I knew not where. Germantown bottomed out at Cornelius Pass Road, and I took that a little ways until I figured out where the heck I was.
Hillsboro, as it turns out. I was surprised to see that sign. Hillsboro is a suburb of Portland, and I had no idea I’d gone out that far.
I turned around, took Germantown back to the St. John’s Bridge, and stopped at the farmer’s market there to pick up some jalapeno jelly and Olympia Provisions kielbasa.
I took Willamette Road back east-ish, past the University of Portland, where a BEE managed to hit my helmet and get stuck in the gap on the bottom edge of the visor. Quite a scary moment, but I pulled over and got the bee out of my helmet without incident.
Willamette turned out to be a wonderful road as well – on a ridge overlooking a great view of the river and downtown in the distance. Eventually I found my way to Interstate, took Interstate to Burnside, and took Burnside home.
Really nice ride.
Here's the route map:
The St. John's Bridge, a soaring suspension bridge that I think rivals the Golden Gate.
And like a lot of bridges in this country, it needs some attention.
This really cool mural thing.
The other side of this really cool mural thing.
Smoky day.
Germantown Road after it leaves the winding forested road and goes out into the country.
Germantown Road.
On the way back I stopped at this hiking trail.
Hiking trail on Germantown.
Through the woods on the way back.
The St. John's Farmer's Market.
The St. John's clock, which is either wrong or not working.
From my house in far southeast Portland, I went north to Columbia Boulevard, which is a surprisingly nice road that goes east west at the very north edge of the city, near the airport and a swath of industrial developments. There are few stoplights, and though the road is nominally a 45 mile per hour zone, ahem, that wasn’t exactly the speed people were going. Lots of fun.
I nearly ran out of gas, though, because I got confused trying to get from Columbia Blvd into St. John, and then trying to find a gas station in St. John was a challenge. I stopped in at this little convenience store with gas pumps out front only to discover that the gas pumps were apparently decorative or just not in use. I should have taken a picture with a Magritte-ish caption ‘this is not a gas station.’ Still, I did manage to find gas in time.
I rode down to the piers of the St. John’s Bridge, where there is a nice little park and some great views. I discovered this big metal plaque that commemorated some kind of a textile mill that was once on the site, and it had little viewfinder things you could look through to see pictures of the site at the turn of the century. Pretty cool.
I rode back up and across the St. John’s Bridge, which is always a little scary since it’s so high up, and I have acrophobia. Once across the bridge, I entered Germantown Road.
Germantown Road is a wonderful, narrow two-lane twisty road that goes through the West Hills of Portland. It has great hiking trails, and it was full of bicyclists and weekend road trippers (including a phalanx of BMWs – must’ve been a group ride for people who drive BMWs). It was slow going at times because the switchbacks were so twisty I had to take them very slowly or risk losing control of the scooter. There’s a part of the road that has a 45 mph speed limit, but I was not about to take the scooter through the twisties at that speed.
I found myself in the middle of nowhere, and yet I was something like 10 minutes from the city proper. Germantown opened up a little and became a wonderful country road that was leading me I knew not where. Germantown bottomed out at Cornelius Pass Road, and I took that a little ways until I figured out where the heck I was.
Hillsboro, as it turns out. I was surprised to see that sign. Hillsboro is a suburb of Portland, and I had no idea I’d gone out that far.
I turned around, took Germantown back to the St. John’s Bridge, and stopped at the farmer’s market there to pick up some jalapeno jelly and Olympia Provisions kielbasa.
I took Willamette Road back east-ish, past the University of Portland, where a BEE managed to hit my helmet and get stuck in the gap on the bottom edge of the visor. Quite a scary moment, but I pulled over and got the bee out of my helmet without incident.
Willamette turned out to be a wonderful road as well – on a ridge overlooking a great view of the river and downtown in the distance. Eventually I found my way to Interstate, took Interstate to Burnside, and took Burnside home.
Really nice ride.
Here's the route map:
The St. John's Bridge, a soaring suspension bridge that I think rivals the Golden Gate.
And like a lot of bridges in this country, it needs some attention.
This really cool mural thing.
The other side of this really cool mural thing.
Smoky day.
Germantown Road after it leaves the winding forested road and goes out into the country.
Germantown Road.
On the way back I stopped at this hiking trail.
Hiking trail on Germantown.
Through the woods on the way back.
The St. John's Farmer's Market.
The St. John's clock, which is either wrong or not working.
Tasty things!
Saturday, August 15, 2015
Ride Report 2 - Orient Drive
Orient Drive is a spit of country road that parallels US 26 between Portland and Sandy, on the way to Mount Hood.
I was thinking about trying to get to Mount Hood this weekend, but since I’m still ‘running in’ the engine for the first 600 miles (more than halfway there now), I decided not to push the scooter at highway speeds for too long.
So, Orient Drive. The fun part of the road is a two-lane stretch of country highway with variable speed limits. There are some nice long stretches of hilly straightaways, so I was able to let the throttle out and have a little fun. Not as many twists and turns as I’d like, and overall a short-ish stretch of ‘fun’ road (certainly less than 20 miles of ‘fun’ road) that takes a while to get to from my house, but nonetheless a rewarding ride down a scenic country lane.
Fun little moment: I stopped in at a local dive bar and had a beer while a guy apparently won something like $600 at the lottery machines.
Here's the route map:
Country road.
A blue moon in a mason jar.
Obligatory helmet shot.
Chester Drawers.
The road ahead.
More nice views.
Goo goo ga joob.
I was thinking about trying to get to Mount Hood this weekend, but since I’m still ‘running in’ the engine for the first 600 miles (more than halfway there now), I decided not to push the scooter at highway speeds for too long.
So, Orient Drive. The fun part of the road is a two-lane stretch of country highway with variable speed limits. There are some nice long stretches of hilly straightaways, so I was able to let the throttle out and have a little fun. Not as many twists and turns as I’d like, and overall a short-ish stretch of ‘fun’ road (certainly less than 20 miles of ‘fun’ road) that takes a while to get to from my house, but nonetheless a rewarding ride down a scenic country lane.
Fun little moment: I stopped in at a local dive bar and had a beer while a guy apparently won something like $600 at the lottery machines.
Here's the route map:
Country road.
A blue moon in a mason jar.
Obligatory helmet shot.
Chester Drawers.
The road ahead.
More nice views.
Goo goo ga joob.
Saturday, August 8, 2015
Ride Report 1 - The Columbia River Gorge
I took the Fly out to the Columbia Gorge, a stunning natural marvel of rocky cliffs overlooking the Columbia River, dotted with cascading waterfalls. It’s about 30 minutes east of downtown Portland, easy to access along back roads and then onto the Historic Columbia River Highway. Once on the highway (which is really a winding two lane forested road, max speed about 45 on the straightaways), tourists and locals alike stop to gawk at massive waterfalls and hike wooded trails to scenic views of the Gorge.
The Fly handled marvelously throughout the trip, taking the corners in stride and giving me enough power to make the ride more fun than I’ve ever had on two wheels.
Camera: My Samsung Galaxy S6 phone. Does a fine job unless you want a decent photo zoomed in. I’m going to pick up a good quality point and shoot digital camera for these trips in the future.
Here's the route map:
Here's the route map:
First stop: Vista House, an historic observatory at Crown Point.
The view from Vista House.
A strangely off-center photo of Vista House itself.
A strangely off-center scooterist.
Latourell Falls, the first waterfall on the route.
Here's some info about Latourell Falls.
Latourell Falls up close.
Bridal Veil viewpoint.
If you're going to have a blog about riding a scooter, you have to have an artistic helmet shot in there somewhere, right?
View from Bridal Veil.
Put an origami bird on it.
The crown jewel of any trip to the Gorge - Multnomah Falls.
Multnomah Falls selfie!
Vista House on the way back, seen from the Women's Forum Historic Viewpoint.
Last stop - The Women's Forum Historic Viewpoint.
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