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SHOW NOTES: Compared to last week, this week’s riding has been all about the rain. Even the Seven hills Club ride last Sunday was marked by sprinkles and a few down pours. But of course that didn’t stop the die-hard scooterists like myself who did turn out. I have an interview with musician Jason Reeves who has hooked up with Vespa for a westcoast ride and concert tour they are calling the Vespa Experiment and I have a few comments on last week’s live streaming of the PoliniUSA cup from Atwater, CA.
Direct download: sctrcst0094.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 9:23pm EDT

SHOW NOTES: The riding here in Richmond has been fantastic, warm weather reaching into the 80s. I hope to be riding to work most this coming week. I have a interview with Harold Smith. He and his friend Graham have put together an impressive live video streaming site for scooter and moped racing. They are planning to broadcast the 2009 PoliniUSA starting this coming weekend.
Direct download: sctrcst0093.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 8:57pm EDT

SHOW NOTES: I have been noticing that a lot of scooter clubs are starting to advertise their spring and summer rallies. Here in Richmond we are looking forward to the Dogwood Classic, a scooter weekend in May that usually includes lots of food and drink. Stick around, I talk more about some of the other up coming rallies and I have an interview from England with Nick Bennett, the organizer of the European pinball championship tournament.
Direct download: sctrcst0092.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 8:21pm EDT

SHOW NOTES: It’s been great riding weather here in the south and the 7 Hills Scooter Club ride this past Sunday was marked by a warm 70 degree day. I talk about that and play an interview with Jake Stept, who built an electric Vespa from scratch.
Direct download: sctrcst0091.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 7:13pm EDT

SHOW NOTES: It has been weeks since the last podcast and you may be wondering what happened. I was a little under the weather for a while, but other than that I have been vacillating back and forth thinking, "write damn it write!" I have been stock piling ideas and spent the past few weeks doing background work on a couple of shows coming up in the next month, but for the most part, it's been spring cleaning, polishing the scooters and waiting for some spring time riding weather. It finally seems to have come.
Direct download: sctrcst0090.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 10:20pm EDT

SHOW NOTES: I have all of my scooters running again. With a little help from Scoot Richmond, I finally got my favorite scoot, a pristine little red 1965 Vespa 180ss, running and took along Richmond's Riverside Drive. I also talk more about my upcoming return trip to Denver.
Direct download: sctrcst0089.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 10:55pm EDT

SHOW NOTES: I mentioned last week that I was making a quick trip out to Denver. It was a smooth trip for me, but I paused once again to reflect on how fateful life is when I woke on Friday morning and heard that a plane had crashed in New York. I talk more about that and share a few scooter stories from my short time in Denver.
Direct download: sctrcst0088.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 8:48pm EDT

SHOW NOTES: I mentioned last week that I have been pod casting for two years. Many of you wrote to say congratulation and how do you do it. It got me thinking and all I can say is that it's persistence. Maybe that is one of my better qualities. Come to think of it, maybe it also describes a necessary quality for anyone who is into scooting or at least those of us who are into vintage scooters.
Direct download: sctrcst0087.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 8:55pm EDT

SHOW NOTES: This show is a bit of a milestone marking my second full year of pod casting and blogging. To some of you that may not seem like a big deal, but for someone like me who is easily distracted, it represents a big responsibility. I owe you a great deal of thanks for encouraging me to continue. Thanks
Direct download: sctrcst0086.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 2:00am EDT

SHOW NOTES: I really love January. It has to be one of the great months of the year for me, a time when everything at work comes together and culminates in a four week whirlwind of activity. It's something akin to the world's best double cheeseburger with a fudge Sunday chaser for dessert. I will give you a few more insights into my day job and of course throw in a few Internet scooter resources I have been checking out.
Direct download: sctrcst0085.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 10:31pm EDT

SHOW NOTES:  It's a new year and January has rolled around again. That means cold weather riding. I dont mean riding in cool weather, I mean the kind of cold weather riding that required some warm riding gear and special consideration for the changing conditions.
Direct download: sctrcst0084.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 9:22pm EDT

SHOW NOTES: For two weeks my hands were tied by the crash of my main desktop computer. I spent most of last week trying to cobble together a variety of old hardware and coax it back to life. Finally decided to take it to the computer man, who confirmed I had a dead hard drive. So, problem solved. Since then I have been building my podcasting infrastructure back up and organizing my files so I can get another show out.
Direct download: sctrcst0083.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 5:33pm EDT

SHOW NOTES: Last weeks show brought in more comments about buying scooters on the web and it has gotten me thinking more about the pros and cons of buying local when our scooter community seems to have gone global. Italk about that and pass on a few scooter web picks for finding holiday bling.
Direct download: sctrcst0082.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 6:51pm EDT

SHOW NOTES: It has been another two week break since the last show and I have been out to Denver and back, along with spending hours trying to keep a handle on work. I was lucky enough to visit Erico motor sports in Denver and put up a Qik video you can find on the website.
Direct download: sctrcst0081.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 9:39pm EDT

Shownotes: Talking about rusted, my new project is bad, but mot as bad as my moped was when I got it. Uship delivers direct to you from all over the US.
Direct download: sctrcst0080.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 8:06am EDT

SHOW NOTES: Sorry about missing last week's show. Lots of changes at work so I have had very little time to write or poke around the Internet. Instead, all my free time has been spent working on my restoration. Just to keep you updated, not only am I in the home stretch with the moped rebuild, I have my next restoration project in the pipeline.
Direct download: sctrcst0079.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 10:36pm EDT

SHOW NOTES: How about a little break from all the political barrage? I have enjoyed retreating to the basement and my homemade paint booth, along with spending more time on my moped restoration. I will tell you more about that as well as a few tips on how to approach a restoration, if you are brave enough to even be considering it.
Direct download: sctrcst0078.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 8:26pm EDT

SHOW NOTES: I found a new source for new old stock parts for my Ducati moped, I talk more about that and bring you the second part of my interview with Ed Reggi, from the St Louis Scooter Club.
Direct download: sctrcst0077.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 7:25pm EDT

SHOW NOTES: I finally made it to another Sunday ride with the 7hills scooter club. In addition to that, I was able to spend most of Saturday working on the freshly powder coated frame of my project moped. I'll post some pictures of that on the scootercast website. This show includes the first part of a special interview with Ed Reggi, a St Louis scooter legend and renaissance man.
Direct download: sctrcst0076.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 9:11pm EDT

Show Notes: What a busy week this has been. In the past week we have had an automatic scooter workshop at scootrichmond, I spent time rebuilding the 50cc motor for my 1965 Ducati and on top of all that, I was trying to keep up with the Cannonball scooter run, which wrapped up this past Saturday.
Direct download: sctrcst0075.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 9:55pm EDT

Shownotes: Rob Taylor talks about the first five days of the Cannonball scooter run, which has included beautiful rides, crashes and tickets.
Direct download: sctrcst0074.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 11:53pm EDT

Interview with 2008 Cannonball Scooter riders Rob Taylor, Patrick Owens and Bobo
Direct download: sctrcst0073.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 6:28pm EDT

SHOW NOTES: We are just back from Italy, still trying to catch-up on sleep, and dreaming about the great time we had in Sicily and Florence. Although we were in Rome for a few days, it really was just a stop over between coming and going. Most of the time was spent relaxing with friends and scooting around Florence. If you had been following me on twitter, you would know that we did make it to the Piaggio museum. On this show I will be telling you more about the museum, but for those of you who would like a little more information, I am going to tell you more about the history of Piaggio and Vespa in Italy.
Direct download: sctrcst0072.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 8:10pm EDT

Show NOtes: This episode is coming from Florence Italy, we have just come from Ragusa which is in the southern part of the island of Sicily. It was a week of family dinners, celebration and of course lots and lots of conversation. Since I am at best, conversational in Italian, it means listening a lot and asking for things to slowly be repeated. But everyone is very patient and truly seem to be happy to see us.
Direct download: sctrcst0071.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 4:45am EDT

SHOW NOTES: I have been packing, getting ready to leave for Italy in a few days. Everything is in place except some last minute decisions on what kind of equipment I am going to take for my mobile setup. There is another long distance ride coming called Scooter Quest, but it isn't just the same old long distance riding story. These guys are going to use streaming technology to document the ride and give you a chance to participate while they are traveling.
Direct download: sctrcst0070.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 7:18pm EDT

SHOW NOTES: Almost everything in my life lately has had a scooter connection, even my dreams. Picture this, I am riding a vintage green Vespa GS thorough the Tuscan hillside with yellow fields and mountain top hill-towns all around. The sun is warm on my face and then I realize, this has to be a dream, the scooter is purring along with that smooth 2 stroke buzz and it isn't missing a beat, popping or back firing like my real scooters. Well for me it was a dream, but not for long. In two weeks, Marcel and I head out for a two week Italian reunion in Sicily and Florence. This week I will tell you a little about the trip, but mostly about Alix from PEACE scooter ride and her return to Richmond after riding over 22,000 miles on her Buddy 125.
Direct download: sctrcst0069.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 10:56pm EDT

SHOW NOTES: This is a big week here in Richmond. Alix Bryan returns from her PEACE scooter ride and a big party is planned for Saturday, August 9th at ScootRichmond. I'll tell you more about that and I also have a few comments about riding safer.
Direct download: sctrcst0068.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 10:17pm EDT

SHOW NOTES: Every week I sit down to plan the show and start by asking myself if I have anything to say. Some weeks are better than others and I would say that this week has been a pretty good one. I've gotten a few emails I am going to share with you and then I'll tell you so much about Amerivespa, everyone's going to think you were there, by the way, did I mention, I wasn't there either
Direct download: sctrcst0067.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 1:38am EDT

SHOW NOTES: Last Friday I dropped off the Ducati 50 frame to get it powder coated and today I sent off a bunch of parts to be chromed, and I didn't blink and eye at the cost. I'll tell you more about that, give you an update on Alix Bryan and fill the rest of the time talking about several new scooter websites.
Direct download: sctrcst0066.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 12:58am EDT

SHOW NOTES: Glad you could tune in. On this episode I have a book report, just as promised last week. It's Pete Davies newly published Lambretta Bible. In addition, I will catch you up on some automotive horse trading I have been doing and let you know more about why I am sitting here with an empty 3g Iphone case.
Direct download: sctrcst0065.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 10:14pm EDT

SHOW NOTES: Hope you all had a pleasant holiday, for those of you in the US it was the 4th of July, independence day and for our friends north of the boarder it was Canada Day, July 1st. It has been great weather for scooting in Virginia, in between the big rain storms, but the advantage is the heat has been moderated a bit by the clouds and rain. Last episode I talked about scooter shops in Denver and would like to apologize to ERICO motor sports. For some reason I keep referring to them as Enrico, maybe because that sounds so much more Italian. This week I am going to talk about a number different blog posts and introduce all you Lambretta fan boys to a newly released book from Veloce publishing.
Direct download: sctrcst0064.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 7:02pm EDT

SHOW NOTES: It has only been a few days since I returned from visiting Denver, possibly one of the best scooter towns in the US. Although it was a quick trip, I took part of the afternoon on Saturday to visit three of the city's best scooter shops. Each has a distinctly different feel and it has prompted my to pen a few observations on the scooter scene
Direct download: sctrcst0063.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 3:31pm EDT

SHOW NOTES: I am back from the Pacific Northwest with my mother in tow and we have been enjoying the Richmond weather where it has creped easily into the 90s almost everyday this week. I have notice that every time I turn around there is another scooter on the road and many of them seem to be the Kymcos and Genuine Buddys. I am getting more emails from listeners who are newby scooterist looking to buy their first scooters. Alix from the Peace Scooter ride and I have been trying to connect. Over the past month she has made her way out to the west coast and I tracked her down in San Fransico where she was meeting up with friends and attending a local rally.
Mevio {Mevio-a9929f73a9e94ccafcb68c0dab9371a3}
Direct download: sctrcst0062.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 9:59pm EDT

Show notes: I have been wondering for the past week what to say about Vespadition. Knowing that there is sometimes it's hard to draw the line between what is true and what is not, especially on the Internet, I have toyed with saying nothing or reporting on everything being said, but have decided that I'd rather than do neither, and instead talk about the scooter community. I have also decided that there are many other more interesting things going on so you will also hear about Steve Guzman, LS motor sports and several other tidbits from the scooter blogging world.
Direct download: sctrcst0061.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 12:22am EDT

Show Notes:  If you have been following my blog you know I have had a few interruptions in my regular routine. The first included several out of town trips that took me to the Virginia Beach. The downside was that I got sick and it has taken another week for me to get back up to speed. In the mean time all your emails, comments and the scooter news has been backing up and backing up. So tonight, I'll try to do some catch up and there is allot to catchup on. I tell you more about scooter news from the internet tubes and talk a little more about my plans for June which include a trip back home to Washington state and hopefully some new scooter shop adventures. Music this time is from Sean Costello
Direct download: sctrcst0060.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 9:46am EDT

Show Notes: As usual, this has been a week of playing catch up having spent several days last week and the weekend in NYC. As I mentioned in the last show, it was well worth it. In addition, this truly is spring time here in Virginia and I have been out riding my scooters any chance I get. You may have noticed on 2 stroke buzz and other blog sites, that Alix left Richmond this past Friday to start her three month odyssey, scooting around the US. I did a short interview with her down at Scoot Richmond on Friday
Direct download: sctrcst0059.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 11:19pm EDT

Show Notes: I'm back from  New York where I went to my second Podcamp. Like last year, it was a great opportunity to meet podcasters that I have been listening to and get new ideas for keeping the show fresh. I thought it a bit prophetic, that on my first morning in NY, I walk out of the hotel and after grabbing a cup of coffee, I run into a beautiful black Vespa LX 150 along with several other smaller scooters. It made me think about how scooters are becoming more and more common and maybe this scooter podcast has some relevance.
Direct download: sctrcst0058.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 9:34pm EDT

SHOW NOTES: I'm back from after spending a few days in Key West, sun burned yet relaxed and refreshed. Marcel and I celebrated our aniversary and I had yet another birthday. But all is good, we spent the time sitting on the beach, sampling all the fresh seafood and of course scooting around the island. I'll tell you a little more about the trip, but more interestingly I have an interview with Iggy Granger from England. Now you may say you don't know Iggy, but if you read Scootering or any of the other scooter magazines, you have probably read one of his reviews. His new book is all about the Scooter Lifestyle in Europe.

Direct download: sctrcst0057.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 9:35pm EDT

SHOWNOTES: Spring continues to blossom here in Richmond and that means both warm and cold days. I feel sorry for our friends up north who by this time must be praying for spring to come. Marcel and I will be heading farther south this week to spend a few days in Key West Florida taking in the sun and generally lounging around. On this show I'll tell you more about the trip, about my plans for all the spare parts I have been collecting and we review a few of this week's scooter blogs.
Direct download: sctrcst0056.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 7:49pm EDT

SHOW NOTES: It has been a beautiful week for scooting here in Richmond with 70 and 80 degree days. In addition, I finally got to a Seven Hills scooter club meeting and heard about the local Dogwood Delirium Rally. But the highlight of my week was speaking with Alix Bryan from Charlottesville who is planning to go out on the second half of her PEACE ride in just a few weeks. She will be covering 20,000 and has plenty to say about that, in addition to all kinds of other things ethereal and scooter related.
Direct download: sctrcst0055.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 12:34pm EDT

SHOWNOTES: Last week when I put up the link to Vespadition, I noticed that several of the posts that included links to Peter Moore and Christian Bauer's websites had fallen off the front page of the website. One way of fixing this is to increase the number of posts that appear, but then the page gets to be very long and who wants to have to scroll and scroll just to find a link. So I have been considering changing up the format of the site and plan to keep a picture link to my most recent guests right at the top of the page.
Another website issue that plagues podcasters is the question of monetization. For the common folk, this mean “how do you defray the cost of bandwidth.? But before I head off in this or any other direction, I want to know what you think. Are you interested in this kind of this stuff, you know t-shirts, buttons and other good SCTRCST crap. I would hate to do anything to make you, my audience, feel like I was just pimping for pennies.
Direct download: sctrcst0054.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 8:00pm EDT

SHOWNOTES: Peter "Matua" from Vespadition talkes about his iron butt ride plans. If you haven't hear about the guy doing the 30,000 mile ride, listen to the podcast. In addition, I have had time to get out and ride my new Vespa GTS and still keep up with some of the blog world on Internet. I guess that means that my life has settled down a bit, work has become more manageable and I even have more time to spend at home, in the garage and in front of the computer.
Direct download: sctrcst0053.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 7:49pm EDT

SHOWNOTES: I have been thinking that the past two episodes have raised the bar for this show. How can I top speaking with Vespa travel author Peter Moore and follow-up by doing a conference call with Philippine Vespa bloggers Bimbo Isidro and John Rana. I have laid back a bit as my usual weekend ritual of reading, writing and recording has taken a back seat to lounging, watching the speed channel and tinkering out in the garage. I took time to install a new M7 air intake on the Mini Cooper S, which gives it more punch and a loud wining sound and even found time to hunt down a Craig's list Vespa. Check out the New Scooter story on this episode.
Direct download: sctrcst0052.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 10:10pm EDT

SHOWNOTES: I hope you got a chance to listen to last week's episode. Vespa travel author Peter Moore and I spoke about traveling, scooters and the process of writing, If you missed it I highly recommend that you go back and listen. Once again, this week I have some old friends back. I spoke with both Bimbo Isidro and John Rana, Vespa bloggers from the Philippines. The conference type call was a opportunity to catch up with both Bimbo and John and talk about what has been happening on a totally different front in the scooting world.
Direct download: sctrcst0051.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 10:45pm EDT

SHOWNOTES: This is episode 50. Yes, that is the famous Vespa travel author Peter Moore. Several weeks ago he talked with me from London. Although it seems unlikely, especially if you listen to the scooter podcast, you may have never heard of Peter. On his website you will find you have been missing one of the best literary travel experiences and you can also get a scooter fix. You have missed No Shitting in the Toilet, The Wrong Way Home, for those the Vespa fans Vroom with a View. Peter is an humorous Australian who has a great story to tell about growing up infatuated with the scooters and if you are at all like me, you will be fascinated with his how he was able to lived out his dream of riding about and around Italy for months on a Vespa.
Direct download: sctrcst0050.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 6:27pm EDT

SHOWNOTES: It is hard to believe, another milestone. It was just a few weeks ago I spoke about having started scootercast a year earlier. Now, I am on the verge of the 50th episode. In this show I am going to talk more about what is in store for that show, about some new riding gear and also about the developments with my blown Vespa Sprint.
Direct download: sctrcst0049.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 11:48pm EDT

Show notes: If you have been listening to the show for any length of time, you have heard me talk about my three Vespa beauties. My first is a 1981 P200e with a sidecar. It is still my main ride and is always a eye catcher because it has a California sidecar. Another is my classic 1965 Vespa 180ss, a Red Italian beauty that I pamper, that sleeps under a blanket, the one that gets a gentle soapy sponge bath, never the direct spray of the hose. An then there is my little '67 150 Sprint, which I finally will say, I ride the piss out of her. I'm sure you know the riding technique, crank it wide open and see if you can get just a few more miles per hour out of her. Although I have mentioned it in passing a few times, I have tried not to bring too much attention to the fact that my Sprint is one of those...yes you know what I mean, dare I even say it? A Vietnamese import. She came to this country as a refugee almost 10 years ago, just when the first bikes were making their way from overseas. It wasn't easy to get her through customs, but she made her way to Denver and lived for a time in Texas with me, until I brought her to the east coast. She is a long way from home.
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Direct download: sctrcst0048.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 10:34pm EDT

Shownotes: I don't know what more I can ask for, it was almost seventy degrees here today. Having worked so much in January, I had a nice afternoon of riding planned. But as you might expect, work again, interfered with recreation and I spent the afternoon at the Virginia legislative building, listening to the big wigs argue about money. But then again, such is the business of the people and I did sign on to this gig.
What had really gotten me hyped up, was another beautiful Virginia weekend. It was in the sixties and just right for wrenching a bit on my scooters and spending part of Sunday riding out in the country. You may not remember, but I live in Richmond, a small city hoping to fool everyone else into thinking it is a big city. The true is, we operate like any other small town in America. Plenty of hopes and dreams mixed up with lots of southern tradition, small town political bickering and easy access to some of the most beautiful countryside in the United States.
Direct download: sctrcst0047.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 7:34am EDT

SHOWNOTES: You may not know that this is year to the day that I launch the Scootercast web site and posted the first podcast. It is an amazing milestone given that I always wonder if I can keep it going beyond the next few months. Much of the shows success and my persistence has to do with you the audience who have given me lots of encouragement and direction. Along with “don't do that?, you have suggested everything from audio improvements to topics like long distance riding, purchasing a scooter, winter riding, rallies and of course music. It seems you either like the music or don't, everyone has an opinion. So this is the point at which I must pause and thank a few supporters. First to thanks Chelsea over at ScootRichmond. Chelsea was the first person to submit to the rigor of my amateur questions along with my bumbling remote recording skills. She has continued to be a supporter of the show along with Dave Munn and all the folks at ScootRichmond. Second, thanks to Steve Williams from Scooter in the Sticks. Steve has also been on the show and has been for me and many other bloggers, a great literary and content inspiration. Over the past year I have spoke to or exchanged emails with dozens of scooter bloggers, who all point to Steve as an influencing factor in their own development. He is both a gracious individual and a talented writer.
Direct download: sctrcst0046.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 9:51pm EDT

SHOWNOTES: Steve Guzman from the Scooter Scoop sounds over the moon about his new job with Italjet. It also seems that the rush of preparing for an upcoming Indianapolis Dealer Expo next month, making it tough to track him down for a full length interview. He has assured me that we will talk and at that point we'll hear a whole lot more about what the LS Motorsports and Diamo. The month of January is always a non-stop marathon for me. Here in Virginia, it the time the legislature is in session and does it's work. Like most of you, I have my own escapes and one of those rejuvenating activities is scooting. But since bragging last week about our balmy weather, the weather gods have struck back with a vengeance. Today it is cold, in the 20's, so no riding for me. I have done a little investigating into the problems I am having with my Vespa Sprint and will need to deliver it to Scoot Richmond for some serious repair.
Direct download: sctrcst0045.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 10:49pm EDT

SHOWNOTES: There has been a big development in the scooter blogging world. Many of you may know that one of the best scooter blogs for news and information is Steve Guzman's The Scooter Scoop. Always top quality blog posts, lots of outstanding pictures, done with a fantastic sense of humor, both about scooting and about those of us who sometimes take our selves to seriously. In a post on Thursday January 10th, 2008 Steve announced that as if that moment he was “the official point of contact for Italjet USA? he went on to say that “LS Motorsports has brought me on board to manage all aspects of Italjet Sales and Marketing.? which is probably a good things, in that when I looked at the LS site for news, the last post was September 8, 2007. Apparently Steve will be working closely Italjet Moto (Bologna, Italy) to bring the Italjet Dragster as well as the Torpedo, the IT50 back to the US market. We all congratulate Steve and wish him the best of luck.
Direct download: sctrcst0044.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 11:53pm EDT

SHOWNOTES: I guess that most of you have seen the Vespa that I use for my Podcast logo. It is a red 1967 Vespa 180ss that I got back in 1998, when I was relatively new to scooting. In the summer of 1998 I started looking for a new scoot and the 180ss or the GS kept coming up, but as I read more I was attracted to the style of the 180, the large frame and unusual trapezoid headlight. To make a long story short, a crate arrived twelve weeks later from Performance Scooters and the scooter was even more beautiful than I had expected. Now some of you who have been around for a while might be thinking, Performance Scooters, that sounds familiar, but isn't there another story about them? Performance went into bankruptcy on November 8, 2000. I was just lucky with my web purchase, but honestly wouldn't do it again. Think about it, I plunked down big money for a scooter unseen from someone I didn't know. Why not just ask someone punch you in the face and take your money?
Direct download: sctrcst0043.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 6:30pm EDT

SHOWNOTES: For those of you who have been watching you can probably tell, I have been tinkering around with the format of the website this past week. That should explain why it has been changing, sometimes, minute to minute. I guess there is a way to do all this off line then update the site, but I haven't figured out how to do it that way yet. When I first built the site I set it up to work best in a Firefox browser, the one that I migrated to several years ago. The site seemed to display fine in the Mac Safari browser, but did funny things in Internet Explorer, like throw the sidebar lists to the bottom of the page. Hopefully those of you using Explorer will find this has been fixed. One of the new features on the SCTRCST website is a new page that includes a photo album. I haven't settled on everything I plan on including, but started by posting some of my pictures from Amerivespa 2007, photos of some of the scooter shops I have been to, photos from our trips to Italy and of course, I had to include a variety of my own family and scooter pictures. If you were listening last week, you know we didn't have time to get to Chelsea, at ScootRichmond www.scootrichmond.com She has graciously volunteered to supplement my meager technical expertise and this week is going to answer a listener's question about adding ground effects lighting to his classic scooter.
Direct download: sctrcst0042.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 9:47pm EDT

SHOWNOTES: It's been another long work week which took me to Baltimore and Washington DC, but as usual, the best part was coming home and settling back into my routine. Marcel is away in Denver this weekend, so I have spent some extra time putting together a special show. I want to say thank you for all the email you have been sending and if I haven't gotten back to you yet, please be patient, I will answer you. I have been emailing probably one of the best traveled scooterist here in the United States, after having met him here in Richmond at the Modern Vespa Workshop. Any of you who belong to the Modern Vespa Forum know him as Bobo. He is Mark Bobotek a veteran of the Cannonball scooter runs and frequent rally attendee. I spoke with him about a week ago, just as one of the first snow was making it's way into the Washington Baltimore area. As you might expect, he had just returned from the west coast where he did a LA to Tucson to Nogales scooter ride and was settling back into being at home with his family. Check out some of the subjects we talk about, Bobos website, the Cannonball Run website and the Alaska Bike Run. Thanks to everyone who entered the drawing to win one Scooterist a way of life by Christian Bauer. I have eight consultation prizes in addition to the DVD and will be email all of you to get your shipping address so I can get those out this week. One of the DVDs goes to Melvin. The other DVD goes to Brian seven more lucky individuals will get a specially designed scootercast t-shirt, just right for wearing to any rally.
Direct download: sctrcst0041.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 4:00pm EDT

SHOWNOTES: I want to remind you that you only have a few days to get a 20% discount on Christian Bauer's Scooterist DVD and make sure you email me for your chance to win one of two free DVDs I will be giving away on the December 16th show.. Mention you want me to through your name in the hat for the drawing. You can also call the voice mail line at 206-888-6174 On the last show I talked allot about the scooter groups and forums on the web. As a source of information they are fantastic and if you follow them with any regularity you start to get to know the people posting. I mentioned that they operate much like a social community and as a result, you hear about all kinds of things. This past week some of the posts referred to past scooter accidents and injuries and I began to think back to a post by Steve Williams that I had breezed over. Steve had made a reference to how pilots dont talk about crashes and I thought about how I have never really talked about scooters and risk and what I think about every time I take off out of the garage. So here it is.
Direct download: sctrcst0040.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 10:35pm EDT

SHOWNOTES: I have been very busy I was at work, but more to the point I have had one of those weeks where I ask myself, do these people really think I am that smart? You know what I mean, that little nagging voice that you have in the back of your head that says, “if everyone knew how really stupid I was I would be fired on the spot. I do know that this is my own little nagging insecurities, but indulge me for a minute. After much heartache I have learned that this is a useful little quirk to have, because it keeps me honest, both with myself and with others and also has helped me from getting to far out on a limb numerous times. What the hell does this have to do with scooters? It is related to the idea of making more scooter connections so you don't get out there and on the web it means getting into groups and forums. Most of groups I know about are through Yahoo Groups. This has got to be one of the easiest ways to communicate with like minded fans and to establish a place where people can ask questions, share information and exchange ideas. Some that I still follow are about disablities rights, politics and other things not so atherial like McIntosh Stereo equipment, Mini Coopers, Ducati, Harley Davidson Sprint motorcycles and of course Scooters. Some groups are large (thousands of members), but most are small to medium sized (hundreds of members).and each has what I would term its own distinct personality. In addition to the Yahoo Groups, the other place to connect is through the online forums. In my view, the forums provide an avenue to both connect with other scooterist and in most cases, get some of the best free advise in all the scooter community. Many of the scooter forums, like the Internationalist BBS, which has been around for ten years, have more resources on riding, mechanics, clubs and rallies than you are going to find if you do something like google search. And most times, the information is more current accurate and reliable. As one example, the modern Vespa forum includes a section with all the modern Vespa parts and workshop manuals, with a separate section for repairs and technical tips. Now that is a resource!
Direct download: sctrcst0039.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 7:35pm EDT

SHOWNOTES: What a great week. Here in the US it is thanksgiving weekend. That means Marcel has been here in Richmond and I have had four days off from work. There has been plenty of time for hanging out, visiting friends and puttering around in the garage and I want to tell you about what I have been doing with my Vespa Sprint. Those of you who have been following my blog, know that I have been trying to become more social, not always one of my personal strengths. So I have joined Facebook and Myspace and have been shooting out invitations left and right to anyone who posts themselves with their scooter in their profile. In doing this I happen to stumble upon Christian Bauer at scooterfilm.com. He responded almost immediately by sending an email, inviting me to take a look at his latest film Scooterist, a way of life. It is an hour and a half packed full of rallies, racing, wrenching and the scooter lifestyle in England and Germany, and is just fantastic. I am always amazed at the way people become inspired and how they build those things that they have passion for into their lives. Christian Bauer is one of those remarkable individuals who has taken his passion for scootering and turned it into art, in this case a film about scooting life in England and Germany called “Scooterists, a way of life?. He now lives and works in London, which is where I caught up with him for this interview. Through December 10th you can get a copy of Scooterists for 20% off, just click here. I mentioned earlier in the show that I have been working on my Vespa Sprint. This is a bike I got about ten years ago from Randall over at ScootRS. I was one of those people who took a chance with Randall very earlier on in his Vespa restoration business and I must say that for the most part I have been pleased. After watching Christian's DVD I was inspired to pull the carb, something I have been meaning to do for a long time. It has been sticking and hasn't been easy to set the idle. I am lucky to have ScootRichmond in my backyard and picked up a new Spaco reproduction carb to mount back on the bike. Boy what a difference. I can already feel how much more responsive it is and hopefully will be less prone to get out of whack.
Direct download: sctrcst0038.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 9:27pm EDT

SHOWNOTES: I have to say that it was sad to leave Denver last week, but was relieved to finally get back to Richmond. The weather has turned cold here, well for those of you who live up north, you would probably say it has gotten cooler here. Despite this, I was so excited with the plug DB gave me on White Roof Radio, I pulled out the P200e and snaped a boat load of pictures of it with our Mini-Cooper S. When I looked at them later in preparing to pick one for posting I was impressed with what a natural pair they make. Both are small, efficient modes of transportation, with a built-in fun factor that is out of this world. The Mini gives you that wild adolescent feeling of driving your friend's go-cart around the neighborhood at top speed, hoping your parents wouldn't find out that you were driving in the street. It is unnerving how quickly a Cooper S, which is the supercharged Mini, can go from 35 mph to 75 mph before you know it. I have the same exciting experience riding my scooters. Although they top out well below 70, when I am riding the winding roads around the James river, 35 feels like 70 and with every turn the smile on my face gets bigger and bigger. For those of you who are fans of all things small and quick I will put a link to Mini's latest creation. It is called the Mini Clubman, a longer, wagon type mini with the same built in fun factor. It's not due out until next year, but the web has lots of leaked and official
Direct download: sctrcst0037.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 9:32pm EDT

SHOWNOTES: The biggest news of the week has been starting to look for another scooter. As you might expect I have gotten a lot of suggestions to look into maxi scooters as well as some of the new offerings by Genuine. I must say that I am trying to keep an open mind, although I am already drawn to the new Vespas and stopped in Charlottesville this past week to look at a used GTS. Several of you have suggested that I keep an eye out on Craig’s list, which around here means checking Richmond, C-ville and metro DC. So far there have been al lot of 50cc bikes. My guess is that this has to do with a phenomenon that is widely known, that many people get a scooter not realizing what is involved in riding, then decide to dump it 500 miles later, or they get something like a 50cc bike and realize it is too small and doesn’t fit their needs. Any way, I haven’t decided new or used yet, but will keep you updated on my search. I mentioned earlier that I am in Denver. Friday I took a late flight out from Richmond and got here about 2 a.m. During the trip I listened to Steve Guzman’s interview on Just gotta Scoot. Steve writes The Scooter Scoop. Last week I mentioned that David Harrington had interviewed Phil from Scooterworks and this was another enlightening discussion with one of the best scooter news bloggers on the web. It was interesting to hear that Steve is a relatively new convert to scooting and he has taken his passion and turned it into a very informative and fascinating pass time. I must say, I was particularly interested to hear him talk about how he has been able to monetize blog, although it hasn’t been so lucrative that he can quit his day job. Thanks again Steve, for all the great posts and we hope to see more of your video post in the near future. Look for a link to David’s interview with Steve here Scooter blog posts The Honky Tonk Dragon has updated us on his move to New England here in the United States. For those of you who didn’t know, Ben lived in Oregon and he has written a few quirky posts on what it like to be swimming in a new pond. His posts include pictures of his award winning “steam punk? scoot named Quell in her new environment. He has also been posting videos. I had forgotten that he mentioned to me a few months ago that he like country music, I thought this was very curious, coming from someone who also pays homage to performers like the Cure, the Violent Femmes and the Slits. But his video posts include both the Slits and a Three on Trail a yodeling country quartet. On the other side of the world, John Ranna at Who rides a Vespa has been posting regularly putting out trivia challenge that has us identifying the Vespa sighting in a number of different movies. But what is more amazing is to see that he has outed himself by reporting on his own birthday party, held last month. In addition he reveals that he and Bennette just had an anniversary. The post includes a link to their audio invitation from 9 years ago. This wedding stuff is part of John’s day job. Oh yeah, for those of you wondering, this sage old scooterist is all of 35, wise beyond his years don’t you think? So a belated happy birthday to John and happy belated anniversary. One rather sad post this past week reveals that another scooter blogger is putting posting out to pasture. The site was called twstngogrl and vespajitsu. This is probably a rather obscure blog, but if you found it you realized it represented two people’s view of scooting and the love for the life/travel. The last post is rather sullen, but represents one of the things all of us in podcasting or blogging struggle with. When you create something and put it out there you want people to see it, to consume it and hopefully tell you what they think. What we never tell you about is how hard it is to master the technology, to get the word out, to make new connections and to plug what you are doing without seeming like a self promoting ass. I would like to say that I am sorry to see Cody leave our blogging community, truth be told, it is not an easy gig. Last week I got a little plug from the Peanut Butter Scooter Time blogger. His note reminded me that not everyone understands or has heard of podcasting. Sometimes when I am asked, I say, well it is radio on the internet. Most people say oh, yeah and walk away in a daze. I know many of you listen to the show on the your computer and I thank you for that, but what I find really liberating is when you figure out that you can download a podcast, take it with you and listen to it at your leisure. Think about how great it is to listen when you are out walking, or exercising or driving to work, like I do

<a href="http://www.podshow.com/"> Podshow PDN </a> {podshow-ff9cfdbdfe7a44b28d78f825a931a4ea}
Direct download: sctrcst0036.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 12:18am EDT

SHOWNOTES: I have been way over busy the past couple of weeks, but this also means that I have been traveling a bit and this translates into time in the car when I can catch up on listening to podcasts. I haven't talked much about other podcasts I listen to, but I have gotten a few emails asking me about how I got into podcasting. My first podcast was an automotive podcast called Whiteroof Radio. It is a podcast where three guys talk about the new BMW Mini Coopers. I have tried a number of other automotive podcasts, but most don't hold my interest, either because they are about things I am not interested in or to be honest, they are too technical for me. There aren't many other scooter podcasts out there, but I want to suggest you check into one called Just Gotta Scoot. David Harrington is a scooterist up in Minnesota that has a number of scooters and probably as many different business interests. You can find out more about all this at his website Just Gotta Scoot,.Dave may not be everyone's picture of the typical scooter fanatic, but his last show with Phil McCaleb from Genuine Scooters or you may know him as the owner of Scooter Works of Chicago was great! Regardless of what you think of Phil or Scooterworks, his story about creating the Genuine Scooter company and their network of dealers is really interesting. This week I got an unsolicited suggestion from Marcel that I consider getting another scooter. Is she the perfect wife or what? But I think it really is more that over these many years we have developed a regard for each other that is unique. I use to worry about every penny we spent, you could even say, there was a time when I was the naysayer of doom. But then I started to realize that even if things did follow the path I had marked out they always seemed to turn out OK. So as of today, I am officially research my next scooter, and will share that experience with you over the next few episodes. Hopefully it will be a little less impulsive that some of my other automotive purchases and I will try to impart some of my success and failure as I go along
Direct download: sctrcst0035.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 7:41pm EDT

SHOWNOTES: I spoke with Steve Williams again this week. It sounds like the weather is turning cold up in Pennsylvania. I don't know what the weather has been like in your area. but up until the past few days it has been great riding weather here in Virginia, but then again, the fall is almost always nice here, with warm days and mild nights. It go me thinking about what it might be like in other parts of the northern untied States and Canada, so I decided to call our blogging friend Steve Williams. You may remember him from a number of months ago when we talked on this show about his blog, Scooter in the Sticks. Steve lives in western Pennsylvania a part of the USA that has beautiful rolling hills, rural expanses and a host of scooter fanatics. Listen to the podcast to find out more about his winter riding tips. I have been working in Facebook, in an effort to become more social and make connections with other scooterist around the world. If you coming here from there or are new to the podcast and don't have itunes, click here for a wikipedia link that shows you where to find a feed reader so you can use to automatically download the podcast. Or click on one of the feed reader links over to the right of the webpage. Scooter blog posts Continuing with the theme...why don't we have more choice of scooter here in America, the modvespa website has posted an article about the new Piaggio fly and zip. If you have never seen these, they are staples of scooter commuting in Italy and would be nice additions to the lineup here in the USA. Piaggio USA says we will get the Fly 50 and 150, but you'll have to go somewhere else for the rest of the lineup. Take a look at the full article over at ModVespa.com As usual 2strokebuzz is on top of the business end of scooting, reporting that Piaggio is planning to expand it's dealer network. Now at first glance this may seem like a good idea for consumers, i.e. more competition, but it has allot of people upset and saying that Piaggio is going to dilute the market. Go over to 2strokebuzz to catch the link to read more about how this could affect dealer inventory, parts supply, and service. Bryan has also posted a note about the administrator of the international scooter bbs. His own post notes that he was to have cancer surgery, this past week. The site is the holy grail of scooter information and we wish him all the best in his recovery. You can find the link to the bbs site at 2strokebuzz. Last, it is only right to suggest you go over to Steve William's blog Scooter in the Sticks. He has a very poignant post about his friend Paul along with a few of his thought about Paul's amazing eclectic taste.
Direct download: sctrcst0034.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 11:35pm EDT

SHOWNOTES: This weekend I have spent most of my time at the East Coast Modern Vespa Workshop here in Richmond. I have made a few new scooter friends and developed a whole new perspective on the modern Vespa scooters. Have you ever heard of Curt, Lucky, Greasy or Vickie? Maybe not, but you probably have heard about the Modern Vespa Website, especially if you own one of the new Vespasian. I have been an occasional lurker on the site for the past few months, but have to admit that being a classic Vespa owner; I had a hard time finding many posts that I was interested in. I have to admit, that I was probably a bit of a classic Vespa snob, thinking that the fondness for these new bikes must be a reflection on the neophytes who rode these scoots. Before all you Modern Vespa Riders send me emails and leave me x-rated phone messages let me say that I am here to ask you for forgiveness. I am even willing to share a little secret, that I have been bitten by the Modern Vespa bug. Just to illustrate, I even started wondering what I could get for one of my classics, as a way to jump start my way towards a Modern Vespa, OH MY GOD! That is blasphemy! The East Coast version of the San Francisco Modern Vespa Workshop was held at Scoot Richmond this weekend and I decided a few weeks ago, that maybe I needed to get a little more education. Like any group meeting, it started off awkwardly enough with hand shakes and name tags, but then I heard something that always takes me by surprise, hey are you Dave from the SCTRCST Podcast? I don't know why, but despite all the emails, voice mails, website stats and download reports, I have a hard time anyone is really out there listening to me prattle on about my musings. But I have learned over many years to override saying what I first think, which in this case was "you listen, why?" and instead I said "thank you" and come to find out it was Shawn, the fellow who's voice mail I played last week in anticipation of workshop. It just got better from there as I watched a group of scooter enthusiast from all over the east coast and the south reveled in their common love for their bikes and the excitement that they had been sharing on the Modern Vespa website forum. Modern Vespa owners from all over the east and south came to Richmond. This included members from Pennsylvania, New York, Washington DC, North and South Carolina, Georgia, Tennessee and even New Orleans. So what am I saying about all this? First, a big thanks to all the Modern Vespa members. They even let me ride by P200 on the Saturday city ride. But really, thank you for including an outsider like myself and be proud that you really have a great Vespa community going there. As frequent listeners know, I am always amazed by how scooters bring all kinds of people together and even in my case, you may have gained another believer, especially now that I understand that I don't have to give up my old ways to be a part of the new scooter scene.
Direct download: sctrcst0033.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 12:52am EDT

Shownotes What a week. I have been back and forth across Virginia, Up late, helping Marcel pack the car to leave for Denver and Sunday I hopped out of bed at 4 in the morning to catch an early flight to Colorado to meet Marcel and get our town home setup so she can work either from Denver or Richmond. This may all sound like a strange way to live but our lives and our work have been this way for quite a few years now. We have found ourselves reflecting on what an unconventional life we have had, living in Colorado Texas Virginia and Ohio. If not for this strange lifestyle I probably would have never started into scooting, which I picked up as a convenient transport when we were in San Antonio and we would never have had the opportunity to travel and meet so many of our relatives in Italy. On this show I would like to invite you to travel with me to southeast Asia and listen to another scooter enthusiast from around the world. This past week I had the privileged to speak to Bimbo Isidro of Manila. You may not know him by name, but you probably have heard for his website Vespinoy. We spent some time talking last week about scootering in his area his other websites and how he is helping to bring together the scooter community in that part of the world.
Direct download: sctrcst0032.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 1:31pm EDT

SHOWNOTES: If you have been following the shows you know that Marcel has moved back to Richmond from Cincinnati. My first crisis is figuring out how to make from for her Mini Cooper in the garage. Of course I still need to be able to get to my scooters, so I have decided to mothball one of the cars in the back of the garage and keep all the scoot paraphernalia out front. We have a couple of scooter events coming up in Richmond, one of them being the fall ride sponsored by Seven Hills Scooter club, so I dont want to start putting things away for the winter yet. Scoot Richmond is also sponsoring a mechanics workshop in November, so there is allot to look forward to in the next few months. Thanks to Jeff Cutler of the Bowl of Cheese Podcast for the voice mail and question about buying your first scooter. I am embarrassed to say that my first scooter was a rather impulsive buy, which probably breaks the first rule of buying anything. So heres the one truth about buying a scooter, everyone you talk to has an opinion. What is most important is figuring out what is right for you. Start right out by visiting the scooter groups to get more information about riding and scooters. There are plenty on Yahoo groups. One of the best ways to start is to get to know your Local scooter shop. A good scooter shop will be able to really lead you into the right direction. Some one who’s going to understand your needs is the key. If you’re looking to purchase a specific brand and there is no shop in your area to service the machine consider whether you want to go 100 miles for every service. Stay away from flea markets, cell phone shops, and auto parts stores. This may all seem like allot, but keep in mind that most everyone you see on a scooter seems to have a smile behind that face shield. This should tell you something. It is worth it.
Direct download: sctrcst0031.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 8:18am EDT

SHOWNOTES: We have been making plans for Marcel starting her new consulting job. this has meant getting ready to move everything back from Cincinnati to Richmond and figuring out how to cram two homes into one. For all of you geekaholics out there, I have gone from running everything through my old keyboard preamp to a Mackie Onyx firewire setup. Hopefully it will mean cleaner sound. Drop me a note and let me know if you think it makes a difference. We are both looking forward to this new adventure in her work, especially getting the opportunity to be in Denver more. I think Cincinnati has been a good layover for her, on her career track. Like one of my friends said, it's good to know what your good at, but better to know what your not good at. It has made me think more about how it feels to be "on your game". I think you know what I mean...that feeling that you know what you are doing, that the timing is right and you are doing something that really makes a difference. Occasionally, like this week I find a new blog called skutegruven. His post is about wandering around on his scooter and being taken back in time, then coming to understand that we each, in our own way are looking for that feeling of family. It's a long post, but well worth reading. I've continued to get email saying, talk about Maxi scooters. First you need to understand is what little I do know is about classic scooters. I am starting to understand that Maxi scooters are of great interest to allot of people and I need to learn about them before interviewing someone else. I'll admit it, there is a personal agenda here, I don't want to sound like a complete idiot on my own show. So this week I started my research by going down to the local Honda dealer and asking to see the scooters they had in stock.
Direct download: sctrcst0030.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 11:15pm EDT

Show notes: It’s been another busy week, along with my regular job and all the meetings I go to, I have been spend most of my time at home setting up a myspace page. After a number of inquiries about "do you have a myspace page?" I caved and sat down to do some work on it. Look for it here. I guess I had this idea that myspace was about all these single (or maybe married acting single) people trying to hit on each other. But now I understand. In the few short days that my page has been up, I have gotten dozens of contacts from people asking about the show and maybe more important to me, I have had the biggest week of downloads ever. As a podcasters, I guess like a musician, you want others to hear what you produce, so like Orin said to me, this could really expand the audience who listens to SCTRCST. Marcel and I continue to plan her move from Cincinnati back to Richmond, Virginia. She is going to make this her home base for a new consulting company she will be working with. Since the company is based in Denver, it means her and hopefully I, will be getting back there more often.Having lived there for many years we still have many friends there and of course there is always Sportique Scooters, the place I were I would go when I got an itch for a new scooter in my early scooter days of scooting. It is also the home of some scooter legends like, Colin Shadduck who wrote Scooters Red Eyes, Whitewalls & Blue Smoke Scooters Lawrence who I met at Amerivespa, emailed me to reminded me that the big Texas rally called Third Coast Rally in San Antonio is coming up October 5-7. Check out the rally site here. Also look at myspace page for the Scooter Club in Lawrence's Brownsville Texas area. It is call the Scooter Club Golden Triangle.
Direct download: sctrcst0029.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 11:27pm EDT

SHOWNOTES: This show is chock full of information and news. I was fortunate to spend time yesterday speaking with Dave Dixon, in Vancouver, British Columbia about his blog Big Guy Small Scooter (he rides a Vespa LX50). In an email Errol from Toronto sent a link to the latest update on Hayden Neale of Jacksoul. After his scooter crash he is still in critical condition, but starting to respond to doctors and treatment, which sounds like good news. Most of this show is the interview I did yesterday with Dave Dixon from Big Guy Small Scooter another talented blogger.
Direct download: sctrcst0028.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 5:34pm EDT

SHOWNOTES: Call the voice mail line at 206-888-6174 and tell me what you think of the show or let me know what kind of scooting activities are going on in your area. I have been looking to try to find out how Canadian Hayden Neale from Jacksoul is doing, but there hasn't been much in the news about him and his website has not been updated. Anybody out there heard anything? Give me a call. It has seemed that many of the scooter bloggers are slowing down a bit on posting. For me it means searching for more supplemental material and wondering each week what I will be talking about. So this morning, as a jump-start, I took off on my P200 sidecar rig for a ride into the country and some good old fashion open throttle riding. What that really means is pounding out 50 mph on a long downhill stretch. I realized that I haven't said much lately about what is going on here at home, so in addition to this weeks news and blog reviews, we'll do a little catching up. Other scooter blog post that are up have very personal touches, like Honky Tonk Dragon and Ben's plans to move from Oregon to Connecticut, with no job. How "in the moment" is that! Look at the following posts from and his starting over with his family or Little Billys Scooter Tales where Bill talks about his new responsibilities for helping guide their employee run business. An then there is the ever evolving and surprisingly transparent Combat Commuter, who bravely has opened up about his family and talking about what is important to him. These are people living and experiencing life as it is today and what pushes people to be better than we are or better that we were. Marcel, my wife has been out west in Montana that past few days. Some of you may remember that she has been working in the land of ScooterDave in Cincinnati for the past few years and commuting back and forth on the weekend from here in Richmond Virginia. I think this trip has been a soul search for both of us, trying to regroup and get back to creating more of a life together. I must say that over the time we have been together, which is many years, she also has been much more the risk taker when it comes to employment, than I have ever been. But she has also helped me understand that with risk taking come the potential for great rewards and that is what I am talking about. So best of luck to Ben and Bill and the Combat Commuter and oh, yeah I guess I should say good luck to Marcel and me as it looks like she is coming home and we are embarking on a new adventure with each other and with her work.
Direct download: sctrcst0027.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 8:14pm EDT

SHOWNOTES: Just a quick reminder, I now have a voice mail number you can call from your phone 206-888-6174. It is listed at the top of the web page and should scroll in the podcast title for those of you using an ipod. The POR-15 product for reconditioning my 180ss tank came this week. Take my suggestion and just order it from the company website, it was here in three days. If you are planning this project, make sure you have time to complete the whole thing, that way there is less likelihood of any flash rusting, before you can get the tank coated. Just so you know, you will not find that everyone agrees with coating a tank. I think this comes from using inferior product and having the tank lining deteriorate over time. There is an interesting blog post over on Modvespa.com taking about the restoration of an NSU scooter. NSU is from Germany and this on has been on the scoot.net website before. It is a 1956 Prima D and I'll have links to both the ModVespa blog post and the original post at scoot.net. This is the kind of European scooter you don't see over in the US very often. Vespa has started pushing hard on their “Go Green? campaign The have put up another flashy website encouraging us all to make videos praising the Vespa as a tree hugger's dream. At the moment there are only a few short clips, but given that they are offering to give away a couple of scooters for the best ones, I'm sure they will start flooding in. There will be a link in the show notes to the Go Green Vespa Video Challenge.
Direct download: sctrcst0026.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 7:00pm EDT

Enjoy the music I have been playing on the first twenty-five podcasts without me talking over the great tunes. Here are some of my favorites from the Podsafe Music Network.
Direct download: sctrcst0025andahalf.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 10:30pm EDT

SHOWNOTES: There have been some website hiccups this week, this time not my fault. Libsyn hosting went down for several days last week and took with them all the mp3 files. Looks like all is OK today. Crystal Water's ride to Vermont. Was cut short last week about 150 mile past Scranton. The story is in the Times Argus newspaper from Montpelier, Vermont. Her boyfriend Dwayne McCullough drove from Maryland the other to pick her and her Vespa scooter up and get her to Randolph for the ride yesterday. I gave up on the website I ordered the POR-15 products for reconditioning my 180ss tank and went to the POR-15 website and reordered this past week. Every time I walk out to the garage I am reminded of the last tank I did, spilled a little coating on the floor and it's never coming off.
Direct download: sctrcst0025.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 7:27pm EDT

SHOWNOTES: New voice mail number you can call from your phone 206-888-6174. Scoot Richmond had it's grand reopening this weekend including a Friday night scoot-in movie Empire Records. and a Saturday open house. I took the opportunity to speak again with Chelsea and Dave Munn and found out that they are expanding and moving in the direction of becoming a full service scooter shop along with continuing their web-based mail order business. Follow up to last week's note about Hayden Neale from Jacksoul. Seems that everyone has been quiet about his condition, but the Toronto Star reports that he is in a coma, is in critical, but stable condition and has not regained consciousness. Our thoughts go out to he and his family, hoping that he will be fine. Two stroke buzz reminds us that the Chicago based Slaughterhouse 13 Rally is in just two weeks. The rally website has been updated and you can find all the details over at www.slaughterhousechicago.com Labor day weekend Aug 30-Sept 2, dinner, clubs, dancing, cruising, a gymkhana and of course a pig roast. Get there if you can, it should be a fantastic way to end the summer.
Direct download: sctrcst0024.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 5:08pm EDT

SHOWNOTES: Scoot News, Here is the link to Haydain Neale article about his accident. Here is a link to Jacksoul's website and music. Crystal Water continues to plan for her Vermont ride, leaves August 25. Visit her website and throw some support her way. Positano Italy is a paridise, but expensive. Check here for news on making it more affordable and renting scooters to get around the Amalfi Coast. 2007 Scooter Rallys Videos Amerivespa 2007, Waiting for the Vashon Ferry Animals fae Naboombu Scooter Club, Rothesay Rally 2007 Australia National Scooter Rally 2007 Mt Gambier Chester Scooter Club Durham, Heifer Pub and Club Rally 2007 Detroit, Windsor and Cleveland Rovers Scooter Club, Motor City Shakedown in 3-D 2007 Diner City Scooter Club, Summer Scoot 2007 Hostile City Scooter Club, Lucky Number 7 Rally, Independence Day 2007 (ID7) Isle Of Man, Scooter Rally 2007 Lambretta Scooter Club of Scotland National Scooter Rally, Scotland 2007. Lambretta Scooter Club of Milan, Rally from Milan to Barcelona Las Vegas High Rollers 2007 Pioneer Saloon Ride and Hill Climb. Las Vegas Scooter Rally 2007, Vespas at the Gold Coast Lincoln Knights Scooter club, Ride in to the Charity Rideout New Forest Scooter Club, Rally 2007 New Forest Scooter Club, The 9th Camber Rally. New York Scooter Club, Hendon's Upper Westchester Scooter Ride New York Scooter Club, Scooter BlockParty NYC 2007 New York Scooter Club, The Scooter BlockParty/Death To Gotham/Lammy Jammy 3 New York Scooter Club, Wednesday Night Ride New Zealand, Nelson Scooter Rally 2007 Paradise Lost Scooter Club, Scooter Run to Hillary's Rotemate Scooter Club, Scooter Rally in Bergamo Italy Scooter Club of Madrid, Salida de la Scooter Run La Alcarria 2007 Scooter Club of Madrid, Segundo vídeo del Scooter Rally Madrid 2007 Scooter Club of the Golden Triangle, Crazy House Ride 2007 Scottish National Scooter Rally, Kelso 2007 Simply Scooter Club, Mods Mayday Singapore 07 Sydney City Scooter Club, Jamberoo 07 The Pals Scooter Club, Rideout April 2007 The San Diego Pharaohs Scooter Cult, King Tut Putt 2007 Treakle Town Scooter Club, Bourton on the Water Rideout Treakle Town Scooter Club, St Georges Day Charity Ride-out Treviso Scooter Club, Escape of the Group Ride, Slovenia Twisted Wheel Moto Scooter Club, TMSC Scooter Rally 2007 Vespa Club of Los Gatos, Vintage Ride from Los Gatos, to Rio del Mar Vespaclub Flachgau, Scooter Rally 2007 WestSide Scooter Club, Beach Invasion II Wrexham Scooter Club, Rideout 2007 York Inset Scooter Club, Mods Scooter Run, Scarbrough 2007 Yorkshire Scooter Alliance, Lepton Scooter Invasion 2007
Direct download: sctrcst0023_copy_1.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 10:48pm EDT

SHOWNOTES: Welcome back to all of you who are subscribers or who are returning. If this is your first visit thanks for joining us. I have been spending a lot of time this past week working on updating the website with a new design and a few new features. I have gotten some feedback that it would be better if I could make it easier to listen to the Podcast on the website. What is interesting is that many of you listen to the show right on your computer. So there are many more choices now, I hope it makes it easier. Another enhancement is the site now also supports embedding video clips and full size pictures right into my log posts. With learning how to do all this and all the website editing I have been doing I have decided that this means I am not yet brain dead and can still some new tricks. All my scooters have been up on blocks in the garage this week. I am doing some repair on my P200e sidecar that will require taking the sidecar axle out for some welding. Luckily it came apart with very little effort and revealed an adjustment that I never knew it had and seems to be a camber for attachment to the scooter. Hopefully when it goes back together I will be able to decrease some of the wobble that comes through the headset. My other scooter are waiting for some carb work. I started on the '66 Vespa Sprint, and with Chelsea's suggestion I have removed the jets to clean them, hoping that this will correct the choking problem I have. She advised me that if this doesn't work it may mean removing the carb and checking for an air leak caused by warping or a gasket. That's not too bad, but her third suggesting was frightening, drain the gear oil, if it smells like gas...oh that's bad! Let's hope it's an easy fix. Steve Guzman has revamped The Scooter Scoop Blog. On the last show I mentioned Piaggio's plans to produce a hybrid scooter and the Scoop has a post with pictures of the engine and more details of technology behind the scoot. I don't think I have ever said anything about Rush Hour Rambling, but Gary Carpentier is a blogger that a number of us have admired, both for his creative posts and his persistent blogging over the years. His first posts started back in 2005 when he put together The Baron in Winter site. Gary lives in Minnesota and has posted several times on the tragic bridge failure in the twin cities. His post is both descriptive of the scene but goes beyond this to talk about the practical and emotional effects of trying to get around town. The Combat Commuter blog site is an interesting mix of scooting news and personal reminiscence. What I like about this blog is that John Timbes writes about his life in Florida, his wife, his son and his work. This can get personal, very different that the “news? oriented blogs, an approach that I admire. For more information on scooter bloggers checkout the Ride to Work Blogs website that includes many more scooter and motorcycle bloggers. Let's change focus for a minute. So where do you go to get your scooter news? I'm still fairly new at this so I use Google Newsreader and the Feeddemon built-in. With so many news stories coming down through just these two readers, I sometimes have trouble deciding what to pay attention too, but here are a few of the past weeks stories. There seem to be a lot of stories these days about how scooters are the ecological alternative to conventional vehicles. One example is a recent news story in print and on television in Greensboro, NC, although they probably would refer to them selves as small town. You can take a look at it on their local CBS affiliates website WFMY. And of course, the other scooter news that I like to see is the story that talks about all the good things scoot people are doing. Three stories this past week pointed to scooter rides for worthy causes, one in England with the Midlife Crisis Scooter Club for the Cystic Fibrosis Fund, another a cross county ride for peace by Alix Bryant and the other, of course if Crystal Water's ride to Vermont to benefit the Gifford Memorial Hospital.
Direct download: sctrcst0022.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 6:54pm EDT

SHOWNOTES – I have had allot going on this week and in this Podcast I talk about that and The Toronto Moto Scooter Clubs Twisted Wheel Scooter Rally. I have noticed that the Podcast pickle player on the site has not been working. I will watch this for a few days and if it doesn’t resolve, change players so you can get to the shows directly from the website. I added a few more blog sites and scooter clubs that I have talked about on the show and started to include links to a few shops and websites that I like either for repairs or for ordering part. Let me know what you think is missing and I will do my best to check them out. I have hoped since starting this Podcast, it would become more of a social network and a voice for a variety of scooter ideas. Some of last week’s interviews from Amerivespa were just that, but tonight I have the first listener submitted report from the field. Errol Forster sent a brief clip from the rally. My 1966 Vespa Sprint has been screaming for some attention, refusing to idle unless it is choked to death and my 180ss is cutting out and running intermittently. Such is the life of a vintage bike. An inspection of the 180 showed that the gas tank has accumulated some rust, not a terrible amount, but I have had this happen before on another bike and the remedy was to replace the tank and valve. Next weekend I am planning on pulling the tank and seeing if it requires this or maybe a tack cleaning. I have used the POR-15 products before with good results. Now I could use your help on the Sprint, what do you think are the possibilities? I have already replaced the spark plug, started from scratch to adjust the idle and lean-rich setting and have had no success. Is it sometime more complex? What are your suggestions? Leave me a message on the website or email me. Piaggio SpA plans to launch a hybrid scooter for congested cities in the second half of next year (2008), powered by a traditional petrol engine and alternative electric power, said chairman Roberto Colaninno. The hybrid will be based on the three-wheel Piaggio-branded MP3 scooter, launched last year, and will have a price tag of less than 10,000 euro, against the 7,000 euro the solely petrol-powered scooter currently sells for, you can read the full artical here. The Scooter Scoop has another article about the new VespaS (LXS) which I have been drooling over since his first scoop a few weeks back. As his article says the LXS is reminiscent of the Vespa Special and Vespa Primavera that were design inspirations for other scoots. But I have to say that I was a little disapointet that the design doesn’t include the trapezoid headligth. Rather it is a little bulkie looking square one. No doubt it will still turn heads. Make sure you go over to Dave Guzan’s site to check it out the full story. The Toronto Motor Scooter Club which has a meet-up site on the web sends me emails every few days talking about another ride that is taking place in the Toronto area. The Twisted Wheel Rally was their first big Rally and from the posts and video clips available appears to have been quite successful. Look at their website. The club already has a well produced rally video that includes music up on YouTube.
Direct download: sctrcst0021.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 10:53pm EDT

SHOWNOTES: Sorry to have missed putting out a show last week. I usually have everything ready to go by Sunday evening, but last week I was still in Seattle. As I sat in the airport, I couldn’t help but think about the day, which included a rally ride from downtown Seattle to Vashon Island, a beautiful ferry ride and an outdoor barbeque. Look for picture galleries of Amerivespa events as posted on 2strokebuzz. You may remember that my trip to the west coast was planned around taking care of my mother, while my sister was out of the country. Unfortunately, shortly after my sister left, my mother became ill and was in the hospital for over a week. I wasn’t even sure that I would be able to get over to Amerivespa. She did recover and while I was in Port Angeles, continued to improve. So I left Saturday morning, headed for Big PeopleScooters to pickup a Vespa and rode to the south Lake Union site with great excitement. Once there, I realize that I had missed two great days of activities and drama, although there was more of the drama to come. Becky McCabe greeted me at the registration table. The gymkhana showed just how skilled a rider some were or how many times you could try to avoid making a fool of yourself. The evening banquet started with a fashion show, interesting and fun with some hooting and hollering. At the banquet that evening, Ben from Honky Tonk Dragon introduced himself and we snapped a picture with Orin of Scootin old Skool. Take a look at it on the website. The awards were dominated by the large Canadian contingent and apparently provided the gun powder for some kind of controversy later in the evening. You can see more of the details over at the Scooter Scoop as reported by Lawrence Hsu. Then Sunday morning, a clear blue sky, downtown Seattle, no traffic, and parking lot full of vintage and new Vespas, Lambrettas, Buddies, Kymcos and many other scooters. This was the beginning of the Vashon Island ride, starting with the smell of 2 stroke smoke, the exciting sound of 300+ scooters blasting off for a ride out around Alki Beach, over through West Seattle, down to the ferry dock. For anyone trying to understand why the people of Seattle put up with ten straight months of drizzle and rain, just one sunny day on Vashon Island or the San Juan Islands will convince you that everyone else in the world would give their right arm to live here and having grown up here I would say that at that moment, you would be right. Not really knowing anyone at the barbeque and being disabled by shyness meant that I spent most of my time taking pictures, watching an unending string of interested people and occasionally squeaking out a hello. In the middle of all this two young women sat down with me in the shade and struck-up a conversation. I want to thank Mary and Amy for letting me record their comments about being scooter newbie. They remind me of the excitement of a first scooter, of a first rally, of many other first scooting experiences that make this a vibrant community. Amerivespa has remaindered me that scooting at its best is inclusive, invites everyone to participate and celebrates our shared love of the culture, freedom and riding.
Direct download: sctrcst0020.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 7:11pm EDT

SHOWNOTES: Thanks for joining me. I invite you to send me email at sctrcst@gmail.com. I am leaving in the middle of the night on Tuesday to travel out to the west coast again. My mother went back in the hospital this past, but seems to be OK, so I will spend a few days with her at home and then on Saturday, head over to Seattle for Amerivespa. I hope to speak with all the bloggers who are planning to go, from blogs like Little Billys Scooter Tales, Scootin Old School, Big Guy Small Scooter, 2strokebuzz, Honky Tonk Dragon and any others who show up. Podcasters have a whole network of social links that connect us to each other. It was through one of these links that I found Mr. Suaves Mod Mod World. First go over to his website and check out the retro site Mr. Suave pod casts from Seattle, so I have been wondering if I can track him down at Amerivespa. On his blog he mentions the Rat City Roller Girls, a Seattle area girls roller derby league. Check out the trailer for a the movie on his website or look at it directly here: Blood on the Flat Track. Check out his early mod ramblings here, but beware, use Explorer, if you try to use Firefox you mostly will crash your browser. By now, I expect that most of you listening know or have heard of the website Girlbike. Crystal Waters web presences goes way back to 2000 when she wrote about riding over 1000 miles in an Austin Bike Charity raising money for AIDS research. In addition to checking out Crystals current blog topics, look for the Long Hall to the Last Mile Ride post. She and several friends will be leaving from Maryland and end-up in Vermont. I read about the Last Mile Ride several weeks ago and it has been on my mind ever since. I wish that we were all a bit more altruistic and vocal about the things that are really important, like Crystal. Got to her website and learn how to sponsor her in the ride. Have you noticed that SCOMO has disappeared? Well I am here to tell you it is not true. I went down to see Chelsea yesterday as the website has been off-line for several weeks. I was relieved to find that, yes, they are all still here in Richmond, same great people and some surprising new developments. Right now I will tell you, Scomo is now Scoot Richmond and has a new, colorful website. In a few weeks Chelsea will be talking with me on SCTRCST about the new showroom, displays and scoots.l let you know more about that later. This weeks music features Porter Block with South Beach Drive from Podsafe Music Network and Eleanor Rigby with Mod Boy from the ioda promonet. Some of you may remember Eleanor Rigby as a Mod Icon and Cult Figure on the Record Collectors Market. This was her 6th & final Single.
Direct download: sctrcst0019.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 10:26pm EDT

SHOWNOTES: Ciao, Its been a beautiful week here in Richmond. I have been out riding several times and even got to try out my new full-face helmet. My thought, why didnt I get one sooner? I am still waiting for the rest of my safety gear, but for now, I am definitely recommending the full-face helmet. This Podcast features the music of Bombskare with World Turned Upside Down from the Podsafe Music Network. One important news story you should know about is Vespa has issued a recall of certain 2006-2007 GTS scooters. On certain scoots, the graphite exhaust bushing, which seals the connection between the exhaust pipe and the muffler, must be replaced each time the muffler is removed and reinstalled. If the exhaust bushing is not replaced, exhaust gases may be permitted to leak past the bushing. The rear brake hose may be impaired or melted, increasing the risk of a crash. Make sure you call your dealer with any questions. I first heard of John and Who Rides a Vespa several months ago, when it was announced that he won a Philippine blogging award. John is a Vespa fan in a country where classic Vespa are hard to come by, but out until he could fine what he wanted. We did this interview over Skype, way past my bed time, because of the time change. Remember to get yourself over to www.Amerivespa.org and registered for Amerivespa July 12-15 in Seattle. Look for me on Saturday night or Sunday and please just introduce yourself.
Direct download: sctrcst0018.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 10:20pm EDT

SHOWNOTES - Ciao, come va? You too can be a part of the show. I invite you to send me email at sctrcst@gmail.com Think about subscribing for free through itunes to another podcatcher. I a have been spending more time surfing the web in search of riding gear. It started with all the blogging that has been going on about helmets and relating several horror stories of low speed crashes and my perusing the numerous pictures of bruised up legs and arms. The last straw was seeing pictures of the bruises and cuts, along with a beautiful white Vespa GT smashed when a car turned in front of a fellow scooterist and she was wearing gear. I am back in Richmond, but my mind is still out on the west coast. I will be going back out in a couple of weeks to see my mother, who is going through chemo therapy for cancer. Thanks for the emails, she was doing fine, but somehow slipped and broke her ankle, so I told my sister I would come out to help with her July treatments. I will be coming back to Richmond on the last day of Amerivespa and plan on stopping on Seattle to do the Vashon Island ride and meet up with a few of my new friends like Little Billy and Orin. Hopefully you too will be able to get to a few of the Seattle events. I will even admit to being a shorts wearing rider in the summer, but have held fast to not wearing sandals. So I have been reading Steve Williams blog for a while and was touched by the post he has written about safety, then when Orin wrote on his blog a while back about his friend Safety Ed and his fall, cushioned by his landing on his helmet covered head, I started to think again about needing an upgrade. Now, I do not make these kind of purchases easily, I am a skilled window shopper, which use to drive Marcel crazy, especially when I would stop at the Ferrari shop to talk with the sale guys. But she has come to understand that this practice is fun for me and that these excursions do not ultimate result in a purchase. But this surfing I have been doing is different; first I have decided I need to upgrade my helmet so I am going to a full face, influenced as much by those I admire who use them like Steve, Orin and Chelsea. One feature I decided I wanted was a flip-up, which narrowed the selection and increased the price, but I think in the end I will be happier with the flexibility it will bring. Next, I read about the armor features of the new jackets, but did not want to look like a Speed channel racer. Living in Richmonds temperate climate also meant looking for something that was breathable and would completely drench me in sweat when I was wearing it. I have decided to go with a First-gear Mesh-tex jacket, ventilated and including shoulder and elbow armor. Lastly, with some trepidation, I have decided I need gloves. Now this was a big decision, having never worn gloves, since most of my riding has been in areas where cold is considered 50 degrees. Again, I thought, mesh with protection and have ordered a pair of First Gear sport gloves with armor over the knuckles. It should all arrive this week, so I will let you know what this new and safer approach towards riding is like for me. I am going to wait to see what the service is like before I talk about the company I have order this from, but please feel free to make your own recommendations in emails to me. I will pass those along to other listeners. I mentioned earlier that I wanted to make a few comments about the creativity of the scooter bloggers we have on the net. What has fascinated me is the creative endeavor each has that go beyond writing and blogging. The first who comes to mind, of course is Steve Williams and his photography. It is so much more than the little tourist snap-shots I have taken. There is real art here, make sure you look at that section of his blog. Although there are many other gifted bloggers, who hopefully we can also talk about at another time, I want to again give a shout out to Little Billy. Most of you may not know that he is an accomplished musician, having played for years in a band called Little Billy and the Corvettes, but beyond this, he is also a talented cartoon artist. Many of his cartoons were done for the employee owned building supply store he works for and I have put a few of his works of art here. Remember to get yourself registered for Amerivespa July 12-15 in Seattle at www.amerivespa.org has been out of town this week, and the big news is I will be recording a conversation with John Rana in the Philippines late this evening. John writes the blog Who Rides a Vespa and received special recognition with a Philippine blogging award several months ago. Next week we will try to catch up with Bryan Bedell of 2strokebuzz who has been out of town.
Direct download: sctrcst0017.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 7:11pm EDT

SHOWNOTES - This week I have gone from Seattle to Denver to Richmond, which means that I am still blogging and producing SCTRCST on my laptop, with a radio shack mic held together with wire and chewing gum. Along with meeting Orin ONeil of Scootin Old Skool this past week, I have been scouting out the Denver scoot shops and have been amazed by the scooter growth in the this city. Denver is where I first got the scooter bug about 10 years ago. For those of you who have never been to the mile high city, it is a picture postcard of parks, trees, big city buildings all with the back drop of the snow capped Rocky Mountain. Erico is an authorized Vespa dealer and the show room is packed with new ETs, GTSs and a variety of other motorcycles. The shop is in lower downtown and sports a fashionable Euro feel with a decidedly race inspired theme, punctuated by high powered Ducati, Moto Guzzi and Triumphs. The staff are welcoming although many sport super-bike leans, they are very open to talking scoots and old school bikes. There is a complete Vespa Boutique, if you are into the high priced Vespa fashions, and they have a variety of Ducati and Triumph race duds. What was more interesting to me is, right next door is Casa Lambretta. In contrast to Erico it has a small warehouse feel, an oil and gas smell and numerous partly restored Lamberetas lined up next to the tool bins. Make sure you stop here and check it out, it is what scooting and scoot repair use to be. Denver was a want-a-be big city just 10 short years ago and the landscape began to change as the population began to grow and the town began a revitalization. I wont venture to guess what sparked all of this, but back then, a little upstart of a scooter shop was opened by two Denver scooter legends, Colin Shattuck and Adam Baker, it was called Sportique Scooters, The business has grown from one Denver shop to three including one in Boulder and another in Colorado Springs. This is a far cry from the small shop that Colin and Adam opened in 1998 in a run down gas station on Denvers seedy west side. In going back there, I was glad to see that the shop still sports that rat-bike feel, with the head mechanic adjusting an old, rusty Vespa 125 out in the lot, among all the new and shiny Genuine Buddys and Kymcos. If you have not seen it yet, look for Colins scooter book Red Eyes, Whitewalls and Blue Smoke it is a great read on the evolution or de-evolution of scooters in the US. The short story on Denver is, get there when ever you can. With 300 days of sunshine it is a riders paradise and whether you enjoy city riding or touring in the mountain, there are plenty of fellow enthusiasts. If you are wondering what I mean, when I say plenty of fellow enthusiasts, think about attending Mile High Mayhem, the last week in July. With hundreds of scooters, scoot activities and parties it is one of the years best destination rallies in the United States. Many thanks go out to SIP-Scootershop for including SCTRCST in its newsletter. Do not forget to go to Amerivespa.org and register for the rally. This not only gets you all the Amerivespa perks, but will cover you in participating in all the city and Vashon Island rides that are planned. Since I have been out of town, I have not had a chance to speak with Bryan Bedell of 2strokebuzz about riding the Lake Erie Loop, but I try to check in with him and have something for you next week.
Direct download: sctrcst0016.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 2:34pm EDT

SHOWNOTES: Remember that you too can be a part of the show. I have ended up in my home town of Port Angeles, WA. I have had an opportunity to speak with several bloggers on this trip, one of which lives right here in Port Angeles, Bill Sommers, writer of Little Billys Scooter Tales. Make sure you check out Bills blog HERE. Its easy to forget that the pace of life varies depending on your circumstances and place in the world. When ever we travel, even back home here I am reminded over and over, how everyone has their own world view and when you are open to listening to them you find out fascinating things about life, and people are even interested in this funny little podcast. Some selections from the Podsafe music network this week are PW Fenton and Ride, along with Jaya the Cat with the Jimmy Cliff classic, Harder they Come. Thanks to Ben from Honky Tonk Dragon for the blog post and to Errol and Robert for the emails. Check out the Toronto Motor SC HERE. Next time, more from Seattle and Denver on our way back east. I invite you to leave a comment or better yet leave me a voicemail for the show.
Direct download: sctrcst00015.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 7:38pm EDT

SHOW NOTES: Ciao, come siete mi miei amici? Downloads have been skyrocketing the past two weeks, I must say thanks to everyone who has joined us. Maybe this podcasting thing will really catch on! Drop me an email and tell me how you found the show. I also invite your to go over and visit the website www.sctrcst.com and leave me a voice mail to play on the show. This week I have the rest of my interview with Orin ONeil of Scootin Old Skool He talks more about scooting in the Northwest and his PX. Remember back a few weeks I mentioned the Lake Erie Loop Ride? Yesterday I spoke with Bryan Bedall from 2strokebuzz who tells me he is planning to do the 650 miles on his Genuine blur scooter 150cc all in one day. You also hear him on talk about that on this podcast. The shows music comes from the Podsafe music network. This show has Redska with SNOB and Stefanie Seskin with Your own Road. Big news is I leave for Seattle in a few days. Although I am really making the trip so Marcel and I can spend sometime with my mother, I hope to look-up Orin in Seattle and also visit with Little Billy when I am in Port Angeles. The other big surprise for next week is I'm going mobile. Im planning on taking my laptop, microphones and a recorder on my trip to the northwest. Just think of next weeks show as a big crap shoot.
Direct download: sctrcst0014.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 10:33pm EDT

SHOWNOTES: This show features an interview with Orin ONeil of Scootin Old Skool. He is in Seattle and talks about the scooter scene, The Vespa Club of Seattle and allot about the clubs plans for Amerivespa, News of the week is that Piaggio is going to Vietnam to produce scooters. Will they use the usual Asian techniques for building bikes? Check out the link here. Go to the Podsafe music network to hear the Buck Brothers with Girls, Skirts, Boots and Bikes and Katebite with Telling Lies Next time more details about my upcoming trip to Seattle and Port Angeles, Washington and finish hearing the interview with Orin who talks more about his long distance riding, the rally in Victoria BC, the Cool Hand Rally, sponsored by the Capital City Scooter Club.
Direct download: sctrcst0013.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 9:53pm EDT

SHOW NOTES: Welcome and thanks for joining me. Subscriber numbers continue to go up. I appreciate those of you who are sticking with me. If you are new I would be interested to know how you found the show. Drop me an email. Sorry about weeks show it was too much fluff not enough specific content. I realized that I said I would talk about rallies but then just referred you to the rally calendars. Hopefully this show makes up for that. Not only is there talk about a couple of specific rallies coming up, but I have a boat load of rally video links for you. Music on this show is from the Podsafe music network. Jonny Kaplan And The Lazy Stars with Ride Free Another wonderful week in Richmond Virginia, Lots of sunshine and more time to get out in the yard and do some weekend riding, Look for the sctrcst logo to appear on the Amerivespa sponsors page of the site. The Lake Erie Loop ride is the weekend of June 8-10 2007. The ride originates in Wellington, Ohio, heads west through Detroit, Mich. and Windsor, Ont. into Canada, east through Fort Erie and Buffalo, NY, then back to Wellington, Ohio. 650 miles in a day! Great video on the ride is here. Another upcoming ride is here on the east coast is Scootergate 3, in Washington DC rally, June 1-3rd. It is sponsored by top shelf shops in the DC area like Vespa Washington and Moto Strada. Click here for pictures from last years DC rally. The Lake Erie video started me thinking about other rally videos I had seen on the net. The first SCTRCST show included one from the shop in San Antonio where I got my first Vespa. Here are some more recent rally videos with music to check out. Look at the South Bay Vespa Club LosGatos Rally this past May 4-6 2007 and Demons Run which was at Narrowsburg NY in Sept 2005 sponsored by the Checkered Demons SC and the Vintage Vespa Lambretta Scooter Rally in Colorado Springs. Moving On Up #5 from June 2004 music by Fanny Pack. (abrupt ending) Also look at the NY Scooter Club 2006 Block Party wait out the guy doing the intro for some great b-3 sounds and the Vespa Lambretta Scooter Rally Segovia 2005 Segovia is a city in Spain, It is about an hour north of Madrid (there are ton of rally videos on the net from Madrid SC) Vegas Scooter Rally 2007 300 or more Vespas were in Vegas at the Gold Coast (SKA music). Pharaohs Scooter Cult:sposored the King Tut Putt 2007 Rally in SanDiego. Jump over to see Europe 2007 National Scooter Rally, in Mt Gambier, Australia and then a rally sponsored by the Rode Mate Scooter Club in Bergamo Italy Run to the Hills 3 video, it is a ride through the hill towns. Bergamo is a walled city in Italys Lombardy region, lies along the route for those visiting Italys northern lake country, just off the A4 between Milan and Verona close to Crosio and Solbiate Arno north of Milan where my family came from. ore) Another selection from the Podsafe music network. Katy Pfaffl with This Ride. Next week come back for more details about my plans for a June trip to Seattle and Port Angeles. Hope to speak with Orin Oneil of Scootin Old Skool. He should be just getting back from the rally in Victoria BC, the Cool Hand Rally, sponsored by the Capital City Scooter Club and we will try to check back in with Bryan Bedell on new developments over at 2strokebuzz.
Direct download: sctrcst0012.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 8:30pm EDT

SHOWNOTES: Welcome to episode 11 click the pickleplayer to listen to this or any other SCTRCST episode. On this episode more shameless promotion of Amerivespa 2007 as it looks more and more like I might get there and I also have a links below to preview of some of the spring and summer scooter rallies. From the IODA music network Love Dont Care by Tommy Castro Blind Pig Records . It is spring and everything is new again and her in Richmond it has been perfect for riding. Every time I go out it feels like the first time, part of that is wondering about the reliability of my classic ride. I take my small cadre of tools including my cellphone and optimistically take off. Trips this past week were to Carytown for shopping, eating and general people watching and then to the river, a peaceful sanctuary and oasis in the city. Get curious about other rallies coming up and check out one of the best calendar lists which is on Scooterbbs. It has been around since the late 1996 one of the first places I went trying to find out about scooters Bryan at 2stokebuzz has a mirror of the calendar on his site and SCOMOs calendar is always a good resource. Look for regional scooter calendars on Yahoo Groups like the one around here for DC, VA area we have Your best source may be your local scooter club. Switch gears and check out Jeremy Sutton blog on his Vespa 180ss restoration . From the Podsafe music network. Jonathan Coultor and Code Monkey. If you are a real tech geek or you get around on the net you have probable heard this. I first heard it several months ago on net at nite, Leo Laporte and Amber McArther. Youtube videos you can checkout World of Warcraft or Sims 2 or somthing from a bunch of students.
Direct download: sctrcst0011.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 10:20pm EDT

SHOW NOTES: Welcome and thanks for joining me for episode 10, a SCTRCST milestone! Listen to individual shows on your computer just click the pickleplayer on the right hand side of the website. You are also invited to leave me voice from your computer, check out the recorder also on the right hand side of the site. From the Podsafe Music Network Sting Rays Get On It. Thanks to the listeners and special thanks to many of the bloggers that both inspired me and have supported me with shout-out in their blogs. Scooter Dave, Steve Williams of Scooter in the Sticks Steve Guzman at The Scooter Scoop, Dave Dixon at Big Guy Small Scooter, Orin ONeil at Scootin Old Skool, Bill at Little Billys Scooter Tales, Ben at Honky Tonk Dragon and of course my hometown friend Chelsea at Scomo. Here are the archived Vespa links that led me to Gianluca on our Italy trip in the spring of 2000. Airvespa Home page ,Bikes for sale, Price list, Shipping, and of course the current Vespa Club Roma site.
Direct download: sctrcst0010.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 11:41pm EDT

SHOWNOTES: Thanks to those of you returning, if you are new I hope you find something you like! This show features Bryan Bedell from 2StrokeBuzz. Make sure you check out his website for the latest in scooter news and look for his early zine publications on the website. From the Podsafe music network Truly, Madly, Deeply by Pama International, a soul-injected ska, rocksteady & dub sensation for the 21st century (sounds like a music A and R man wrote that). Make sure you visit their UK website. Check out the Blazing On A Sunday Afternoon Scooter Ride this coming Sunday May 6th. The ride consists of three scooter clubs that will meet at different locations around LA that morning and ride to Royal Claytons where there will be a DJs, food and prizes for the Best Lambretta and Best Vespa. See the clubs websites, they are Reflections Scooter Society, West Side Scooter Club and Southbay Scooter Club It is not too early to start talking about Amerivespa. Go to the Amerivaspa website and look at the agenda for the three days. Thanks to Michael for the voicemail and to Scott for the comments, See Scotts website, ScooterJar about his scooter obsession.
Direct download: sctrcst0009.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 6:57am EDT

SHOWNOTES: Thanks for listening, this show has the second part of my interview with Steve Williams from Scooter in the Sticks blog. The only real news in Virginia this past week has been about Virginia Tech, thanks for the emails. This podcasts music comes from IODA the Independent Online Distribution Alliance it is John Nemeth singing Blue Broadway Steve mentions Little Billys Scooter Tales which is written in my home town and others as influences. Entertaining scooter videos on the web. HonkyTonk Dragon has guy riding a Vespa up the wall of an empty swimming pool, a tame version of the old motorcycle stunt called the Wall of Death. 2Strokebuzz links to three vintage Vespa commercials on utube, Thanks for the email Nick, check out a clever cartoon of his new ride at this link. Next week, Brian Bedall from 2Stroke Buzz.
Direct download: sctrcst0008.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 10:51pm EDT

SHOW NOTES: Ciao, welcome to SCTRCST. In this episode you will find my reflections on Podcamp NYC and New York. Many thanks to all the podcasters who gave me a renewed excitement about getting more in touch with you, the audience. Check out some of their podcasts (Jason VanOrden, Chris Penn , Chris Brogan, Adam Varga, Vergel Evans ) This Podcast wouldnt exist without you, I invite you to leave a voice message at the website. Check out Podsafe Audio or Uncle Seths Blog for more of their music. Listen to Part one of an interview with Steve Williams where he talks about beginning his blog, motor scooters and his relationship with his readers. Read Steves latest posts at Scooter in the Sticks. Check out the movie trailer for PJs 2006 RAMBLE on Honky Tonk Dragon a scooter ride from the Midwest through south and up the east coast.
Direct download: sctrcst0007.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 9:39pm EDT

SHOW NOTES: Ciao, come va? Thanks for returning hope you find something you like! Take a moment and visit the website http://SCTRCST.com I have made some changes in the look by using custom made headers with pictures for our trips to Italy and my Vespa motor scooters. You can now listen on the website to individual SCTRCST shows with one click. Reminder Dogwood Delirium sponsored by the Richmond and Charlottesville clubs April 28-30, contact email davemunn@scomo.net Something from the Podsafe music network Stingray. I am planning a trip to NY next weekend for PodcampNYC Sprtng time riding is all over the blogisphere DaveDixon of Big Guy Small Scooter rides his Vespa scooter into the mountains SteveWilliams of Scooter in the Sticks get catch in a snowstorm riding his Vespa Orin ONeil of Scootin old Skool takes off for a Spring Rally in Portland, Oregon - Twist and Play Scooter Clubs SpringScoot Some newer blogs SharonVespaGirl from Hobart, Tasmania, Liberte, Egalite, Fraternite A woman writes about riding in her youth. Get that Mod feeling, German site at Christian Spanring's blog .Listen to some fantastic mod music from The Beautiful Kantine Band from Austria.
Direct download: sctrcst0006.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 11:50pm EDT

SHOW NOTES - Visit SCOMO. WKRP Scooter Rally March 30 and 31st in Cinicinati. ColinVintage collector in England - most unusual collection of scooters, cars and motorcycles Agrati Capri, Maicoletta, Cezeta, Peugeot and three wheeled Lambrettas. These few pages are dedicated to the Agrati Capri. Punks in Parkas Stu - what I like and more importantly what it was like growing up in Britain in the 1960s and 1970s. Steve Toy Scooter Collection. Visit Podsafe music website and Laura Lambert. Steve Williams blog award story over at Scooter In The Sticks or The Scooter Scoop Steve Guzman or 2strokebuzz. Dogwood Delirium Rally April 28 and 30 in between Richmond and Charlottesville in Ruckersville, VA
Direct download: sctrcst0005.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 11:09pm EDT

SHOW NOTES: Always a good resource ScooterDaves website. Check out BMW restorations plus new and used scooters at Autobahn Craftwerks Plan on attending the WKRP Scooter Rally in Cincinnati. Over 500 scooters expected. I attended a great charity event sponsored by the American Heart Association of Cincinnati. Vespa Cinicinnati bought by Ed Younginger and moved to Milford outside of Cini. High octane ska punk Non stare ad ascoltare by Redska from the Podsafe music network. Visit Chelsea on the internet or go to SCOMO in Richmond. Thanks to 2strokebuzz, LittleBillys Scooter Tales, Scooter in the Sticks and everyone who has link to or mentioned this Podcast Email me at sctrcst@gmail.com Look for part 2 of my interview with Chelsea next week
Direct download: sctrcst0004.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 11:06pm EDT

SHOW NOTES: Podsafe music network Beau Hall Super hot Lady Cop. Vulcan Scooter Sect in Cincinnati. Check out Vespa New Orleans. Check Fine Living cable channel for the New Orleans episode of Opening Soon by Design. Comments on Modern Vespa when the New Orleans Vespa episode first aired in June 2006. Check out the Daily Source Code by Adam Curry the father of podcasting. Podsafe music network Candy Butchers What to do with Michael. Dave Dixons blog at Big Guy Small Scooter. Fixing Charlotte, North Carolina's mass transit problems one scooter at a time.
Direct download: sctrcst0003.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 10:26pm EDT

SHOW NOTES: New Intro from Family Groove Company. The Podsafe music networkLee Coulter - Photograph. Scooter Sidecars With much of the content provided by Sidecars By George. Check out Cincinnati Vespa. Here is Scooter Dave. The Podsafe music network Stingray Meet Me in the Middle. 2Strokebuzzactually sees the Piaggio MP3 in person, and has a short demonstration from a Piaggio representative ScooterScoop blogged that the Vespa LXS that may be landing here after all! Trusted sources at Vespa Seattle say to expect to see her in showrooms Q4 of THIS YEAR! Combatcommuter in Crawfordville, Florida blog about drive belt inspection for automatic scooters. Jeremy Sutton blogs about restoring a 1967 Vespa 180SS.
Direct download: sctrcst0002.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 11:11pm EDT

SHOWNOTES: First motorcycle was a 1965 Ducati Falcon 50. The Motorcycle Shop in San Antonio, TX. 2004 San Antonio scooter ride by Joe Vanwyk. My first scoot was a Vespa P200E. Vespa 100,000 for 2006 on 2Stroke buzz.com. Vespas reentry to US market in 2003 in Wikipedia. Piaggio MP3, three wheeled scooter review on motoring.co.za. Top Speed video of the Piaggio MP3. Steve Guzmans Scooter Scoop link to Modern Vespa where there is a ride review of the Piaggio MP3 10. Topspeed.com review of 2006 Vespa GTS 250cc four-stroke. Steve Williams of Scooter in the Sticks writes about his new GTS250.
Direct download: sctrcst0001.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 11:18am EDT