Never Too "Blah" Outside To Ride

So...in the above photos, you may notice some similarities in the cold weather apparel. Yup, it's the often mentioned fishtail parka. In the top picture that I took of Mod Kevin and JayBee, Mod Kevin is modeling the vintage M51 parka that has become quite difficult to find stateside. To his left, JayBee is wearing the M65 model, and is also sporting the new "Geezer" ball cap. While not as jaunty as Mod Kevin's authentic "pork pie" hat, ol' JayBee still pulls off a striking look. The photo below shows myself standing between my cronies scooters with the Port Angeles harbor as my backdrop.

Although the day was rather gray and "blah" looking outside, it was still not a bad day for a scooter ride. After dicking around most of the morning getting nothing done, I finally shuffled out to the shop and rolled my scooter out. I figured that a quick blast over to JayBee's was in order, so off I went. Upon rolling into my Geezer brother's carefully manicured dirt driveway, I could hear the sound of a two-stroke motor winding out. Turns out that JayBee was on the business end of a weed eater. Maybe someday we'll find the Allstate smoking up the yard instead powered lawn care equipment.

My arrival was reason enough to shut down for the day, so we ambled up to the penthouse digs for some coffee. JayBee gave Mod Kevin a call, and luckily reached him in a corner store parking lot. He was out shaking off boredom, riding his scooter the same as I was. Time to meet-up.

It had been a couple of weeks since I had seen Mod Kevin and in that time he had added a windscreen and a chrome rear rack to his Metropolitan. It looks good. Being a graphic artist, Mod Kevin had done some work for a drummer and took the fishtail parka as payment for his work. I think that he scored big time in this deal. Aside from having to do a little stitching and minor repairs, the M51 is in top shape.

We made a run out to Ediz Hook, then over to Von Zipper's place. Max, the guy we call "Von Zipper," rides an old Honda 450, and fits in quite well with our little band of scooter bums. I'm sure the day will come soon when we see him on a scoot. Anyway, after convincing Von Zip' to come along, we headed over to the fairgrounds, then Lincoln Park to finish out our ride.

What I liked so much about the day was that there was no plan. We just ended up getting together and rode around for a while. We are building our group up with some real cool cats and are starting to form some plans for the future. Without having to work at it, we are actually becoming a "club." Right now, structures, rules and regulations don't mean squat. We're just a bunch of guys that like doing the same thing, at the same time, the same way. And it's all about the love of scootering.

So anyway, as a side note...I'm proud to say that I accomplished a short term goal. Today marks one year for the "Little Billy's Scooter Tales" blog site. I appreciate all the folks that visit this site, and touch base through your comments. I feel like I've made some real friends out there, and look forward to continuing this path, and making new friends as I go. The long-term goal is to continue sharing my little world, and to try to keep you interested and entertained in the process.

You know... you people created the nickname "Scooter Evangelist," and I'm cool with that, because it means that my subtle message is being heard. "Riding a motorbike is good for your soul." That's it in a nutshell, and sharing that feeling with others is what I choose to do. All of you that visit pretty much already know this, but it's the folks that I meet and speak with that I want to inspire. I tell them to visit not only this site, but all of yours as well. Folks can learn a lot about riding, and some about life in this little bloggers community. Thank you for letting me be a part of it.

Have fun,

Bill