Scooters, scooters everywhere

My boyfriend and I once discussed scootering in Key West and we both thought it would be nice if the world was more like it, with scooter shops everywhere and everyone able to rent one for cheap to get around.

That hasn't exactly occurred anyplace else that I've been too, but I thought it notable that Greensboro, NC, which we are currently visiting has its own little slice of Key West cool - Scooter Nerds. It's a shop on one of the Main Streets in the city and offers an array of scooters of all engine capabilities, including what looked like an off road scooter to me called The Rattler withh some high front forks offering some major clearance.

They don't rent, unfortunately, so I was stuck riding around town on a bicycle that was much too big for me and feeling way to intimate with it.

We also didn't luck out on new carboratuer jets, which we seem to have trouble finding.

The guy in charge of the shop said they didn't make anything for Geely anymore, but then my boyfriend spotted a scooter that was EXACTLY like our Geely, the same seat and fender style, even the exact same speedometer. The brand was Keeway.

So I guess that's what we should be looking for. Funny enough, when I looked up the Keeway brand I found a Web site saying it was owned by Quangjing in China, (looks like still made with the same Geely parts). The model that's like our Geely is the Venus.



As you can see from this "borrowed" photo, the Keeway Venus has the exact same seat as our Geely, the same headlight, well, the same everything.






Here is our Geely.

On the road again

Well, I don't know if it was a break-in now. My boyfriend finally got around to looking at the ignition switch and he think he might've broken it moving the scooter around after he locked it. Apparently the switch covering is really cheap aluminum, easily bendable and breakable.

So he took it apart and we can start it now with a screwdriver. Not really road worthy since I can't turn it off without a screwdriver, but I did take it around for another spin. I went up and down the alley. The first run I was really nervous, mostly because it was about 6 p.m. and everyone was coming home from work. A lot of people park their cars behind their garages rather than in them and I was afraid I might run right into one.

But nothing bad happened, though I went so excruciatingly slow I was dragging my feet at one point, afraid I'd tip over.

My boyfriend said that was a bad move cause I could break an ankle or foot. I was also starring way too much at the giant potholes and patchwork in the alley that I wasn't sure I'd get over easily.

The next run I did what he said and went faster and focused on where I was going rather than on the ground, and it worked out much better.

The next step, outside of getting the ignition fixed, is taking the basic motorcycle course. I'm a little nervous. I'll have to learn how to use a clutch on the handlebars, which the scooter I have doesn't have. I'm afraid I might grab the clutch thinking it's a brake.

The Gang in Blue Mob

Someone left a comment calling the cops that on the story about the ABC producer who was bullied then arrested by the cops in Denver.
It's sad but true that police don't look out for the rights of the people. I've probably only heard one good cop story in my lifetime and it was about them helping their own. How about they do their job properly and help the people for once?
To watch the video of the harassment, click here.

Hilarious, but real?

I saw this on the Scooter Scoop and had to pass it along. Why is it the Japanese and Chinese make up the worst movies in all seriousness and they somehow are so funny?
Watch this trailer to see what I'm talking about. (And be sure to read the subtitles. There's one in there about noodles that I was snorting over so bad.)

A scary series of warnings

This week in my town three people have suffered serious injuries, all of which could have been lessened by the use of a helmet. A man crashed after trying to pass someone on the highway and he is still in the hospital with serious injuries. No helmet.
A little girl rode right through a stop sign without looking and ran into a car. She's also still in the hospital. Again, no helmet. And an ATV passenger was seriously injured when the vehicle she was on the back of had a serious accident. The driver, who turned out to be drunk, had a helmet on, but the girl didn't. She's also in the hospital looking forward to surgeries and a long stay.
It's one of those things so often overlooked. The uncomfortable, dorky looking helmet. But when you are flying at an object, out of control, you're really going to be wishing you had one.
I've heard many people argue that if you drive safely you don't have to wear a helmet. But what about the millions of other motorists on the road? Do you think they are driving safely. It's such a roullette game to think that way. There's only one guarantee, if you get into an accident without a helmet, you could be a vegetable.
The National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration recently released a report on motorcycles and crashes. Out of more than 4,000 accidents it found the following to be true:

* The majority of motorcycle crashes involved another vehicle, usually an automobile.

* A motorcyclist is 37 percent more likely to die in a crash, per mile traveled. Mostly because there is no roll cage protecting their body.

* In those fatal crashes, head injury was the leading cause of death.

* Helmets reduce the liklihood of fatality by 37 percent. So if you're 37 percent more likely to get into a crash wouldn't you like that same percentage to favor your chance of living, and not like a vegetable?

* In its evaluation of crashe, the NHTSA found that helmets are 67 percent effective in preventing brain injuries. While I would love it to be 100 percent, it's still way better than the 0 percent effectiveness of not wearing a helmet.

* From 1984 to 2006, helmets saved the lives of more than 19,000 motorcyclists. The NHTSA says if all the people involved in fatal crashes in that time period had worn helmets, more than 12,000 people would have been saved.

* The NHTSA also found that in states where only minors were required to wear helmets when riding on two wheels, only 40 percent of children wore them. So leading by example does happen. Betcha if mom and dad wore helmets the kids wouldn't be so hesitant to put them on.

Now, I'm not sure if I like the idea of people being forced to do something. I've always been of the philosophy if someone does something dumb and gets hurt, why should the rest of us be legislated to death because of it? However, when it costs me money because someone is doing something dumb, I've got an issue with it.


According to the NHTSA report, costs to cover medical bills for motorcyclists in Florida who didn't wear a helmet and crashed were $10.5 million for "charitable and public sources." That is 21 percent of the motorcycling population involved in an accident in Florida .. just Florida. The report said one of those public sources was Medicaid.

Last time I checked my pay stub, I had an awful lot going to that program. While I don't mind helping someone out who is in need, I do mind that money being used to help someone who made a stupid decision when they should have known better. I'd rather see it go to help someone who's suffering isn't their own fault.

Now, before anyone starts lambasting me for being "anti-motorcyle," I'm not. I love motorcycles. I think motorcyclists too often get a bad rap. I'm just concerned that with the increase in popularity of motorcycles (and scooters which are often grouped in that "class" of vehicle) stupidity will take over and smart riders will suffer because of it, if not all ready. There's enough of a stigmatism attached to riding on two wheels, shouldn't the motorcycling and scootering communities be pushing for responsibility before we start getting legislated to death? It hasn't happened yet, but it certainly could.

Another obstacle

Sometime in the last month someone got into our garage and tried to steal the scooter. My boyfriend just noticed last week that the ignition had been messed with. We knew the battery was dead from someone trying to turn it on, but the ignition had been fine then.
Now we'll have to pull the whole front off the scooter to get at the wiring. When my boyfriend stuck the key in, nothing happened. That's when he noticed the ignition was loose, like someone had been jiggling it.
It's really unnerving to realize someone got into the garage somehow. I feel like we should put this place on lock down with cameras everywhere, but the one I have was pretty expensive.
By the time we get everything fixed, it will probably be winter.

Hitting pedestrians

I was always taught from Kindergarten on up to stop before crossing the street and look both ways to make sure no cars were coming. Apparently no one in the town I live in ever was taught that, cause they don't stop or look, let alone give any clear indication that they are going to suddenly start walking in the street.
Where I live there are a lot of pedestrians. And the biggest complaint in town is how annoying it is that they walk into the road while you're driving past.
Some say that drivers should stop and let pedestrians meander in no direct line across the main street, that that's the law. But I don't think the problem is drivers not wanting to stop, I think it's the fact that pedestrians don't stop and look first.
I have seen it a million times and have almost had a heartattack as someone, who seems very focused on hustling down the sidewalk suddenly, without warning, veers into the road, not even stopping, looking or slowly their pace. I had it happen to me just yesterday. The person was not even five feet in front of me when suddenly they were in front of my car. I'm sorry, but I don't think it should be my fault if someone walks in front of a moving vehicle and gets hurt.
If they were a driver, it would be considered reckless driving to suddenly pull out into traffic without looking to see who was coming.
What's worse, they don't even seem to realize that there is a car or bike right there. And then they look at the driver with this shock and anger on their face. It's not like people are driving their vehicles on the sidewalk!
Rather than drivers getting the rap for not stopping for pedestrians, maybe it's about time pedestrians get ticketed for not following the rules of crossing the road.
And now that I'm about to be a scooter driver I worry, will I be able to move around them quickly enough without crashing? Hopefully I will notice them more since you naturally do when you are on a motorcycle or scooter, but will they notice me? And since they don't have the foresight to stop and look before crossing in front of a car will they have the intelligence and understanding to recognize that I can't stop as quickly as a car because I don't have the braking power.
I don't want to wipeout because some idiot didn't stop and look before stepping into traffic.