Memorial Day

I began the day by taking a load of trash to the dumpster at work where I began B.S.'ing with the mechanics. One of them said he'd heard about a Memorial Day biker's run. Being the annoying kinda guy I am, I thought it's be fun to run my scooter with the Harleys, so I asked about it. He said it was starting at the American Legion at 10:30. Hmmm.

Well, I'm a member of that post, so I figured they wouldn't dare kick me out, so I showed up at 10:30. Since I have a history with various motorcycle clubs, including some outlaw clubs, I decided the proper etiquette was to ask permission to ride with the presiding club, the "American Legion Riders". I got the attention of the Sgt at Arms who said "sure, you can ride with us..." THEN I mentioned I was riding on a motorscooter. His whole demeanor changed. You could just FEEL the elitism pouring out of him. He was about to tell me I couldn't ride with them...even after I showed him my membership card and my Vietnam pin...but before he could, the Chaplain of the ALR's (who just happened to be standing there) said, "Why not? You're in the wind and we're all here for the same reason...to honor our fallen brothers. Just try to keep up."

So I rode with the Harleys in the big Memorial Day procession to the cemetary for a Vet's service. I got some looks and some guys just refused to acknowledge me at all, but like it or not, I was there!

A little side-note here...one of the guys with a flag bungeed to his bike had the flag slip and stopped to fix it. I stopped to help him. We got it straightened out and I took off before he did. I was strokin' it down Mingus Ave., trying to catch up with the pack when a car turned left directly in front of me from a side street. I grabbed both binders hard and leaned over to the right, sliding the Bajaj like a flat-tracker. He finally saw me and hit the gas. I let up on the brakes, straightened it out, cussed like the former Marine I am and went on my way. I am very grateful for the handling prowess of that little scooter. Again. It was the easiest accident-avoiding maneuver I think I've ever made. Light weight and small wheels (AND the anti-dive front-end on the Bajaj) certainly have their up-sides!

Anyway, it was a successful day for me. I got to hang with other service vets on Memorial Day, ride in a procession, hear a fine service dedicated to the vets AND annoy the Harley guys!

Another, side-note; finally got the headset off the Allstate today...had to cut the cables and wiring...everything was WAY too corroded to slide out. So, I got that off and the front-end off. Bearings were shot. Only about half the balls were in their cages! Little bit at a time...

--Keys

Skull Valley Rally

The Scarabs Scooter Club had their annual "Skull Valley Rally" last Saturday (May 20th) and we all had a blast! Two days before the rally, however, my beloved Ski slid to an unglamorous stop in our driveway, scraping up the Helix and giving herself some roadrash and a cracked rib. She rode on the rally anyway! THAT'S my girl!!

Anyway, we left Cottonwood about eight a.m. and soared over Mingus Mtn. Now, I've done this dozens of times, but this was a first for Ski and her Helix. She did great! Slower in the turns than I'd go, but I have a bit of the berserker in me... We called our friend Jenn Chapman (who rides a Vespa GT200) when we got to Prescot Valley but she was running about an hour behind us. We took a Scootour of Prescot Valley and saw the sights at the local K-Mart (Ski wanted a pair of riding gloves).

Jenn caught up with us, we fueled up and took off. We motored through downtown Prescott and caught Hwy 89 heading south on the west side of town. This is one of the finest scooter roads ever designed! Smooth pavement, mostly downhill and a curve every 50 ft. (or so it seemed). Jenn hung with Ski as her "wingman" (I ended up calling them Maverick and Goose) and I led the way. Finally, I came to a section of what is called Yarnell Hill that I just couldn't ignore and I let the little Bajaj go. If the "suggested" speed limit sign read 25 m.p.h., I went 40, etc. What a GREAT section!! I did, however, have some significant waiting time at the bottom since Ski and Jenn were a little more reasonable about their riding.

We cruised down to Congress (a small town, not a political entity, thank God) through some highway-type roads where Ski and Jenn kicked my 145cc butt. Ate lunch at the Congress Cafe (imaginative name, no?) and met up with the other Scarabs out of Phoenix.

Eventually we all got our poop in a group and we headed uphill towards Prescott. The difference between this uphill ride and our earlier downhill ride is we hung a left at Kirkland Jct. and cruised through the scenic "Skull Valley". Hence the name of the rally. Got it?

Somewhere about 15 miles from Prescott, Damn Dirty Dave lost the muffler from his stripped down and...well, damn dirty Honda Elite 250. From that point on, he was never hard to locate. Brandon's Vespa P200 (mid-80's, I guess) needed but never got a jetting change, so it was quite slow. Those however were the only casualties on the ride...EXCEPT...

...sometime earlier, as they were meeting up in Phoenix, Jarod ran his Stella into the back of Hump's Bajaj. Again. And fell down and hurt his knee and scratched up his Stella. Again. Did the ride anyway.

So in Prescott we went to Encore Performance (where I bought my Bajaj...he's a Bajaj, Kymco, Royal Enfield, Gas Gas and Moto Guzzi dealer) where they had a BBQ all set up for us. Great brats, good company. Ski and I hung around for about an hour and a half, bought a rally pack (with 2 patches and a SVR T-shirt among other stuff) and went home while it was still light out. Ski didn't want to negotiate Mingus Mtn. in the dark. I don't blame her.

Got an e-mail from Jenn that evening...she had put her GT200 down in her driveway. Scratched it up and had her foot on ice. Nasty way to end a great ride.

Wish you had been there!! Well, gotta go...taking the Helix over to Prescott again today to get a new back tire....C-ya!

Allstate pics

Okay, so here are a couple of pics of the Allstate I just got. Actually, I guess the '66 smallframe "Bluebadges" are called Sears rather than Allstate....