Four Years Ago

https://goo.gl/photos/qQDdp3oyRarZiuas7

Washing Wanda

Yes I did!  In honor of her 26,000th mile.

The view to my south, at 5:50 p.m., CDT.

The view to my north at 5:50 p.m. CDT.

Now, you may speculate as to why I didn't ride to Nashville, tonight.  :)

... but the truth of it?  I could not get the effin' 12mm bolt on Wanda's gearbox drain to break loose. In fact, I ruined my Lifetime Warrantied HDX t-handled driver in the attempt, twisting the motherfathering plastic handle by more than 90° (and will get my refund later this week, as I'm no fookin' brute). Chinese shit, y'all. ALWAYS LOW PRICES.

Pizza Imperfect

The 5000 other scooters that were just here?  Dammit, I missed 'em.  :)

Read the name tag.  :)

Scootnashville Saturday Social Scramble

Glorious morning, feeling more like September in Nashville than August!  75°F upon leaving Smyrna @ ~9:50 a.m., and little to no humidity! This is odd. Above: Ed and Dan converse al fresca at Eighth and Roast.

Ross welcomes all, and explains the lack of a route, and the non-lack of ride rules.

Ed is The Man.

These ladies are also The Mans.

"Git yer helmets on, effers!"

Bomber art on a modern Vespa.

The coots pull into a spot across from the Percy Warner Golf Course, to receive n00b instructions from Rossifer.

Ancient Mayan architecture. Left by aliens. From space.

I like stone walls.

Wanda, with Nashville down in the hole behind her. Luke Lea Overlook, in Percy Warner Park.

The well-stocked Wanda.

Scoot'Za

Workhorse Wanda, doin' her duty.

An array of Hondas (mostly), a Yarmerhar, a Suzuki and a couple of modern Vespas. Tonight's showing @ Pizza Perfect.

Goofy fucker.

Less goofy.

Repost from the Catblog

Wink is deceptively simple... for morons, apparently. If I hadn't seen this screen 100 times since Friday evening, I wouldn't have had to viciously cockpunch that old man for innocuously uttering "uh-oh" in my presence, today.  ;)

Eighth and Roast's hipster/quasi-vegan (not) biscuits are small, pricy and delicious.

Landlady felt guilty, gave me this.  :)

There are good people doing good works in Nashville. Click to, well, you know. h/t Ed.

Honda kicks major ass, forever and always, ramen.

Mormons can  be people, despite the majority who present as advanced androids with can opener personalities.

Awww, KITTEH!

Awww, HOPPY BEER!  I want the 12pk/2-flight "Deconstructed" set... brewmaster preparatory classes!

Steve is a fellow Smyrnan, rides a kickass Vespa 300ie Super and knows some awesome backroads in Roofie County. Also?  Hell of a Nice Guy, and newish friend. Here's our ride today, map junkies!

Steve and I are considering a counter-club alternative to Nashville's The Snakes SC. That would be the Volunteer Scooter Cooter Collective of Middle Tennessee. Must be age 40 or over to enter. And if your main ride is Chinese, under 100cc or pink and/or flowery, you must have a visible tattoo.  ;) Face/neck, preferably.

GoodYear is spying on me. I knew I shouldn't have started with the Michelins and the Wink mesh net.
.

1P1P: Ed's Head

... in a leather-wrapped brain bucket. Here's his newest baby: a Kawasaki Suzuki GS650 from the early '80s. He traded the baby blue Genuine Buddy of his even for it. He SO wanted me to ride cupcake and shoot video. Uh... NO.

1P1P: Awesome Young Babes & Tommy Chong

Tommy buys vinyl here, a lot. Or rolling trays. It's all good.

So many hotties and hipsters, almost all under 30, flow through this corridor on 8th Ave S.  Two beautiful, astounding young ladies (college shoppers?) asked me if a cafe next door was open. One of my scooter coots spoke up, saying it was a bar (I didn't know!). They then asked for suggestions, so I sidled up and recommended Cafe Coco, if they wanted eclectic yet inexpensive fare, and awesome people-watching. They liked that idea, so I gave directions.

1P1P: Breakfast

From Eighth and Roast. Best coffee in Nashville, IMO, and I've tried most.

This beauty is a turkey snausage and egg buiscit. I think the biscuit is a multi- or whole-grain type, as it's... well, not southern.  :)  Very good. A bit steep compared to McD's, but probably free-range, gluten free and all that hipster shit, right?  Worth the meager price.

1P1P: Eighth and Roast

scootnashville's Saturday morning coffee fix. Hey, Brad!  Thanks for the $1 off!

Fallen Friends Not Forgotten

Rest, my friends.

Next Year, Bring Beer, Watch For Free!

Smyrna has an air show every June -- a political sop to the 1971 closing of Sewart Air Force Base. I have a prime viewing location at the farmhouse, being less than a mile from the airfield where the show is held, and an unobstructed view to the west from the backyard, looking towards the airfield.

Ed & Michele pull in -- my first visitors from Nashville to the farmhouse!

U.S. Navy Blue Angels in their F/A-18 Hornets, doing what they are paid to do.

Tight, tight, tight!  One has to admire this skills involved to fly 18" off the next wing.

Blue Angels' C-130.

An amazing stunt. Should have gotten video, as this is preceded by mock dogfighting with insanely close head-on passes between the fighters, mainly flying sideways and upside down.

Beautiful day for a cookout in the yard!

Sitting Out

This is the scene out my front door at 6:47 p.m., today. There's thunder.

Now, I couldn't make it to the rally earlier, but was hoping to go and pick up my rally bag tonight, and see if my paltry two tickets won anything. Of course, the main organizer told me I had to be present to win. I couldn't even ask a friend to pick up my rally bag/tickets and have that count for anything. I hope Ed got my text where I asked if he could get my rally bag, to use my tickets to claim any winning for himself. I'd much rather someone  won than my tickets go to waste.

Okay, no big. I don't want special treatment. Certainly not worth risking my life to be there.

Bald rear tire, t-storms. I think I'll play Powerball, instead. Thorntons is just across the street, and they actually think my plastic Thai scooter is at least... well, let's just say Thorntons makes me feel welcome. But they are  a business, and I spend more than $25/year with them, too.

This is a disappointment, but I know what the rules are. I just don't plan to play this game anymore. Rallies are about old Italian bikes, and the people who own them  -- not people who're too poor to afford a car but can't walk everywhere or take a bus/train everywhere they need to go. So, no point in my bothering with rallies, IMO. They aren't relevant to me.