"ImmoralMinority" (araimondo)
07/02/2018 at 21:21 • Filed to: None
6
11|
"ImmoralMinority" (araimondo)
07/02/2018 at 21:21 • Filed to: None | 6
| 11 |
I had a fun day, but it ended with embarassment . My son and I dropped off his 2007 Impreza (manual!) at CaptDale’s place of work. There are a few extra items to address, but they are doing the work for a very reasonable price, and the car should be squared away after this. The good Captain and his partner will be joining us for the 4th of July parade and BBQ. I am making baby back ribs and chicken.
I took the Vespa down to Morro Bay, and on the way back cut up Old Creek Road to High way 46 and back, a short but curvy and fun local road. On the little 150cc Vespa, this kind of ride is exhilarating.
At the end of my ride, I pulled over to a gravel shoulder to take a look at the view, and right as I was stopping, the scooter skittered out from under me, and over we went. At that speed, it was not muc of an impact, but I ended up with a small scrape on my leg, a big one on my elbow, and a nasty bruisen on the heel of my hand where I landed on it. My pride was wounded more than my body. I am annoyed at myself, because I still can't figure out what I did wrong. Oh, well, worse things can happen.
MrDakka
> ImmoralMinority
07/02/2018 at 21:33 |
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Did you immediately pick yourself up after falling, dust yourself off and casually walk back to your Vespa, all the while furtively looking around to make sure no one else saw what happened?
Sovande
> ImmoralMinority
07/02/2018 at 21:34 |
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It’s the gravel that gets you!!! Glad you are okay! I wiped out on my old Vespa, which I was taking to my garage to store before I sold it, as I was leaving my parking lot. I was going maybe 10 mph. Scraped th e previously pristine paint right to the metal. This was on a nicely restored 1966 Allstate smallframe (made by Piaggio for Sears). The previous year I had ridden the scooter a total of almost 6000 miles as I used it as my primary transportation, with no incidents at all.
haveacarortwoorthree2
> ImmoralMinority
07/02/2018 at 21:44 |
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When you fall off your bike (the pedal variety) because a squirrel attacks you, then you can be embarr assed. In my defense, I hadn’t been riding that long in clips and wasn’t fast enough unclipping to save myself. One concussion, one cracked helmet, one scraped up shoulder, one torn shirt, and one torn up knee later, I was on my way again. My son (the triathlete) still brings this story up today!
RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars
> ImmoralMinority
07/02/2018 at 22:19 |
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Damn, glad you’re OK! Any damage to the Vespa?
Also, that shirt is very Californian (to my Eastern-Canadian sensibilities)
! :P
Nom De Plume
> haveacarortwoorthree2
07/02/2018 at 22:23 |
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How in exact descriptive terms did a squirrel attack you?
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Nom De Plume
> ImmoralMinority
07/02/2018 at 22:25 |
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All it takes is brake pressure on the front wheel and one rock the right shape taking the correct angle of pressure. Been there done that more than a few times.
DipodomysDeserti
> ImmoralMinority
07/02/2018 at 22:29 |
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Too much front brake on the gravel? I was running late to teach a class one day and was hauling ass through my back alley which happened to be muddy. Took a turn too fast and grabbed the front brake in a panic. Laid her down and was covered in mud. Thankfully none of my neighbors saw. Next time throttle out and pretend you meant to do it.
shop-teacher
> ImmoralMinority
07/02/2018 at 23:35 |
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D’oh! I still haven’t put one down, but I’ve had a couple close calls.
My Kymco is going up for sale tomorrow, to raise funds to buy my buddy's 125 Zuma.
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haveacarortwoorthree2
> Nom De Plume
07/03/2018 at 10:41 |
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That is a matter of some dispute. One alleged eyewitness claims that the squirrel merely ran out of the woods, hit my front tire, rolled away, and ran off. Others (i.e., me) contend the potentially rabid 25-lb. squirrel launched itself at me whilst chattering violently, impacted my leg which was saved from a vicious mauling only as a result of my extraordinary agility, and then ran off. (The possible truth of the matter might be that the fucking thing scared the shit out of me, causing me to jerk the front wheel slightly off the path and into the crack between the path and the grass, which then led to me being unceremoniously dumped off the bike.)
CaptDale - is secretly British
> ImmoralMinority
07/03/2018 at 14:17 |
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Damn, well I guess that is why you have crash bars. Glad you are ok though.
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Nom De Plume
> haveacarortwoorthree2
07/03/2018 at 15:54 |
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Glad you were relatively unscathed and can laugh at yourself.