Scooters
at the Ace.
I
have had a busy week out and about on the bikes enjoying what remains
of the September weather. I have a few hours before I catch a flight
to India and what is planned to be a biking expedition to the one of
the highest mountain passes Ladakh. During the packing I discovered I
had worn out the soles on my bike books, I did wonder why one foot
was colder than the other, now I know, but it did mean an unplanned
visit to a cobbler twice for two new soles and heels to be fitted.
One to drop them off and two to collect as it was a big job. He did a
grand job and now I’m a bit taller and I can reach the ground more
easily also a bit more weatherproof. When I return I’ll make notes
about about what gear I took and if I used it, was it any good.
Gita,
my wife, had a special dancing lesson in Wembley at 6:30 in the
evening so we took the Kawasaki and dropped her off and I went back
to the Ace Cafe on the North Circular for a read of the latest Road
MAGazine while sipping a mug of tea. A mug for a pound great value!
This evening was Scooter night. By the time I finished my tea it was
starting to get dark and I thought I had better take some photos on
my phone. People always arrive on something interesting. There was
the “Stealth Lambretta” that had lowered handlebars. How did he
do that?
A novel way to mount a GPS, or phone or Ipad then there are
the lights. One Lambretta had so many lights I have no idea where the
power comes from to run them all and mirrors! So many that they must
be a distraction unless you like to see yourself posing. So much gear
the scooter must weigh a ton. What really caught my eye was this
little sports Lambretta. Spare wheel in the foot well to make the
impression of a racing tank, bump seat and half leg shields. Stripped
for speed and finished in bright red. Just the thing to pop around
on.
I
was waiting fo a call from Gita to pick her up when I entered into a
conversation with a young fella who had parked his, slightly older,
Kawasaki ER6F near mine. We compared notes on how good they are and
some of the drawbacks and what was needed for touring. A Versys you
might say but we both agreed that the Versys was a bit to short for
getting your foot past the top box. He also was thinking about taking
an Advanced Riding course from the IAM (Institute of Advanced
Motorists) and asked about content and length of course all of which
I was able to advise him on. I had been checking my phone for missed
calls and messages, nothing until about quarter to nine and saw 9
missed calls and 4 messages!!! I hate technology when it fails. I
phoned Gita straight away and within minutes I had picked her up and
we were on our way home. She was about to get a taxi to come over to
the Ace to search for me. She was a bit worried that something had
happened and quite rightly so, but it was only a failure of the
system to connect and we pay for it!
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