So, I have been kicking around buying a new scooter for a
year or so. Big Red, the 2009 Vespa GTS, has over 50,000 miles on it and the
encounter with a bear that did a little damage and two cross America races in the Cannonballs, not to mention the 5,000 plus rides east of the Mississippi. And though it still is a steady
steed, it is getting long in the tooth. For about a year I thought of going to
Sherman Oaks Vespa in California, buy a new one, and ride it to Turkey. This
was easily doable but I in the end did not want to commit to that long of an adventure.
Capt. Gary is my Vespa scanner on the internet and he called and told me there
was a 2009 just like Big Red for sale close to me with only 2,200 miles. I
missed it by a phone call.
Then a check showed up in my mailbox for the amount of a new
scooter plus $15. I began thinking of a
new one again. This was strengthened
when I read over some of my old blogs and started getting the itch to ride
across the country and back again. I
began drawing lines on maps and researching places I wanted to go back to and
new places I wanted to see.
Capt. Gary called again and said there is a brand new 2016
Red Vespa in Omaha that has never been ridden or titled for sale. I made the
call and found sure enough it was as reported. It was owned by Linkdin, the on
line business social site, bought as a prop and they wanted to unload it. I made an offer and they accepted. So now
Capt. Gary and I began to make plans to go collect what I now was calling
“Fred”. Temperatures in the teens were a little concerning but we figured it
would be another adventure.
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| Omaha weather |
But when Gary went to pick up the scooter carrier that fits
on the back of his truck at his buddy’s farm, his buddy said “Why don’t you
sell him mine at the same price?”. His scooter was a red 2016, almost brand
new, with every add-on that Vespa makes and then some. I mean this is a
unbelievable deal….and….we don’t have to drive to Omaha. The deal was accepted
and I made plans to get to Dothan, AL to pick it up.
Then I began the “beat the computer cookies” to find a good
deal on a one way car rental to Dothan to get it. I would search, get stupid
prices, delete the cookies, get different prices, and repeated this several
times until I got a livable price of $92. This is high for an economy car, but
I was dropping it in another state.
Searches went from $92 to $241 for a one day rental. I get tired of this
beat the “cookies” game, but it is what it is.
A pleasant drive to Alabama united me with my new long distance rider......
A pleasant drive to Alabama united me with my new long distance rider......
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| Fred in Capt. Gary's garage |
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| Fred on the road.
In the first four days of ownership we have done over 700 miles together. I think we are going to get along well.
Do not stress about Big Red. He is not being put out to pasture, he is just being relocated to North Carolina to prepare for the 2018 Scooter Cannonball with my brother as his jockey. And I can fly up and ride with out having to make the two day journey there.
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