Five on Friday: Riding Season Recap

Fall weather came FAST this year. One day I was riding my Vespa every day and then BOOM, a month had passed with no riding. Finally some nice, dry, sunny days came and I got in what I thought was my last hurrah for the season. I calculated my miles for the year . . . 961? That'd never do. Luckily I got another mild day and was able to break 1,000 and had a very lovely time doing it.

Now my riding season is really, truly over so I thought I'd share some highlights:

1. I checked some longer rides off my bucket list and even drove across the bridge into Pennsylvania a handful of times.

2. I sewed myself a new reversible seat cover--one side to protect from heat (black pleather seat gets HOT in the summer sun!) and one side is waterproof to protect from any drizzles when I'm parked.

Waterproof cherry print side!

3. I drove to a number of historic sites--fine, mostly graveyards, but a few others, too. My favorite might have been when I drove to the location of a small former amusement park and had an 80+ year old woman who grew up there point out where things used to be.

4. I really challenged just how much a Vespa can hold. The answer: way more than you think. 

Some days I even picked up our farm share on Giacomo! See that bright blue thing in the under seat compartment? That opens up into a nice-sized backpack which means I can carry even MORE!

5. I continued Giacomo's customization with the removal of one large and completely sun-faded sticker and the addition of six new ones from places I visited this year. Oh, also I got this one because it is 100% true.

Want to see more of my riding adventures or pictures of some cool (& creepy) gravestones? Visit Giacomo & Gigi on Facebook, though not much new content will be added now until spring of 2023.

Five on Friday: Just a Little Giacomo Journaling

Listen, I know what I said about cars being better than Vespas, but I didn't actually mean it.

Even though I've been too busy for pure pleasure riding lately, just regular riding is more remarkable when I'm on the Vespa . . . and by that I mean there's always something to remark on.

Here are some recent memorable moments from the 2022 riding season:

1. You know gas prices are high when . . . 

You think that's bad? The week before it was $8.71!

2.  No free parking spots? No problem.

Sharing is caring! (Don't worry, that's my friend's truck.)

3. Everybody loves a Vespa.

Sorry, Dude, I don't think you can drive this thing with hooves. 
And you probably don't even have a motorcycle license anyway.

4. New reversible rain bonnet! New sticker! 

You may or may not realize that my obsession
with cemeteries has only gotten deeper lately.

5. And, of course, people's reactions are always noteworthy. Recent favorites:

a. The teeny tiny little dude (honestly, an absolutely adorably miniscule child) who started  waving wildly at me and whose face lit up when I beeped

b. You know that thing kids do to try to get truck drivers to honk their horns? There's a gaggle of kids at a bus stop who begin madly pumping their arms when they see me coming. I always oblige--not sure who is happier after this interaction, me or them.

c. So the cemetery obsession thing . . . I recently participated in a veterans' headstone cleaning event  where I met a man who is apparently a bit of a local celebrity in, um, headstone maintenance circles?? 

Anyway, after the event, he was parked on the opposite side of the parking lot from me and I rode over to him on Giacomo to hand him my card (I want to be his apprentice). He was leaning into the passenger side of his pickup truck and turned around to see me . . . and had ZERO reaction to a pink Vespa covered in stickers appearing behind him. Badass. 

Five on Friday: Five Ways Cars are Better than Vespas

When I was a kid, sometimes my parents just wanted to "take a ride." 

I hated just "taking a ride." I wanted there to be a destination, a reason for the ride. I was thrilled when I became old enough to stay home alone and not have to participate in those pointless trips. 

But now I have a Vespa. 

And on the very nice days, particularly in the early spring when the very nice days have been few and far between, and I have some free time . . . I like to take a ride.

Nice day ✅
Free time ✅
Taking a ride ✅

There's just always something to be grateful for when I'm riding, like how much more I can appreciate the scents of spring (the way the river smells after a rain or a lawn does after it was just cut). I just love everything about riding Giacomo!!!

Except . . . yes, believe it or not, on the ride pictured above I happened to think of ONE way that John Stamos the Toyota (or any car) is better. 

I wondered if I could challenge myself to come up with four more for a Five on Friday list. It was hard but I did it! I figure that in a few short months I'll be back to the car all the time and not taking pleasure rides, so maybe it'll be nice to remind myself of the (very very few) ways that cars are better than Vespas:

1. On that sunny no destination ride, I thought to myself, "Man, it'd be a GREAT day for a nap." I love all manner of naps in nearly any location but a nap in a nice sun-warmed car is tops on my list. 

I can't do that on a Vespa. 

Wah.

2.  A car horn is way more intimidating than a dinky little Vespa beep. (Sorry Giac, you sound kind of wimpy.)

3. Car trips not nearly as weather-reliant as Vespa trips.

4.  When it comes to food shopping for a family of five to seven (depending on if the alleged adults are around or not) is just really not possible on the Vespa. Unless I wanted to take twenty-seven trips back and forth . . .  ain't nobody's got time for that. 

5. Also, my 150cc Vespa engine can't go on the interstate, so big road trips--not to mention adding multiple passengers--really work better in the four-wheel vehicle. 

Now I am racked with guilt and am going to ride Giacomo ALL DAY today.

Five on Friday: Spoils of the Three Days Away!

Last Thursday evening at around 6pm, I said to the party of three girls that were accompanying me, "Getting bagels was just THIS MORNING."

Nobody could believe it--that felt like it was days before! The reason is that road trip time is not like regular time. Even when multiple hours are frittered away in the car (or maybe since that time is wasted in the car? I don't get how this all works), the days are long and full of laughs and adventure. Those few days away will long be remembered via stories told, photos shared and the gifts and mementos we brought home.

1. I kind of have a thing for stickers. And honestly, as long as I keep coming up with places to use them, I think they're great souvenirs--they're inexpensive and easy to pack, even if you get this many!

I mean--MINI pierogi stickers. Mini!! Pierogis!! Can you stand it??

2. I got some lovely birthday gifts from the college students/alleged adults. From our daughter:

Giacomo!

3. Our son said he had a sort of lame gift for me and handed me a pair of my own underwear and socks that apparently went back to school with him after he did his last batch of laundry at home. 

At least this gift was my size?

He did redeem himself by sweetly asking if we were going to come back up to his apartment to hang out (after I took him food shopping). He then obliged my request for him to serenade me with his guitar while we ate lunch. 

4. We did hit a bunch of vintage shops and book stores and I just couldn't resist the boxes of old family photos (So mysterious! Sad! Fascinating!) and stereo cards. Old photos I know I'll use in collages and cards . . . but what will I do with these? Only time will tell!

5. Lastly a semi-impulse buy at the youngest's request, a yard sale card game that's already provided car ride and dinner time entertainment. Besides being a fun game, this will always make me smile since it will remind me of Spring Break 2022.

Five on Friday: My New Group of "Friends"

Last month when I was telling you about what a big month it had been for a local history nerd like myself,  I mentioned that I had been becoming more involved with a non-profit volunteer group that meets socially once a month and supports a local historic site. I wrote that, in this group:

I adore being in this group and not just because I'm the youngest by decades (or maybe because I do like it, in the sense that I really value intergenerational friendships . . . but I digress) and plan on sharing more about my experiences with them in an upcoming post. 

So, here's that post! 

1. I used to work at the historic site that this group supports, so that's how I got my first invitation to their meetings. At one point I volunteered to drive a bunch of them in Overkill Jones, our 15-passenger van, on a museum field trip. 

It was my understanding that this museum was about an hour away . . . the first hour of chatting passed by swiftly. But it was closer to two hours away and at one point there was a lull in the conversation.

My co-pilot in the passenger seat, a 76-year-old woman, broke the silence by asking, "Want to hear a funny story about a vibrator?"

My back-seat driver, directly behind us with a voice like one of Marge Simpson's sisters, deadpanned, "No."

(To which I replied, "Speak for yourself!" and then I got to hear the story.)

2. Time passed, I switched jobs, the pandemic started . . . I hadn't seen this fun group of women in ages. When they had their first in-person (outdoor) meeting again in August, I attended and was reminded of just how fantastic they are. Vibrator Story* announced that she really needed help with emails, so I decided I'd become a proper member and do just that. They almost didn't let me, but then . . . well, I'll just recap the email conversations below:

Me: I heard Vibrator Story say she needs help with email. I'm going to become a member and help her.

Chairperson: That'd be great, send your $20 in.

Me: Will do.

***

Me: Hey, I became a real member and I'm going to help you with the emails!

Vibrator Story: Oh, no, you can't.

Me: What?

Vibrator Story: No, no, I couldn't do that to you. It's entirely too much work.

Me: Um . . . what is it, like one email a month? I assure you I can handle it.

(No response until an email out to the board of this group with me added in)

Vibrator Story: Great news, everyone! Gina is taking over for me and is now a member of the board! 

(I am??!! That means two meetings a month! I didn't realize what I was signing up for but okay!)

3. So here comes the first meeting that I'm going to be sending the email about. I've already sent one email about membership and blew their minds by adding photos and graphics. I looked at the list of 115 email addresses and thought to myself: now I'm really going to dazzle them . . . I'm going to introduce them to BCC.

Well. That backfired. 

This meeting was going to be a local field trip (actually to the museum I currently work at, followed by lunch at a nearby restaurant).  Some of them do not drive. Many of them like to ride together even if they do drive. None of them is familiar with BCC. So I happily sent the email and then the responses started rolling in:

Shannon, will you drive me?

Kathy, I can pick you up if you want.

Marcy, I'm going to ride with Penny but I can ask if she has room for you.

Et cetera, et cetera. But BCC meant those responses only came to me so then I spent the better part of an hour untangling that mess. Lesson learned: sometimes BCC is not better.

4. All board/meetings have the potential to be derailed by some chatty members going off-topic. This board is no different but has the added risk of this happening by virtue of the fact that it's a group of older women who aren't as social as they used to be because of the pandemic. A recent meeting was just getting to that point of me wondering just how long it was going to last when suddenly they ALL STARTED GETTING UP TO LEAVE. No slow wrap-up, no good-byes, they literally just all stood up and began walking out the door.

The host was cleaning up the coffee and I asked her what just happened.

"Oh, we have a lunch meeting at 11:30."

(A lunch meeting. At 11:30. For a different group that they're all in.)

5. Last month's regular meeting featured a speaker teaching us about flax production. Vibrator Story, who is now nearing 80 years of age and still the source of the best stories in this group, shared her experiences in using a spinning wheel back when her kids were younger.

"The thing about using a spinning wheel is that you have to be very relaxed. I was learning with my girlfriends and all the kids were running around and it was very hard to relax. I recommend a glass of Harvey's Bristol Cream first, it really makes the spinning much easier."

Essentially, I learn so much from these women all the time . . . oh wait! I say women but actually there is one man who regularly attends. He missed the field trip to my museum so came on his own recently . . . on his motorcycle. I showed him some pictures of Giacomo and he recommended a memoir about a woman who rode her motorcycle around the world to me to read. I picked it up and I'm really enjoying it!

I mean . . . you see it, right? You see the value of intergenerational friendships and how this group in particular is an amazing group of folks? 

Officially, they're one of these "Friends of a Non-Profit" group. Personally, I count myself damn lucky to say that they are also friends of mine.

*I don't even think she'd be all that horrified to know that I'm referring to her as "Vibrator Story" here. She's got a great sense of humor . . . which I hope comes through in reading about her.

Five on Friday: Season's Swan Song (a Short Photo Essay)

Just when you thought the riding season for cold-weather wimps was over, a few mild days in November come along.  At the beginning of the week, my husband began pointing out the forecast for me and nearly begging me to take advantage of one last ride. Each day didn't work out for one reason or another and on the last nice day of the week, I finally got around to it.

Totally enjoyable. Thanks for the push, Daddy-O.

1. It's been awhile . . . Giacomo stalled out a few times. Thought I'd just get him across the yard to the driveway to run a bit while I finished getting ready. Realized I've never taken a ride when the red maple was this bright red before.

Season's swan song 

2.  About that cold-weather wimp thing, normally I consider sixty degrees to be my riding cut-off temperature. Even though the day was going to get above that temp, it was closer to fifty when I started (plus then there's the wind chill!) Pretty sure I could have easily been mistaken for Randy Parker:

Personally, I could put my arms down--
I just couldn't walk all that great with so many pairs of pants on.

3. What I didn't account for: these little vents in the front of my helmet letting so much air in. 

My god they really work.

4. So that little neck warmer I had on was moved up.

Et voila, it is now a chin warmer!

5. Thanks for the fun K, Giacomo. See you in the spring.

Five on Friday: Giacomo the Vespa? I'm Glad You Asked!

Nobody:

Me: Oh! You’re wondering about my Vespa because I haven’t said a single word about him or posted any pictures on instagram in so, so long? I am so sorry. Let me oblige you!

After a strong start to the season, riding (unfortunately) became a little sporadic. With a big family to cart around, there are only so many opportunities in any given week for me to choose Giacomo the Vespa as my mode of transportation as opposed to say, John Stamos the Toyota or Overkill Jones the Ford.

Then we had a stretch where on the days that I could ride but then there were so many thunderstorms. Then we went on vacation, then they oil and chipped the road (which would be terrible to ride on) and then came the woeful day my husband said “holy shit I didn’t realize just how bald the tires had gotten, don’t drive that.”

But now!!! 

Reunited . . . and it feels so good!

Back on, baby! Here are some Giacomo experiences I wanted to share:

1. Earlier this summer, someone told me she had been considering getting a moped for her daughter but had some concerns. "Are drivers around here assholes?" she asked, wondering if car drivers do mean/dumb/scary things to those of us on two dainty wheels.

"They're really not,"  I said, " . . . but sometimes motorcyclists don't give me the wave, the special little motorcycle wave that they give to each other!" 

I was indignant. Everyone laughed that that was my biggest worry about other drivers . . . then I had to laugh, too.

2. Speaking of "the wave" . . . I find myself wanting to wave at anyone driving any sort of vehicle, two wheels or four, that seems like it's something really special and fun to them (think antique convertibles, that sort of thing) like Giacomo is to me. Frequently I do. They are probably confused.

3. I forgot how much I love when little kids tell me things like, "I wike your pink motow-cycle."

4. Ditto: how much I love watching how many people slow down, in vehicle or on foot, to admire Giacomo and his stickers. Sometimes they take pictures.

5. While I might not have posted much of him on Instagram lately, he did make a cameo on my favorite local coffeeshop's story recently! Reaching local legend status, for sure.

Five on Friday: What (as a Curator) I *Actually* Do

Last week I happened to have two pictures taken of me that my husband pointed out would work in one of those "what people think I do/what I actually do" memes. I know those are so five years ago, but I had to chuckle, because not only was he absolutely right but recently someone said to me, "I don't think I know what a curator actually does."

So I'm not going to try to guess what my Mom or kids or the public thinks I do all day as a museum curator. Instead, I'll just share five pictures that show you what I do:

1. Spend a lot of time in cemeteries. I think the right word for this might be traipsing.

 2. End up down on the floor or up on a ladder; Murphy's law dictates I am wearing a dress the day these things happen.

3. Get sweaty moving junk out of a historic church-turned-grange on a particularly hot day (though, finally, appropriately dressed!).

4. Create inviting spaces in an attempt to convince people to visit our historic site.

5. Turn into such a history nerd that I then spend my free time making a fake podcast* with local history stories.

*I was excitedly sharing local history stories with my sisters and one of them kept begging me to make a podcast. I kept refusing, but for her birthday I acquiesced. I began recording sporadic stories and sharing photos of the sites I referenced (and then drove to visit on Giacomo the Vespa) on a new Facebook page for her. Sure, recorded stories that you can download and listen to might seem like a podcast, but since I insisted I was not going to make one and because this is not available "wherever podcasts are found," I will forever refer to it as a fake podcast. 

Wondering why it's called Season Three when it's brand new? Listen to Episode One to find out.

Five on Friday: Signs of Spring to Tide Me Over 'Til the Nice Weather is Here to Stay

Is it really April that’s the cruelest month? Because we’re a solid week into May and the weather is still teasing me with one nice day followed by several chilly, rainy ones (and a forecast that is bumming me out). I am a warm weather fanatic. I have big Vespa-riding plans but once we start dipping below 62° it’s just too chilly for me to ride comfortably.

I keep telling myself I need to hold on just another week . . . or two . . . and we’ll be firmly into gorgeous, eat-outside-all-the-time, good-riding weather. In the meantime, those random teaser days with temps in the 70s have provided lots of little signs of spring, (some of them true for everyone, some just for parents) that help me realize spring really is here, even if it’s not providing the consistently higher temperatures I long for.

1. It must be spring because I am finding weird shit outside, not just inside.

Okay, it's not that a paintbrush is weird, per se, it's just . . . why was it inserted into the bunting like this? Another flag had a little stick in it. Why?

 2. I'm harping on the kids to put their bike helmets and basketballs away properly instead of their boots and gloves.

3. "Pick up your toys so we can vacuum the rug" is morphing into "Pick up your toys so we can mow the lawn."

Who's more excited? This guy for getting to mow the lawn or Dad for having someone that really wants to mow the lawn? Might be a toss-up.

 

 

4. Ah, the sounds (birds in the morning, spring peepers in the evening) and sights of spring . . . I went outside to take a picture of my little baby bean plants and found a pair of damp sneakers drying on the deck rail.

 

5. This little gal is taking more of her naps outside in the sun these days . . . and even though I'm having trouble believing it, I know that soon I will be, too.

 

Five on Friday: Vespa Playlist

"My husband says I post and talk about Giacomo the Vespa too much . . . "

Just because the one and only souvenir I purchased on our recent vacation was for my Vespa and not, for example, for my friend watching my dog for the week . . . doesn't mean I'm obsessed. It means Sandwich is a funny name for a town and belongs on Giacomo's top box sticker collection.

So, what if I am a little bit obsessed? It's his fault anyway and I could have worse habits. Perhaps I shall just embrace my fixation on my vehicle and write my second Vespa post in less than a month.  I mentioned in my previous post that I am undecided on if I feel comfortable listening to music under my helmet so for now I just spend my ride thinking. Sometimes I think about the playlist I would listen to if I did listen to music on my rides. So far it looks like this:

1. Macklemore's Downtown: Maybe twice because it's so fun . . . once at the beginning and then again at the end? That could work.

2. Coffee Break Italian: Okay so technically this is a podcast (that teaches Italian) and I don't know if you can add a podcast to a playlist. Maybe if I download some episodes I can then put them on the playlist? Or maybe I should just listen to the music playlist sometimes and the podcast other times. Generally it's difficult for me to find time to listen to podcasts so when I'm alone riding would really be the perfect time. Better yet would be if I could just, like, take a pill and know how to speak the language. Has that been invented yet?
 

3. Bo Diddley's Road Runner: while as a family we're partial to the other Roadrunner song by the Modern Lovers, Bo Diddley's version has a steady background chorus of "Beep! Beep!" and I do love beeping at small animals while I ride.

4. Selected favorites from Putumayo's Italian Café but replacing their version of  Tu vuo' fa l'Americano with the version from The Talented Mr. Ripley (a movie that really I don't like, actually, as the plot makes me anxious and uncomfortable but oh, that scenery and costuming! And so many vintage Vespas! Drool.)

5. ZoomZoom Zoom: Wrong language but still sounds pretty and naturally zoom, zoom, zoom is fun to sing when driving a Vespa. I realized recently why hand grip accelerating is so satisfying and sort of nostalgic . . . because when I was a kid at the height of Evil Knievel mania, having one of those motorcycle noise-making grips on your bike to rev up was just the ultimate in coolness.

Five on Friday: Riding Reflections

My husband says I post and talk about Giacomo the Vespa too much. First of all . . . I disagree.

Second of all, I’d like everyone to know about a conversation we repeated about once a year every year for probably eight years straight:

Him: Do you think you’d ever still want a Vespa someday?

Me: Meh, I don’t know, I think that ship has sailed.

Then he bought me one for Christmas.

Furthermore, he has no idea how many posts I think up that I never even share! Dreaming up potential posts is just one of the things I do when I'm riding. Since I'm undecided on if I'd feel comfortable or not listening to quiet music under my helmet, for now I just spend my ride thinking, enjoying the scenery, making observations and, of course, cracking myself up. Here are some recent reflections:

1. "Aw man, back roads are the best! I love their lower speed limits, terrific scenery and frequent lack of any other vehicles." (thirty seconds later . . . )

"DUDE. Back roads are the worst! Has this hill always been this steep? A curve in the road should never be this insanely sharp, my god."

2. When I see this sign (or others like it) when I'm driving in the car, I think, "Oh that's just a suggested speed limit." But while on Giacomo, I say, "Oh, yes, that is a very prudent speed limit for this incredibly curvy and steep hill! I hope the car behind me doesn't think that's just a suggestion because it is absolutely not."

3. There’s this sort of special wave that motorcyclists do when they pass one another. I haven't passed any other Vespa riders but I see plenty of motorcyclists. They are usually men and for the most part, they give me the wave. Sometimes I initiate, sometimes they do. Last week one gave me a very enthusiastic, over the head, ROCK ON salute, which made me super happy.

There are also the guys who absolutely see me and turn their heads away from me, obviously entirely too tough to wave to a rider of a pink Vespa. To them I subtly give a different hand salute that only utilizes one finger.

 

4. I love to sound my completely non-intimidating beep at every squirrel, chipmunk and deer that I see in or near  the road. I don't really need to, they generally run away as I get closer but it's one of the things I do to entertain myself.

5. On a ride last Friday I thought to myself: "Dogs really don’t like Vespas. They always bark at me like my dog does to the vacuum cleaner. What would I do if one of those barking dogs ever charged at me while I was driving past? Probably just beep a lot."

Then on a ride the next day: I sort of hit a dog*

(*I was traveling at a low speed as I was turning a corner in my neighborhood when I saw a dog break free from his owner. I started beeping like crazy but he didn't care. He ran towards me and his owner ran after him, placing them both directly in front of me so I came to a complete stop. He kept coming at me and I'm not sure if he actually made contact with my front tire or not. It was surprisingly not at all scary but I made a note to self to no longer wonder about things that could go wrong while I'm driving lest I bring them to fruition)