Starting mileage was 11,753 and is currently 14,193, almost 2,500 miles. Fuel costs are rising, but I'm still getting superb MPG's. So far, I've had two oil changes and changed the gear oil as well. I was such a different rider 14,000 miles ago! My riding perspective has certainly changed, now a 160 miles is an easy day and steel grate bridges don't make me wince.
My own personal mileage, my perspective, has also expanded. It is one thing to follow your dream, fueled by faith alone, and another to and articulate it with people, even finding they support it. Speak your mind, even if your voice shakes! I was a pretty shy person, not so much around my friends, but meeting total strangers in this way is not something I would have expected of myself. People have been coming out to ride with me and just last night a couple, from Houston, contacted me because they received an email from Scooterworks that mentioned the ride. It was so amazing that Scott and Elizabeth rode out three hours on a whim to come and meet me and have some cold ones in Austin, TX.
The scooter community too has provided priceless support, helping me save a lot of money through lodging. They've shown me around their towns, shared their stories with me and made that solitary time out on the road just slip away. New Orleans was one of my longer stops. After contacting Rich, a NOLA scooterist who runs a forum, which most cities have, so look into it, he offered to meet me outside of town and escort me in. It was a very proper welcoming and made me feel slightly initiated.
The guys over at Big Easy Scoots were also really hospitable-man, the South has its charm. Food, music and culture keeps New Orleans heartbeat strong like the drummer in a brass band. I don't know how fast food stays in business there. You can even find the best, cheap home cooked meal in ramshackle places where the name is merely spraypainted on a piece of plywood. The Big Easy Scooter Crew; Mike and Tom and Jocelyn had many a meal with me and even an adventure out to Finn Mccools to meet other NOLA scooterists. Johnny Nomad, a local scooterist and fellow traveler, hosted me for three days. He's trying to see the whole globe without ever taking an airplane and has so far seen 70 countries. About traveling, he says, ""If I have learned one thing as a traveler, it would be that the world would be a better place if everyone took a little time out of their lives to explore the world around them."
I spent a full day volunteering at The Green Project (thegreenproject.org). TGP offers valuable resources to its community and our environment by keeping 45-70% of stuff out of landfills. They provide the drop off point for recycled paint, lumber, and building materials... where they are salvaged and placed somewhere else in the city. Volunteering is not just allowing me to help out communities but helping me get a better idea to choose the remaining two recipients of donations collected.
The raffles are helping to raise money, but there honestly haven't been enough contestants to do one each week. I hope this changes! So far, we have raised more than $2,000 for donation to charitable organizations. Today a huge donation came in from a kind, wonderful gentleman who works as a geologist in the oil business and I wrote to him of the irony. It's funny, accepting a donation for gas, from an oil associate, in order to fuel my vehicle to demonstrate transportation alternatives that maximize fuel efficiency. See, he is a scooterist also-he knows what's up! Another surprise came the other day when someone I barely know wrote me and said, "I've decided to send my economic stimulus check to you, for charitable donation!" Thank you Tara!
I'm enjoying 8 hours a day of fresh air and seeing the variations in landscape. Most of the routes I've chosen are perfect for scooting. The only exception was 90W out of New Orleans and it was basically like an interstate without being officially named one. Riding it in the pouring rain made maintaining speeds of 70mph very difficult and slightly dangerous. Gear is really important factor to make these rides as comfortable and safe as possible. My saddlebags kept the rain out as did my rain suit. I was never cold or too soggy. Now that I'm hitting triple digit temperatures, hydration is also key, so I carry an Camelbak unit. There are a lot of new photos in my flickr account, including one that I'm really proud of-my first gator in the wild sighting!
I had only 15 miles left in Louisiana when I saw one! The ride itself was gorgeous, coasting through crawfish, sugarcane and rice fields into Cajun Bayous and then across a ferry over to the Gulf side of Texas, watching the Mississippi River meet the ocean. And no one was around, beautiful riding, but no gas stations. The irony of running out of gas where the many oil refineries dotting the Texas landscape!
Check out www.peacescooter.com for more details, to leave your definition of peace and to enter the raffles!
Ride ON!
Alix
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I would rather us make history by creating Peace, than become history in its absence.
www.peacescooter.com
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