Safety Gear

You should always take safety into account, even when driving around town, but driving across the country is a bit different.  Luckily the great people at Cedar Creek Motorsports helped me pick out the correct gear for my trek.  So, what is the correct gear for a trip of this magnitude?  That's a great question, and honestly one I don't have the answer to.

I was thinking it would be best to prep for most weather, take into account any laws in the various states I'm going to be going through, and of course comfort.  Since not having the correct gear due to a law could land me in hot water, I thought it best to go with a HJC full face helmet.  To tackle common weather issues, and for comfort sake, I selected a tourmaster jacket and gloves (wind & rain resistant of course).  I already have riding boots so I should be set there.  I'm thinking this should be good for now, unless my research uncovers something else I might need.

- Michael

Tire Repair

One of the worst things I can think of that would happen while on the road would be a flat tire.  To over come that I went down to Emerys bike shop to look at some pumps and repair kit options.  They not only answered all my questions, they even let me try a few different pumps to make sure I got one that would work.  That's what I call customer service!

Here's what I picked up:

• Bontrager Mini foot pump
• ParkTool TB-2 Tire Boot patches
• ParkTool GP-2 Super patches

The pump is a bit larger then I wanted, but after giving it a try in the shop I knew one of the small hand pumps would not work out well.  After I pick up some more supplies I figure I'll give it a test run before leaving town.

- Michael

The Date

So the date has been picked.  Although not set in stone, I'm currently planning on leaving May 31st and making it back to WI by June 10th.  Now the planning can really start.

- Michael

Intro

This is the start of a blog / journal I will keep while driving a Vintage Vespa across the USA (well, most of the way across).  My plan is a simple one, or so I think.  I live in Wisconsin.  I plan to fly out to California to purchase a Vespa (something from the early '70s).  I will then drive it  back home. The trip should take me on a 2,200 mile journey.

I came up with this idea about a year ago and have been looking into it ever since.  I plan to leave some time in May or June depending on the weather, and that's coming up fast.  I've kicked my planning into high gear and wanted to start my blog now so I could not only share my trip, but also everything that goes into planning it.

A bit of background before we kick things off.  I've been riding Vespas for more then a decade now.  I've driven my faithful ET2 50cc over 300 miles in a single day (so I'm no stranger to long rides).  Like most seasoned riders, I too have taken a spill and laid my Vespa down.  Although I do all my own repair work, I wouldn't call myself a master mechanic, but it's safe to say I know my way around tools.  Without some of this prior knowledge I don't think I would attempt such a trek by myself.

Let the planning begin.

I hope you enjoy reading this blog, and I hope it helps you plan your next adventure.
- Michael