Thinking of Winnie the Pooh

Cliff Cave Park is right on the Mississippi River.

The River was high and running fast.

There was plenty of debris in the water. There were lots of tree limbs and old stumps.

There was even a barrel floating downriver. It made me think of a Winnie the Pooh story, the one in which he saves Piglet from a flood.

It was good to see the barges running with full loads again.

It was a beautiful day to enjoy the sun and watch the River run by...

But, in less than twenty-four hours 114 barges broke loose in St. Louis and raised havoc downriver. Four of the barges hit the Jefferson Barracks Bridge, the bridge I-55 uses to cross the Mississippi. (You can read about it here) The River never lets us forget just how very powerful it is.

Speaking of Pooh, are heffalumps pink?

If they are, I may have found one.

While It Was Still Warm

It seems someone must of prayed for seasonal weather. This morning the Spring like temperatures were gone. The forecasters were telling us the beginning of the week could bring the coldest temperatures of the season. I figured I'd better get a ride in while it was still warm.

It was 28F/-2C when I left the condo.

The first stop of the day brought me bagels, nice warm bagels.

My second stop was somewhere along Rte.61. I like the wood railroad trestles that span some of the side roads. I decided today was the day to get a photo of one.

My third stop was in Ste. Genevieve.

After Ste Genevieve I meandered over to Rte.67 and zoomed toward home. I learned two things on Rte.67: Isabelle is much happier going 65mph(indicated) than I am; and, I need something to give my throttle hand a break.

But before I went home I made a fourth stop at Bee Tree Park.

At Bee Tree Park I met a man and his wiener dog. He came over as I was parking Isabelle. He told me it was a really nice looking machine. He also told me he used to ride a 750 Honda. He'd had a tumor removed from his wrist and couldn't work the throttle and the brake at the same time. He tried to ride it for a couple of years after the operation, but finally decided he was a danger to himself and others. I told him I'd been to Ste Genevieve and over "Y" to 67 and back in. I'd stop at the Park in hopes of seeing some robins. He told me I should have been there a couple weekends ago. There were flocks of robins. He'd never seen so many robins. I told him I'd seen the same thing, but I was at the Botanical Gardens.

With this robin all puffed up to stay warm its legs sure look spindly.

I did see a few robins, but nothing like what I'd seen a couple of weeks before. I'm thinking we must have witnessed a migratory event.

I saw some seagulls, too.

And some geese.

And lots of people walking their dogs.

I'm growing more and more fond of Isabelle. Today's ride was a little over 190mi/305km and it was nice, smooth, and drama free.

Oh, and it was 32/-1C when I got home.

Waiting...

I Wonder If That Applies

Islam allows a man more than one wife. I'm told there is a catch. Yes, a man can have more than one wife, but he must treat them equally.  Hmmm, I wonder if that applies to motorcycles and scooters as well. If one doesn't treat them both equitably and well will there be a scene? Perhaps something like I witnessed the other evening.

I saw it all. The one in the back pushed the one in the front. It was nearly flamigocide.

I've been riding Billie to work each day. Isabelle has been setting in the garage. Heather was over in Illinois this evening and wouldn't be home until late. It seemed a good opportunity to stretch Isabelle's legs, to keep things in balance.

The evening was warm, but delightful. And, the sky decided to put on a show for us.

It wasn't a very long ride. Even so, we took a little break.

I think Isabelle likes her photo taken.

Isabelle's First Longish Rides

Last Saturday I took Isabelle, my new 2010 Kymco People 250S, out for our first longish ride. It was a getting to know each other ride. I took her out to the Covered Bridge at the end of Old Lemay Ferrry Road. I've been there a couple of times riding Billie, my 100cc Symba. It was a much more enjoyable ride on Isabelle. On Billie I would usually have to pull off the road after some of the hills to let the parade pass. Today there were no lines of cars building up behind me.

 

You can see how dry it is by how brown the grass is.

At the intersection of Old Lemay Ferry Rd and Old Hwy M in Antonia I saw Steve from the St. Louis Scooter Club out on his trike. I waved, but he didn't know who I was. How would he. He didn't know I had a new bike. I detoured and followed him. Eventually he wondered who the guy following him was and stopped. It is a small world. He oohed and aahed over Isabelle. We chatted briefly and he continued on to his friend's place and I made my way back to the Covered Bridge.

 

I, also, rode the length of Rte.141 from Lemay Ferry to Marine. Recently the last link in this outer loop was completed. This is a highway I would have avoided if I were riding Billie. It was no problem for Isabelle. Isabelle performed exactly like I'd hoped she would. Can you tell I'm smiling.

 

I liked the reflections off the water.

Creve Couer Lake is a favorite destination of mine. Isabelle and I made our first visit there. I just had to get a photo of the Bonnie parked in the background. I asked the nice dragon to keep its tongue in its mouth, but it just wouldn't behave. I'd forgotten light dragons had forked tongues. Oh well.

When it was all said and done we traveled a little over one hundred miles. Some impressions. I really love the hook for securing a bag/backpack. Very handy. Actually, the only thing didn't like was the mirrors. I see way to much of me and not enough of the road behind me...and, they are ugly.

 

Sunday was another day, and another ride. This one of a little over 60 miles.

 

The sky on Sunday was filled with a cloud show.

One of the major reasons for bringing Isabelle into my life was to be able to ride more safely to St. Peters to visit my son, daughter-in-law, and grand-daughter. Sunday afternoon I headed for St. Peters. She did great. A couple of times when I glanced down at the speedometer it was registering a bit over 70mph. The reviews I've read about the People 250S say the speedometer is surprisingly accurate for a scooter. Most scooters are rather optimistic in their speed readings. Although I don't know how accurate Isabelle's speedometer is, I do know this, I stayed up with traffic just fine, which is all I ask.

Isabelle and I plan to visit often.

The Naming.

Back in May I was nearly positive a red and silver Honda CBR250R was going to be my next bike. Click here to learn about the bike. On the Feast of Pentecost, the day Christians celebrate the coming of the Holy Spirit and many congregations wear red, as a joke I posted the following comment on a social media site:

Today most Christians celebrated the coming of the Holy Spirit. I had the distinct sense the Holy Spirit wants me to buy a red motorcycle, name it Pentecost, and call it Penny. Of course, I might be mistaken.

The same day on the Jewish Calendar is also a Holiday.  Their celebrations commemorates the giving of Torah. A dear friend and one of the cleverest women I know made this response:

We celebrate the giving of the Torah at Mt. Sinai, where we all met at the foot of the mountain on our red motorcycles. It's called Shavuot, which is Hebrew for Sturgis. So...I think Keithey mis-heard the Ruach HaKodesh.

As those of you who have been following this blog know, I didn't buy a CBR250R, nor did I buy a Harley and head for Sturgis. I bought a Kymco People 250S. 

The Kymco is plenty red, but she is not a Penny.

After the adventure of taking delivery of the Kymco, I thought about naming her Reluctance, but that didn't seem to be it. Still there was something in the experience that needing to be claimed. The movie Crossing Delancey came to mind. I remember it as a cute little movie. The main character is a thirty-something woman who works at a bookstore in New York. She works with the authors who are scheduled to come to the store to do readings and promote their books. She becomes rather smitten by one particular author, who seems to have an interest in her. At the same time her grandmother hires a matchmaker. The matchmaker matches her with a pickle maker. Of course, there is more to the pickle maker than him merely being a pickle maker. When the main character finds out the author she is taken with was really looking for nothing more than an assistant with benefits, she is afraid she has blown her chances with the surprise man in her life. But there is a happy beginning after all, despite her reluctance. The character's name in the movie is Isabelle. And....

...the name of my new scooter is Isabelle.
 

The Case of the Reluctant Scooter

My new scooter came from Kansas. How did that come about? One day I was out bike shopping and saw a really nice used 2009 People 250S. I was ready to buy it, but decided to call Mike, my tech wizard, and see what he thought of the deal. At one time he worked for Scooter World in Overland KS, which is a Kymco dealer. I figured he'd have an opinion, and I trust him. He told me he thought it was a good deal but not a great deal. I decided to hold off.

Later, Mike called Scooter World and found they had a brand new 2010 People 250S. They offered to sell it to me for what the other dealer wanted for the used People. I gobbled that deal up. And, Mike made me a sweet offer to trailer it from Kansas to St. Louis. Nice. They only catch was I had to wait until he was headed that way. Time passed and I was becoming a kid waiting for Santa. Is it Christmas yet? No, not yet, but soon.

Finally, last Saturday Mike headed for Kansas City. Sunday Heather took me over to his place and I laid eyes on my scooter for the first time.

There was a slight problem. No headlights. Mike assured me it was fine for Heather to leave. He was sure it wasn't anything major, probably a fuse had jiggled loose on the ride across the State. After all, the headlight was working fine when he picked it up. He'd checked.

It wasn't a fuse. It turned out to be a relay. I figured that was a major problem. Nope. Mike will have Scooter World order a new relay. To get me on the road while we wait for a new relay, he rewired some things, bypassed the relay,  and I have headlights. Not a permanent fix, but a good solid temporary fix.

Now, I was going to get to ride my scooter for the first time. My insurance agent assured me I was insured. I had thirty days to register the scooter in Missouri, so while I wasn't technically legal I figured I was close enough. I took it slow through a few alleys. I was pulling out of the last alley unto an actual street when the scoot stalled...and, it wouldn't start.

I called Mike. He said he'd be right there.

When he got there he did a few things and said, "I know what this is," and added, "It's the idle jet." He did some stuff and got it to start. My first experience of riding my new scooter on the street was keeping the idle up and making my way back to Mike's while hoping it wouldn't stall out again. I managed, but I can't say I was enjoying myself very much.

The guys at Scooter World had ridden it the day before. Mike had ridden it the day before. Mike had ridden it that morning and there had been no problem. I ride it through an alley or two and....

We figure it was my slow hand.

Mike proceeded to pull the carburetor. He worked his magic, put the carburetor back in, and three hours plus some minutes after Heather had dropped me off  I was finally on my way.

I didn't go straight home. It would have been the prudent thing to do and those of you who know me know I am generally prudent. Not today. Today I headed for Castlewood State Park and "the hill". Billie does this hill in second gear. The new scooter of course doesn't have gears, but it pulled up that hill without a problem. It even responded to a twist of my wrist and picked up speed mid-hill. I was smiling.

The ride was smooth and what a wonderful experience pulling away from stoplights was. Oh, and the brakes. Billie has drum brakes. The People has dual discs in the front and a nice large disc brake in the rear. I likey.

It was a short ride and I will have more to say as time unwinds and more road passes under the nice 16" tires. I can say this: I am certainly glad this new scooter got over what seemed like reluctance to join my little stable.

By the way, Billie knows she will still be my ride to work bike. And, I think she is relived knowing she will have no need to experience "the hill" ever again.