Modern Vespa

Hi! Pretty new here and new to scooting. I have a Sprint 150 and I'd like to find a fun, slow route to travel in southern CA, US. I'm in south Orange County. The thing is I need to stay off the freeways. Though it's technically legal here to take a 150 on the freeway, I definitely wouldn't feel safe with a top speed of 60-ish.

I've seen there are lots of motorcycle apps for planning trips but I didn't see any for scooters, and it's hard to tell if the motorcycle apps let you plan a trip with a non-highway option.

Any advice is welcome! Thanks!

Welcome to MV and to scootering

Most GPS and on-line maps have an "avoid highways" option. If you know where you want to go, that would probably work for you. If you're looking for joyrides, go ahead and use the motorcycle apps. They're usually pretty scenic. There's also a bunch of suggested routes / rides on-line.

Another option is to join up with other scooter riders in your area. There used to be a couple of scooter clubs in Orange County - not sure if they're still active. There's a group ride in San Diego on Sunday that might appeal to you (posted in Rallies & Events) San Diego - Sunday, April 2. Swerve & Curve Scooter Rally is in August if you're up for a ride to south LA.

Hope you find something that works for you. Have fun!

Get paper maps for the city or county that show all the secondary roads and streets. Lay it out on the table and trace a route that takes you from A to B without going on highways, making note of the streets you'll follow. You get the big picture with a paper map; GPS or Google Maps are like tunnel vision. Once you've found a route you can then enter it in your GPS.

Soon you'll develop your scootin' knowledge and you'll have the maps in your head!

Ride safe & have fun. 8)

Thanks for the suggestions!

I use google maps and switch it to the bicycle mode. Sometimes it puts you on a trail, but I'm sure you'd fit.

google maps, and turn on avoid highways option.

Thanks everyone! Of course I know how to use gps and avoid highways...I guess I'm just stuck because I don't have a destination in mind. I just want to know what's a fun route to ride. I guess using the motorcycle apps and choosing avoid highways is my best bet!

If anyone is in SoCal and knows good routes or roads to scoot on I'm all ears!

The ride to Joshua Tree is supposed to be awesome.

South County is tough without highways. The area is the suburbs so there is not a lot of variation in scenery as you go through nearly identical housing tracts. But you have PCH which is technically a highway but not really. And as an only option is not going to generate a lot of sympathy as it's an embarrassment of riches sort of situation.

You can ride the Ortega Highway (again technically a highway but you can just pull over on the faster parts for cars to pass. You can also ride Santiago and Modjeska canyons if you are close enough.

If you want to visit Scooter West/ Vespa Motorsport you sort of have to take the 5 which might seem terrifying but considering the traffic keeping the speed down is very doable. I try to go when there is little traffic but find a 50 mph truck to get behind so I'm not WOT the whole time. Usually you would just be doing 30 or so because of the traffic.

You can do the 5 between San Clemente and Oceanside like that and visit Mission San Luis Rey (one of the 'best' missions and then either continue down PCH or turn around.

But avoiding highways altogether in south county is tough. Even when I take side streets getting somewhere I usually take the highway going back because my pup demands his walks and regular streets just eat the hours.