Modern Vespa

hello! I am thinking about one day doing a trip toronto to florida. i was wondering if its safe to ride a vespa through the southern states. virginia, north and south carolina, georgia, looks like the shortest route is through these states.. the gts's can handle highway speeds just fine, but just wondering how safe and um.. accepting people are in the south of people on scooters.. ha. thank you for any input!

Edit: I have been riding around the Southeast US for the past 12 years.

Everywhere from Florida to Maryland to Memphis, Tennessee to New Orleans, LA.

I have never had an issue with the people.

You will find southerners to be mostly good folks.

Just like Canadians.

Have a nice ride.

Bill

I rode to cape bretton and the people treated me like family ride back roads you will have a great adventure the southern people will treat you well just practice saying yall and ease up on the ay's treat people like you would like to be treated. Capt. Gary uneducated red neck from South alabama

Did you just watch Deliverance (1972) right before writing this post?

i was actually planning to ride highways most of the way. much quicker i find. safe for scooters? speed wise i mean here in canada the fastest is 100kmh, same there?

Not a Southerner, but you should do just fine. I think scooters have a vibe to them that makes one approachable, and anyway, people are people....yes, there are some scary folks out there, but they get a disproportionate amount of press and gives one a skewed image that's not helpful.

Read a little Lostboater Diaries http://lostboaterdiaries.com/ about scooting there and you'll *want* to ride there.

this is awesome! thanks!

I feel that the distribution of a-holes is fairly even across the USA. Not sure if that makes you feel better about riding in the South or more concerned about riding in the North.

With that said, a-Holery behavior is definitely the exception, not the rule.

Plan for a mix of highways, backroads, cities, and small towns. Should be a fun adventure.

too many videos of guns and "rolling coal " skewing the picture. thanks friend!

How many hours and miles is this trip?

just over 2000 km's it seems. maybe average around 400-500 km a day

In the words of Les Claypool "where you goin' city boy"

Y'all can stay out of Georgia, we don't need your prejudices round these parts.

I am shocked by the question.. My jaw actually dropped open. I was born in Georgia and live in South Carolina now. I can't imagine someone seriously messing with you because you're on a scooter. Please fill us in on why you think this way. Is it movies you have watched?

Riding the super slab is not my idea of a great adventure its sorta like playing pinball with cars back roads almost as fast and a lot less stress most long distance riders have ridden the slab or interstates to make up time or distance its just more comfortable for me and I get to see more

Awesome thanks! Curious what generally the speed limits are on backroads?

Perfectly safe. Just don't choose to ride through some inner city urban area. I live here and ride here all of the time.. GA, NC, SC. I would not hesitate to ride to any destination in the Southeast... well, except for some inner city urban area.

^ This. Barreling down 65mph highways with trucks and traffic loses its novelty after about 100 miles. There's a reason the Scooter Cannonball doesn't follow those kinds of routes. Part of the fun of scooter riding is choosing non-major roadways on which to travel. I'd say those routes are as safe in the US as they are anywhere in the world.

Beauty! Thanks! Cant wait to get out of the city and into the country roads!

Well, that is just a silly question and almost eliminates you from the ride.

Have you done any 3 or 4 rides in your country yet?

I love daydreaming about rides and never once has my safety been a consideration. Nor when I rode several times across the US or Canada or Europe or Egypt or West Africa or South Africa etc.

I encourage you to get out of your comfort zone, even you have to force yourself, and you will be amazed at what a wonderful world we live. Start by turning of the TV/news.

Riding the interstate through Tennessee with truck traffic in a rainstorm was not fun. Otherwise, the scooting was great.

I have to confess, I was as well. I have lived on the "Left Coast" most of my life but have spent fair amounts of time in New England, Oklahoma, and Florida. I've ridden motorcycles and scooters in all these areas as well as adjacent states. It would never occur to me to ask that question.

I'm born and raised in Toronto and don't understand where this question is coming from

I'm going to give a different perspective. This isn't discouragement, just the less shiny side of the coin from someone rode a lot in NC, TN, and SC.

My biggest piece of advice is to know how optimistic your speedometer is.

There's highways and there's interstates. Highways are better for riding, just slower. They usually top out at 55mph. Interstates are between 55-70mph posted. I use them grudgingly for making time and to avoid deer at dusk. Any road you're on...whatever the posted limit is, expect the pace of traffic to be 5-15+ over. If traffic is going the limit, there's probably a speed trap.

Most people don't know that scooters bigger than 50cc exist, so they tend to treat scooters as an obstruction to get past until you reach 45mph, then they get more accepting...most of the time. Most people just want to get on with their day, but there's still plenty of idiots, and they take things personally. Just be aware and don't let yourself be a target.

Other motorcyclists, especially Harleys: one or two, usually friendly or neutral. Watch out for groups. They're usually neutral, but pack mentality is a PITA. If you see patched vests, pay extra attention.

Watch out for pickup trucks. Especially if they're modified. ESPECIALLY if they have certain decals & stickers.

...All that said, plenty of people, myself (in all my PTSD hypervigilant craziness) included, have ridden through the region and loved it. There are some wonderful roads for riding in the Appalachian mountains.

Oh... and the deer might as well be suicidal, especially around dusk. If you ride at night, don't outride your headlight or reaction speed. Black bear fur isn't reflective. 😉

You'll be fine until someone asks you where you got your shoes.

I will say that the further out of state your license plate is, the more consideration you seem to get down here. It doesn't translate to cars, though...just motorcycles and scooters. I don't know why (though I have a few guesses), but I've observed the phenomenon repeatedly over several years.