Modern Vespa

You are going to get that. Too many people remember their old Cub they had back in the day and are curious about the newer ones. There is a Matte Gray frame color that you can get that I find a little more stealthy, but unless you are buying new (not me), you don't get to choose when a deal comes your way like it did yours. You are going to love the gas mileage. On our smaller gallon over here, I was getting 135 mpg on the Trail 125 and I wasn't easy on it. Add a small back rack and it's a great city/ slow back country roads ride.

Most people I see around here on scooters do the same. Janky shoes, T-shirts, shorts and maybe a half helmet or no helmet at all. Whatever works for them is fine by me.

Yeah that gray and red colour scheme is really off putting.

The blue and the red and white looks so much better.

I'm only getting about 80 to the tank but the engine is still tight.

A bit of backstory: our last commander was beyond toxic (think "getting up on a desk and having a temper tantrum before realizing it was entirely unwarranted" and "deliberately trying to kick people out without basis" levels). We lost well into double-digits of "traditional reservists" (the "one weekend a month, two weeks a year" you hear about on tv commercials and such), as well as a few of our full-time staff like myself. i very nearly punched half a dozen times, and were it not for one of the greatest enlisted men i've had the pleasure of working for, i definitely wouldn't have made it to my upcoming retirement.

Many of us had enough of his fockery even before his departure, and filed the appropriate complaints with the appropriate entities.

It sparked an inquiry from some higher-ups.

That inquiry has been unfolding of late, and the immensely and admirably professional gentleman conducting interviews anticipated 30-40 minutes per individual to get statements in writing.

So far the shortest has been 96 minutes.

I do love how we have come together as a very cohesive team now that he's no longer here, in the spirit of making sure he's never anyone's supervisor--let alone commander--ever again.

almost enough to make a feller emotional.

i'd never even begin to condone or excuse someone who "frags" their leadership downrange.....but I can definitely now understand how someone could get to that level of desperation in a high-stress environment like a war zone.

I've been cheered up this week because I'm on vacation, up in northern MN, with my wife and her family on their annual weeklong fishing trip. It's a fairly nice cabin on a big-ass lake from which others (no luck for me this year) have been pulling the occasional walleye.

Now it's Thursday. Much like the fish themselves, relatives - especially in-laws - get to be pretty damn old after a few days. But it's Thursday night, so one more day to go try to land a fish, then we're out of here. That's what's cheering me up at the moment.

I'd be afraid of what the little 'crown' thingy might also push into if it were to become dislodged during use.

i don't think that's what you're supposed to use the soap for though.

i think it's just for the outside parts.

So I need two soaps?! How do store the second soap then?

just keep it in that way nothing ever smells bad when it comes out.

Soap on a Rope. Hang it from your bracket.

First time I've heard it called a bracket

That's why we do our annual fishing trip to a cabin with friends rather than family. 15 days till our trip starts, the bikes are almost ready...

Never on my nethers!

Yesterday was "new car" day for my wife. I added the 4-pin to 7-pin trailer wiring this morning. It's all ready for our next camping trip. Deb loves her new Subaru Outback Wilderness and this cheers me up.

That's our next new car purchase as well, but we're waiting till after we get settled in CO.

caschnd1, I like those T@G teardrops!

This is our 6th Subaru. They are amazing in the snow, as long as you're running the proper tires. The OBW comes with very good all season tires. We love our T@G! Perfect for two people and a 70# black lab. I built a bunk for the dog to keep him off our feet. 😂

Belly full of walleye, and we head home tomorrow morning. Those things are cheering me up quite a bit right now. I did manage to bring in a decent sized fish today, but it had to go back in the lake for the local tribes. Anything between 18-23" has to go back in, we caught five today that were in that range.

Biggest: My father-in-law with a 26" walleye. Most: my nephew. Weirdest: Brother-in-law landed a good sized burbot. First one any of us had seen. Pretty good tasting fish.

A ride out to the coast for Fish and Chips with the Lads after work last night.

It's a pleasure to ride with others who know what they are doing.

as a sub fan we have had 6 so far. the new out backs are just plain fugly , hate all the black plastics for this reason we won't buy a one. We are considering the forester though just have to go by the dealer and see how those look as the 25's are suppose to have alot of changes.

oh and when your ready for new skins I have some verdestins put on and those are most excellent.

I'm not a fan of plastics on most cars. It's common around the wheel wells of off road vehicles among many brands. The plastic is more resistant to abrasion from bushes, tree branches than painted surfaces. The Outback Wilderness is intended for off road use in addition to daily commuting so it's kind of appropriate.

I can't stand what Subaru has done to the WRX. A sport sedan with all that plastic around the wheel wells looks terrible.

totally agree with the wilderness looking that way but the touring outback? yuk

finally got the timing belt sorted on the TDI. next up, a/c compressor for the GTI.

a couple big ones following each other but it beats the pants off a payment, especially if we're going to be buying a new house next year.

MK 9 Spitfire.

First ride with my new helmet. Promised myself a new one after vacation. Shoei RF 1400 kills it over my 1200. Better ventilation, way less air noise and the aerodynamics are far superior. No more buffeting! 90 mph felt like 60 mph. Super smooth. Loving it!!

Nice Helmet

The ride back home was an absolute joy.

As I left the venue the sun was going down and I was on a 5 mile stretch of road that's pretty much straight (with the occasional kink) but the road was empty.

The Old Knocker was huming along nicely and all I had ahead of me was an ever expanding vanishing point serving up plenty of insects to shred.

It was bliss.

Probably the main reason for me to acquire one in this color as it is off putting. I don't want attention when I stop some where and just enough attention when I'm riding so I don't get run over. But my Hi-Viz jacket does that.

This,

nice

This cheers me up

https://www.instagram.com/reel/C8Bk-tFxS9G/?igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==

Lots of things, actually. It was a weekend of barely perceptible speed increases.

Another 10 miles on the skates Saturday. My pace is about the same, average of about 10mph. I'm ok with that because it's a pace I've hit for a lot of years. And I'm a lot of years older. BP is still good and my resting heart rate is 55. So ok then.

I up-jetted the Aprilia from 74 to 78. I took it for a test ride ... in 20mph sustained winds. So no real data. This morning, though, I THINK it felt a little better on acceleration and a little better up hills. Since I now know for certain it's an M5 jet, I ordered a set so I can play around a little. The new belt is still on its way, so I may go up to an 82 and put the 7g rollers back in in favor of the 6.5g sliders when I do the belt swap. If the jetting eliminates the dip in acceleration right after takeoff, the heavier rollers MIGHT give me just a little more top end. We'll see. Baby steps.

Scored two more pairs of Levis at Goodwill this weekend for $7.99 each. Yeah, their prices have gone up, but for Levis I'm still not complaining.

All in all a good weekend.

Rode the GTS this morning for the first time since last fall.

Finally got it all put back together and running late last night.

Rode it 50 miles up to Deadwood for my coffee and a cinnamon raisin bagel (toasted of course), slathered with a thick dollop of brown sugar cinnamon cream cheese.

(Still there as I type this).

About to ride the 50 miles back home in a few minutes.

Witnessing the 17 and 13 year Cicada convergence is cheering me up. All but gone now the sound of millions of cicada love songs was impressive. About all that is left are the egg scars on the small branches were the females laid their eggs.

OFG

New brakes and belt showed up for the Aprilia last night. Brakes are on, but I'm waiting to do the belt until the jet kit comes in because I want to play with the rollers a bit, WHICH I was wrong about.

Memory said they were 6.5g sliders, BUT my last purchase were 5.75g rollers. I'm going to dig around in drawers and see what I have laying around. I found the ones that were in the bike (10g - way too heavy) and a couple sets for the ZNEN in the 13-16g range, but I may have some others. Once I find a weight that's suitable I'll spring for the sliders. Which is what I thought I had already done.

The brakes feel fantastic. And now the bike is a serious machine because they're ... well ... red.

Two pics. One is where the Aprilia sits in the lot right now and the second is how they ship a Vespa style exhaust from India. Looks like a frozen duck.

new OLED arrived for the phone. got it fixed. so now i can annoy my friends in our group chats again.

I thought this was all really cool. I hope it works as well as they speculate.

Looks pretty awesome. On a personal note, the grille looks a bit less intimidating in a rear-view mirror too!

On Monday I had shoulder replacement surgery. By today I'm having little to no pain from it. That's what's cheering me up. It could have worse. I'm handling the little pain I have with Tylenol, didn't need the opioids they gave me. It might be another matter next week when I start physical therapy, but that's just a welcome step to recovery. Thanks to the doctors and nurses.

All's good.

big green on my market "playing around" account today. happy about that. it's gonna fund my "fun-having car" once we get settled in CO.

i think i'm up around 80ish percent on NVIDIA alone. there's always "shoulda got in sooner" of course, but....i'm excited about where it goes from here given they should be releasing a new flagship card soon if past history speaks to the future....