Modern Vespa

In 1964 I had an after school job delivering newspapers. On the way home after the work one day in April a couple of us had a minor coming together of bike wheels and I fell ostensibly gently off my steed, admittedly on to the roadway. A local picked me off the road and took me the couple of blocks home in his car and my left knee decided to swell to the size of a football (well it seemed like that ). Got taken to the A&E at hospital, admitted, and they found I had sheared the tibial plateau off my tibia. Surgery - free here of course - happened and they nailed it back on. A couple of weeks in hospital plastered from ankle to groin with a couple of loops cast in to the cast so they could rig some weights to allow exercise, out and back to school on crutches and physiotherapy until almost the end of the year.
Had some back problems later on in life (mid 20s) and a Doctor asked when they took the nail out. Ahhh - that would be never. Turned out it had worked out a little and cut a grove in my femur. So back to hospital in our new home city (Hamilton) and it was duly removed and given back to me.
Hope your sister's recovery goes well.

In the US according to the National Trauma Data Bank, Horse Riding is 3.5 times more likely to cause an injury than riding a motorbike.

Yeah bugger that.

In other news the Red BMW lives after it received a new battery.

Ain't stats fun ...

I'm more likely to injure myself in my kitchen than on my Vespa.

BUT

I'm more likely to kill myself on my Vespa than in my kitchen

the most dangerous thing you can do in the day is get out of bed. more people fall getting out of bed than anything else

I also fall into bed.

Though I don't usually injure myself doing so.

Makes a good case for staying in bed all day.

I have blown the ACL in both my knees. The right knee was 1992 in a dismount from a bucking horse. The left knee was injured skiing in 2023 (Feb 7, so almost 2 years ago to the day).

One borked ACL was enough for me. If it happens again imma just tell em to put me down.

As for cheersies, less than a week till Venice...

It's the most humane thing to do.

Better you not suffer.

I've smashed my knee into 6 pieces by coming off a bicycle but luckily I've never had a motorcycle or scooter injury so far.

And yea, I've hurt myself more by getting out of bed than by riding a powered two wheeler.

lots of fun has been had

Motone Saturn V cans, an absent pair of db killers, an equally absent catalyst, and an underpass. Ignore the zipper pulls clanking around. I forgot to secure them because I am a dingleberry.

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/wBiWPB2IdG0

The bus I'm driving today, #2013, is a 2011 Prevost motorcoach (generally pronounced: PREY-voh) with just under 500,000 miles showing on it's odometer. I'm transporting the Rapid City High School boys basketball team 350 miles Eastward to Sioux Falls, South Dakota for their games there, and will be returning late tomorrow evening.

The same high school's girl's basketball team left Rapid City about five minutes before I was able to get going.

They were in one of the company's newest motorcoaches, a $640,000, 2025, MCI tour bus.

They might be prettier, but old #2013 can run on cruise control at 77 mph, while the new bus is restricted, for some reason to 72-73 mph.

It took about fifty miles to finally overtake the girl's fancy-schmancy basketball bus, but in a classic case of vehicular 'Age Before Beauty', #2013 was able to slowly reel in bus #2025 and pass it five miles east of the small town of Wall, South Dakota on I-90.

I was cheered up.

And beneath it, today's ride, good old #2013.

Boy's basketball coach 'Bob' didn't witness our victorious bus interception and passing event because he had nodded off almost as soon as we hit the interstate.

His slumber was only interrupted by the occasional, loud, apnea-related 'SNORKS' that he emitted from time to time.

Back when my summer job involved driving *very nicely appointed* MCI motorcoaches full of (ahem) mostly elders through Alaska and the Yukon, Prevost were looked upon with disdain by our crew as being too fancy to function properly. Alaska highways had a way of winnowing the posers in those days.

Bob/Captain Crunch

Apparently it's Summer.

(Checking yesterday's GoPro footage)

An idiot parked in front of my garage today as opposed to theirs for a reason that I don't understand.

They parked so close that my garage door simply wouldn't open without hitting the lip of their trunk.

I had to connect the garage door with his trunk 6 or 7 times to truly be assured that it wouldn't open without hitting it.

I really like my barber shop.

Looks like a very old-fashioned kind of place.

Judging by the bokeh'd background, I would say you get your hair cut by the local bartender.

Not that there's anything wrong with that.

Nah just a barbershop with a full restaurant and bar inside. They do pretty decent. Lovely snacks, good beverage, and a fair to middlin beard trim.

It's cheering me up that I'm not out on a ptw today.. or riding like a tw@t

PS, he got up and looked fine.. but not happy 🤣

?si=WkqLTMOmDhcmfyyT

Note to self: have a chat with my barber about snacks and beverages.

6 or 7 times seems reasonable. Need to allow opportunity for the garage door to impose its will on the trunk.

Denmark offers to buy California!

https://denmarkification.com/

This household gives a resounding YES! EU passports again.

Grauniad link removed as after reflection it was a tad political

Does this come with a herring allowance?

It's not easy to get from there to there though. Denfornia should secure the Panama Canal since it's an obvious direct link between the two.

Going via the Northwest Passage is about the same distance, so...

They intend to pay with herrings.

I love it! And 'he' would probably love to see it go, too. Take Arizona to get some excellent cactus!

I was headed back upstairs yesterday morning with a cup of coffee when I saw something move outside my front window ... something big. Mind you, this is 4:00am. Made me jump almost spilling my coffee. Turned out it was deer. Eight of them.

I left for work at 6:30 and they were still roaming the streets.

Hey, get in line and no queue jumping!

Pooped at 180mph today. Guy stuff I guess.

RUDDY HOOLIGANS!

Having a delicious bottle of cheap red a few steps from the Frari.

Hard to dislike this place.

Awesome. Amazing how such good wine is available in Europe for super reasonable prices, cheap even by US standards.

Oh and the original-pigmented 14th century ceiling in the hotel (shown here with one of their bespoke Murano chandeliers) doesn't suck either.

This city is so extra. I love every second of it.

You suck. But I mean that in the nicest possible way.

In less than an hour walking from home to a clinic with no appointment, seeing a doc, getting referred to radiology, walking to radiology, getting an x-ray, walking home.