Modern Vespa

I thought I'd share the first lesson I learned through painful experience. back in July I was doing some shopping & had to drive less than half a mile to another store. It was very hot & I left my leather open no more than four inches or so. As I was cruising down the street, I got smacked in the chest by what I figured was a piece of gravel, ouch! I immediately zipped up my leather & was promptly stung in the chest twice by the BEE I had enclosed in my leather . I kept it together & made it off the road without incident somehow. I've worn a scarf on my neck & kept the leather zipped ever since, no mater how hot it is. Keep it zipped folks!

Check your pockets, too. I once didn't have a jacket pocket properly snapped shut, and when I shifted around just a bit, WHOOSH went $3 of gas money, right out of the pocket. I was doing about 50, out in the middle of nowhere, on a windy day, so I didn't even bother to go back. Only $3, but it could have been an important piece of paper, or more money or something.

Wow, I would have totally freaked getting stung like that. You're lucky you didn't go down!

Over the years, I have had bees/yellowjackets/wasps up my sleeves, in my shorts (ouch!), and in my helmet many times. Also was center-punched by a small kamikaze bird coming head-on at 70 mph, feels like you've been shot ...

My sympathies, a bee strike is what converted me to full face helmets.

A few more lbs. and mine will zip up.
Damn those FirstGear Contours run small.

msauter-

love the personalized plate.

Two weeks ago, I was coming across the Golden Gate and got cash for the toll before heading over. I stuck a $20 in my pocket and my wallet in the back pocket. Well, back pockets notsogoodsometimes. FOOSH....$60 in cash, my drivers lic, sales lic. and debit card. AND, when I stuck in in my pocket instead of in the pet carrier, I thought "I know its a short trip, but if I lose my wallet I'm screwed. I should do as I always do."
Did I? No.
Lesson learned? Yes.

Flappy jacket with loose pockets = disaster. Doing 70-80kmph out goes my mobile phone, inhaler, wallet. Luckily it was early in the morning so I managed to back track and pick everything up before the traffic got naaaaaasty.
the mobile was in parts but still worked!
Keep those pockets buttoned / zipped up!!

So you've been shot too?
Man you're unlucky.

I dropped a Nikon point and shoot at 70mph that way, though I went back and found it, replace the batteries and the damn thing still works (not very well but it works).


Before helmets were required in Cali, I got dinked in the forehead by one of those big green beatles at 55 mph, glad it was the forehead and not one of my eyes.

Walnut. I admit that when I make short trips around town I don't always wear my helmet, but sometimes I do. I was riding under a walnut tree and I glanced at the ground and thought to myself, "Self...don't ride down this street much...what if you hit a walnut with these tiny, tiny tires..." When THUNK...what I assume was a walnut fell out of the tree and hit my helmet. Wasn't hurt, but it scared the shit out of me. It's loud when stuff hits your helmet. I think a little bit of pee might have come out.

walnuts in their green shells are really slippery little buggers. must've been scary!

The other day, wearing a light jascket , going about 45 - 50 mph.. when a bee zapped me right in the neck... ouch... was able to pull over and swipe the bee off my neck .. then pull the STINGER out of my neck.... stung for a while... then itchy creeps in.... ZIP IT UP ALL THE WAY...

I had a cashmere scarf tucked into my messenger bag on my way home from work riding my Vespa GTS250ie. I no longer have a cashmere scarf! Wind is like a shopvac at speeds of 50mpg. Oy!