Fresh Perspective

I have to admit I enjoy being on the PR circulation for this sort of stuff. I’m in the industry, I’m a fan, thanks for sending this over Falken Tire.

….maybe my YouTube tweets were a more interesting read than my blog posts…

Was thinking the other day what would really make me truly happy. Realized it would be some good old fashion Disney Magic.  It would be amazing if, one day in 2012, Disney opened up Cinderella’s castle as an off leash dog park. I think Walt would like that.

Happy New Year 2012 to everyone this year.  May your dreams come true.

..PS I hiked Mandeville Canyon today…amazing.  Highly recommend catching a sunset there.

-Adam

17 years I’ve walked the halls of the Internet and still I find great enjoyment in mindless browsing.  StumbleUpon is fast turning into my choice tool for finding new content.  I love the randomness of it.  Here is my latest find.

Am turning that plugin off.

I just upgraded my wordpress installation and it looks like my photo gallery is taking a dump.  (Thanks to Jason for the catch).  I’m using a Flickr plug-in over at AutoStream that seams to play nice with the new version of WordPress, so I’ll set that up……AFTER the Thanksgiving.  A man has to have priorities ya know!
😉

Source: Long Beach Scooter Club

This past Sunday after watching week one of NFL football, I was walking out of one of the many sports bars lining Main St. in Huntington Beach and was filled with a bit of delight and envy. In front of me was a very large group of scooters riding together displaying a sense of comradery that I did not even know existed in the scooter world. Sure on any given day one is likely to see a group of motorcyclists riding along the PCH, but a group of scooters?

Source: Los Angeles Scooter Meetup Group

The only thing I wanted to do at that moment was jump on the Vespa and join, but unfortunately for me my 70 lb. dog and I couldn’t quite fit on it very well so I had to drive the car down. After further investigation I found out that there is a complete subculture of scooter enthusiasts that want to enjoy the beautiful rides in California just as much as those who ride larger two-wheeled machines.

Here is a small list of groups in Southern California.

• Long Beach Area Scooter Group
• Hard Pack Scooter Club
• Los Angeles Scooter Fanatics
• South Bay Scooter Club

For the last 13 months I’ve been driving my 346 ci V8 Pontiac Trans Am and in contrast I’ve been riding the 1  cylinder Vespa GTS 300 Super to and from work for the last week. West Los Angeles traffic is very hectic at times. Case in point: I live 7.2 miles from work and on a good day it takes me at minimum 22 minutes and approximately 1/2 gallon of gas each direction (but it’s fun doing it).

In contrast, while on the Vespa I probably only shave 3-5 minutes off my commute to work but am able to save at least 10-15 minutes on my way home due to the fact that I can “cut” in between traffic. Doing all of this while only consuming a fraction of the gas of my Pontiac yet fun in its own right. Cutting traffic is a very scary thing to do while on a scooter but those saved minutes, for whatever reason, mean a lot. Even with all of the storage of the GTS 300, I still find the need to pack a very large backpack each day.

The GTS has plenty of power and one could very easily find themselves traveling quite fast (by scooter standards) without even noticing. At one point I found myself traveling 60 MPH without even noticing. I do have to admit that I didn’t feel very comfortable going this speed on such a small machine however. The Vespa GTS 300 isn’t your average scooter and is a very reliable and fun means of transportation. For my taste, it’s something I would have around for those trips that are further than a bicycle ride, yet not far enough for a car. In my opinion it’s perfect for city riding as long as one is constantly aware of their surroundings, especially in a city as busy as Los Angeles. The only thing I request is a more comfortable seat.

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Los Feliz is in my opinion on of the most eclectic areas of Los Angeles. It’s filled with quaint shops and restaurants but retains a lot of the old Hollywood charm of yesteryear. My girlfriend and I decided to take a nice cruise over to one of our favorite coffee shops in Los Feliz called The Alcove. After a relaxing coffee one can’t come to this part of town without visiting the famous Griffith Park. Cruising up Hillhurst Ave to Griffith Park we pass a concert at The Greek Theatre. Not till reaching the top did we realize it was the Dave Matthew’s Band performing below us. A great cruise, a nice cup of coffee, and listening to Dave Matthew’s Band Live from the Griffith Observatory overlooking the City of Angels – what a way to end the evening.

Vespa at the Alcove

Oh hell yea, Public Enemy vs Benny Benassi http://bit.ly/1qbZ9