I’ve reached a compromise with myself.
Turning around at the first sign of trouble really isn’t me. And, while really annoying and unsettling, the starter issue isn’t a killer. If it happens again I’ll stop at the next Kawasaki dealer I pass. I’m still not happy about driving with an iffy bike though. And, I’m still not sure that this trip is really giving me what I want for the reasons I gave yesterday.
Pants - wet Spare pants - wet Boots - wet Sneakers - wet Socks - wet Spare socks - wet Shirt - wet Spare Shirts - wet Atlas - wet Moleskines - wet Waterproof pocket - wet Towel - wet Waterproof motorcycle suit -wet Tent - wet, but was expecting that Sleeping bag - DRY Electronics - oddly DRY Partially this is my fault:
I didn’t close the air vents on my suit, so water got in, although that doesn’t explain why my legs were 100% soaked.
I hate Missouri. Unfortunately, it hates me back.
It was getting late but I just wanted to get the fuck out of Missouri. I could have stopped for gas but I was all “No, I’ve got another 20 miles before i need to look. Let’s get out of this state!” Unfortunately I’d forgotten that Missouri has notably higher speed limits than all the previous states, which means I’d been going notably faster and, it turns out it shortened my range by about 40 miles.
A map, for those of you who are curious where I went. The bottom left corner of the triangle, in Massachusetts. That’s the place you want to go. Effing gorgeous, at least this time of the year and lots of great winding roads as you approach Florida MA.
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It’s the little things that bind friendships closer. That quirky look on his face as he tells you about the bug that landed on his finger. The fact that in the middle of your phone call he suddenly stopped and calmly said, “the cat just horked on my foot.”
I don’t love you because of the valuable information you tell me. I love you because of all the other things you tell me.
The second in a series of graphics for linguists and conlang makers to use as visual aids in describing relative positioning and prepositions. The first is here. This work by http://www.masukomi.org is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License. PDF version: with text, and without text. SVG Version PNG Version
Conveying the words for relative positioning in a new language is difficult without visual aids. And finding visual aids you have permission to use can be particularly difficult for conlangers. This is the first of four such pages. I’m releasing them into the public domain, so feel free to do whatever you want with them. In PDF format with text and without text. In SVG format without text. In PNG format without text.
The thing to keep in mind: Motorcycling is a lot like boating. You can get yourself a dingy that’ll get you around the bay for pretty cheap, but it doesn’t have much in the way of features, and if a big wave comes along you’re going to drown because you don’t have a life preserver. As with boats, the price range (for bikes and gear) goes from cheap and affordable to mind-bogglingly expensive.
Summary: The Metropolitan is a stylish, well made, scoot for getting around town, that is a blast to drive, but could do with some better brakes.
NOTE: This post was written in 2009, and I haven’t ridden more recent models. A quick look at the most recent models (2024) suggests that not much has changed and that this post is still pretty relevant.
Introduction: The Honda Metropolitan ( CHF50 ) was introduced in 2002 with a visual style that emulates that of the classic Vespas of yesteryear.
A huge number of people use the subway to get from one part of the city to the other twice a day, five days a week. If they’re smart, they buy a monthly pass which costs $59 and gives you unlimited rides within the central city zone.
For the same $59 you could buy 29.5 gallons of gas at today’s prices ($2 per gallon). Burn that gas in a 50cc scooter at a conservative 80 miles per gallon (you can get more) and you can go 2,360 miles.
