The Little Scooter That Could

I'm going to provide a little background to what led up to my last week. Earlier this summer I was in downtown Fargo. I was headed home when I saw a guy parking his bike, clearly loaded down for a cross-country trip. A bicycle trip has been a fleeting desire of mine, and I like people, so I stopped to ask him about his trip. Rochester, NY to Seattle, WA. I was impressed. Well my new friend Scott ended up crashing on my couch that night, and by the time he left the next morning, I knew I needed to experience this sort of travel. I have a bike, but it's not designed for cross-country travel. I have a car, but that's boring. At the beginning of the summer, though, I made a brilliant investment in a 49cc Honda Ruckus scooter. Scott actually knew someone who took trips on his Ruckus, and provided a few links for inspiration. At that point, I began planning. I had a wedding in MI to attend in August, and in my state of unemployment, I figured I could get the time off to make the trip on a scooter. The other details of planning, ordering gear and supplies, etc. aren't interesting, except that outdoorgb.com has the cheapest camping gear I've found online.
So, on Sunday, August 22, at 7am I left my Minneapolis apartment, headed east. I nearly decided to drive, and, if it had been raining that morning, I probably would have. My society-driven desire for speed and efficiency nearly prevented a beautiful experience. I'm not going to give an account of my entire trip, but instead document some observations I made along the way.

-I had maps, but my route was virtually unplanned. I took the road less traveled, and we know how that turns out.
-passed 2 vehicles on the trip, both of which were broken down. All other vehicles passed me.
-every time a convertible with kids passed me, the kids turned around to watch me. I would wave. They would turn around to tell the front seat I waved, and turn around again. This occurred three different times.
-dump trucks always smelled unpleasant
-skunks smell like number 2 pencil erasers
-the gps is another tool that is pulling us away from society. I enjoyed asking for directions, and people enjoyed helping. I also noticed that younger people aren't so hot at giving directions. Except for the one that suggested mapquest. If anyone is looking for a gps, I have a garmin I'm now selling cheap.
-I camped at an RV park. The campers had satellite feeds. Nobody talked to me. Nobody was even outside their RV. They managed to move the suburbs to a campground.
-I stayed at Northland Intl. My first night. Met some cool people who have a desire to serve God and are actually doing it. It's invigorating.
-I liked my time in Petoskey. A neat downtown with a cool coffee shop. The locals were a generally friendly bunch.
-Many people think what I'm doing is cool, and even express a desire to do it. Why don't they? Because it's not practical, efficient, fast, or normal. PTL I'm weird.
-The Mackinac Bridge doesn't allow scooters to cross. They do offer a shuttle for $2, though.
-It became chilly in the U.P. Bikers were donning cold-weather gear as I scooted on past, shivering.
-If you see a tiny sign in the U.P. That says 'old cook's cemetery', pull off. You will not regret it.
-I'm exposed. I'm not tucked into a car with a/c. I'm dependent on people to get across a bridge, to find food, to find fuel, to find a place to sleep. I love it, and they like to help.
-Listened to a sermon on idols the day before I left.. When your mind begins to wander, what does it wander to? There's a good chance that's your idol. Jesus is the only person that cannot be idolized too much. Hopeingod.org probably has the sermon.
-Michigan's terrible roads lived up to their reputation and provided me with a flat tire near Petoskey. I bought a spare tire in GR, but the plug is still keeping air.
-I like traveling through the quiet countryside, but I can't envision myself living there. My heart is in the city. I like people.
-at exactly 1000 miles into my trip, my scooter got sick at Brady's house. I'm guessing I over-filled the oil, and it made the carburetor dirty. Thanks to Brandon and Brady for their help.
-from Ludington to GR I didn't look at a map. I started going south and east, knowing I'd get there eventually. That was a lot of fun.
-I saw Josh after two years and met Popy for the first time. I smiled.
-I was in the wedding of Jasper and Sarah because I was friends with Sarah. It was a joy to prove my hypothesis that it is possible for a guy and a girl to coexist as friends without inflicting emotional pain on each other.
-Two ways to sabotage a friendship with a girl: tell them you're interested in them or tell them you're not interested in them. Somehow those both end badly, but if you never say anything about it, things are great. Relationships fascinate me.

Some facts about my Ruckus.
-I care about my Ruckus. Very much. At a restaurant in Ludington, I asked the hostess to seat me near the window so I could keep an eye on my girlfriend, who stays outside. She looked outside, looked at me, and didn't talk to me again.
-My scooter is 7 cc's stronger than your average chainsaw
-My scooter operated at full throttle for 6 days of travel with no trouble at all. No oil or coolant decrease. No tire pressure decrease. Nothing.
-This trip doubled the mileage I had on my scooter.
-It was 1617 miles of total scooting.
-The total cost of fuel was $39.29
-The total gallons of fuel used was 13.635
- yeah.
-that's right.
-here it comes..
-119 miles per gallon.
-I have never had a stronger attachment to a machine than to my scooter. She slowly struggled up hills, but never stopped. I pushed her as hard as she could go, and she never gave me so much as a sputter. I'm looking at her outside right now, waiting to take me anywhere. I'll admit that by the third day, I was talking to her. She doesn't have a name, so it's not too creepy. Yet.

Lord-willing, this will not be the last trip I take on this. I spent a good deal of my time thinking about a ministry-driven trip I could take. With Brady. It's very feasible. I'm going to pray about it, and see what doors God opens and closes for my future.

The best part of my trip. People. Over this summer, I learned to fly. When I fly, I'm alone. This scooter trip was so much cooler in that respect, because all along the way, I was meeting people, having great conversation, and hopefully planting seeds for God's kingdom. At the same time, though, I was provided with hours of reflection on the open road, provided that I wasn't terrified because my backroad turned into a highway all of a sudden.

I started this blog to document events that made me feel like I was experiencing all I could in life. I have a pulse.