Have you noticed...

...That if you have a pinched nerve in you lower back that riding & kick-starting the Vespa is not anywhere near as much fun as it was before?

I am not expecting this to last; I am on the meds to get things back to normal, But gee pain can just Ping your enjoyment of life can't it?

You get that I s'pose

Image!

A Mate of mine was in the Police for quite some time; during this time he was involved in some sort of surveillance of an outlaw bikie gang some time ago.

He was telling me the story about how a Vietnamese (background) bloke wanted to join this gang; The stumbling block appeared to be that the candidate did not, in fact, own a Harley Davidson motorcycle. At this point the 1%er was mortified & when asked WHY; the candidate replied:

“Everyone knows that Asians DON’T ride Harley’s!!”

Silence… Then the 1%er said; "Err... Well, can you just go down the street & get your photo taken next to someone’s Harley, just for the application form…?"

Interesting, that membership of the 1%er gang required a fake Harley picture to “formalise” the application process. I can’t remember if the candidate was the rider of another type of bike, but it seemed odd that you’d have to have a dodgy picture to join!

So, be ready for a weird segway, BUT, stay with me… as I now talk about THE Australian Bikie Movie: Stone

VERY 70’s… Very raw… nonetheless Very Enjoyable! Remember my never ending love of tacky stuff!

It’s about the “Grave Diggers” a bikie gang of war veterans riding Japanese motorbikes & indulging in all things Oz/70’s/bikie… but not Cubby, or Vespa-ie!

This led me to look at a documentary on the making of Stone & the surprising thing for me, was that the “enemy” bikie gang were played by a lot of members of the Hells Angels.

When I went back & looked, the amount of Harley’s seen in the real bikie gang; very small; mostly Brit & Japanese bikes!

I wonder if these members had to do a dodgy photo near an acquaintance’s Harley to join!

This led me to thinking about fashions & the reason why we ride the bikes that we do.

How many 1%ers out there ride the Darley-Havidson brand of motorcycle because “that is what we 1%ers have always ridden”… despite the fact that they haven’t…image seems to be king (the stereotypical 1%er is a fashion after all, just the same way that Vesp riding neo-Mods, as are inner-city Goths, as are blue singleted Truckies & Akubra attired Farmers are!)

I have no problem with someone riding something that they like – Hey; I ride a Vintage Vietnamese Vespa, indeed, we got a vintage Lambretta for the same reason, but, don’t read more than the interest into the bike

Finally; I feel I should explain the interest in “Stone” – there is a Meagher Family connection to “Stone”. My uncle (Dave Meagher) was a grip on the movie; he also fabricated the camera mounts used to film some of the riding scene close-ups… (He even gets a mention at the end of the movie in the credits). He was “between jobs” & his uncle (Lex Merdith) was working for the Production Company & got his nephew the job on the set…

None of this has anything at all to do with the Love Cub, or The Silver Surfer!

So Mote it Be!                                                  

Leigh

By the way, you can watch Stone here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i8UKaaJaUE0

 

On The Footpath

So, I was walking around OJ the other day, when I happened upon this:

Style Icon! It just says Italy

So, I had to take a photo!

I suppose, it sums up marketing in so many ways. Vespas are, no matter how it is cut, linked so closely with Italy.

No surprising; BUT, even to the non-motorcycling community out there; these stylish people movers are "Italy" on two wheels.

I can even think of a holiday that someone went on "Italy, on a Vespa"... Which does sound like fun!

I suppose the big thing is for the Vespa to remain relevant in an ever-changing world, or it will end up as a name plate made anywhere but Italy.

Cool advertising though!

So Mote it Be

Leigh

Foundations...

So those that know me personally (not in the “biblical” sense that is), know that in real life, sadly, I am a geotechnical engineer… Cue the theme song for the “Revenge of the Nerds” movie right now!

I normally like to keep my “scootering” & “work” separate, as; generally no-one in the scootering world is really that interested in things geotechnical… & vice versa…

THAT IS UNTIL NOW!

Have a look at this nice country lane way, it’s not too far from where I live & I was actually riding home when I noticed a rather poor piece of road way; so, I stopped to take a photo of the mighty Silver Surfer & what I suspect is a geotechnical issue with the road at the same time

A nice rural road...

I reckon (& I have been terribly wrong at times!) that this is a road foundation issue.

I was pelting along (in a racing crouch) at the Silver Surfers top speed … of not very much … when I noticed some undulations in the road immediately ahead. As there was a truck coming in the other direction I slowed down – I figured that coming off in front of someone is not a cool thing to do.

That was when I “saw” the funny shapes of the undulations in the road as I rode past. Note I looked & SAW something, rather than just seeing a shape & ignoring it…

The undulations were actually cracking in the surface of the road! They are following a large circular shape/pattern. They were dislocated both vertically & horizontally - the geotechnical engineer reels his head & says “Settlement cracking AND Tension cracking; indicating movement …”

See the cracking in the road loosely mirrors the drip line of the gum tree?

Low lying area; drain beside the road... And a Vespa!

To my mind seem to start at the drip line of the trees beside the road.

I had to stop & investigate…

I noticed that the area is at the bottom of a very wide valley

I noticed that there is a drain beside the road

I noticed that the area has a spoon drain beside it & it is near a creek (indicating that water will be seeping into the soil in the area)

The size is quite large!

At a guess, I would say that when this road was constructed, many many moons ago, the road builders have bridged over a swampy section of ground with a thick layer of road base (to support the traffics loading on the ground).

But, as with most “rules of Thumb”, the exception causes the problem. At a guestimate, I suspect that the trees roots have pumped water out of the ground in the area & that traffic above has “pushed” water out of the area as well. As the area underneath the road is less able to absorb water from rain due to the membrane of bitumen on top of it the other areas of the ground have had a ready supply of water from the creek & swampy nature of the soil. The drain directly beside the trees has continually kept the area around saturated as well, which possibly assists the replenishment of water around the general area. This leaves the relatively dry section associated with the tree’s roots to settle in this manner.

Standard practice displayed here (Just put 1500mm of fill down & keep the road going!) And generally, you’d be right with that; but what has changed is that the trees beside the road have removed the water from the soil underneath the foundation; causing the soil in the drip line area to dry out.

Either that or the road builders stuffed up on other grounds – the above is only my take on the issue & I have been wrong on these situations before!

In my defence, I do recall the phrase of one of my lecturers at Uni said: Water an interesting material; it has the bearing strength of steel, but has absolutely no strength in tension. This means that water will give way if it is not contained (think of the situation when you stand on a PET drink bottle that is full with water & has a firmly attached lid, versus if it does not have a lid – the former will support your weight, the later will squirt water out over the ground & you will sink by the diameter of the full bottle). If the water was contained under the road, the road would look fine (as is evident elsewhere on this road)… or it could start chopping the road up if the water is too close to the surface; but let’s keep it simple for this example!

This phenomenon is referred to as differential settlement & can be a huge issue – the leaning tower of Pisa is a case of this; if the settlement were even across the base, the tower would have been a renaissance example of poor foundation engineering – perhaps called the Sinking Tower of Pisa, rather than the tourist draw card that it is!

This example of differential settlement was just one that I noticed on this particular day; we see many other examples all around the place (such as cracking in your house…) You will get this when your structure spans across 2 different ground types (as above saturated & being dried by roots, or the contact between a deep soil & a rocky outcrop) – unless you spend a heap of cash on the engineering of the foundations that is!

The other issue is, it is dam hard to come up with a design that works over such a large area; the lane is otherwise in good condition except for this bit

Given that OJ has highly reactive volcanic clay soils, it is to an extent surprising that I haven’t noticed more of these issues… I do generally just notice the general crappy conditions of some of our byways!

As they say, when you are doing your licence – ride to conditions! As I am not on a warp speed Japanese sports bike, this is not a necessarily huge issue for me – the concept is still a good one. I do always think about the cars coming in the other direction though…

When I did the rider training course when I was getting my rider licence, the instructor told us about some defensive riding tips; including the idea: I see; I think that; I will react by…

I see… (eg; a “T” intersection up ahead)

I think that… (eg ; a car may not see me approaching & not give way to me)

I will react by… (eg, By slowing, setting up to brake & “buffering” by moving to the right hand side of the lane)

Pretty good idea for anybody really; but especially we riders and, a road section like this is a classic example of where you can put this practice into play. I think the Keep Upright instructors would be happy to hear that  I WAS still using the technique!

As for those of us that are complaining about the state of the roads here in Oz – Whilst you have a good point; think about the rural by ways that the Silver Surfer was scooting on before he came to the big flat continent; even though we get the poo’s with them, our roads are way better than what so many others have!

So Mote It Be!

Leigh

By the way, I actually did something rather than just whinge & contacted council about this small issue - I was told to drive to conditions until they has resources to repair that little section of the road!

Serious Science type footnote:

Maybe this was a bit of a diversion from my normal Vespa ridding shenanigans; BUT, Science & Engineering are not solely the domains of the “nerd”; these areas are as interesting as any other topic when presented in the “right” manner.

I encourage all (especially children & teenagers) to embrace science with the passion that we have for Football, Honda Cubs, Vespa’s & Beer). Sir Isaac Newton, Albert Einstein & Steven Hawkins are quite rightly cult figures, but there are many others out there as well, striving for excellence in their own fields & trying to make the world a better place through their research & daily work.

My particular field is Mining Geomechanics (That is: the geotechnical engineering of big holes in the ground). It IS interesting & rewarding area (for me at least).

If you are interested in some geoscience based blogs & maybe some further reading that will provide you with knowledge; the American Geophysical Union has some fantastic stuff here: http://blogs.agu.org/ please check them out, they are informative without being snooty or nerdy (Dave Petley’s Landslide Blog is one that I regularly read & is in my opinion top notch). 

Bucking the Trend

So we Meaghertians went on a short school holiday break (not much to say – it was to a caravan park in Kiama – Very Old School, but that’s how I roll!)

On the way to Kiama from OJ, we passed thru Crookwell. A smallish town on the southern highlands side of the Great Dividing Range…

Apart from being a nice place to stop over & have breakfast, Crookwell is also the Birthplace of the Inventor of the Rotary hoe (a bloke by the name of Arthur Howard). Unfortunately for Oz, Howard moved England between the wars to increase his manufacturing base… Crookwell is still rather proud of their inventive son & have a rotary hoe mounted on a pedestal in a park in the centre of town to celebrate (my photo didn’t work out… otherwise there would’ve been a piccie right here!)

In the entire time we were in the car travelling; Only 2 things of note happened during the drive:

1.      We discovered that of all the Meaghertians, Dan & His Dad have the lowest tolerance for motion… I’m spewin’ about that!

2.      We noticed the Crookwell Sock Shop

Now, those who read my Alt-Girl post will know that I have a soft spot for those having a “Red Hot Go” at life, especially those having a go at something that is rather “un-cool” as everyone wants to be a model/actor/singer/dancer/global-financier/bodybuilder these days, rather than just have a go at something. It’s nice to have aspirations I suppose!

 

The Sock Shop!

WELL, true to my form, I’ve found another band of artisans giving their chosen field a good work out… Crookwell’s own; The Lindner Sock Company!

A Fourth generation family of sock makers who make Super Warm Woollen Sox, in their little shop in the main drag of Crookwell

Apart from the fact that they were really passionate about what they are doing, It is really nice to see a company having a go at something, rather than shipping the raw materials to China to be made there & sold back to Oz. It was also refreshing that a company chose to start up in a smaller rural area rather than one of the larger cities, or provincial centres.

They also have Mega cool super retro machinery (Maybe classic rather than “steam-Punk”) but the Silly Boys loved the look of this stuff… I have to admit, I thought it was cool too. The way they seemed to whir & click into place & "poo" out a tube of rather fashionable knitwear

Old-School & Super Cool!

 

A tube of Socks!

So; what did we Meaghertians do when we were confronted by the opportunity to purchase stuff that we had no intention of buying before we saw the shop? Why we went mad & bought a poo-load of socks of course! 

My Argyle socks... OH yes, they are comfortable!

AND they are spectacularly comfortable! The Silly boys ended up getting some footy sox; I went mad on some purple work socks… some red & black argyle & some nice formal socks…

http://www.lindnersocks.com.au/

As Molly Meldrum says: “Do Yourself a favour…” & get some!

The other occurrence that happened on the family break was when we did a tree top walk, it turns out that Benny is as terrified of heights as I am! The tree top walk was the Illawarra Fly & you walk along a scaffolding structure in was set up thru the treetops of some of the remaining temperate rainforest in the Illawarra’s hinterland. Whilst this walk was a great thing to look at, with really cool views, trees & animals, it pushed us both too far. Interestingly enough, despite the mutual shear terror, Benny really liked the walk & wanted to go back at some stage in the future!; I remember watching a TV show once where the presenter said that Humans love to be scared in a safe way… I suppose this was a case in point.

Unfortunately, the Silly boys have lucked out with their heredity in that respect!



Benny & I were NOT going out there - Only the brave Child Bride!

 

So Mote it Be!

Leigh

Well.....

Well, it was Father’s day again…

And to be honest, I don’t really celebrate father’s day for myself (but, I do always buy my Dear Ol’Dad a bottle of some rather nice port…)

So, as a distraction, & as a way to have some fun with this annual event, I had been saying to the Silly Boys that we’d be having a serious, MANLY (deep voice) breakfast; ... One that was "More manly than a milkshake made from meat" (as that Ad says…)

Thus on the Sunday (father’s day) w had a rather nice, leisurely sleep in, followed by this:

Oh Yeah Baby!

Wursts of all kinds! (Including the infamous Black Pudding – which the Silly Boys refer to as a “Poo Sausage” do to their resemblance to that substance…). We did have some Baked Beans as well; protein loading at it's best!

By the way, this BBQ is the only “big” cooking stove we Meaghertians have at the moment – you can’t say that we aren’t getting good value out of it when you stuff it full of food like that!

Yes, that is mushrooms & Tomato’s – a man cannot live by meat alone after all…& they are delicious on the barby. That green goo on the tomatos is basil - YUM!

And a cup of Tea…

You put tea leaves in this blokes trousers & then add water (plus the sugar & milk to your preferance)

As for father’s day presents; as I said, I really don’t care about it, BUT, as the Child Bride had been prepared, she had organised some cheap & cheerful dad’s day presents which the Silly Boys gleefully helped unwrap!…

I wasn't expecting this - but it was nice

 

Yep, Vespa Belt Buckle AND Vespa Cuff links! Vespa-riffic!

The Belt buckle is a rather cool & colourful alternative to the Honda buckle that I’ve been wearing for a while, so what can I say, I am a lucky man, I can’t wait to wear them to lodge (when work commitments allows me to return)

I will still wear this buckle; but the new Vespa buckle will give it a run for its money!

At the end of the day, I was just happy to have the “School Made” & Silly Boy coloured in Father’s day cards!

As for the REAL Scooters – well Annual Rego Check time again…

Mods at the Mechanics!

They still look like a couple of Stylish Italians enjoying the Spring Sun in OJ… Then just in time for do a runner from my spring-ish home (conveniently leaving these two for their check up until I return from Work!)

So Mote it be!

Leigh

When in Rome...

When In Rome…

Well, how do I say this without sounding like a w@nker? I can’t, so I’ll show a picture…

Some ones holiday junk - Scooter style!

As you might have guessed, I was not at home for a while - I was in fact on a family holiday…

Judging by the souvenirs, you’ll be able to easily tell where the Meaghertians went…

… A true scooter destination – Thailand!

So maybe I should have called this post "When in Hua Hin..." but wher'eis the fun in that!

We stayed in a rather loverly piece of this rather nice Kingdom – Hua Hin. The only factoid of interest (to anyone other than me) from this all too short break was that the Thai King (Rama IX) went to Hua Hin for a holiday whilst we were there… he is not very well (spending a lot of time in hospital), & to be honest, we were more interested that he had come to Hua Hin than he would have been in a family of Australian tourists!

Hua Hin has a fantasic train station (& we all know that I am partial to train stations). I really liked the Thai style architecture, on a turn of the century train station & it is rather close to the Night Market (& as we all know, I am rather partial to a night market…)

So, as for the scooter themes souvenirs; well…T-Shirts are the no brainers; But a Hua Hin Vespa Pencil case – Cool! I had to have that…& for the Child Bride, a nice matt finish Lambretta belt & buckle!

All the souvenirs were bought in Hua Hin! (Not surprising as the night markets were rather touristy!)

http://www.tourismhuahin.com/railway-station-huahin.php

 

Hua Hin Railway station - Retro-Thai-cool! I have no permission to use this pic; but please go to Hua Hin it was great! (Hopefullt Tourism Hua Hin won't sue me now!)

 

The Orange Train Station - I noted the disurbingly familiar colour scheme... (The Socialist Republic of New South Wales has recently rebranded it's train fleet to this colour sceme... I like it & everytime i ride past I'll think of Hua Hin!)

As for Thailand, well, there were a couple of things worth noting to my fellow Scooterists:

1.      Thai’s love the scooter! Even as a Taxi around Bangkok (& there was no way i was doing that!)

2.      Except for the rain, it is a very nice climate to ride bikes in (not that I did actually ride a scooter in the time that we were there)

3.      The scooters were perfect for the traffic in Thailand; even the “relatively” sleepy Hua Hin…

4.      There were old scoots everywhere; Vespas, Lambrettas, Honda cubs – I was in perv heaven!

5.      They are (as in many countries) an essential piece of Day to day machinery…)

Anyway, a great place to have a break & hopefully we'll get back there sooner rather than later!

You can just make out the Honda Motorcycle dealer (behind the white car) - I was faciing the wrong way & I only had my Phone to take a photo with!

So, we did enjoy Hua Hin & the people that live there. The scooters there are a practical way to get around, as opposed to an old pose-mobile that I use the Surfer & the Lamb as.
A work collegue of mine lives in Hua Hin & amongst other things He & has wife have a Honda Silverwing... yep; it's a cool scoot! Even tho Rick likes to ride his Honda Shadow; it was the Silverwing that he rode most often!

I recon i could get him into the Old gear if it didn't need so much work!

So Mote it Be

Leigh