Plan: Atlanta to Vegas, for TWO Scooterists?!

Posted On February 2, 2016 in planningnplotting

It’s been a grand time wintering in Atlanta. I can’t say thanks enough to my host family, the Siaks. I’ve known them since I was little – they are my Atlanta roots, and it’s an unbelievable luxury to come back from Alliance Jiu-Jitsu to still-warm home-cooked meals. Also, yep I took the opportunity of staying still to do the thing I missed most being on the road: martial arts, 4-5 times a week. Thanks, Alliance, for improving my game and helping me stay sane through work. Catching the diehard Terminals that come out in winter on Wednesday nights was also super fun, and dropping by Vespa Marietta and Scooter Mercato. I’m going to miss my HQ in Atlanta! I feel well-rested and ready to hit the road again.

In February, I’m headed west on another long haul. This time, the adventure is two-fold: my sights are set on Vegas for another round of the High Rollers Scooter Rally, and I’ll have company for the trip!

Details below. Instagram is probably the best way to follow what I’m most recently up to (username: quezzie), and as always, say hi if you’re along the way.

Stage 1 (solo): Atlanta, GA → Austin, TX

Feb 4: Farewell, Atlanta, the Terminal Scooterists, Alliance Jiu-Jitsu, and the Siaks! Off to Pensacola, FL, to meet Jami (jamisea on MV).
Feb 5-6: New Orleans, LA, with Jeremy and Caitlin.
Feb 7-9: Houston, TX, with Uncle and Auntie 3. Happy Chinese New Year with family!
Feb 10-12: Austin, TX, with Fred.
~1,168 miles.

In Austin, I’ll meet up with Fred, the guy I got involved with in Boston (oh right, I’ll catch up the blog someday). We’ve been cooking up a plan to ride to Vegas, him on his 1965 Vespa GL with a PX200 engine, me on my bike as expected. Assuming all goes to plan, his GL will arrive in Austin by trailer by Feb 9, and we’ll have a couple days to poke around this super fun city. Serenity can get a once-over at AF1 Racing. Then, we’ll load up on breakfast tacos and we’ve got 11 days to cover about 2,000 miles to Vegas, on all secondary roads!

Stage 2 (with a Fred!): Austin, TX → Las Vegas, NV

Feb 13: Junction, TX. Maybe as far as Del Rio, TX depending on how much we’re slowed by BBQ. Actually ended up being Kerrville, TX, in a motel.
Feb 14: Seminole Canyon State Park, camping.
Feb 15-16: Home of Voni and Paul Glaves!
Feb 17: Bonus night in Marfa, TX, Tumble In RV Park.
Feb 18: El Paso, TX, fancy hotel. Thanks, Fred.
Feb 19: Las Cruces, NM, motel, and a visit to White Sands National Monument.
Feb 20: Rodeo, NM, Rusty’s RV Ranch, just outside Portal, AZ.
Feb 21-22: Tucson, AZ, Roadrunner Hostel.
Feb 23: Salome, AZ, motel.
Feb 24: Rally! Downtown Grand in Las Vegas, NV.

~1,926 miles.

It’s a new kind of adventure for both of us. For me, this is next level riding partner territory (I’m excited to have him for two weeks!); for Fred, it’s multi-day touring on a 50 year old bike. Plus, I definitely want to scoot by some terrain I missed last time, and see friends along the way. We plotted the route together, slowing the pace to just around 200 miles per day – for once, my bike may not be the runt of the litter (heh heh), and I want to make sure there’s room to figure things out and hopefully not break anything. We’ve scouted out the local U-Hauls just in case, but come hell or high water (which maybe I shouldn’t say in light of my last pass through Houston) we’re going to Vegas!

After the rally shenanigans, there will be an empty crate that held the raffle bike which will take Fred’s scooter back to Boston. From there, I will decide: Do I continue west, or turn back east? But I don’t need to decide yet…

See you at the Rally!