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Well it's been a couple of months since my trip now and I'm back in New Orleans freezing by butt off wishing I was back on a beach...
But that's about the only thing worth going to Florida for.
It is good to be home in the insanity that is our normalcy though.

As far as summing up my journey I can only say that it was hours and hours of sheer boredom and monotony interrupted by moments of absolute terror.
There's not much to do at 40 mph with no radio, empty , lonely back roads, the occasional tractor trailer (who will attempt to run you off the road) and dead armadillos.
Even though my scooter ran flawlessly , I would never try a ride like this one on 49cc's.
Next time it will be a 150cc! There is a big difference from 40 to 55 mph.

Key West was a dream. It was a quiet Monday night so Duval st. was not jammed up with tourons (tourist morons).
Engaged in the 'sunset celebration' , checking out the street performers and artists. Just to see if they are up to the caliber of our Jackson Square denizens. There not........
More about this later.

The 'Legend' is still running beautifully and I'm back to blasting around the Bywater delivering food. 1150 miles on the odometer right now!

I Made It!!

The southernmost point in the continental United States!

A 1200 mile ride from New Orleans to Key West.

I am exhausted and will be posting much more in the next day or two here. Let me just say that the Overseas Highway is the most dangerous stretch of road I have ever been on in my life.

Lots to say but I need some rest. Here's another picture till then.

Key West Bound!

Finally heading on the last leg of my trip to Key West.
Its about 200 miles from Ft. Lauderdale to Key West and should take me about 5 hours, give or take. My scooter Legend will be hitting the 10k mile mark somewhere very close to mile marker zero. I am looking forward to this leg of the journey here on the anniversary of Katrina as this journey has been a part of my 'healing' process.
More to come as soon as I return to Lauderdale.

Thanks TnG!

My new TnG Badge
Thanks to the good people at CMSI

'Legend' is running great, she's just past the 9200 mile mark headed for 10k
Planning a trip to Key West soon. Its a 400 mile round trip from Ft. Lauderdale.
Looking forward to the scenery of the overseas highway. Fla. is flat and boring.
Right now just driving all over the urban sprawl of South Fla. Uhg!

New Pix

flickr.com/masterjeffrey

Pictures from the road and other fun stuff!!

'The New American Biker'

Thank You's

It took a few people helping me out in order to pull this off,
Desiree & Micheal for all their support (and $$)
The Guys from Scooter Ria in New Orleans, Steve and Dave who hooked me up with parts and advise.
My Business partner Rob for his support and cat sitting.
Andrea who helped me get my computer all set up.
Mega Beth for the Yoga lessons which saved my back during the journey ( highly recommended).
Woo my houngan who brought Legba into my home to speak to me and bless my trip.
Everybody who gave me a place to sleep and fed me along the way.
Suzi, Aunt Marcia & Uncle Noel, Mellisa & Mike & Mom and Pamela.
Serson aka the Subliminator for his advice on road tripping on 2 wheels.
and of course all those people who said " your crazy".
Thank You All!!!!
And of course my Mom Carole........

And lets not forget the 'Legend'
She ran like a dream, the harder I run her, the better she runs........

Master Jeffrey

3rd & 4th Day on the Road

Day 3
I was able to hit the road around 7 am and back onto 27 down to Mt. Dora where I headed east on 46. Another road from hell. Its been under construction for about 10 years now and the drivers are nuts. I was almost run off the road twice. Although i was warned that it was a dangerous road. Needless to say I will not take that route back.
Once I hit the Atlantic coast it was smooth sailing. Quite a beautiful ride as well. Its been awhile since Ive seen the Atlantic ocean. From there it was down the coast to Melbourne which was my destination for the evening.
I stayed with my Aunt Marcia and Uncle Noel and was able to visit my Grandmother who happened to be in the hospital following a small stroke. Grandma is doing much better now and is being released. It was a nice visit and was able to get some much needed sleep.
My scooter 'Legend' just kept on going and going.

Day 4
On the road again driving down the coast with a stop in W. Port St. Lucie to visit some old friends and scooter enthusiasts Mellisa and Mike where Mellisa's Mom made me a fantastic lunch. (Thanks!!). From there it was a short hop down to Lake Worth to visit another old friend Pamela. Another fantastic meal with some of her friends and a bunch of red wine was a nice end to the day. Slept hard and well!
The next morning was a short 1 1/2 hours to my final destination in Margate (FT. Lauderdale)

Due to the back roads and such it ended up being almost 1000 miles exactly.
Would I do it again?
Well yes of course..... I'm ready to roll back to New Orleans baby!!!

Master Jeffrey

Day 2

This was probably the most boring part of the trip and the most exciting part.
First taking 27 once I was past Tallahassee was the road from hell.
Long and boring with nothing along the way and I mean nothing!
No stores or billboards or side roads or overpasses. Just a 4 lane divided highway lined with a wall of trees. One section of the road goes in a straight line for over 20 miles. At that point you realize just how slow 40 mph really is. Its slow, very slow, especially on a road designed for 120 mph. Just when I thought I would lose my mind from the monotony I hit an insane rain and lightning storm. Torrential downpour for 1 1/2 hours with the craziest lightning I have ever seen. Turns out I was right in the middle of 'lightning alley' as its known. scary as hell when there is nowhere to pull over and I had no choice but to keep riding through the storm. Thank goodness for good rain gear. But it was still scary as hell. Finally arrived in Trenton Fla. which is about 30 miles west of Gainesville. that was my stop for the night and I stayed with an old friend Suzi Tattoozi. I had not seen her in several years which was nice. Passed out early as the trip was getting exhausting. Distance that day was about 250 miles.
Oh yea , we had drinks at the City Bar in Trenton. woo-hoo is all I have to say. (kidding) Its an old man bar with lots of old men in training. My scooter 'Legend' ran flawlessly all day. What a girl!!
Next were on to day 3
Master Jeffrey

1000 miles!!

I made it!! No problems at all with the scooter. Lots to tell but I will have to post later. I'm here and going to get some rest today.
What a ride..........

1 Day, 4 States, 9 Hours, 300 miles

Wow! What a ride! Got a late start but once on the road I just kept rolling. The scooter 'Legend' ran just fine, 9 hours on the road with a half hour stop for lunch and stopping for gas.
I must say though that big bridges with big trucks can get a little scary.
Cruising along the beach in Mississippi was just beautiful. but pulling off on the beach I almost dumped it. Don't drive a scooter through beach sand, just don't do it......
A couple of times it got pretty close looking for a gas station but I have a backup gallon of gas with me, just trying to see how far I could really get. If you know me you'll understand.
I got lots of great photos of the scooter "Legend' with all kinds of fun and goofy stuff as well as some legendary people, artists and friends. I will try to get those up tonight although I'm pretty tired. Will try.
Peace,
Jeffrey

Finally!! Ready to Roll

After 2 frustrating days waiting for my laptop to arrive and get it online. Trying to find Mac compatible stuff in New Orleans in next to impossible.
But I am ready to hit the road first thing in the morning. I am trying to make it to De Funiak Springs Fla. before sunset. 269 miles at an average of 35 mph, thats the plan.
OK Sitting at Yellow Moon for a goodbye drink with my friends, everyone is in bathrobes. Damn I'm going to miss this place.
Goodnight,
Master jeffrey

Cool Links

Heres a few links I have found to be of interest to my trip.

First here's TnG www.tngscooters.com

Here's a guy who just rode a 49cc scooter from Miami to LA
http://www.ipanemic.com/

A guide to preparing for a long distance scooter trip.
www.iheartstella.com/2007/07/scooter-road-trip-preparation

Here is another guy who circled the eastern half of the country
www.pjchmiel.com/ramble

Vespa Vagabond is the blog of a woman who went cross country
http://vespa-vagabond.blogspot.com/

Another guy who went from coast to coast.
http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/tstories/vandyck/

Here is some info on mapping out routes designed by bicyclist.
http://adventurecycling.com/routes/index.cfm

I cant wait!!

Master Jeffrey

GGGRRRRR!! Delays in Departure

I hate to say this but due to lots of small details , I have had to portpone my departure by 1 week. So I will be headed out on Monday the 15th.
I have been able to get some pix onto my flickr account if you want to see the Capt. America paint job. www.flickr.com/masterjeffrey
Peace,
Master Jeffrey

let me promote your product or business

OK I'm shamefully seeking assistance and or even sponsorship for my journey.
5 days on the road going through many little towns all the way down. Constantly stopping to take it easy on the scooter, I will be spending lots of time at gas stations and parks talking to people who want to know if i really rode a scooter from New Orleans to wherever I may be at at the moment. Anyone who knows me knows that I love to talk about New Orleans.
I do have a paypal button here for anyone interested in being a part of this epic journey.
Any funds collected and not used will go to assist my ride back. Yes I do plan on riding her back to New Orleans, this is a round trip ticket baby....
Thanks !!

About my support team aka Scooter Ria here in New Orleans. Steve and Dave have been very supportive and have hooked me up with all the spare parts I could possibly need for the trip.
They have given me a lot of good advice and some lessons on how to fix some items should they fail. So, short of the engine melting down I should be fine.

I should have some pix on my Flickr account by tomorrow, the scoot has her new Red, White and Blue paint job ala Capt. America. She looks great!
More to Come,
Master Jeffrey

The route

No I will not be taking the highway with my scooter. She just does not go that fast. I can cruise at 40 mph. I plan on taking 90 out of New Orleans which will take me along the gulf coast through Mississippi , Alabama and into the panhandle of Florida.
So basicaly the first day will be a beautiful ride along the beaches.
Day two will take me along 90 through Tallahassee onto 19 / 27 which takes me to Gainesville for the night. Staying with an old friend there, Suzi Tattoozi for those that may know her.
Third day will take me down 441 into Orlando, depending on how I'm doing I have a place to stay in Orlando or I might push on to Melbourne where I have family, from there it's a nice days ride (maybe two) down the Atlantic coast.
If there is one thing that I miss being in New Orleans its the water.

The great American road trip. Just me and the road for 4 or 5 days.

Official departure date is Monday the 8th.

More to come soon and I'm working on some images.

Peace,
Master Jeffrey

About my Scoot

She is a 2006 TnG Venice, a 49cc. I bought her new from Scooter Ria in New Orleans not too long after Katrina. It was simple economics at the time as I was spending $40-60 a week in fuel and parking in the CBD of N. O. Needless to say my expenses went to $3 a week from the day I started riding her.
At this point she has over 6700 miles on her. I drive her daily shopping for my cafe and delivering food all night long. I drive this machine hard.
Not too long ago it was stolen from me and after a week of insanity I managed too get her back.
Long story short, two different crackheads tried to sell it back to me and I managed too convince the second guy to actually bring it to me, where we stalled him for over 20 minutes until NOPD finally arrived. Mind you we were one block from the police station where I went while said crackhead waited for me to return ( he thought I was going home to retrieve my key) She had about $500 worth of damage and thats not counting the hookups from the Scooter Ria guys.
They were great!
Back on the road with a new paint job, think flat black with flames. Before I hit the road though she will get a new coat of paint. I'm going red, white and blue ala Easy Rider.

I am setting up a flickr account as I will be photographing the journey for all to see.
Planned date of departure is Mon. June 8th around 7am.
master j

Here's the Plan

For several reasons I have decided to spend the summer in Ft' Lauderdale Fla. After exploring all my options of getting down there with my scooter, I have chosen the option of driving my Scooter from New Orleans to Ft. Lauderdale.
The journey should take me 4 days to complete. My route will take me along the coast of the Gulf of Mexico then I will cut across the state and cruise down the Atlantic coast for the rest of the way.
My scooter is a 2006 49cc TnG Venice. I have had her since new and drive the piss out of her daily! She runs like a champ and after 6600 miles just keeps running better and better.
Thats all for today but will be back with more details as things progress.
master j