Frequently Asked Questions
What is Scoot 66?
Scoot 66 is a 66 day, 10,000 mile spring journey across the US. It starts on April 30 and should end around July 4. More importantly, Scoot 66 is something that I’ve wanted to do since I was a kid, but now I want to do it on a scooter.
Where are you going?
Hm. The thing is, there is no real destination. Sure, there’s a bunch of stuff I’ll be seeing along the way, but really, the journey is the destination. From the second I shove off on April 30 till the moment I roll back into town on July 4, I will be exactly where I want to be.
How many miles total?
Roughly 10,000, though I’m assuming it will actually be much more than that.
How many days?
Scoot 66 is 66 days. Though it’s possible that it will take longer.
What are you riding?
I’ll be riding a Vespa GTS250.
How fast can it go?
It can do around 80 – 85mph. Faster than one should go on 12″ wheels.
What kind of mileage does that thing get?
Oh, about 75mpg. Much better than that SUV, huh?
Why ride instead of drive?
There’s a sort of freedom you experience when you ride. It’s there on bicycles, mopeds, scooters, motorcycles – anything on two wheels. You’re not trapped in a cage like you are in a car. You feel the land beneith you, see the sky above you and smell the cow poop all around you. It’s great.
Why a scooter and not a cycle?
Route 66 and many of the other roads I’m taking have been done on motorcyles over and over. Like I said before, it’s the best way to see the country. But for me, I have taken to scooters (generally Vespas). Nothing against motorcycles, really, I just like scooters enough to ride one a couple of times across the country.
How many miles a day will you ride?
It varies. While I’m on the Route 66 portion of the trip, I’ll average about 150 miles a day. It’ll probably end up being more than that, but that’s the goal. I am only riding that much because I want to see as much as I can. After Route 66, I’ll average around 200 – 250 miles a day.
How many hours a day will you ride?
I’ll probably be riding from 9am till 7pm each day. Obviously, I’ll be doing a lot of exploring off the scooter.
Are you at all qualified to do something like this?
Maybe. I’ve never attempted anything like this. It would be like someone who has never hiked attempting the Appalachian Trail. It’s best to travel a bit before leaving. I guess I have, but mostly in a car. I’ve done a week long (or so) trip on the scooter a couple of times. Hopefully that’s prepared me. Not much I can do about it now.
What will you eat along the way?
I’m a vegan. That means that I don’t eat meat, eggs, dairy, etc. Anything that was or came from an animal doesn’t go in my body. It’s actually a pretty easy thing to do. But some folks have asked how I’ll do this in the mid-west, etc. I’ve traveled through most of the places where I’ll be riding. In some places there are grocery stores. When those don’t exist, there’s Subway. Even a local diner has some things that vegans can eat. It won’t always be super easy, but that’s ok. I’ll survive.
Will you be camping or staying in motels?
Oh, mostly I’ll be camping. There are a handful of motels that I really want to stay in (Blue Swallow, WigWam), but mostly it’s camping. Not primative camping, of course. Every place must have a shower. I get weird when I can’t shower. I get angry. And you wouldn’t like me when I’m angry.
What types of weather are you prepared for?
Rain. That’s it. No snow, please. If you have long legs, you can do some snow on a scooter, but if you have short legs like me, you’re pretty screwed once the flakes start dropping. I’m fine with rain. Even a steady downpour. But I’ll be riding through “tornado alley.” We’ll see how I do there. Hopefully I won’t run into anything bigger than a rain storm.
How will you keep to the schedule?
The miles I’m doing each day should make it easy to keep to it. But if something like a break down happens, there’s not much I can do. I just have to be detached from things like that.
What about scheduled maintenance?
Every 3,000 miles you should go over the scooter, checking it for nasty things. Also, the rear wheel will need to be changed. And oil. And belt (every 6,000). I’m planning stops for such things in Albuquerque and Salt Lake City.
What are some of the highlights that you’ll be seeing?
The journey is the destination, of course. But some highlights are all of Route 66 – from Chicago to LA. California Route 1 up the coast, my friend Cole in Berkeley, Donner Pass, the loneliest road in America, vegan food and Mandy in SLC, hitting the five northern states that I need to have cover all 48 continuous states. Oh, there will be tons of fun out there.
How long have you planned this?
“Since I was a kid,” in a way. But planning the monster called “Scoot 66″… that’s been about three years. It’s taken on different incarnations, but this thing is roughly three years in the making.
And what will you do after all this is over?
Who knows. Got any suggestions?
Looks like you’re having a lot of fun. I’ve been planning a scooter trip of my own and your site is giving my insperation and advice. Just out of couiosity, how are you packing your scooter to balance the load, and what are youdoing to keep the weight down?
I look foward to reading more of your adventures.
Safe Journey,
Andy
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Eric reply on June 22nd, 2008 11:02 pm:
Hey Andy!
I think I’ll be doing a whole post about packing the scooter. But basically everything is pretty easy to balance. It’s hard to throw these things off center. However, watch what you put up front and how. I still haven’t figured it out. Sometimes there’s a MASSIVE wobble at low speeds and sometimes there’s not.
Keeping the weight down = mailing home stuff you don’t need. I’m pretty streamlined at this point.
Thanks!
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I’m thinking about making a move to Portland, OR from Boynton Beach, FL on a Chineese Scooter. It’s 150cc, and can do about 60mph on a good day. Do you think it would be a good idea to do it, or should I save up money for the 250cc scooter I really want? Where did you get the maintainence along the way? I’m gonna do Rte.66 as well, then head up the California/Oregon coast.
Please, any suggestions helps!
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Hey there! Eric here.
I would very very strongly suggest not taking a Chinese scooter pretty much anywhere.
First, very few shops will work on Chinese scooters. One of the nice things along my trip was the availability of pretty ok maintenance. Vespa’s got a whole bunch of dealers everywhere. That was nice. There’s no dealer support at all for Chinese scooters.
Of course, you don’t need a Vespa for that. Genuine Scooter Company produces a scooter unfortunately named The Buddy. However, it’s a great scooter and there’s a ton of dealers everywhere. I’d suggest this one unless you really want the Vespa.
Also, something to consider is that on a 250, I could hardly keep up with traffic on the interstate through Arizona (Route 66 is gone in those sections, so we must use the interstate). With a head wind of 40mph and more, it slowed me to about 45mph at full throttle. That’s pretty dangerous on an interstate. On a smaller scooter, it would be even worse.
That said, PLEASE do this trip. You’ll always regret it if you don’t and always be happy that you did it if you do it.
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I’m planing on rideing RT66 the later part of april from Okalama city to Barstow California. I have two scooters. A Honda Reflex 250 and a Honda Silver Wing 600. I took the Reflex on a 2000 mile trip last June from Alabama to Iowa and had a wonderful time. But did not have to deal with high winds or high mountains. I like the Reflex better because it’s lighter and easier to ride. The Silver Wing is faster and heavier and has more storage. Witch one do you think I should take?
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Fantastic blog! I was planning my own trip on my Yamaha Vino 125 but without any real destination at this point. How much do you budget for a trip like this? Thank you for the amazing info so far! -Jamie
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Thanks!!
Basically, if you’re camping and not eating all that much, you can easily get by on $50 a day. That broke it down to an average of $10 for food, $10 for gas and $30 for lodging. Those things will vary, of course, but that was my average.
I wish I could be on the road again.
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While tooling around the Great U. S. A., keep with you a camera and a G.P.S. (many cell phones have them built in the phone) to photo and locate all those ‘Historic Markers’.
Then place them on http://www.hmdb.org “Historical Markers Data Base”…
You do not even have to like History. The hunt, photographing, and uploading is a hobby that grabs you ! ! ! By being up-loaded on http://www.hmdb.org you are also assisting a given community and all those that can not travel – to see them and their surroundings on the inter-net.
Happy – Hunting ! ! !
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