Delays and Detours

After almost soiling my pants last Friday night, I decided to leave the Vespa at home on Monday and get the bus instead. The weather was still bad that morning (the rain appeared to be “falling” horizontally) but was expected to get better later in the day. Having earned much respect as a reliable and viable transport option during the horrible period of snow and ice, Dublin Bus appears to have gone back to its normal, unreliable self.

All the usual symptoms were there that Monday morning and I could see from a mile away that there were problems - a sizeable crowd had gathered at the bus stop. The bus was late. 45 minutes later, two arrived within milliseconds of each other and to top it off, the bus that I got on stopped short of its normal destination because....you guessed it – it was late and playing catch-up on its own timetable.

You know when you come across something that’s a bit off your normal route (be it to work or some other place) and think that it might be a good idea to take a detour to have a closer look at it? I definitely have a few of those and it ranges from this old red Mustang (with white go faster stripes) parked in someone’s driveway to the quirky little cafe that looks so warm and welcoming. Well, the only positive that could be taken from my incomplete bus journey that morning was that it gave me an opportunity to take a closer look at a black P-series scooter that I’ve been eyeing for a while now.

On closer inspection, the scooter's actually a brand new (2011 reg) LML Star complete with what looked to me like chunky Faco side panel crash bars. Very nice.

I’ve never owned a brand-new scooter before and as much as would love to get myself a new and shiny LML or for that matter any other scooter, I just can’t justify the price I’d have to pay to for one. Nothing wrong with all things new, it’s just that I’d rather pay to save an old Vespa frame from rotting away in someone’s shed and then put in all the effort humanly possible to get it back to its former glory. It’s not that I’ve personally done it before but if I had the chance, I definitely would.

Maybe it’s just me or maybe it is human nature that attracts people to seeing old and ugly things (or people) being transformed into something bright and shiny. I suppose, that’s probably why shows like Pimp My Ride, the X Factor and the hundreds of makeover shows where women are transformed from butt ugly beings to a little less ugly, are so popular.

In any case, if you or anyone you know has a Vespa (the older the better) lying around the house that’s just sitting there and on the verge of rotting away, let me know. Maybe we could do a deal. If you have an old and ugly person lying around the house and on the verge of rotting away, please drop them off at your nearest TV station.