After weeks of grey, gloomy skies, the return of the sun and the thermometer soaring to 39F could only mean a wonderful opportunity to go for a ride.  And with the recent addition of heated grips and Tucano Urbano muffs there would be a cosmic alignment of solar and electric heat to produce the coziest of rides. With an entire day open the last thing on my mind was what to do when the Vespa won’t start.

After weighing geographic options I headed south towards breakfast at the Spruce Creek Bakery.  The light was dazzling and the air seemed swept clear of any dense or negative energy.  Gazing into the distance I entertained a rush towards the Maryland border and on into Virginia — just because I could and because I haven’t gone for a long ride in awhile.

The Vespa now has Koso heated grips and Tucano muffs installed to keep my hands warm.  Usually at this temperature I would have my electric gloves on but instead opted for my LL Bean deerskin field gloves — light, supple, and comfortable.  They’re similar to the Aerostich elkskin ropers that I wrecked in the garden.

While it wasn’t that cold (39F) it was obvious that the muffs did a great job offering protection from the wind.  The heated grips weren’t warm, they were HOT.  So hot that I had to run them on half power.  As the weather gets colder I’ll experiment with the need for heavier gloves.

I was also surprised how quickly I adapted to my hands being inside the muffs.  No issues at all save for a need to be deliberate with any thumb actions — starter, kill switch, horn, turn signals — since your hands are inside these big, fixed muffs.

The bakery was closed so I continued on towards Sinking Valley and another place to eat.  Twenty-six miles from home and the scooter died.

This is as far as I got.  Stopped to make a picture inside the underpass, got back on the scooter, started the engine, it ran for a few seconds and it died.  I’ve been here before and some will probably say I should have gotten it fixed already.  Try again, runs for a second and dies.

My best guess is the fuel pump is failing.  When I turn on the ignition I don’t hear the pump running which is a bad sign.  It’s done this twice in the past year.  Each time I’d wait a minute or so, try again and it would start right up and run all day.

After about a half-hour I decide it’s time to get someone to fetch the scooter.

It’s always something when the Vespa won’t start.  Having no cell coverage doesn’t help.  At least the sun was shining and the temperature was in the low forties as I started pushing the scooter back towards Spruce Creek, Pennsylvania in hopes of a cell signal.  It’s less than a mile.

A half-dozen vehicles stopped to ask if I needed help.  Not a single Vespa technician among them.  Nice to know that people care about an old man pushing a Vespa along a road.

In the parking lot of the Spruce Creek United Methodist Church I was able to get one bar of AT&T coverage to reach out to my friend Paul.  He was available and would bring his truck to haul the dead scooter to Kissell Motorsports and most likely a new fuel pump.

While I waited I watched the fisherman work their way along the Little Juniata River just a few hundred yards from where Spruce Creek dumps its water and fish into the river.  This is a popular spot for fly fishing.  Not far from here is the club where President Jimmy Carter was a frequent fishing visitor.

Now, on to the dead scooter.  I wish it would stay dead because it would be easier to diagnose and fix.  As luck (bad) would have it the Vespa started.  And more bad luck showed no cell signal again.  So off I went with an eye open for Paul’s big blue truck.

About five miles up the road I saw him, we coordinated plans, and headed to Kissell’s to drop on the scooter.

After checking the Vespa in for repairs Craig Kissell showed us a 2012 Moto Guzzi V7 Racer that was just traded.  Amazing bit of engineering and I could see Paul wanted it.  Craig was ready to make it happen but Paul was too close to a recent Ducati acquisition.  The more amazing part of the story was what the owner traded this motorcycle for — a new Vespa Sprint 150.

Go figure.

Anyways, I won’t see the Vespa again until after the new year.  Until then I can focus on other projects like getting my darkroom rolling again or clearing the basement so a new gas fired boiler can be installed and the smelly old oil fired one (and the storage tank) can be carted away.

Always things to do, especially when the Vespa won’t start…