2011: The year that had no Spring
June 2, 2011 § 2 Comments
In spite of my prayers and sacrificing a few neighborhood cats to the rain Gods, it’s now June and the weather continues to suck. I have hardly ridden at all. An interesting fact I heard today is that we have already exceeded our annual rainfall here in Mosstown, and it has been the coolest Spring since the late 1940′s. Great.
I have a garage full of old scooters who think I have abandoned them. Over the winter, I began piling stuff up in the garage to get it out of the house and to the casual observer it might seem that I am one of those hoarders from TV. Nothing could be further from the truth because unlike those crazy people who just cant throw anything away, I despise clutter. Every time I open the garage it puts me in a bad mood. So I have decided to do something about it. The best plans never have more than three steps. Here they are:
- Eliminate the junk. Order a dumpster. Everything I havent touched in 12 months or more must go. For example, the sleeping bag I haven’t used for ten years.
- Sell project scooters and parts I will never use. Two of them must go. I’m thinking the Heinkel and Cezeta. Rare, but also extremely time consuming to restore. I dont have that kind of time anymore.
- Organize the garage and make it well lighted and clean. Once the crap is gone, get the walls and floor painted,then install some proper storage. A clean and organized workshop is a happy shop. I may also add a refrigerator.
I’ll probably have to rent a storage container for a week or two to hold the bikes, parts, and non-scooter garage stuff while the new man-cave is being readied. I have a few weeks to plan. The work begins in July, right after Independence Day. Photos will follow.
Seems I am similar in a few ways… It has gotten to the point where I had to make a choice as to which scoots and bikes had to live out the front of my garage. So far it is only the modern auto ones (still classics in my book, purely italian racing versions only…) that have to suffer the weather. I keep on trying to get my arse into gear to get the garage organised but I think im a bit too ADHD for the job…
Hey Andy,
man I wish I had seen your blog about downsizing parts and projects earlier. I’m still looking for a few Bella parts (a straight wheel, tail-light bulb mount, clamshell, horn) and would have loved to check out the Heinkle. If you have any of those parts you would like to sell, just drop me an email (if you still have my email address) or let me know how to contact you. I tried emailing you but it bounced….
cheers,
Brad Stone
Seattle