skylarwoodward

I have a new crush. Bella. Veloce. Stimolazione. This weekend I finally took home my 1969 Vespa 150 Sprint Veloce and began the process of getting her aquainted with the foggy SF air after 5 years of sitting garaged. It was a rough start to our relationship, but after a new ignition coil and fuel line she’s finally come around. I’ve been taking her out every afternoon or evening so far to work some of the crud built up in the engine from the early new-millenium hiatus.

She’s every bit a classic and 100% Italian even down to the scratches on the cowls and the fuel cap label reading “USARE MISCELA AL 2%.” The Sprint Veloce was the name applied to the 150cc Sprint models produced directly for the Italian Market though I’m still learning the distinctions to the 150 Sprint aside from the lack of ignition or seat locks and the speedometer in kilometers. In the pictures posed on flickr, you can see small dealer stickers on the front and rear of the bike which suggest that at some point the bike was sold in Modena, though aside from a brief history of her story in SF since being imported around 1998, I can’t say that I know much more. That said, she’s a joy to ride and a dream to park. In addition to my new Breezer and the Yahoo! shuttles to Sunnyvale, its one more reason to leave the car in the garage, and 150 more reasons to go out smiling.

Today my iPod was stolen. Someone smashed into my car while it was parked at Whole Foods in SOMA and they stole my music buddy. If you see a 3rd generation 40GB iPod floating around with the ID “skylarwoodward” engraved on the back, let me know. (the ID @ yahoo.com)

Having been a victim of a car theft twice this month, I’m sobering up to the presence of crime in the city. For the over two years I’ve been fortunate enough to not have anything major stolen or vandalized, or to be assaulted or otherwise. There is a great peace at being able to walk, park, or hang out in areas that would make most suburbanites feel tense – to trust my fellow city dwellers regardless of their appearence or the neighborhood’s reputation. Most times I worry about DPT more than I worry about vandals (no matter how hard you try they always find an excuse to write you a ticket). It sucks to have to worry about broken windows and theft too.

If you are reading this and you’ve realized you didn’t really want to steal a personalized iPod , I’ll take it back no questions asked, no charges pressed.