Sunrise

I haven't been tending this blog, other than posting the links to the 2010 Scooter Cannonball rally that you'll see to the right.  My free-ish time has been devoted to following the Cannonball action.  I thought I might participate in that rally the next time it takes place in 2012.  I've been following the action pretty closely and I now think that neither my scooter nor I are up for that grueling an experience.

If I decide to ride coast to coast, and I may, it'll be on my own schedule, confined as much as possible to paved roads, during daylight hours only, and with the objective of raising money for a charity.  If I can help it, I won't turn my motel room into an impromptu mechanic's bay, or attempt to rebuild the cylinder and cylinder head on a gravel shoulder, as some intrepid Cannonballers have done.  What an adventure those riders are having.

Leaving the Cannonball aside for a moment, I thought I'd touch on transitions.  The daylight hours are shrinking.  The weather is a little gloomy. Fall is in the air. My first summer on a scooter is coming to a close.  The cold air worked its way through my gloves this morning by the time I got to the office.  I'm thinking seriously about installing a windscreen. Oh well, every season brings its charms.  That's why I've peppered this morning's post with sunrise pictures taken just east of the Pointe Claire village.  They tell the story of the coming fall, don't they?

Sunset

I rarely post accounts of my evening commute.

I suppose it's because I work long hours and the ride home is decompression time.  I'm anxious to get home, and my inclinations tend towards shorter, faster trips than to slightly longer photo opportunity trips.  The difference between the two experiences is literally only a few minutes, perhaps five, but five evening minutes are not five morning minutes.

That's not to say that the route along the water doesn't offer amazing views.  It certainly does, and I enjoy them just as much as the morning ones, but they're different, the quality and direction of the light is different, and unless there is something I see that compels me to stop and take a picture, I don't have anything to share with you here but the memory.

Last night's commute presented one of those compelling moments.  The photo was taken in Dorval, looking west across the bay towards Pointe Claire.

Not all scooterists have such benign experiences.  Some Modern Vespa forum members have to dodge bullets on the way home.

Scooter Cannonball

The 2010 edition of the Scooter Cannonball is about to get underway.  It runs from September 9 through the 18th.  The participants depart Vancouver B.C. and trek to Portland, Maine.

I've posted a link to Pistol Pete's blog among the scooter blogs down on the right side of the page.  I'll post others as I come across them.

I am sooooo jealous.

Maybe in 2012.

PS: I've added a panel on the right side of the page with all the 2010 Scooter Cannonball links I come across to make it easier to follow the action.