Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 21 Page 22 Page 23 Page 24 Page 25 Page 26 Page 27 Page 28 Page 29 Page 30 Page 31 Page 32 Page 33 Page 34 Page 35 Page 36 Page 37 Page 38 Page 39 Page 40 Page 41 Page 42 Page 43 Page 44 Page 45 Page 46 Page 47 Page 48 Page 49 Page 50 Page 51 Page 52 Page 53 Page 54 Page 55 Page 56 Page 57 Page 58 Page 59 Page 60 Page 61 Page 62 Page 63 Page 64 Page 65 Page 66 Page 67 Page 68 Page 69 Page 70 Page 71 Page 72 Page 73 Page 74 Page 75 Page 76 Page 77 Page 78 Page 79 Page 80 Page 81 Page 82 Page 83 Page 84Winter 2014 | IRON BUTT MAGAZINE  more than doubled the mileage on the Roketa, a scooter that I did not even know existed three days earlier. The tripmeter shows , for my effort. Dogged persistence had paid off! REALITY CHECK Depressed and disgusted I sit on my sofa two weeks later. While writing up my ride report to the IBA for certifica- tion, I’m double-checking the numbers against Microsoft Streets and Trips and discover I’m short by . miles! I add it up again. I add it up ten more times. I’m still . miles short! I could walk that if needed. I can’t believe it. I’m short on mileage and also short a scooter. I had sold the Roketa a day earlier. A double whammy of reality for a guy who thought he had a slam-dunk. On top of that, when I finished my Scooter Insanity ride, I swore I would never do it again. Ever. Now, two hours later, I’m back perusing the Internet for another one. Armed with more knowledge than previously, my prerequisites have changed. At the top of my list I wanted the challenge of the small- est motor as possible to complete the ride, but a scooter with bigger wheels would be safer. My two hours of searching turned up a Honda model that I had never heard of or seen before, a PCX. I called my trusty dealer, Coeur d’Alene Powersports, to see if they had a PCX. “Pick your color,” the salesman asks, “red or black.” It’s late Saturday and I come to terms over the phone committing to the red and tell him I’ll be in to pick it up Tuesday. REBOOTING THE MISSION Wednesday morning saw a lone rider astride his Honda PCX — with only  miles on it — outside the Exxon station in Sandpoint at : a.m. “Smart people are still in bed,” I mutter under my breath. I am armed with a single sheet of paper crammed with times, mileages and a basic route sheet wadded up in my right breast pocket. Mentally I was having a tough time getting into this ride because I had already done it and was still stewing. This funk continued until seven hours and  miles later, when in Seattle I came upon four different people sep- arately inquiring about my journey. “From Idaho!” was the heightened response when I told them where I had started earlier in the day. The Honda, named “Lil Red” after my daughter’s rec- ommendation,really seemed to capture people’s imagina- tion of what could be accomplished on a cc motor. In Portland I noticed a young man and his dad just hanging out. The kid, Dante, kept checking out the scooter and I asked if he wanted to sit on it. He pounced at the chance after getting the “it’s okay nod” from dad. I showed him the throttle and brakes. Motorcycles always break down barriers between people and cultures, but this little thing was going way beyond that. I found throughout the ride that it captured a lot of the spirit of young bucks who could not afford transportation and were looking for a way to get some spirit out of life. Isn’t that what it’s all about? When I got back to Sandpoint at : a.m., I knew I had the mileage this time and I had plenty of documentation to support it, having made  stops to fill the .-gallon tank. While pulling the ride off is sweet, the clarity it gave me is even better. The IBA, by offering up the IBA Scooter Insanity, just opened up a whole new world to a group of riders. Sure, .% would not consider tackling a thousand-mile day on a cc scooter, but it can fire the imagination of a whole group of people who might now think of taking their kids out on an adventure or going to see a friend  miles away. Riding a scooter is an adventure. Just ask IBA luminary Ed Otto, who paved the way by riding his Honda Helix in the  Iron Butt Rally. Nineteen years later with fuel injection, a low entry price, lightning quick han- dling and great mileage, there really aren’t many places these little machines can’t go. Even more, scooters can take you back to those times when you craved just to get somewhere or see someone.Times where you calculated a ride with a blank sheet of paper and pencil instead of a fully farkled cc machine with multiple GPSes and aircraft-type lighting. Yes, I have a fully farkled machine and I’m not getting rid of it anytime soon, but there is something refreshing about going back to the basics where it is just you, your thoughts, and the cc scooter you rode in on. This little cc PCX has earned a place in my garage and in my heart. It reopened a whole lot of doors and crazy opportunities to ride. For certain the adventure will be pursued.