Goodbye Anastasiya

This is the first step in getting my life back in order. Anastasiya, my black Vespa ET4/8 150, has been sitting in my garage for nearly 2 years now while I use Scarlet, my red Vespa GTS300ie Super (Please note Scarlett is also for sale).

Richard my old friend from the Joburg Photowalkers snapped Anastasiya up and will bring her back to her formal glory by changing her name back to Sophia which she was originally called. Anastasiya /Sophia comes with lots of history. She was the first Vespa and the only 2 scooters ever to do Sani in Winter (Mitilda a P150X was the other one). I know of a SYM 125 scooter doing it in the summer months but winter well that is another story. Sophia also did the Roof of Africa the very next day after Sani crossing over Lesotho along 4x4 tracks with thick snow either side.

After that Sophia became Anastasiya after her engine blew after a highway trip home after work. A few years later also along with Mitilda, she conquered Baviaanskloof Valley where the river beds became the road less travelled much to the surprise of 4x4 enthusiasts and off-road bikers.

Hello Sophia, ahhh let the adventures re-begin.

Vespa for Sale

So finally I have arrived at the place where I need to sell my beloved Vespa ET8 150. Anastasiya started life as Sophia when I bought her way back in 2009 and with all the adventures we have been through I would love to keep her forever but sadly it is time to say good bye as I hardly ride her any more now that Scarlet my red Vespa 300 GTS Super has dominated.

I can remember both the ups and the downs of our time together and we have got the scars to prove it. In 2010 Sophia was the only Vespa 150 to take on the Mille or 1000 Miles tour to the Phalaborwa, Sabie, Hazyview, and back, all to the amazement of the 250s and 300cc Vespas.

That is when the adventure started, from the mud, to the Sani Pass Vespa Adventure. It was the open road and the spirit of adventure.

Then we hit rock bottom when Sophia engine went just over 47,000km of adventures in 2012. I then bought a brand new Vespa LX150 which was involved in an accident at 2,400km and used her to do a Dr Jekyll on Sophia and Anastasiya was born.

But our time was running short as Anastasiya and I only managed to do one more adventure after that, the almighty Baviaanskloof before she was replaced by Scarlet and is now gathering dust.

It will be sad to see her go but please remember that this Vespa for Sale comes with history.

Then it was Tuesday

When I was leaving for work this Tuesday morning, Skye climbed up on the Vespa wanting to go with me to work. It was sad not to take him but I had to go earn my keep and what a busy day it turned out to be. With lots of reports to do, I only just managed to see the light of day towards the end of the day.

Then it was off to Can-Sir for their monthly Men's Cancer Support Group. Here we had a good discussion and my biggest concern as with most of us was the unknown. And being able to talk with men who have gone through similar experiences helps a lot with the anxiety.

Then before it got too late I headed back home to my dogs especially Skye who although didn't get to go with me was very pleased that I was back safely.

Beauty and the Beast

Not long after arriving to work this morning on Anastasiya, the Beast arrived. The Beast is a silver Harley Davidson VRSC F 1250cc V-Rod Muscle and it is a beast of a machine compared to sexy Anastasiya who is a dainty 150cc Vespa. I kind of think Anastasiya likes the beast around as he sort of protects her and keeps the paws of the passer bys off her.

I took Anastasiya in to get her carburettor finely tuned because at high revolutions she was losing power suddenly and battling to reach 100km/h. After Vespa South Africa's attention Anastasiya purred home and without batting an eyelid easy cruised over 110km/h. Thank goodness as I had thought I had lost the spirit of Sophia but she is back with vengeance.

Captain Morgan

To Life, Love and Loot, now that is an acknowledgment I can live for. The first summer rains have finally arrived and washed away the grim of a dry winter. The first rains in Africa means gone is the winter along with all the nasty nasties. The rains also mean I have to ride in it, so while I was preparing my rain suit for my ride home Delia snapped this photo, oh and I did strike the Captain Morgan pose.

As I wipe away the large drops from my face, I know summer is finally here and can salute to Life, Love and Loot. Arrr me hearties, now where me buxom Morganettes?

Vespa LX8

Anastasiya is not a Vespa ET8 nor is she a Vespa LX150 but a hybrid of the two. She has the petit sexier body of an ET but with the newer parts of the LX added such as the more modern motor and gearbox, the larger front wheel assembly, the instrument panel with the larger round headlight and the higher seat.

She may be slightly smaller than the newer 150cc Vespas but I am sure she has the spirit and determination to make up for it. Today was one of the longest Mondays yet and I simply couldn’t wait to mount up and head out on the open road towards home. But by the time that I left in the evening the roads were jammed with traffic but Anastasiya was both nimble and quick as she sliced through the rush hour traffic like a hot knife through butter.

The Old Ticker

You won't believe it if I said that this photograph is of Sophia's piston and engine head. I popped down to Vespa to get Anastasiya washed for this weekend's breakfast runs and also to go through all the remaining parts of Anna, the original LX150. And there in the box was Sophia's old engine parts that where replaced by Anna's. The first shock was the gigantic hole in the piston; the second is all the damage marks on the piston and engine head done by the valve. It was a shocker that Sophia ended this way so I gave her up for music and the free electric band. Oooh that I better get that music out of my head. 'Cos all I need is music and with the free spirit of Sophia we will ride like the wind, Anastasiya and I.

Out At Night

This evening has been the first time I have been out with Anastasiya. Her instrument panel is so different from Sophia’s that I had to take a photograph. As you can see in glowing backlights she has now 2,745km on her clock which means I have already done just over 250km in the few days that we've been together. The evenings although still nippy is starting to warm up. Just a little more warmer and then you are sure to find us out and about often.

Vespa Anastasiya

Oh wow, now that Maxy is on the road to recovery, I realise that I have neglected the latest member of my family Anastasiya. She is a Vespa hybrid, Vesp as you may not know means Wasp in Italian, and not just any wasp as in Italian a feminine name is denoted by an "a" at the end of a name, so it wasn't just any wasp but a female wasp, Vespa.

Anastasiya is one of a kind Vespa, as there is none other like her. Part LX150 and part ET4, Anastasiya is a sexy petit Vespa with the best parts from each model and I am looking forward to taking her for a breakfast run soon with the Vesparados and Aces. Our shadow days are over.

Anastasiya

I felt like Dr Frankenstein as the form of the monster on whom I had bestowed existence was forever before my eyes. I grieved the loss of my dearest Sophia, who late in June suffered in my arms at the side of a busy highway. Sophia, my Vespa ET4, was unplugged from life support 2 weeks later. She had given me over 47,000km of faithful service. But she held onto life.

Soon news came of a Vespa LX150 which was involved in a rear end encounter with a larger vehicle. She had a broken her steering column and was written off at only 2,400km on her clock. I didn't know her name, but called her Anna, as I ran my hand over her sad deformed body. That was when the plot was hatched to save both of the Vespas by combining them into one Vespa, the Frankenstein way. I purchased Anna for a very reasonable price and the allowed the mechanics to lovely patched the two bikes into one. Although the LX150 is a more modern version of the ET4, it has a slightly fuller body but with a more modern look.

And now I stood in front of this hybrid Vespa, a monster with the spirit of my dearest Sophia inside her. I named her Anastasiya, which means Resurrection. Sophia Reloaded. Her main body, chassis and rear section is from Sophia while the larger front wheel section, the modern instrument panel and headlight, the just about brand new motor and gearbox is all from Anna. Oh I must not forget that Sophia's adventurous spirit is still inside Anastasiya.

So as I rode out of Vespa SA on my nearly brand new Anastasiya, hell froze over as the Phoenix took flight. By freezing over, I meant that it started snowing. Go figure. The South African Weather Service stated that it last snowed in Johannesburg in June 2007 and in the last 103 years of its service it has snowed only 22 days here. So by snow, I don't mean sleet or a light dusting, I rode into a snow storm and it continued on and off all day. The visibility was down to 1m on the highway and I was continuously wiping the snow off my visor. I arrived back at work looking like a snowman on a Vespa.

As Sophia would say, let the adventure begin.

If I didn’t care

If I didn't care more than words can say. I parked Sophia next to a shiny Harley this morning. I thought she would be happy next to a well chiselled bike. But I didn't know she only has eyes for me.

Sophia heart broke on the way home. We were flying along without a care in the world and all of a sudden there was a loud bang, Sophia let out a sigh and was no more. At first I thought we had a tyre blow out but the Sophia was stable as we coasted to a stop alongside a busy main road. As I checked the back tyre, and it dawned on me that it was serious. Sophia must have snapped her drive belt and I pray that it didn't do a lot of damage to poor Sophia. We both sat at the side of the main road as darkness fell, heartbroken and alone watching the cars speeding by.

Words from a song written by Charlie Chaplin came to mind as Sophia sat at the side of the road waiting for help to come. Smile though your heart is aching. Smile even though it's breaking. Help soon arrived in the form of Bruce from Scoots with his flashing lights. The nice thing with the flashing lights was that the speeding cars were now no longer whizzing past, they slowed down, and inquisitive on what was happening.

Sophia I am so sorry that this had to happen. I will not let other bikes especially that distasteful Hog near you, again. There I said it, are you happy now? Smile and maybe tomorrow you'll see the sun come shining through.

Linex Yamaha

I needed a new rear tyre, a Michelin SM100 120/70 10 to be precise, for Sophia and knowing that Vespa South Africa sells them in excess of R1000 fitted, I started phoning around last Thursday. Most of the places said that they didn't have stock and one, Full Throttle said that they would phone me back but didn't, thanks for that. Cayenne Honda quoted me R800 plus R120 fitment, which would be under what Vespa would have quoted. But Linex Yamaha in Randburg, came back after contacting Michelin themselves with a whopping R297.55 fitted inclusive VAT. The catch was that Michelin can only deliver the next day which meant that I had to wait for today to get the tyre fitted onto Sophia.

Excited, I filled Sophia's rear tyre with Tyre Weld and headed out for Randburg. Being a Saturday meant that Linex Yamaha only had a skeleton crew manning the workshop or should I say wo-manning. Meet Judith, the mechanic who wears Prada, well after hours that is, now she was wearing blue overalls, flat shoes and a bandanna. She reminded me of an Africian Rosie the Riveter. For those who don't know who Rosie the Riveter is, she was a fictional character created during World War Two by the United States government to encourage women to work in the factories due to the shortage of men. Sistas "We Can Do It" was the rallying cry. Later Rosie the Riveter was adopted by women's groups seeking to empower women.

While I was Linex Yamaha, two BMW GT1200 came in for tyres because they said to me that they found Linex Yamaha's prices good. Okay I am digressing, now where was I, oh yes, it is rare to find a female mechanic in South Africa, yet alone an African one. All I can say is that Judith did a good job because Sophia was happy therefore I was pleased and because there wasn't a hole in my pocket. All I was concerned about was that Sophia didn't get used to having a female mechanic working on her.

Vespa Originale

Waking up this morning to rain wasn't what I wanted as I had booked Sophia, my Vespa ET4 in to get the front brakes and lights seen to, you know like a pedicure and a facial all at the same time. No backing out as I have a Soweto run on Sunday and this is the last day that I can get it sorted before the run.

So into the rain, Sophia and I headed and arrived at Scoots in record time. The rain was getting heavier and my doubts about getting a loan Vespa became real. After some heavy discussion with Sophia, I would get a lift home and use the car to work instead of getting a replacement for Sophia, if only for a day. I think I made the right choice as I got to work dry and safe.

Enjoy the weekend and Paddies Day, and if you out on the roads this weekend, keep safe.

Darth Sophia

Ever since I saw the Lego Darth Vader key ring on the Joburg Photowalkers' June 16 Youth Day Photowalk, I wanted to buy Sophia one. But the tiny Darth Vader key rings were always out of stock and only the other Lego Star Wars key rings were available.

So yesterday when I had to go to the Fourways Mall for some extra internet data to see me through to the month end, I had a look see at the Lego Shop and sure enough they'd received their Christmas stock. There were the tiny Lego Darth Vader key rings, even Storm troopers and Jedi Knights. So Sophia got an early Christmas present and she will now be known as Darth Sophia. Respect!

Third Dilemma

Poor Sophia, my Vespa, this is the third incident to befall her. The first was late in 2009 when the vehicle in front of us suddenly stopped without brake lights. The stopping distance was acerbated by the wet road and we came to abrupt stop centimeters away from the vehicle with Sophia on her side and my foot.

The second incident was last August on the ice roads of Sani Pass. I stopped to help Magda and left Sophia standing with her engine still running on some hardened ice. I returned to find her on her side and some kind person turned off her motor. Nice didn't even try pick her up while she was down. There is a pun in there somewhere I am sure.

And today's... while Dilemma, sorry Malema, and his wiff-wrath started their long match to Pretoria; I was attempting to squeeze Sophia pass a badly parked BMW and a concrete column on my way to find lunch. And the column won :-( So while hordes were falling by the wayside with heat exhaustion, I wanted to kick someone's door in. Not a good citizen I was in my mind. I just got lost in thought. It was unfamiliar territory.

Sponge Bath

Because Sophia has been so good this past long weekend that I decided to treat her to a sponge bath. Well she has been a dirty girl and I know she enjoyed herself in Lesotho but now to turn her back into that sexy bella. Sophia sparkled after her pampering knowing that she did what others thought was impossible. A little 150cc scooter had conquered Sani Pass on a day that larger bikes and 4x4s battled. In her favour was that she was light and not difficult holding her upright on the slippery ice.

Is the world ending?

The Great Sani Pass Vespa Adventure
Day One | Day Two | Day Three | Day Four | Day Five
Day Five: Is the world ending?

Waking up after a beautiful sleep in a clean warm room at the Camelroc Guest Farm was just wonderful. It felt great to be back, that was until I logged onto the internet. After been away for over 4 days on the Roof of Africa only to come back to find London burning. I could not believe what I was reading. Was this Egypt all over again but this time in the UK? I quickly put on the television to watch SkyNews showing horrific scenes of hooligan teenagers running riot in London while the police stand helpless or in shock. I am not sure if it just looting or some kind of entertainment for the unemployed youth.

With the large contingency of unemployed youth in South Africa, I am concerned. But as for right now I am just happy to back in civilization even if it is a bit muddy.

Here's to our next great Vespa adventure.

Sophia summits Sani Pass

The Great Sani Pass Vespa Adventure
Day One | Day Two | Day Three | Day Four | Day Five
Day Three: Sophia summits Sani Pass

This is what we have come for, the Sani Pass. Four Vespas: Marlene on the PX 150, myself on the ET4, Charlie on the PX200 and Magda on the GTS 300; all eager to conquer the pass in the middle of winter. As I prepared just on the other side of the border post I looked at the daunting mountain towering above me I wondered why others hadn't attempted it before as it kind of looked easy.

But easy it turned out not to be. Well it was until the last 2 km of hairpin bends which was just ice. A mini bus taxi had got stuck the day before and was now blocking the pass in the hairpin bends with a couple of 4x4s also stuck and they had to stay overnight. A queue of 4x4s lined up the pass waiting for the taxi to be moved out of the way while we whisked pass them sometimes with a narrow ledge between the vehicle and certain death. Every one of the waiting 4x4ers cheered and encouraged us up the mountain. Despondently Charlie and Magda both stopped at the iced up hairpins. Charlie's bike was giving her compression problems while Magda on the much larger GTS 300 had a 180 degree spin on the ice in the hairpins and facing the cliff edge was shaken. Loaded onto the support trailers they had to wait until the pass was cleared.

Marlene and I both on 150cc Vespas just chugged up to the top, well more like slipped and spun our way to the top. The larger bikes such as the BMW and KTM all battled and two even got so stuck that they had be left on the pass until tomorrow. As far as we know this is the first time a Vespa has made it to the top of Sani Pass from the bottom and in winter nogal.

Sophia does the Roof of Africa

Black Ice and Death

The Great Sani Pass Vespa Adventure
Day One | Day Two | Day Three | Day Four | Day Five
Day Two: Black Ice and Death

We wanted an early start, well Magda and I did while the Paulo and Martin wanted breakfast first. I did protest to get them to change their minds but to no avail. The plan was for Paulo and Martin to escort Magda and myself down to Underberg but I think the distance got to them and they wanted to get back early so the plan was changed slightly. Paulo and Martin would ride with us down through the Golden Gate Highlands National Park to the town of Estcourt then head back to Johannesburg while Magda and I would continue until Underberg. Our four support 4x4s left Pretoria early this morning and the plan was that they would catch up to us round about Estcourt, from there they would travel with us.

But our plans changed again. While in the Golden Gate Highlands National Park we came upon a serious accident which happened minutes before we got there. A mini bus taxi with twelve family members travelling to a funeral in Fouriesburg, lost control due to black ice and plummeted over 200m down the side of the mountain. Sadly only six people survived including a twelve year old boy named Manuel. With tears running down her face, Magda tried to comfort Manuel as best as she could, not knowing if his parents are among the survivors.

We were badly shaken when we left the scene after the emergency services started arriving. Running late and with the weather changing for the worse, we made contact with the support vehicles and arranged to met them at Harrismith instead of Estcourt. In a way it was a blessing that we met the support vehicles at Harrismith because it started sleeting soon afterwards. We loaded our Vespas onto the trailers and headed for Sani Valley Lodge between Himeville and the Sani Pass border post. Round about Bulwer the sleet turned to snow.

After settling into our accommodation at Sani Valley Lodge, we set off to find some food. Here I must give a big black mark to Himeville Arms Hotel for turning us away we were too much for them to handle. Would you believe it they turned 18 hungry people away in the now falling snow. So we headed down the road to Underberg, only to be turned away from another restaurant because they didn't have enough plates for us. Nobody wanted our business. Ten stars must be given to The Grind Café who opened up the Wolly Bugger pub to us. The food was very good that even our tired bodies appreciated it. If you ever in this part of the country please support The Grind Café and its pub the Wolly Bugger.

Sophia summits Sani Pass...

A long way down

The Great Sani Pass Vespa Adventure
Day One | Day Two | Day Three | Day Four | Day Five
Day One: A long way down

The Great Sani Pass Vespa Adventure started this morning with Sophia refusing to start. Well she must be getting me back for not riding her for during the last week or two and it has been icy cold. I was starting to worry after trying to jumpstart Sophia, she protested for quite a while but finally she relented to my pleas. After a late start Sophia (the black ET4 shown above) and I met with Magda and Martin (shown above) both on Vespa GTS 300 and Paulo on a Vespa GT 200 and the quadraphony of Vespas eager to get going headed south to the Free Sate.

It was a beautiful day riding but the country side was flat as a pancake which brought along gusty winds. We stopped for fuel for the Vespas and ourselves in Heilbron, a small town in the Free State. OJ, a restaurant in Heilbron, served us a reasonable breakfast or maybe we should say lunch. While we tucked in a number of spectators admired our four Vespas packed down with baggage, even a lone hog on his Harley couldn't help but turn his head and stare.

All tanked up, we headed for Bethlehem and then to Clarens. At Bethlehem we stopped to buy refreshments and headed to the Lesotho Highlands Water Project Ash River Outfall just before Clarens for sundowners. All relaxed we rode into Clarens before it got dark and booked into the Lake Clarens Guest House. I must say this guest house deserves 5 stars. Once settled we headed up to the Grouse & Claret for supper. Hungry, we tucked into homemade pies which were very good except the mash was lumpy but an evening with friends next to a fireplace was a perfect first evening. Here's to the  Great Sani Pass Vespa Adventure, what legends are made from.

Black Ice and Death...