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The trip took 6 hours each way (about 200 miles one way). Because the top speed of Old Rusty is limited to the lower 60s on a flat, I took all secondary roads and minor highways. I made about 4 stops each way to rest my hands, eat and hydrate, and refuel.
This is the longest ride I have gone on, but with a spare tire under the left cowl, a Jerrycan of spare gas, spare cables, and lots of tools, I was prepared for almost any eventuality.
I left Boston at 10am on Friday the 15th. It was a beautiful day - sunny with scattered clouds and about 84 degrees. The temperature was rather warm when stopped, but with a ventilated riding jacket I was quite comfortable once traveling above about 30mph.
The scooter all fueled up in Boston and ready to go
The route took me west out of the city through central Massachusetts.
Here is a shot of the scooter by a pretty pine forest in central Mass
Near the city, nobody paid me much mind (more than usual, anyway, on a colorful old machine like this). But once I was an hour outside the city I started getting noticed - waves from pedestrians in small towns, people in old cars honking, and plenty of waves from motorcyclists. This became particularly common once in southern New Hampshire, where Harleys were a common sight and I, meanwhile, was clearly riding from a long distance off.
When I plotted my route, I foolishly ignored topography, and was unaware that the path I was riding would lead up through the foothills of Mount Monadnock. The scooter rode the higher elevations pretty well, even without adjusting the carburettor, but there was a long stretch of road near the mountain with a posted speed limit of 50 coupled with a very steep incline. There were a few cars behind me which were unhappy. Despite slowing a few cars down, the route past Monadnock was one of the prettiest stretches of the journey, with scenic vistas of mountain farms and alpine lakes.
Here's a gorgeous shot of an old barn with the mountain peak looming in the background
And two pretty shots of the scooter crossing a high elevation lake - one with the foreground under clouds and the peak illuminated, and one with the peak under clouds and the foreground illuminated
On the other side of the mountain's foothills, I took a lunch break in the small town of Marlborough, NH. I ate at a small local gas station - cash only, regular gas only, cheese burger and fries made in front of me for $3...
Mt Monadnock behind me, the rest of the ride through NH felt long - especially once I was riding alongside the Connecticut river and could see the green hills of Vermont on the other side. But eventually I made my crossing near Springfield VT, and I was back in my childhood home state
From here, I rode one of the longest break-free stretches of the journey, but it felt a relief because I was back in VT. By this time, it was near 3pm and the sun was hot and my back quite sore. But Route 5 along the Connecticut river has a gorgeous mixture of curvy forested roads and open views of farm land - tall midsummer crops waving in the breeze along the Connecticut river with green mountains for a backdrop.
Eventually, my path branched off onto Route 12, a forested and shady road which cuts through low mountains up into the Woodstock/Quechee region. While my planned path was to cut northwest through Woodstock up through the mountains and farmland into central Vermont, I had to make a quick detour through the town of Quechee to ride across the gorge. Quechee gorge is a scenic point where the Ottauquechee River cuts deep into the hills. The town is full of tourists on a warm summer day, but the view is beautiful
The ride from Quechee northwest up through Woodstock, Barnard, and Bethel into the town of Randolph where I made my first visit to friends was very pleasant. The air was cool, and I was traveling roads I often took in my childhood. One of the wonderful things about driving through Vermont is that the scenery is constantly changing, from wild fields cut through by meandering rivers, to sugar maple forests, to farm land with cows lazily swatting flies with their tails, to pine-forested mountain roads, to the historic New England towns VT is famous for.
At last, at 4pm, 6 hours since my departure from Boston, I rolled into the town of Randolph where I went to highschool. I stopped by an old friend's house while in town to see her new baby (she was up in town visiting her parents from North Carolina).
I then continued on along Route 12 to Northfield, where I stayed overnight with one of my best friends and his wife. And my long ride was done.
In the following days, I rode the scooter back and forth between the homes of my friends in Northfield and Randolph, and my father in the capital of Montpelier. There were a number of fun adventures I went on for which I don't have photographs, including a scenic bicycle ride with my father along the Winooski river near Stowe, Vermont.
Below are a series of photos from my time on the scooter riding around the state.
While riding from Northfield to Montpelier to visit my father, my odometer turned over to 9,999.9. I figured I had better take a picture, because I wouldn't see that series of numbers again for another 90,000 miles...
The Vermont statehouse is quite a nice building. It's an interesting state, because Montpelier is so small that the governing politicians of Vermont are readily accessible - you can say hello to the governor in the bagel shop in the morning or a senator in the coffee shop just down the road
Here are some shots of Old Rusty stopped at Baker Pond, heading south from my friend's place in Northfield to Randolph. My elementary school class used to go hiking in the state park nearby
I tried to visit the parents of another of my childhood friends near Randolph, but they were not home. Nevertheless, their house has a commanding view of the valley, and I thought it was worth snapping a picture. My home used to be on the other side of the mountains visible across the valley
While I rode almost entirely on paved roads on my journey, most of the roads in Vermont are still dirt roads. To get to houses like that of my friend's parents above, I had to ride some of these paths. While less safe on two wheels, something feels more personal about old country roads like these, and the hazards of riding on gravel aside, the leisurely pace was a good fit for my slow old scooter
A Vermont country road
My last night in Vermont ended with a bonfire down at my friend's pond with a reunion of several old friends. It was nice for the Vespa to be able to attend
And finally, nearly halfway home to Boston, here is a picture of the scooter taken on the Vermont shore of the Connecticut river as I hid from the 90 degree heat
All told, I rode 500 miles on the trip, averaging about 65 miles per gallon (two fill-ups broke 70!). It was a long ride, with the return trip being particularly taxing due to high heat, a strong headwind, and severe traffic outside the city. But the scooter performed without a hitch, and didn't seize up even after long stretches of riding full-throttle. I'm confident that I could cross the continent on this machine as some have done in the past, but it is clear from the riding position and power output of the vehicle that it is not meant to be comfortable for overly long distance rides except at moderate speeds and with frequent breaks. While vintage scooterists consider this a model built for touring relative to other vintage Vespas, the riding position, wheel size, and engine displacement are all still of a design optimized for nimble urban riding.
Still, the scooter handled the task with relative ease, and I believe the route I followed would be absolutely amazing with fall foliage and cooler weather. I may yet ride to Vermont again...
I will leave with an obligatory picture of my father's puppy, Henry, taken on this trip
