Welcome letter from the editor
A warm welcome to the July edition of Scootering.
Anyone who knows me will tell you that I have a habit of starting new projects, getting three-quarters of the way through them, but then I seem to get distracted by another ‘bright shiny object’ and move on to that. I then accumulate a catalogue of unfinished projects, some of which (lots of which) get sold off to fund the next adventure… it’s a perpetual cycle! I know I’m not alone in this matter, as most of my former garage customers were in the same boat, and brought their part-finished projects to the garage for us to complete! So when I took on the well-publicised Targa Twin project, I did have the mantra in my mind ‘don’t get distracted, don’t get distracted’. If you’ve ever seen the ‘aeroplane scene’ in the TV show Father Ted, where he tells Dougal, “Whatever you do… don’t press the red button!”, then I can tell you that this is very much like me telling myself not to get distracted. The good and honest intention is there, but in my position as Scootering editor, it’s almost futile. The metaphorical red button was pressed, and the pace of the project did slow, but thankfully, and for the first time ever, I now had a comrade in arms to keep the project moving! Big Stan fancied a ‘tinker with the Targa’ and got stuck right in, and though even he ran into a few issues with it, the project finally got finished. He enjoyed a few hundred miles of running in, and then delivered the beast back to my door. I was like a spoiled kid at Christmas. The irony here being, after all the delays finishing the project, now that it was finally ready and being delivered… lockdown was upon us and the planned jaunts to rallies up and down the land have been scuppered! Well for now, in the short term at least. Thankfully, though, I’ve been out enjoying the benefits of living in the remote Yorkshire Dales, and getting in lots of twistyback-road action on the scooter, and what a pleasure it is too… a welcome oasis during this bleak time. The good news is, despite current troubles, nothing lasts forever… this situation will resolve eventually, and I look forward to the day when I can stand with a group of likeminded individuals, drinking a pint, discussing our scooters, swapping stories and having a laugh together again. Roll on the good times.
Anyway that’s enough of my ramblings, it’s another belter this month… stay safe and enjoy the issue. Dan