Check Us Out on the Official Vespa Fan Page!

Alison — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 11:32:59 +0000

Vespa– yes, THE Vespa– is featuring amazing journeys that people have taken on their scooters– including ours! The official Vespa fan page on Facebook posted several photos of our journey across North and South Carolina last summer to raise money for Hydromissions. The spread also includes information about the cause and our organization, 2 Wheels 4 Water. Their Facebook Fan Page has well over 33,000 fans so I’m excited that so many more people will learn about Hydromissions! Thanks Vespa for sharing our story with your fans!

Tagged: charity ride, facebook, Hydromissions, News, Scooter, vespa

2 Wheels 4 Water in Belle Magazine

Alison — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 13:44:58 +0000

Belle Magazine

2 Wheels 4 Water is featured in Belle Magazine this month! It’s an article I wrote that features excerpts from our 2 Wheels 4 Water blog. Take a minute to check it out online or pick up a copy around the Upstate. Thanks, Amanda and Lauren at Belle Magazine in Spartanburg!

Our Vespa Gas Mileage

Alison — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 20:04:31 +0000

So I just added up how much we spent on gas between the two scooters. The grand total is $118.11. That’s how much it cost to gas up two scooters for a total of 2286 miles. That equals out to about 5.1 cents per mile which is a little higher than we expected, but that could be because of the baggage we were carrying, the hills or the stop-and-go through so many towns. But I still think that is great. Don’t you just love scooters??

We Made It!!!

Alison — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 22:40:43 +0000

2 Wheels 4 Water was a success! We rolled back into Greenville at about 3:30 this afternoon. Touring Sport BMW welcomed us with a tunnel of motorcycles and a finish line to break through. It was a great finish to a long ride.

We left Rock Hill this morning before 9am after picking up a copy of the paper. We made the front cover of the Local/State section. The picture in the paper looks great, but for some reason on their website it looks more like a watercolor painting of us then a real photo. haha.

We pulled into Asheville at about noon, got turned around and finally made our way through town by 1:30. We stopped for a quick lunch at Arby’s thanks to a generous offer from the Vice President, JoAnn. We enjoyed a free, yummy lunch! Then we cruised back towards Greenville. My scooter started making a high pitched squeal. We pulled over, but couldn’t figure out what it was. Frankly I was just so excited to get home I tried to ignore the fact that my scooter could blow up on the way down highway 25.

Overall it was a great trip. We raised a little money, drummed up some publicity and hopefully as a result, some people we will never meet will have clean water to drink. Now I need a massage.

Packing Up One More Time

It's Our Last Day!

Standing at the North Carolina Border

Taking a Break at Beautiful Lake Lure

At Arby's in Asheville

We Made It!

At the Finish Line at Touring Sport BMW

We Went 1145 Miles Total

Day Five: The Road Less Scootered

Alison — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 01:21:09 +0000

Day five started out great. Our new friend Steve from BurgmanRiders.com met us at our Durham hotel to ride with us for a little while. We appreciated his help (and his GPS) navigating to Chapel Hill. Chapel Hill is an awesome town– on our way there we saw another Vespa on the road for the first time. We also came across the coolest eating establishment ever: Vespa Restaurant. Of course we stopped for some pictures, but sadly it wasn’t open yet seeing as how it was only 10am. Further up the road we stopped in High Point for lunch and that’s when it really started to get hot.

Somewhere in between High Point and Rock Hill we approached a huge incline. I pushed Frankie full-throttle, but about a quarter of the way up he completely died. The minivan following me quickly passed as I tried to maneuver to the side of the road. There wasn’t a shoulder– only a steep bank which I nearly toppled down. By the time I came to a complete stop Tim was well up the hill. I tried to honk, but the wind noise drowned out my little beep. It didn’t take Tim long to realize I was no longer behind him. He turned around and came back to where I was. He later told me he mistakenly thought the sunburn on my legs was blood and that I had been hurt. Thankfully, I was ok. And after about 20 minutes in the shade, Frankie was too.

A few hours later we scooted into Rock Hill. Melissa, a photographer from The Herald was waiting for our arrival. Thankfully she was nice enough to let us run up to our room and freshen up before snapping too many pictures. We also managed to get her on the Vespa for her first-ever scooter ride. Tomorrow we head into the mountains and back down again to finish up at home. We can’t believe our scooter adventure is almost over!

Steve from BurgmanRiders

Durham Hilton

Chapel Hill

Small, Medium and Large at Vespa Restaurant

Sitting on an Old School Vespa

Which Way?

Taking Herald Photographer Melissa for a Spin

Happy Birthday Ronny!!

Alison — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 01:31:38 +0000

I’m not going to lie– today was a little rough. A lot of bugs met their death on my arms and helmet today. We found ourselves on a highway frequented by logging trucks and every time they passed us it felt like splinters hitting our bodies. On top of that North Carolina is on a ten day streak of highs over 90 degrees. But as bad as our day may have seemed Ronny’s was worse.

Ronny is the photographer from News 14, a 24 hour news channel here in the Raleigh Durham area. After driving his one-hour commute to work, he arrived to find out that his schedule had been changed without being told. So besides being four hours early to work that meant Ronny would be working late. Normally Ronny could handle that with ease, but today is Ronny’s birthday. He had special plans to hang out with his girlfriend but instead was running around Raleigh chasing the news of the day. One of his assignments– covering us.

On his way to our hotel, Ronny’s live truck overheated. By the time he arrived his day had gone from bad to worse. Hearing his story brought back all of those crazy days I spent as a news reporter– six years worth. Many of my birthdays were ruined by breaking news or ruthless assignment editors. But today I’m seeing it from a much different point of view. So Ronny, if you happen to be reading this, happy birthday! I’m sorry you had to take time out of your special day to meet up with us, but we are glad you did! Thanks for helping to spread the story of 2 Wheels 4 Water.

Here are the pictures of Day four…

Starting Mileage on Day 4

Fairfield Inn of Myrtle Beach

Enjoying a Break in Wilmington, NC

Wilmington, NC

Ronny from News 14

It’s All For Hydromissions

Alison — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 21:30:07 +0000

We just arrived in Durham after a long, hot, brutal day on the road. I’ll tell you more about that later and show you some pictures, but for now I just wanted to let you know that all of the money we raise is going straight to Hydromissions. Every penny. Not even a dollar is going to fill our little gas tanks. Instead, everything will go from our hands to Hydromissions. And with Hydromissions, you don’t have to worry about 30 cents of every dollar you donate being spent on advertising or marketing budgets rather than actually helping people. They are a lean organization, spending your money on getting clean water to those who need it and most importantly, sharing the Gospel. You and I probably won’t ever meet the people that are impacted by Hydromissions thanks to your donation, but maybe someday in heaven we’ll get to hang out and share a nice cool glass of water.

Scooter Trip is Half Way Done!

Alison — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 01:06:25 +0000

We’ve logged 520 miles across 17 counties and dozens of towns over the past three days. Today started off in Beaufort. We took off from the Hampton Inn and rode about 70 miles to Charleston. It was a beautiful morning. The clouds were a welcomed change after Saturday’s 104 degree high. I actually felt chilly for about four minutes.

Once we reached Charleston we met up with our neighbor Jason. He drove all the way over on his motorcycle. After talking over coffee and snapping a few pictures in front of some beautiful Charleston historic homes, Jason joined us for the thrilling ride over the Ravenel Bridge. No, it’s not all that thrilling looking out behind the windshield of a car, but riding a scooter across the mile-long bridge is kind of scary.

We continued the rest of the way up the coast on highway 17 and pulled into Myrtle Beach a couple of hours later. We definitely felt like today was much easier than Friday and Saturday… probably because it didn’t constantly feel like a blow dryer was hitting your entire body. We’re praying for clouds again tomorrow.

Outside the Beaufort Hampton Inn

Hanging Out with Jason on Market Street in Charleston

On a Pretty Street in Charleston

Vespa in Charleston

Jason and Tim with the Ravenel Bridge in the Background

Hungryneck Blvd-- This is Just for Jason!

Apple Break

We Made it to Beaufort

Alison — Sun, 03 Aug 2008 00:58:04 +0000

Boy was it hot today. We didn’t even make it out of Columbia before breaking into a sweat. In all we covered about 180 miles that took us through some neat little towns including Denmark and Norway. But perhaps the most interestingly named town is North. Yes, North, South Carolina. That seems kind of confusing.

We met some nice people today and one that wasn’t the friendliest. We decided to take a short detour into Hilton Head since neither of us had ever been there. On our way to the island we went through a toll booth. I told Tim he should give the toll booth operator one of our 2 Wheels 4 Water cards. He handed the toll booth operator the card and she said, “you can’t pay with this. What is this? I don’t want this.” Tim explained quickly and the lady just handed the card back to him, completely uninterested. But when we left Hilton Head and went back through the toll booth the new operator immediately asked us about our scooters. We not only gave him a 2 Wheels 4 Water card, but also a card for Touring Sport BMW because he was interested in buying his own scooter.

Now it’s picture time… here are some of the best.

Getting Gas in Hilton Head

A Typical Fill-up. Don't be jealous!

By the Beach in Hilton Head

Woo! Almost there!

Tim Riding

Riding to Dinner Together in Downtown Beaufort

Vespa in Beaufort

Getting Creative with my Photography

Celebrating our 11th Monthiversary and the end of Day Two!

Day One Pictures!

Alison — Sat, 02 Aug 2008 00:59:59 +0000

Here are the pictures showing the highlights from day 1. Only five more to go!

Loaner Scooter's Starting Mileage

Frankie's Starting Mileage

Outside HIS Radio with friends

Fixing my case after just 20 miles on the road

Frankie by a cool mural in Union, SC

Taking a break in Union after my case fell off

Vespas by Lake Monticello

Coke break in the middle of no where

At our destination in Columbia