No Age Limit - Piaggio MP3

Day 27 - Pittsburgh, PA to East Schellsburg, PA

You know it’s a media day when Bob shows up to breakfast in his very best wash and wear shirt. There I was in my ragged polyester T-shirt, left to rely solely on my wits to squeeze by. My real edge was that all important one-year difference in our age.

We awaited Mitch from Piaggio’s local dealership — Mosites Motorsports — to escort us from our hotel to KDKA, the CBS affiliate where we were to be interviewed for their early morning show. Mitch entered the hotel lobby, helmet in hand, introduced himself and added that most people refer to him as "Wrong Way Mitch." We were to follow "Wrong Way" — who rides (some would say "flies") his souped-up Aprilia SR 50 scooter — to the KDKA building in downtown Pittsburgh. Within five minutes, Mitch lived up to his reputation: the first of several U-turns was in order. If a shot of early-morning adrenaline was called for, it was more than provided by Mitch. However, the ride did demonstrate the MP3’s agility while dodging in and out of Pittsburgh’s rush-hour traffic. We arrived on time. Bob’s shirt looked great on TV, as did Marchello and Sophia, and this was before their afternoon service.

As for KDKA, they were the first commercial radio station in the world back in 1920, reporting the results of the Harding-vs,-Cox presidential race. Here they were, once again making a pioneering effort with the Bob and Buddy show. We appreciated the opportunity to raise the profile of America’s roadside museum.

After the interview, we were joined by other members of the Piaggio team. Our group rode east to Mosite Motorsports in North Huntington with Mitch again leading the way. Only I was successful in following "Wrong Way" — the others made it on their own. Who knew an Aprilia 50cc scooter could be faster than a flying bullet?

Darren Hannum, the General Manager of Mosites Motorsports, was then introduced to Marchello and Sophia. He established a rapport, gently ushering them in for their 4,000-mile service. Not that our bikes had complained — they hadn’t —  we just felt it was time. While there we were interviewed by Chris Smith of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review and met with Kristin Poerschke of The Pennsylvania Lincoln Highway Heritage Corridor, a six-county stretch from just east of Pittsburgh to beyond Gettysburg. Interestingly, Kristin asked that noagelimitpiaggio.us be left up for a while after the tour so that elementary school teachers can use it to introduce kids to the Lincoln Highway and America’s westward migration. We also met with Motorsports customers and did a couple of radio interviews. I think we were in the twelfth minute of our fifteen minutes of fame. (Appropriate, since Andy Warhol was born in the area.) Luckily, Bob’s wash-and-wear shirt held up well throughout the media blitz.

By three o’clock, with the bikes looking magnificent after their servicing and washing, we headed east on Route 30. The sun was shining — the 27th day we’d somehow managed to avoid the rain — the temperature dropped and we rode out to the Laurel Highlands of the Allegheny Mountains, a one-hundred-mile region of Pennsylvania’s highest peaks. We passed through historic Ligonier, made a brief stop to check out Idlewild (one of the oldest amusement parks in America) and with the road to ourselves we entered the Highlands’ rolling hills, graceful sweeping turns, perfect road surfaces and views of distant valleys and mountains. I hoped it would never end. We finally entered Schellsburg — a National Historic District filled with structures built before 1900. At a stoplight, through the visor of his helmet, I spotted the classic Bob smile.

It was time to stop.

So there we were, five miles east of the Allegheny mountains, spending the night in a quiet, picturesque village on the old Lincoln Highway. In the morning we’ll backtrack west for about fifteen miles. We’ve got to do that last mountain road once again.

Buddy out

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