Field Trip 2 - Orlando and Fort Lauderdale/Miami

Left Saint Pete around noon on Thursday. In Orlando, I stopped first to visit Joshua Leclair, chief mechanic at Vespa Orlando (a boutique). We talked about racing, scooters, the shop, etc. He and his lovely fiancee January (soon to be his wife) invited me to dinner at their home. After a great dinner, we proceeded to Bodhisata Social Club in downtown Orlando, where we met most of the High Endurance Scooter Club leaders.
	Here's Josh in his playground. Nice all-round collection, including some nice potential race machines. We're still looking for a practical race/practice venue in the Orlando area.
Orlando is a fine town for scootering. I was pleasantly surprised that the old town is not dominated by "The Mouse." Orlando is much older than Disney, and downtown is far from the tourist hordes. It really is a cool city. Orlando's own High Endurance Scooter Club focuses on riding and rallying classic scooters, not on racing. At the moment, Josh is the only scooterist I'm aware of who intends on racing. I think he can count on the support of his clubmates, though, in his efforts. We hope that when the racing begins, it's only a matter of time until others in Orlando don leathers and join the fun.
Gio and Stan	Next stop, Fort Lauderdale/Miami. I was met here Friday afternoon by Stan Odal, a veteran scooterist who is very keen on racing. Stan took me to a number of places Friday and Saturday, where we met and discussed racing with a slew of scooterists, at least five of whom are definitely wanting to race. Included in that group is Gio Sardinas, my first contact in the area. Gio has played an important role, first by connecting me with Stan, and then by locating two potential racing venues in the area.
Mega Racing Gio, Stan, and I visited Mega Racing on Saturday. We spoke with Eduardo about terms, conditions, etc. It turns out scooters have raced here before, and it was formerly called F1 Karting. For more information about Mega Racing visit their web site: www.mega-racing.com . For details on the visit, click here.

Hialeah Speedway Next stop was Hialeah Speedway, where stocks, buses, and a variety of other vehicles race. There were no managerial types present when we arrived, but we got a number to call later. I'm not aware of a web site, but for details of this visit and information from future calls just click here.

Other New Friends Other interested scooterists I was able to meet include Vicky, Nelson, and Holden. I've spoken with or emailed others in the area who want to race, but whom I was not able to meet: Ozzie of Cycle Imports, Steve at Moped Hospital, and Javier. I think the FL/M area will become a significant part of the scooter racing scene in the southeast.
Our last stop on Saturday was a visit to the ever-more-famous Alex@casalambrettausa.com. Through his diligence and connections, Alex is building what may become the east coast's best source of Lambretta scooters and spares. Not into racing, Alex devotes a significant part of his time to making Lambretta the top classic motorscooter in Florida.
Conclusion The Miami/Fort Lauderdale area has the greatest number of scooterists interested in racing, and has the greatest number of potential tracks, in Florida. The inescapable conclusion that I have arrived at in the days following this field trip, is that this area will dominate scooter racing in Florida. Balance this against the great potential in Atlanta, and with the scattered smaller groups in Florida and Georgia, and with participation from other regions, and you have the makings of a great regional scooter racing environment. I want to thank Stan, Gio, and Vicky for their hospitality and for making this trip a success. Thanks to all the other new friends who contributed in so many ways. I'm looking forward to another trip down, this time with operable scooter, and hopefully this time to get on the track.
Have you raced at either of the tracks mentioned? Space is available to interested persons who wish to contribute information or a short article, in compliance with rules issued in the introduction. Or just email me: Chris@whizwheels.com with any information you think would be helpful to the cause.