FeedsOn the road
Wayne Rotarian ‘scoots’ to Seattle
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Don Nicholson is set to embark on a journey next week that will take him from here to Seattle and back-on roadways most drivers have either forgotten about or only use for short distances. He plans to ride a 250 cc scooter the entire trip.There are faster ways to drive across the country than mounted on a scooter driving on the backroads of America, but Don Nicholson said he doesn’t care—this time.
Nicholson, 55, is set to embark on a journey next week that will take him from here to Seattle and back—on highways that most drivers have either forgotten about or only use for short distances. He said he’s working on his second tour of the 50 states.
“I’m older now and hopefully a little wiser,” he said, referring to a trip across country he took shortly out of high school. “I’m looking forward to seeing the sights I just drove by in my younger days because I didn’t think they were important.”
Nicholson is a Westland resident and president of the Wayne Rotary Club. The trip, which will be documented in a forthcoming book published by Plymouth-based HMSI Publishing, will benefit both the Wayne Rotary and the Plymouth Rotary, he said. A percentage of the proceeds of the book will be donated to both clubs.
Nicholson said the idea came to him last year, and he’s been planning it ever since. Once he had the idea to drive all the way out west along U.S. 12, he decided it would be a neat idea to drive it entirely on scooter. Dave Diehl of Scooters N More in Wayne helped in, donating a 250-cc scooter for the trip, along with some spare parts in case something goes wrong along the way.
Nicholson has driven the scooter around town and on some briefer highway trips and is confident that the machine is up to the task.
“It’ll cruise 65-70 mph very easily,” he said. “There’s a lot of throttle left.” In addition to cruising at highway speeds, the scooter will average about 70 miles to the gallon. Nicholson said he could probably make the trip spending a little more than $100 for gas.
Comfort Suites also donated the rooms he’ll be staying in along the way. He expects the trip to take about three weeks. He’s leaving on the Aug. 1 and hopes to return on Aug. 22.
“According to Google, it’s a 4-5 day trip,” he said. “I’m planning on doing it in seven. I’m going to take it easy.”
Along the way, he said he’s going to check in on area Rotary clubs and the small towns that can be found along the historic highway. A photography enthusiast since he was 12 years old, he said he’ll document the entire trip with his camera and put it into book form when he returns.
“I want to photograph what the old highways are like and document that,” he said.
He will also post regular updates on Facebook and his web site, www.donnicholson.net.
Nicholson said he always considered himself the kind of person who would never ride a motorcycle. After riding a scooter for a few years, though, he said he can see the appeal, since it’s impossible to do things like talk on the phone. The leisurely trip across the country will be a little like that, he said.
“When you get on the interstate, you just go. You go from point A to point B and you never see what’s in the middle,” he said. “I’m going to forget about those things and just enjoy the trip.”
