Rider’s Profile – Amerivespa series: David Mangano

The next guy in this series in not a just a blogger. He’s more of a podcaster — coming up with weekly episodes about scootering and stuff. The music’s great too! I have been fortunate enough to be his guest for this week’s episode (if you haven’t caught that yet, you may listen to it here); and it was one hell of an experience for me!

He maintains a blog for the sole purpose of posting show notes for each episode and to post related images and links as mentioned in the show. Basically you just hear the guy. For listeners curious to see the face behind the voice, the only picture of him in his site is this black & white shot taken back when he was three years old. Pretty mysterious guy, huh? But for his profile here, he sent me his current picture along with his three(!) Vespa scooters — one even has a sidecar! *drool* Check ‘em out.

rider’s name: David Mangano
also known as: DaveM or Dr. Dave (though he clarifies he’s not a doctor)
ride: 1981 Vespa P200e with sidecar; 1965 Vespa 180ss; 1966 Vespa 150 Sprint
homebase: Richmond, Virginia
dayjob: Health Planner (he’s a health care advocate for people who live in poverty)
blog/podcast: SCTRCST (scootercast) – Scooter Internet Radio

more about the rider:

I grew up in the northwest part of the United States where dirt bike riding was a birthright. My first bike was a Ducati Falcon 50cc, which I used mostly to tear up the grass in our yard. I progressed from that to my father’s Harley-Davidson Sprint, which was my daily transportation to and from school. When I went off to college, I gave up the bike for a car and pretty much stayed out of the riding scene in until Marcel (my wife) and I moved to San Antonio in 1995.

I wanted something that would be easy to run around the city on and I started to thing again about riding. I ran across a majestically curved Vespa P200e, while shopping in a used motorcycle shop and was won over by the irresistable sidecar. As I began to read more about Vespa, I was overcome by that Vespa feeling…“I must have more Vespas.” My research said, “buy vintage” and through sheer luck I located a Vespa 180ss and later a Vespa Sprint, but the P200e remains my main ride.

I am mostly a city rider, given its top speed of about 45 mph and the built in wobble the sidecar produces. But then again, don’t all Vespas have their own special quirks? By the way, last year I bought a rusted Ducati Falcon 50cc on ebay… funny how things seem to come full circle. Can’t wait to get it restored so i can tear up my own grass.

more about the blogger/podcaster:

My blog is really a way to support my podcast, SCTRCST. I began thinking about podcasting about a year ago, but didn’t know what it would be about. I began reading blogs by Steve Willams, Steve Guzman, Brian Bedell and many others and got the idea of putting my and other’s experiences with Vespa and scooters into a podcast.

The first show was done the last week in January 2007. The audience continues to grow and I am getting better at not screwing up the technical side of things. The best part of the experience has been meeting and interviewing other bloggers. Everyone has been very encouraging, so I keep on recording.

thoughts about the upcoming Amerivespa?

This will be my first Amerivespa, although I have t-shirts from most of the ones held in the past few years. I only have time to spend part of Saturday and Sunday there, but plan to cram as much into the time as possible. Hopefully I will come back with some interviews with fellow AmeriVespians. (is that a word?)

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A quick look at the Amerivespa’s Sponsors Page, you’ll see the SCTRCST logo in there along with other companies/entities supporting the event. Dave will be there that weekend in Seattle not just to join the fun but to cover the event as well. He says he’s not the best social butterfly, so for those attending the event, you already know how he looks like. If ever you bump into him, you could greet him with the same Italian phrase he uses to open every show…

Ciao, come va?

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J0HNRANA

john[dot]rana[at]gmail[dot]com