Summer Fun in the City

Summer is here and you may be wondering what to do. Below is a list of free activities to help combat the ever-rising price of gas. If you know of something, feel free add to this list…

Outdoor movies

July
1st : Cinema St. Louis Film Makers Showcase @ Schlafly Tap Room
4th : Independence Day @ St. Louis Union Station
12th : Father of the Bride Whitaker Pool Pavilion @ Tower Grove Park
15th : Cinema St. Louis Film Makers Showcase @ Schlafly Tap Room
18th : Hairspray @ Cleveland High School
19th : Akeelah and the Bee @ Dwight Davis Park

Get the full list here


Music

This year Fair St. Louis has been scheduled off the levee. Musical acts and fireworks are scheduled every Friday and Saturday night until August 2nd.

The Whitaker Music Festival has been around for many years every Wednesday through August. While it has changed locations within the last couple years, it’s still great to enjoy a summer evening picnicking in the Garden.

Sounds at the Station is held the third Thursday of every month through September at Union Station.

For something a little different, check out Jungle Boogie @ the Zoo. The concerts are scheduled at the Central Plaza every Friday evening until August 29th.

Just when summer is about to end you can enjoy the Blues on the riverfront at the Big Muddy Blues Festival!

Art

The weekend of July 19th the Contemporary Art Museum sponsors Open Studios. This is a fun way to meet local artists and take a peek at their studios!

And don’t forget, while the St. Louis Art Museum is free everyday the special exhibits are free on Friday and the museum is open until 9PM.

Parades!!

How could I forget about this?!?! The Shriners are in town. There will be a slew of mini motorcyles and fezs heading down Olive and 14th @ 7PM on July 1st...so watch out!

Also, the 131st annual Veiled Prophet Parade is Friday @ 10AM. It starts at 4th and Washington and ends at Market and 20th streets.

Let's Talk Popcycle

I really like my scooter - I really do. It was a nice perk for buying the loft. It's a great way to cruise around and see downtown on a few pennies worth of gas.

Some of you ride your scooters, and judging by the looks of a few of the scooters, it seems others haven't taken theirs out yet. Whatever your situation, you might want to follow a few maintenance checks to make sure your scooter stays running.

#1 - Burn off your old gasoline. Gas, believe it or not, goes bad after sitting in your tank for a while. If you have gas in your tank from last fall, you could encounter problems later on. There is an additive that will extend the life of your gasoline for about three months, and that might get you through winter. Also, when you fill up again, use 90 octane gas. The owner's manual recommends 90 octane, so pay the extra 10 cents.

#2 - Change your oil. The owner's manual suggests changing your engine oil and gearbox oil every 300 km (186 miles), but if it's been over a year, I'd recommend changing it anyway.

#3 - Misc. Maintenance - There's a wealth of information about adjusting throttle, idle, brakes etc. in the owner's manual. There's also a list of things to do if you will not be using your scooter for an extended period of time.

All this information is on the Popcycle website (owner's manual and parts list) but you might want to secure a copy of the information before the website goes down. If anybody has any questions, ask me.

#4 Parts - Popcycle Motor Co. is no longer in business, so you will have to find your own parts. Any shop you go to in the area might not be helpful.  Make sure you find one that will work on Chinese scooters.

Here's what you need to know about your Popcycle. It's a scooter made of Chinese parts. I'm still trying to find some sort of name for the type of scooter, so I can confidently give you a link in which to find the correct parts.

I'll put a link to a website I found that specializes in Chinese scooter parts. Like I said, until I can be certain of some sort of generic name for the Popcycle scooter, you will have to rely on descriptions from vendors and your parts list.

Perhaps a motorcycle shop might be able to help you, but remember, most of those places charge about $70 per hour and they will have to order your parts.

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Take care of your scooter, and it will give you a few hundred miles of cheap transportation. Remember to keep it in good running condition (this means charging the battery, changing the oil, storing it during winter) or you might run into difficulties that might prove to be very complex later on.


***Update***

After a little research today, I've found a few models that are similar to the Popcycle. The Verucci VC50fs-10a has a similar structure, but a different body molding.

One that is surprisingly similar, however, is the Tank Urban Classic 50. It looks almost exactly like the Popcycle, except for the speedometer.

This parts website might also be helpful

***Update #2***

Okay, I'm on the right trail. If you look on your VIN plate, you'll see that your scooter was made by CMSI. CMSI produces a line of scooters called TN'G (short for Twist n' Go). In the TN'G line, there is a model called the Venice.

There is the Venice 49cc and the Venice LX. In some ways, the Popcycle is very much like the 2006 Venice LX, especially when you look at the control panel. But other parts of the Venice LX are different (like the spark plug type, the look of the mirrors and the handlebars, and the model number)

Although our scooters are a 2006 model (according to the plate), the model number is surprisingly close to the 2007-2008 Venice 49 cc models. The Popcycle is model # VN494 and the Venice is model # VN492.

I'm 95% there, but I still cannot find a specific match for the Ppocycle. If you are looking for parts, however, rest assured knowing that your scooter is manufactured by CMSI and is very, very close to the Venice models of their TN'G branch.

I'll put a link for TN'G in the "Links" section too.

Oh yeah...

Just when you almost forgot about it, those letters started arriving a few days ago. Condo fees are here.

The due date for the first fee was June 1, and there will be another invoice arriving around July 1.

Payments should be made to:
KN&C LLC
2200 Washington Ave.
St. Louis, MO 63103
Attn: Christina

Fitness Factory memberships run from the 15th to the 15th of each month, and will be included on the invoice.

Community Garden Next Door

It looks like Gateway Greening strikes again. Besides the nice plants and flowers they've planted on Washington, it looks like they've started a community garden on 22nd.

This is still a developing story, so check back in a couple of days. By then, I should know who planted it, what in the heck EHLA means, if they need any volunteers, and if we will be able to take some of the bounty.

Fresh, red tomatoes out the back door, in the city? You gotta love it.

****Update****

It didn't hit me until this morning driving down Jefferson. E-H-L-A Ethel Hedgeman Lyle Academy. That's who the garden belongs to. I contacted the principal to find out the scoop on the garden.

Blogging Basics 101

I'm assuming most people can figure this out themselves, but I thought I'd add a short tutorial.

You should start at your dashboard. Here you can do a few things like view the blog, create new posts, or edit posts.

Posting - This is about as easy as sending an email. You can post pictures, add hyperlinks, change font, etc. Hit "Preview" to see how your post will look, and hit "Publish Post" when you're ready to put it on the blog.

Save Now - This function is one of two choices at the bottom of your posting options. This allows you to save a draft without publishing it, so you can work on it later.

Edit Post - Made a mistake? Don't worry you can change it with this function.

Comments - At the end of each post, there is a link callled "comments" which allows you to leave a comment about the post.

Profiles - To the right of the blog articles, you'll see the contributors' names. Click on those names, and you'll see information about that person. Click on your name, and you can edit your own profile, putting as much information as you wish.

Public Site - I made this blog "public viewing", which means that everyone on the Internet can read it, so remember any personal information you put on here is public. Only Motor Lofts residents, however, can create posts or leave comments.

Links, etc. - I put a few links on the side, if anyone has any other suggestions, tell me and I'll get them out there.

How do I get out of the blog? - It's a bit hard to find, but once in the blog, you need to hit the little orange box in the upper left hand corner to get out.

Welcome to the Motor Lofts Blog! I believe there should be a sense of community in this building, so that is why I'm creating this blog. It should be a good way to get to know one another and discuss issues related to the building.

So often our interactions are brief encounters on the elevator, but I'd like to create more than that. Maybe someone needs to borrow a hammer, or perhaps someone has a really good idea for the building. This blog can act as a forum for all things related to Motor Lofts.

Each person has the opportunity to create a new post, and others can comment on the ideas presented in the post. We can use this blog as a way to discuss ideas or just have fun.

Join the Motor Lofts community and start typing your thoughts!