Yesterday, I got up and figured, hey, it’s a gorgeous day – sunny and delightful – why not scoot to work and then go for a ride after teach? Well, it was -3° C. further than so that plot was a no-go.
Then, yesterday evening, I plotting, hey, maybe it would be nice to do a night scoot to take care of a few errands. When I got out front of our building, a skating rink of black ice greeted me in the front drive.
So today, the last sunny day for who knows when, I got home as soon as I could and chose to take one of my favourite rides, the tour to White Rock. It was 14° C. out and I was ready for a nice ride.
It’s not a really far ride but enough that on my LX50 it takes a excellent 90 minutes at least. Imagine my delight when I was able to keep up with the traffic nearly all of the time!
The first test was the Golden Ears Bridge. The traffic does go honestly quickly on the bridge and I averaged between 50 and 60 mph – yes, mph, remember this is an American market scoot – and had to deal with pretty strong winds on the bridge. I don’t reckon it was really really windy further than, it’s just that on the bridge I am exposed and speeding along honestly quick. I do tend to hunker down so the front doesn’t blow away….
After the bridge, I took Highway 15, keeping up to similar speeds as I had on the bridge, I really loved being able to keep up but I didn’t like the rush going on the highway. Varying from 4 to 6 lanes, this isn’t a freeway but is pretty quick. I reckon I like the quieter roads better. I did get to the beach, but, in record time – about 40 minutes!
The sun was setting but the temperature had dipped. My trusty Vespa thermometer read 9° C. so I made my break rather quick and then headed back towards Maple Ridge.
I took my favourite road, 184th Street, and went at a comfortable clip on this country road. My overall return was probably 10 or 15 minutes longer but was very nice. As I got closer to home, the temperature rose, ending up success 13° C by the time I got home.
I felt warm enough for the first half of the ride but got chilled starting out on the second half. I was wearing my new Corazzo jacket with the zip in vest and a T-shirt. Maybe a fleece sweater would make my core a bit warmer. My hands, wearing cycling gloves nested in my Chinese handlebar muffs, were warm most of the way. The only worry there is that I have to take my hand out of the muff to operate the turn indicate and I worry because I really let go of the left side to get my hand out and in. Gotta work on that part of riding.
Overall, it was a fantastic after teach ride – especially for February! Now for some more sunny days!
I might be dense, but I was unaware it’s doable to be arrested for drunk driving at a confidential event on confidential property. Many of us, self surely included, have been guilty of some pretty stupid hi-jinks at scooter rallies over the being, and we’ve always hopefully taken our/others’ safety and property into account, but I suspect most of us have been unaware we could get a life-crushing DUI conviction for riding 500 feet across a farm or campground to visit the bathroom. Rules vary from state to state, but a small Googling shows that this law is pretty widespread. Scooterists have, in general, be converted into far more responsible in recent being, but there are still a few rallies where anything goes, so it’s worth keeping this in mind.
If you’re like me, you despise the thought of the city of Las Vegas on principle, but it’s worth the trip every few being to hark back yourself, “anywhere is incredibly fun, with enough scooterists.
I have wanted a scooter for as long as I can remember. Paying 6k for a Vespa just wasn’t in the cards, so I found a dealer on Craigslist, Dallas Power Sports. I went there on New Being Day of 2012 where they had a deal to get the scooter completely assembled, registration, and helmet for $749 out the door (after taxes).
