Denist = Fun?

Odometer: 20 miles

Running errands on the scooter is a pleasure. Today I even enjoyed the ride to the dentist (albeit, NOT the dentist appointment itself!). That’s got to be a sign of something crazy. I’ve also discovered that people feel compelled to talk to you/shout at you while you are riding a scooter. Maybe it’s the shock value of seeing something so cute and unexpected on the road, but fellow motorists stopped at red lights are very inquisitive. I’ve also had three requests for a ride, and a fair number of random “EEAYARRHH”s as I’ve scooted past. The scooter also seems to bridge the gap between motor and cycle: both bikers and bicyclists acknowledge with a nod or a wave.

Aside from the dentist trip mentioned earlier, this evening I took a nice little ride to get used to turning and driving in an urban environment, faced with speed bumps, storm drains, pedestrians, and other hazards. What a delight! I did get up to a top speed near 35 mph, which felt a little fast but refreshing nonetheless. On the smaller hills, I could easily maintain 20 mph, but the speed dropped a little bit on the one really big hill. Still, I never had to get off and walk. Five miles of tootling around lasted me about 25 minutes – a nice easy ride while still learning. Besides, the owners manual says not to push it to full throttle in the first 60 miles. 40 more to go!

Storing the little thing is a bit of a challenge: I can’t decide whether it should sleep in a parking space out in front of my townhouse or on the front porch. Getting it up over the stoop is a bit of a problem (can’t really lift 175 pounds by myself), so I may have to think of a contraption or a ramp system. Stay tuned for further adventures there….