Scooter School Pride: Get College Colors on your Ride

Scooters are popping up in urban areas all over the country, and college towns are no exception. Now, a company called CrossRunner has designed the ultimate college car: a scooter in your college colors.

Inexpensive and fuel efficient, these babies are just the thing to get you around campus in style. Models come in 150ccs and get 84 MPG. Prices start under $2Gs. Available through dealers or direct from the company. Check ‘em out online: http://www.crossrunner.net/

real tags

Went in to MotoStrada today (Hi Mark!) to pick up my real tags, so it's officially not a "new" scoot anymore. Can't wait to trade 'em in for a custom plate touting the amazing gas mileage I get - just to make the other drivers jealous. Check out this great MotoStrada ad that Jen snapped on delivery day.

helpful little lessons

Spending more time on the scooter is both relaxing and educational. My riding is getting better and I am becoming more confident in traffic and with my scooter in general. Plus, I can drive way faster.

Since I’m riding so many more places, I have also learned that there are some things that you cannot do on a scooter, even a bigger one. Just a few things on the list include:

1. Picking up the dry cleaning, unless you want your scooter to double as a sail.
2. Dropping off or picking up the dogs – or children, I would imagine, of at least a certain age.
3. Sneezing. Enough said.
4. Drinking or trying to apply chapstick with the face shield down. Yes, it’s hard to see, okay?
5. Answering a cell phone call, when you have your helmet on. Leads to unfortunate smashing of iPhone against fiberglass.

Just a few helpful little lessons.

hitting the open road

Three weeks have passed, and I can’t believe that I ever hesitated to upgrade to a larger scooter. I’ve already put well over 200 miles on it, more than half the miles I put on the 50 cc in just under a year. So, I guess it’s safe to say that it’s a hit.

This past weekend, I went on two big rides: one from Columbia to Annapolis, 64 miles round trip. The rout included about 40 miles on MD-32, a secondary highway that is my normal commute to the office three days a week. That was our first real experience on the highway, and Jen and I rode together because I wanted to see if I could do it. After I got over the whole “OMG I’m driving on the highway and these people are going really fast” thing, it was actually a very pleasant ride.

The Vespa had no trouble going 70 mph or keeping up with traffic. I doubt I’ll get a speeding ticket on the thing, but I didn’t feel intimidated by the other cars. That road, thankfully, doesn’t have many trucks so I haven’t really had to worry about that quite yet. My ass was a little numb from all the sitting, but I’m sure you can build up your tolerance with more riding practice.

Sunday’s ride was a 42-mile route through Eastern Howard County, over Brighton Dam and across MD-144 (Old National Pike). Special thanks to my friend Steve – who was endlessly patient and rode with me even when I could barely go 35 mph on my 50 cc scooter – who I unwittingly left in the dust on Triadelphia Road. Sorry about that, buddy. But it’s a lovely route and you should definitely try it to get away from the traffic or as an alternative to MD-108.

Jen got me an amazing Bluetooth-radio-mp3-thingie as an early birthday gift (well, technically it was from the dogs if you must know. They’re masters of shopping online.) that has made riding with a buddy infinitely more fun. Will blog about that in the next weeks.

First Report on the New Scoot

odometer: 591 miles

I admit it. I don’t miss Pete Lee even one bit.

It’s been nearly a week since I’ve had the Vespa GTS 250 and I’ve already put nearly 100 miles on it – 20 percent of the mileage that I put on the 50 cc scooter in an entire year of ownership. I mean, there’s not anywhere that I can’t go on this thing! As of the first fill-up, my gas mileage is 62.8 MPG. Try finding that in a car!

Since we’re both new riders and it was a long, unfamiliar ride in the waning daylight, Jen and I tag-teamed the 39-mile ride home from Motostrada. The Vespa handles like a breeze. It’s zippy, comfortable, and the controls are easily within reach. Other than the fact that the bike is much heavier (350 lbs. versus the 175 lb. Honda Metropolitan), there was virtually no learning curve at all.

I’ve enjoyed riding on all sorts of roads I wouldn’t have dared with Pete Lee, including Route 108 and MD-175 (speed limit: 55) through Columbia. The trade up is really to an all-purpose vehicle. If I can get in some riding time on the highway, I may even be ready to take it to work this week.

The Vespa doesn’t have a name yet, but she feels like a girl to me. I guess I have to spent a little more time with her to decide what suits her best. Any suggestions?