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.