The scooter had been at All About Scooters since I bought it. I had it serviced and I had wanted to get a bit more riding under my belt before I drove it across town. I freely admit I was a bit nervous about going out on Tallahassee streets at 40 MPH without a car around me, with other cars driving five feet away from me.
So, Saturday finally arrives and it's raining. Not torrential rain, but still, it's raining. But after we run a few errands, we head over to the shop and both of the kids fall asleep before we get there. I show Jen the scooter and she looks at others and likes the retro style scooters they have. I like that style as well, but when I'd test them, they were too short for me, turning the handlebars would smash my knees.
Roy, the owner tells me I can leave the scooter there but they are closed Sunday and Monday. I wanna ride!!! So, he tells me it will be ok, Jen tells me it will be ok, I tell myself it will be ok, so I decide to do it. I buy the helmet, and head out the door.
I finaally crank up and head out the back way. No way am I going out on Apalachee Parkway today. I make it to Park Avenue and sit at the light. Traffic is light so it ought to be ok... HOLY CRAP LIGHT IS GREEN GO GO!!!
Well, that's what it felt like. This was my first four lane road on my scooter. But I did fine, the scooter did fine, got up to 48 MPH easily and that's as fast as I needed to go. I went through another light and was heading up to the Magnolia intersection and realized I was in the turn lane. So, I pulled into a bank parking lot and made a U -turn (on a hill at that) and waited for the traffic to go by and then got into the correct lane.
I kept going on Park and turned onto Calhoun (I think) and passed over Tennessee (not a chance today!) and end up crossing over Thomasville Road and stopping at the light on Monroe.
By now I had decided things were going to be ok, that every car on the road isn't solely out there to smash into me at high rates of speed. In other words, I had calmed down a small bit.
So, I decided to drive down Monroe and turn onto Tharpe. And it was fine, the scooter has lots of power and drives very well. I made it home with a huge grin on my face.
A little later I rode down to the gas station and 'filled up'. Put just over $3 in the tank.......
Yeah, I can live with this......
5 comments:
Hey. Congrats on your scooter! It's always good to 'steal a deal' if you can. I was in same boat as you. I wanted a Vespa sooooo bad but couldn't afford to shell out 5,000 dollars (or more) and I didn't want to spend all that money for a 50cc. Besides, I already owned a 2004 Honda Metropolitan (the 1 not 2) which would top out at 38 MPH. I also live in FL (Weston). A guy had a 2006 Vespa LX 150 on Ebay but he was local to me. In the Plum color with only 102 miles on it. Came with two great helmets, topcase on back, trickle battery charger and remainder of extended warranty (over a year left). I called him and when I asked him how much, he was so excited he found a local buyer he told me to give him $2,700 for everything...well, I left work early that day and wrote him a check...I think I had that same grin you had while riding my 'NEW' Vespa LX 150 home. I took it that next weekend to Vespa of Ft. Lauderdale who remembered selling the bike to him ($6,400 total) a year earlier. Anyway, I got my motorcycle endorsement after that which you'll need to do too. It's easy to do the driving test, especially on a scooter. Now, you'll be addicted like I am always looking for accessories for your bike. Again, congrats on the new bike!!!
I hadn't even done much research on Vespa's or Piaggio's since they were so far out of my price range :)
Be careful out there on the highway. Even though they are called scooters the road surface doesn't know the difference. Good gear, good training, and practice will help keep you safe!
Good luck on the road.
sellbonds: Those plum colored LX150 scooters are nice looking!
Steve Williams
Scooter in the Sticks
Congrats! I'm glad you made it fine. I have found that Tallahassee traffic isn't that bad. There's only a few self-centered idiots you have to watch-out for.
John
Enjoy the ride.
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