Now, scootering to work? No problemo.
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
Scooter Commuter
My daily commute is an ordeal: 32 (yes, thirty-two!) traffic lights within a distance of 17km (10mi). I probably spend in average about ten to fifteen minutes waiting in front of red lights every day, and I seem to get lots of them. Only once I dared to take the Beemer to work, but the repeat shifting up and down in creeping traffic didn't do me any good. By the end of the ride I was a nerve wreck, and my left hand was sore from grabbing the clutch too many times. Not the best condition to begin a work day.
True April weather... that's hail! Fortunately it's warm enough, so the white stuff doesn't stick on the ground.
Later the day I had to run an errand at the shopping mall. Little Bella looked a bit lost between all those cages. She was the only two-wheeler in the lot.
I arrived at home quite relaxed. Never would have guessed that commuting could be so therapeutic. Let's do that again. Hasta la vista, baby!
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Hi Sonja, Another lady GTS rider here, just found your blog. Delightful pics, here comes that wonderful urge to ride now the Lower Mainland weather is improving!
ReplyDeleteDiana
...If once you start down the dark path, forever will it dominate your destiny. Consume you it will...
ReplyDeleteIt starts with one little ride to work. Welcome to the dark path :D
Sonja,
ReplyDeleteI might have teased you for riding a scooter in town instead of the Beemer but that would have been before my first ever ride on a scooter 2 years ago! I'd be very happy to have one in the shed alongside the Triumph. In fact, it might be a good way to entice Jennie onto 2 wheels, much the way you did with Roland!
You have got me addicted to buying a vespa now!
ReplyDeleteSonja
ReplyDeleteWe are plagued with roundabouts in England - these are usually better than lights at rush hour because most drivers are in a hurry and push on and keep flowing. Unintelligent traffic lights always going red drive us all nuts and are hardly ecological!
Now we have traffic lights on the larger roundabouts and I was stopped 3 times making a simple change from 2 motorways....
Amazing how that red stands out in grey drizzle - do you use special polish?
N
Scooters do seem much better suited in city-type riding...I don't have as many lights as you do (holy cow) so riding my motorcycles is not "clutch lever intensive".
ReplyDeleteI do like the ability of a motorcycle to pull away from a pack of cagers though. : )
Question, do you sit lower on a scooter than on Nella? I wonder how visible you are at times? (Not that they'll see you anyways, you could run with a blinking strobe light on top of your helmet and you'd still be unnoticed by some cagers)
I am sure you've noticed they run in packs or clumps of clueless drivers....I try to stay in the gap between said clumps.
dom
Redleg's Rides
Colorado Motorcycle Travel Examiner
@Diana: Thanks for stopping by, Diana. Hope to see you on the road.
ReplyDelete@bluekat: May the force be with you. Wait, I am wearing a helmet... I am doomed.
@Geoff: I truly believe that the scooter can do both city and distance riding, however I have to admit it it much more convenient to ride the Vespa to work. Maybe you will need to get one, too? And who knows, maybe Jennie will give it a whirl like Roland did...
Raftnn: I am so sorry, Roger. Blame it on me and get one ;-)
@Nikos: Roundabouts with traffic lights? That doesn't sound right. I love traffic circles but in this part of the world it seems difficult to make people understand how they work. I have seen cagers making u-turns instead of going round... and that's just the tip of the iceberg.
@Charlie6: Unfortunately my commute is all within city limits, no chance to escape cagers or traffic lights.
Seat height is actually almost the same, and I can monitor traffic quite well from my position. Visibility however is always a problem, even with the shiny red Vespa and my bright yellow jacket cagers chose not to see me. Actually the 250cc pull my lightweight bike away from cagers quite quickly.
Glad to see someone is getting out and riding! We have snow again in Minnesota. Love the red Vespa! Quite a classy ride she is.
ReplyDeleteLooks like you are having a great time with Bella. Sounds like it is the answer to commuting. Hope your rain stops soon. We're bound to see the sun at some point.
ReplyDeleteFunny, I'll be 40 this year and I've never been on a scooter. Might have to try one one day.......
Thirty-two lights! I can see why you didn't commute with your Beemer. And here I am irritated with the two lights and twonstop signs on my commute...
ReplyDeleteNice color. The red really stands out in your photos.
Richard
People wonder that I enjoy riding the only highway around here, but my 40 kilometer commute is a joy. I liked it on the GTS until it died an electrical death after 16,000kms of daily riding, and that death put me off the complexity of the Vespa. The carburetted Bonneville is so light and easy to ride I think of it as Vespa on steroids, crisp gearbox, light clutch and easy passing with 60 modest horsepower. Riding to work is the only way to go!
ReplyDelete@helmetorheels: Oh my, still no motorcycling in Minnesota? Shucks!
ReplyDelete@Trobairitz: It seems that I am ending up on a scooter every 15 years give or take :-) Give it a try, it's fun!
@RichardM: Three words: Vancouver traffic sucks! (But you have to make the best out of it...)
@Conchscooter: Serious Triumph riders might bash you for thinking of it as a Vespa on steroids. Hmm, eventually upgrading from Vespa to Triumph... now you got me thinking. Ask me again 16,000km later ;-)
SonjaM:
ReplyDeleteSPOTTED, red Vespa, rider wearing HI-VIZ jacket, obviously commuting home, Downhill stretch heading towards Byrne Road and Marine Drive, 5:10P yesterday. Vespa was going uphill following very closely behind a car.
bob
Riding the Wet Coast
PS: check out your rear wheel where rear brake lines come too close to the exhaust. Many have experienced rear brake failure. Get it checked out before you go for a long ride.
@bobskoot: Moi? Must have been a doppelganger. I would never tailgate a cager, because they go soooo fast, and I only have 250cc. Look out for Paolo today ;-)
ReplyDeleteAnd thanks for the tip, I will certainly have that checked out.
Sonja, Bob is referring to the exhaust gasket - in our vintage of Vespa GTS there was one or two failures where the gasket would blow and the hot air from the exhaust was in danger of damaging the rear brake line. Not to worry - most local Vespa GTSs had work done as a recall to prevent this outcome - your local dealer could probably check via the vehicle serial number. If your gasket goes your bike exhaust would sound more like a Harley!! You would know something is wrong and would pull over right away :)
ReplyDeleteDiana
@Diana: My Vespa sounding like a Harley? That would be embarrasing... ;-) I will have it checked out. Thanks for the advice.
ReplyDeleteI just changed jobs and my commute is hellacious with lots of sitting and waiting in long queues. I'm really, really wondering if the Vespa would work. Have even consider a moped (bicycle with small motor) just so I can ride on the sidewalks. Wait...Georgia doesn't have sidewalks. :(
ReplyDeleteI'm glad Bella works for commuting for you. :)
@BeemerGirl: A scooter for work is just great. Go for it!
ReplyDeleteSonjaM - speaking of Vespas sounding like Harleys - I have a Leo Vince performance pipe on my GTS and I LOVE the way it sounds! It grumbles nicely without being too obnoxious. I think it's my way of adding a little bit of a motorcycle to my Vespa without adding the clutch, or higher insurance :)
ReplyDeleteBeemergirl, I'm adding a thumbs up to the scooter idea! Clearly biased hehe
Diana