I am inspired!
I have been an avid reader of Scooter in the Sticks for quite a few months now and this excellent site has inspired me to start my own. I love Steve's engaging mix of excellent photos and thought-provoking commentary. I want to tell my story about my Vespa LX50 and include some of my own (very amateurish) photos as well.
I am a fairly large man (6'2", 250+ pounds) yet I ride a 50cc Vespa LX. I chose this machine for a couple of reasons:
• in British Columbia, you don't need a motorcycle license to ride a 50cc scooter. As much as I enjoy going for training rides in the car with my 16 year old daughter, I don't particularly relish going through the process again myself.
• I have enjoyed riding my bicycle for years. I have a Cannondale (which I call my Cannondave) and sometimes commute to work. I also do multi-day rides in the summer with a group of teachers. I think that moving from a bicycle to a small scooter makes a lot of sense. On a bicycle, the rider has to drive very defensively. When approaching an intersection, cyclists are always watchful of traffic, trying to catch the eye of motorists on cross streets, trying to be seen. The same goes for a small engine scooter - riding is not too different from a bicycle - oh sure, you go faster and you don't have to work so hard, but there are a lot of similarities.
So that's my introduction. I hope to post a couple times a week but we'll see how it goes. The picture on this post shows my daughter, Colleen, and me posing on my Vespa in August of 2006 shortly after I rode it home from buying it in Vancouver.
