TOOK MY FIRST RIDE TODAY!

And I found myself swaggering just a little bit afterwards.

And why not? I bought my scooter Ariel (A SYM HD200) a whole month ago, had to baby her through horrendous winds (~70mph gusts) hoping she wasn't blown over, a few snowfalls, and some very cold temperatures (5 F) testing the anti-freeze. My previous post from two weeks ago was about our attempt to load her up on the truck. The weather and ice would not cooperate. It February in the mountains, what do I expect?


I have just returned from San Francisco with its near perfect scooting weather year round, watching other scooterists zipping through the neighborhoods, even in the rain. It was cold there (40's) and still there were scooters. I wanted to ride!

It turns out the weather here was mild all week with highs in the 40's [ah the irony], resulting in significant melting of the snow on the road.

This morning I walked the top section of our road to see if there were enough clear patches strung together for a short ride - and there were! I'm bouncing up and down with anticipation. So, while my DH sipped coffee on his recliner, I prepped Ariel for her maiden voyage. Bob helped me quite a bit with getting Ariel in and out of her nest behind the stairs - thanks sweetie!

The first challenge was getting down the driveway. Its completely snow covered and this morning it was icy. My solution: YakTraks - chains for your feet.

And then I went back and forth on the clear stretch of road, slowing going through ice zones, turning around on melting compacted snow. We got up to 30 mph!!! I'm having a blast.

The cul-de-sac is covered in snow and old ice. The whole time I'm turning around I'm imagining the scooter zipping out to the side while I've got her leaned over. And yes I put my foot down on those turns and even did a 3 point turn once. I'm not here to prove that I can do perfect counter-weighted u-turns on a patch of ice.

My nerve worked up, I started through the first switchback down the hill. S*#t - completely snow covered but nowhere to turn around. Fortunately there was a clear section after the curve. Ahead lay an expanse of snow and ice down the second straightway. I rode back to the house so we could finish reconnoitering of the road.

Riding up the driveway was a trip! I veered a little off the driveway and got the scooter stuck in 4 inches of snow - oh my what a rooster tail.

Our rece trip showed that there were too many icy patches on too many switchbacks, so off I went on my one-mile circuit. again, again, and again! My last trek up the driveway was a gas. I took a running start and got as far as the truck - and then saw that our mirrors were going to hit. So I backed down through the snow about 50 feet to the clear run. Took another run and this time did some major fishtailing. So, I walked next to the scooter, gently providing power. I could feel the back tire spinning and tail was leaning against my leg, trying to zip over. I still got stuck, but at least this time I near the top of the driveway. After much wrestling I maneuvered Ariel back into her home - she (and I) are covered in mud. I'm happy :)