Riding with the big boys

Finally! We're around when the Denver Maxi-scooters are doing a ride and its through our neck of the woods. We left a little early for our rendezvous point at Rt72 & Rt119, just south of Nederland. There's a nice pull off on RT72 just before the intersection.

Bob & I parked our bikes and stripped off the gear, it was not even 10am and it was getting hot up here! About a dozen groups of motorcycles rode by us. Lots of cruisers and sport bikes; most even waved to us. I pity the home owner at this corner cause every hog and crotch rocket revs up or down for this turn. It sounded like swarms of fat bumble bees intermixed with thunder rolling by. A few minutes before ten, we saw a group of cycles coming up the hill. 'think its them?' 'well, we don't hear them so its gotta be them!' (scooters run quiet) and it was!

Up drove Tom, Gina, Jay, Whit, Joe with big smiles on their faces. A great run up Coal Creek Canyon. We introduced ourselves and figured out where a decent pit stop could be and since I described the route so well, they wanted me to lead. me? Off to Nederland to the Visitor's Center (and pit stop). On this ride were, two Suzuki Burgman 650s, a Piaggio BV250, a Honda Big Ruckus 250cc, one SYM HD200, a BMW F650 Dakar, and a Honda Silverwing.


Ya know, that steep corner is aweful to accelerate from. I just wanted to give it a running start and then jump back on the scooter - instead I just leaned over forward and yee-hawwed Ariel up the hill. Next thing I knew, I checked my mirror and no.... one..... is..... there.... I see lights far behind me. Great. What a leader. I dial back the adrenalin and up the hill come the Burgies et al.

We cruise into Nederland in formation, MSF would be proud. Spent a few minutes there and then drove on up towards Ward. The first hills outside of Ned going North are fairly steep and a challenge to keep up one's speed. The sky was awesomely blue with little wind. The yellow wildflowers were magnificent along the road.

Since the group got fragmented, I pulled off just before the Mountain Research Station and we dribbed and drabbed in, regrouped, and headed on to Ward. And then we decided to pull over where we saw a small cluster of other cycles. Two other groups had pulled over for a breather, so we breathed with them, chatted, compared cycle stories. Bob was most interested in the BMW R1200; this fellow is taking a cruise vacation from Kansas.


Gina led the section down through Ward to Left Hand Canyon. She's got a beautiful white Burgman 650 - these roads are like butter for that scooter -it was a joy to watch her take the curves. Ward was typical Ward - cars strewn around, bicyclists grabbing some java, bicyclists pedaling uphill, and tucking for the downhill run. And they're going fast, at least... the speed limit, some places 40+. So we tried to give them the room they needed and popped around each cluster, single, etc. I have no idea how many bicycles we passed - 50, 100? The road is such a beauty to ride; its no wonder everyone wants to ride it!

We pulled into Buckingham Park, had a nice lunch near the creek, and swapped stories about riding and life. This is a great group of people. Bob and I headed north to Lyons so I could see what my scooters max speed really is. I kept up with the traffic ahead of me without a problem :) all the way to Lyons and then up Rt 7 towards Estes Park. What a beautiful road that is too! Full of nice sweepers. We turned off onto RT72 and followed traffic until they pulled off. Another great ride!


The Denver Maxi-Scooter route
Our route
More photos

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 :)

Denied! no riding for scootergrrl today.

I'm a bit frustrated ...with myself and the weather. Our driveway has turned into an ice skating rink due to the roaring winds and successive snow falls and compaction. Plus, I just could not come up with a safe way to push the scooter up a steep ramp onto the truck bed.

First I spent a half hour with a hair dryer warming up and scraping out the ice covered junk in the holes with the tie-downs (Dodge has since redesigned these tie-down points). I know I had cleaned them out in January so my guess is the local chipmunks are storing bark and twigs in these perfectly sized holes as an emergency food cache. I digress.

Then I backed up the truck up the driveway, trying to find the optimal angle to create the optimal height (tailgate is as low as possible) which is still bloody high. When the scooter is on the truck bed the handlebars are way over my head which means at some point I have to climb up onto the truck bed... how? A parallel ramp to walk up? I saw a one advertisement of a motorcycle ramp where they used a step stool to help load the cycle and thought I could do that.

Now, if I were really motivated, I would shovel a path through 4 vertical feet of snow from the house through our snow drift and create a flat ramp to roll the scooter onto the truck bed. This has not happened but it might after this experience… read on.

I unlock the scooter, start her up just to make sure everything is ok and then my husband and I start pushing... and quickly I realize I'm banging into the wall of the house, tripping over the *#!*% downspout...and rocks to hold down the downspout, the deck struts and finally we've got the scooter completely on the ramp. The handlebars are over my shoulders...

and I'm stepping onto a step-stool which is sitting on a quarter inch of dirt that we’ve sprinkled onto the 2 inches of ice... with my foot literally in mid-air and the scooter heeling over at a strong angle, finally my cautious side overcomes my desire to load the scooter. A vision flashes through my head – physics 101 scenarios of the angle of force from my stepping onto the step-stool, coupled with the frictional resistance of four tiny one-inch feet of the foot stool, minus the coefficient of friction of ice once the smear factor of dirt has been overcome – and I’m envisioning the stool sliding under the truck, me flipping onto my back with the scooter landing onto my belly. oUCH.

At this point, I pitch a verbal fit about the unfairness of this all, Bob pitches fit about how he's mentioned that we have 6 months of winter (like I had forgotten) ... and we carefully roll the scooter off the ramp and back to her protected parking spot. Upon further analysis, our loading process is flawed. My next method will be to bribe friends with a trailer to haul my bike down to Boulder so I can go riding in March or maybe I’ll dig that trench after all. It’s good exercise.

Taking the Motorcycle Safety Foundation Basic Rider course

It was cold and dark when I got up on Saturday morning but it didn’t matter, I was finally taking my motorcycle safety class! I had been registered for a class two weeks previously right after I bought my scooter, but they had canceled the class because the weather was supposed to be cold. Ha. That weekend ended being warm!

Still at 5:30AM as I left, it was 10F at the house so I was a little nervous that all we’d be able to do was the indoor lecture portion today. It was supposed to be 45F and sunny and in Colorado, if it is sunny even when its cold, you warm up (higher elevation + lower humidity = more intense sunlight).

As I drove along the Peak-to-Peak highway I dreamed ahead to this coming summer and hearing the drone of Harleys riding through “po-taa-to, po-taa-to”… and that I might be able to join them on my scooter “ringggg-dinggg-dingg-dinnggg” And then I saw some elk on the slope and really started paying attention to the road. It was clear. The canyon road was clear, so was Highway 36 and I-70.

An hour and a half into my drive and a mere 3 miles from the Aurora Town Center where the class was to be taken there was a thick rind of snow on the road. I watched as a truck wildly fish tailed almost into the wall and the traffic start to slow down – it was slippery and I was going to be late!

The parking lot was covered in snow. I saw one fellow walking to the mall entrance with his helmet, so I knew I was in the right place. There ended up being five of us and our instructor, Curt. Curt has years of riding and racing motorcross experience, and while I think he’d prefer everyone to ride motorcycles, he was cool with the two of us who wanted to take the course on scooters.

Our class was quite a mix: an attorney who plans to ride dual sports with his wife and teenage son, a young man who graduated early and moved to Colorado for school, a former college-football star about my age, a young woman who is also in college, and me, a middle-aged computer and education geek doing her part to help save the environment by using less gas.

The morning passed quickly; we covered the homework questions and watched videos that helped show important concepts, then we took the written test. If you read the MSF book, you’ll pass the test. We all did. Then we took a lunch hour and met at the riding range – it’s a section of the mall parking lot that has been blocked off by cones. Curt had us walk the lot to prove to ourselves that there was no ice.

It had warmed up to 35F and they had plowed the lot, so there really was no ice, just wet areas. Fine, we’re good to go! And we started off with baby steps by duck walking our bikes getting used to the throttle and clutch from one cone to another. The hardest part was pushing our bikes in a tiny s to turn around. The second hardest part was learning to shift (for the motorcycles). I really think that if there weren't so much machismo attached to motorcycles, that starting to learn on scooters without shifting would be (is) better, and then once the handling skills are down, then teach the shifting part. Look at driver's ed for cars... I was riding a Kymco Bet & Win 250 cc – it weighs 350lbs! The other scooter was a Vento Phantom 150 and two Suzuki dual sport 200’s and a Suzuki cruiser ~250cc. 350 pounds is a lot of weight to push on a slight incline.

It was great once we were allowed to use power to help turn ourselves around. We practiced riding straight and then gentle curves and even gentle swerves. I won’t describe all of the exercises, I will say that MSF has really thought through their training program and be a training developer myself, it is SO nice to take classes that are well thought out... and theirs is meticulous in preparing you.

My body and head stayed warm the whole time; I had on a polar-max undershirt and long underwear, a lightweight poly and wind resistant vest, a neck gaitor, and an Olympia Air-glide jacket plus jeans. I had on hiking boots and wool socks – my feet were toasty. My hands stayed warm for most of the afternoon and then suddenly they got cold and I couldn’t do anything to get them warm. My cold went from slightly annoying to turn-on-the-faucet and I went through a whole pack of tissues. Oddly my nose only ran when we stopped riding.

With our weather delay we only made it through 6 and a half exercises our first day and by the time we left it was getting very overcast, dark, and cold. Still I was thrilled to have ridden at all! Even the long commute back home was OK – I crashed early that night, my hips and wrists a little sore.

Day2, Sunday. We didn’t start until a little later to give the sun time to re-melt any ice. We had 10 ½ exercises to get through and all of us were chomping at the bit to practice our quick stops, swerving around dump trucks (in reality little green cones), and counterweight our way through that little box. My ears wouldn’t equalize (my drive took me from 8200’ to 5400’) and I was a little worried that my balance would be off. We started off the day at ~33F.

And off we went! All of the exercises went smoothly; the swerves came more easily today than yesterday. Except for one exercise that stumped me – a little rectangular box where you have to do 2 U-turns (a complete S) – the second try I almost did it and then it went downhill from there. I need to turn my head more and keep it turned. Counterweight more, especially the right-hand curve. Finesse the brake with the throttle partly on. I felt like a failure.

The temperature climbed to 38F for most of the day with a spike of 46F when the clouds opened for an hour, and was just going below freezing when we were taking our test. The wind kicked up to a constant +10mph for an hour or so. It was not dangerous and gave us some practice with dealing with gusts. My ears equalized by lunchtime.

Later in the day we practiced the box one more time. The other scooterist did yet another big box without touching down. I asked her about her approach and she was like ‘f**k the box, I’ll do what I can”. Wow. Its refreshing to get an alternate perspective so I tried that approach and I decided that if I did a bigger box I was OK.

My body ached all over, my back, my hands and wrists, my hips; the temperatures and wind sapped my body of energy and I was stiff by the test, so as I did the S-shaped U-turns for the box, I did my best and yes, I went outside of the lines. Twice! Lightning didn’t strike; a horde of shrieking Valkyries didn’t descend from the heavens to smote me; I didn’t turn into a slime-mold; and I still passed the final riding test… which in Colorado means I get my motorcycle endorsement!

One person had a perfect 0 – our instructor still warned him to keep practicing… our rides had all been below 15mph so there’s a lot more to learn. He gave each of us specific areas that we needed to work on. Me, I need to work on riding slowly in tight circles with my weight counter-balancing the lean of the bike. I felt this proper balance once or twice during the day… something to keep working on.

As I drove home I was elated to have come so far - we had ridden about 15 hours in two days, most of it on Sunday – I had gone from feeling like I didn’t know what I was doing to feeling good that I have some specific techniques I can use while riding to keep myself safe.... I’ve heard the term “ride safe” and wondered “well, of course, I going to ride safely”; now, Ride Safe really means something and it is more than a cerebral understanding. My body knows what it means too.

Now if it would just stop snowing so I could go to a parking lot and ride…

Quick photo

OK, its been a week since I picked up my scooter. And its been really cold hovering in single and lower double digits. I've been taking off the cover, starting her up to let her idle for 10-15 minutes, sitting on the seat making vroom vroom noises, and putting the cover back on. So I had to get a battery tender. This involved removing the base-plate where one's feet go - 5 philips head screws later and after getting beyond the nervousness of electrocuting myself, I got the alligator clips on the battery and Ariel is well again.

Sunday the temperature soared to 25F and the wind was a whisper. I decided to install the permanent hook ups. I carefully loosen the screws from the battery and pull the battery cables up and OH! there goes a screw into the compartment.

I carefully reach for the screw and IT SLIPS THROUGH THE LITTLE HOLE where the cables come out!!! Rats! i can't reach or see the screw in yet another sealed compartment between the battery compartment and the ground... off to the workbench for 10mm ratchet and wrenches.

Time passes, I retrieve the screw and get the battery tender hook ups hooked up. Replace the bottom plate under the scooter. Replace the foot plate for the foot bed, connect the battery tender, watch the light go green, replace the cover, job done. As a reward, I take some more pics :)

Please Welcome ... Ariel

After many months of researching, trying on different scooters, reading forum posts and test driving... I finally chose the SYM HD200 scooter!And yes I named her. Ariel is mid-night blue, peppy and ready to roll!

That is, once I take the MSF class next some weekend soon and bring her down the mountain to where the roads are clear, then I can creep slowly around some suburban neighborhood - I knew they had a purpose. The photo to the right shows me with helmet and armored jacket - the edging really does shine!

By the time we got back from Sportique in Denver, unloaded her from the truck (another story) and found the safest, most secure spot with the least wind to park, it was getting dark. Unloading the scooter is going to take some getting used to.

And since its winter, no sunshine hits this side of the house; all of this is to explain why the photos I've posted online are not the best. Can you tell its blue?It's been incredibly difficult to get a good photo of the color.

And the helmet matches! See more photos. I will be adding more as time goes on.

We had hoped to park the scooter indoors, however the handlebars are too wide, so under the steps she went, with her cover... facing into the wind in case we have any 50 mph blasts of wind, which we are having right now! Poor baby! I have a Battery Tender keeping her battery fresh so hopefully she'll be fine.

The final choice came between the People 150 and the SYM. As I stood there looking at them, I have to admit I had to say goodbye to the P150 with a touch of sadness, "Sorry grrl, its just not going to work". The deciding factor came down to seat! Of all things... The seat holds both Bob and I at the same time and being able to transport both of us is really important to me. Oh, and I'm sure I will enjoy the extra power on these Colorado hills (mona lisa smile).

I am soooo excited and can not wait until I can take her for rides around Boulder! and Nederland this spring! Thanks everyone for answering my myriad of questions and journeying with me while I agonized through all of the details.

Scoot on!
Shelley

Test driving a scooter - a newbie's experience

I am a newbie to riding a motorized two-wheeler although I've biked for years.

So far I have taken one other set of test spins on a Buddy 50 and the People 50.


Another post goes (will go) into what and why... I thought I would share what its like for a newbie rider to go out on a test ride and to provide my [limited] impressions on SYM HD-200 and Kymco People 150. If you are looking for thorough reviews of these scooters, there are plenty on the web:
SYM HD 200
http://www.justgottascoot.com/symhd200.htm#ScooterStationSYMHD200
http://www.symscooters.co.uk/edit_5.php
https://www.insuremyride.com.au/comments/article.asp?number=33

People 150
http://www.powersportsnetwork.com/motorcyclereviewdetail/rv=23261/veh=6396/review23261.htm
http://www.powersportsnetwork.com/enthusiasts/review_detail.asp?rv=54638&veh=10023
http://www.powersportsnetwork.com/enthusiasts/review_detail.asp?rv=50752&veh=10023

My impressions on test scooting the SYM HD-200 and Kymco People 150:
Ok, its not a retro look one bit; however, the HD-200 does have 16-inch wheels and has the power range I'm looking for. I straddled it and found it balanced well. I can almost flat foot while sitting on the seat (forward a bit) while wearing hiking boots. There was plenty of space between my body and the handle bars while getting on. Sitting on the scooter my arms felt good, the handlebars are at just the right distance from me, I don't feel either cramped or over extended. The grips are a little smaller and not quite as nicely cushioned as the Buddy; this probably can be altered.

I started off doing laps in a parking lot across from the dealer. First lap it was a battle between thrill and terror that I was really doing this. I crawled along looking for gravel and just remembering the mechanics of riding. Then I realized I still had the jaw guard of the modular helmet up -- dork alert. Second lap was much quicker and I felt pretty good. I found that holding on to the brake slightly kept it from rolling backwards when starting up. The first couple times of starting up felt like I had to turn the throttle 'far-ish' to get started - I'm a newbie remember.

Then Val said why don't I take a spin around the block? You mean on a road? Adrenalin enriched terror courses through me for a moment... then I hear myself saying 'Sure!'. I'm riding a scooter! On a road! By myself!! Yippie!

And then I had to turn left and go up a steep hill. I had a momentary user-induced fear moment by not turning the handle bars enough and keeping my hand too hard on the throttle. I didn't quite run into the curb, and it was right in front of the salesperson (yikes!) - I had to tell my right hand to LET GO OF THE THROTTLE and all was well, up the hill I went. Something to practice.
Fortunately Sportique-Denver is on the edge of a very quiet neighborhood.

So as I accelerated up the steep-ish hill, there was plenty of power without feeling like it would accelerate from under me. It felt good. Turned right and a car was behind me - and if I took a relaxed moment to turn right at the next stop sign, it didn't seem to bother the car driver (who went left).

Then going downhill, I went over two washed out road cut-ditches - meanwhile I'm thinking to myself... Val said to have fun... am I having fun?... yes!... now coast over these ditches carefully, hand off throttle, slight braking - it felt fine. The roads were slightly wet from the snow melt and still felt good with the braking. I came back into the shop lot with a smile.

Once I got back, Val had a Rattler ready for me to try. Its a 2-stroke which for environmental reasons I want to avoid. It felt a bit small, so I went right to the Kymco People 150 to test drive.

Now for the past 3 months I've focused most of my research on the People 150 and 250 with some attention to the SYM and occasionally the Piaggio 150 . I've been looking at Craig's list for the Kymco for 3 months and have watched how the prices vary throughout the U.S. My laptop wallpaper has a modified People 150 image. And now I got to try one on.

As I swing my leg through, my first thoughts were ... 'gee its kind of cramped but I can easily straddle the floorboard, sit and get my heel on the ground'. Val gave me the pep-talk and reminded me to have fun and that I would do fine. I went through all of the toggles on the handlebar to buy a little psych-up time and then off I went. And this time I believed her... I'll have fun!

It felt smooth going up the steep hill - not quite as peppy as the SYM, but with good verve nonetheless. Stopping and starting on the hill was fine - going left and through wet streets with slush spots was fine. In fact it felt a little more nimble. The brakes felt a little less immediate than the SYM, again still quite good. The final flat straight away I accelerated moderately and could feel the acceleration.

Now that my nerves had settled down I decided to test the HD-200 again and pay attention to how the scooter felt rather than focusing on all of the mechanics of riding (left-turn signal on, then brake, stop... put feet down!, etc).

This time I ended up going down an alley so I could get to the flat road... and went over some slush-spots. I felt the rear end twitch, so instinctively counter steered the front end slightly (like riding on sand on a bicycle) and it was fine. I'm sure as I learn more, I'll have a better way to deal with these small issues. Looking further down the alley I saw lots of slush/ ice covering the whole road so I turned into a parking lot and went back to the main road.

I returned to the same flat and straight road so I could compare acceleration with the People 150. I got up to 50! Then I remembered that the outer ring of numbers on the speed are kph so I really was doing 31 mph. I felt like I was flying :)

The final test was getting both Bob and I on the scooter seats. Bob is 6' 3" with long legs. Both of us are ... not twigs. We barely fit on the People 150 together (me driving of course) while there was plenty of room for both of us on the SYM.

I know these were not huge test drives and I'm so new at scooting that my ability to do a deep evaluation is limited. You've got to start somewhere.
So here's my summary:
SYM HD 200:
Better pick up and go
Braking seemed more solid
Fits the two of us better

Kymco People 150
more nimbleness
Cute! Adorable!
Very comfortable - could place more of my foot on the ground.

Both look solid, feel solid, handle well, have 2 year warranties, fun to drive

For me, I am leaning toward the SYM HD200. I'm a little bummed that I like the SYM better, but for me it seems like the more appropriate scooter. And its not ugly by any means, just... you wouldn't call it cute like the Peopl 150. Time to think. I'll keep you posted!

The Journey to a Scooter Named Ariel

This rather long entry provides the back story of my journey to purchasing my first scooter. Its written in chronological order... hopefully that won't be too confusing. And I don't really expect anyone to ever read this, but perhaps it will help someone out who is in the throes of searching for their first scooter. Here goes.

Mon Sep 10, 2007
The scooter bug first bit me when there was a Vespa shop right on my bus route... such graceful scooters; I saw those beauties every day. Then a neighbor down the hill showed up with a Silver Wing - handsome - out of my class. I've had a few colleagues at work who are also avid scooter fans. Now I'm seeing them everywhere around town and everyone I know with a scooter just oozes excitement at having one and the fun they have!

I've probably visited/ bookmarked 30 scooter sites so far; all these names are making my head spin! I even found a 2006 Vespa LX150 close by - at least I can drool over it though I'll probably end up with something more rugged - People 150? Rattler? or if a really inexpensive used 50 cc scooter falls in my lap, I might be totally irresponsible and just go for it.

I'm not looking to go fast, my goal is to have a scooter to reduce my car usage so it would get me (and my DH [dear husband]) to the park'n'ride bus stop and to go into town for errands. OK, and go play some along the peak to peak and back roads.

The setting:
The challenge is that I live in the mountains in Nederland, Colorado at 8200 feet; just west of Boulder and live down (up) a dirt road about 6 miles from town (and the bus stop). Over half of the trip is on dirt roads. We're in the middle of granite country, so our roads are hard pack... with some gravel to make life exciting. And yes, we've had to change the air filter on our car/truck every 5k... and then there are the washboards to make things rattly.

This is low speed driving - probably 15 - 25 mph - I don't even go much over this in a car on these roads. The road I live on is steep and dirt... 20 mph speed limit. The flat dirt road has a 25 mph speed limit. Sometimes we don't see a car for a half hour and then a few will roll through. We can walk down the middle of the road quite safely. There is the road the connects us to the town with a speed limit of 45mph. And surprisingly enough, most folk go close to the speed limit.

I don't have an interest in riding to Boulder - to me that's equivalent to a black diamond ski slope and I'm only ready for the green dot bunny slope. Besides, I've got an eco-pass to get me down there.

So what do I need?
I see our neighbors with dirt bikes doing OK and there's even a Harley that majestically rolls slowly through now and then. I've talked to motorcyclists and its their opinion that a dual sport would be good. My DH thinks that scooters are over priced and perhaps I've gone bonkers; my bus friends think its impractical because its so cold in the winter, not to mention snow. And I say 1) there are good scooters that keep their value 2) good clothing negates those 20 degree mornings (heated vest anyone?) 3) Scooters are fun - who cares about these practical aspects!

I took a look at the Ruckus BB... looks durable, now about those tires... I saw a Rattler on the road this evening and then I saw a beautiful Vespa... [slightly whiny sound] and I really want a pretty scoooter [end whine]; slightly girlie and independent.

Wed Sep 12, 2007
My visit to the Boulder Sportique was lots of fun - they let me try out a Buddy 50 (in pink) and a People 50 (in white, color yawn) ... riding around the building I immediately like the People because it felt more stable (it has 16-inch wheels)

Their advise was to aim for taller wheels since they handle gravel and washboards better. And to consider a slightly bigger engine to climb the hills (speed limit is 45) and to combat the altitude. By tire/wheel size, probably in the range of 13" - 16" diameter with maybe slightly gnarly tires?

Oh, there is a bike rack at the bus stop (park'n'ride) or maybe a sign post would work to secure the scooter to something unmovable. There are a few dead cars I could probably attach to too in a pinch. Smile.

Thur Sep 13, 2007
About Wheel Size and Width
Did a little more research and talked with a pro-dirt bike rider, a dirt bike riding neighbor, and Sportique staff. I modified my discussion slightly so I didn't get the dirt bikers distracted with the concept of a scooter. I asked them the same question: which will handle better, a bike/scooter with 16-inch wheels or with 10-inch wheels, both with knobby tires? And uniformly it was the 16-inch wheels provide better handling for 2 reasons. 1) the relative size difference between gravel and a 10 inch wheel means it has to 'climb' over that gravel more than on a 16-inch. 2) a 16-inch wheel has more surface area in contact with the ground than a 10-inch wheel. I wish I could do an empirical test to verify.

Then there's fat vs skinny, smooth vs knobby. and as everyone has noted, fat and knobby tires are better. Except in snow where skinny tires are preferred (why? dunno. just watch a rally car race in Norway and they all have skinny tires on.)

With this in mind, it really does narrow my choices quite a bit! (But then why is the Ruckus so popular?) After sharing the information I've gathered to date, my DH thinks that I should really think about a 250cc bike - that 150 cc is probably too small!! I'm willing to consider a bigger than 50cc and it must be 4-stroke to be more environmentally friendly. How about I get a 50 cc to learn on and then upgrade next year is my thought.

Fri, Sep 14, 2007
Transporting a scooter in the bed of a truck. I see lots of dirt bikes tied into the back of trucks this way:
http://www.bigpeoplescooters.com/learn12.php

Had a good talk with a local Kymco scooterist. We talked riding philosophy, technique, weather, visibility, safety, and more. While he has a 50cc People 50, he thought for up here a larger cc scooter would pull the hills better. As we discussed transporting one’s scooter to Boulder and how to tie a scooter down in a truck bed, lo and behold, a truck pulled onto our main street with a scooter in its bed. So he proceeded to show me all of the mistakes they had made loading it (the owners were shopping).
1) do not place on center stand or kick stand... you want to put a downward load on the front suspension.
2) Place a large block between the front of the scooter and the truck bed - save your bodywork.
3) Hook one end of the tie down at the front of the truck. Make a loop over the handlebar grip AND the brake on the same side of the truck. Cinch it tight - but not too tight yet... now get the other side started. .. and cinch down both sides until the front suspension is pulled down most of the way.
(By this point I'm thinking, how am I ever going to do this by myself?)
4) You don't have to tie down the back of the scooter - unless you are paranoid, which I am and I will.

Bigfoot, your wisdom has been stellar!

Mon Sep 17, 2007
Helmet shopping: So far I've tried on 4 brands, Shoei, HJC, Nolan, and ??? (I forget) I had a really good talk with Andy at Boulder Powersports - he's an ok guy; still gently pushes for me to consider a dual-sport dirt bike - but was very helpful with trying helmets. Then I called 3 other dealers - is everyone closed on Mondays? And went to Mikes... and ended up liking the same RF1000. Anyway, all of the helmets that fit (key word) were close to or more than $300. I'll pay it if need be... I'm just wondering if Boulder stores only carry the most expensive stuff. That pink VOX is pretty - but I can not find one professional review about it, which makes me wonder who really makes it.

P.S. Remove earrings before donning the helmet!

Tue Sep 18, 2007
I went by Sportique today to look at "my" scooter - a 150 cc Kymco People in pale green. Even took a picture. In Colorado you must get your motorcycle endorsement - no permit (from what I can tell)... so I'm looking at the motorcycle class...

Plus had a informative talk with their mechanic about the Piaggio... and how replacement parts will be expensive and hope you don't need them in August (when all good Italians go on holiday). On the other hand, there are state-side vendors with most parts...

Sun Sep 30, 2007
Just got back from the Outer Banks, North Carolina (OBX) ... specifically Waves. I was in such scooter envy... yes, they were there to be rented... some Chinese make that probably costs $700 which they are renting for $250 per week. Not interested at that price. So I just lusted after the very wide variety that I saw on the road.

Now on Ocracoke they had really cute 50cc Vino's and saw some 250cc somethings keeping up with traffic along the highway. On the one day that it did rain, some very courageous woman motorized her scooter through the rain, on the shoulder from Rodanthe to Avon; my hat off to her...
BTW, the water was AWESOME!!!

Fri Oct 05, 2007
On staying warm (around the neck)
Having lived in Nederland for a while and through many high-wind sub-zero winter days... my thoughts about polar fleece are 1)sometimes its just too bulky 2) not wind proof at all 3) makes hair stand out at weird angles in the winter. I have many wool hats and scarves but they get itchy. So I started to look around for a head/neck cover to go under a hat and covers that gap from hat (helmet) to jacket collar and could be pulled over the mouth. Its interesting that these desires overlap the motorcycle world so closely! Silk scarves do work well, but then I came across these tube like neck warmers/head wraps that are made out of some other material. Which has lead to more searches, here's what I found so far.

Zub - wide variety of colors and patterns. I'm ordering a couple to test out in our next wind storm - its a stretchy micro-fiber
http://www.zubwear.com

Rukka neck warmer - looks very wind proof however stops at bottom of helmet, see review for the whole kit: Bikers Comfort in Action - Motorcycle Windproof Underwear; now the underwear might be worth the investment!
http://www.webbikeworld.com/r2/bc/

Frank Thomas Antifreeze Neck Guard
http://www.webbikeworld.com/r3/neck-warmer/wind-block-neck-warmer.htm

EDZ neck warmer
http://www.webbikeworld.com/r3/neck-warmer/

Wed Nov 14, 2007
Which to do first, get the scooter then go to class... go to class and then buy the scooter... I really want to take the Motorcycle Safety Foundation Course. One thought is to take the class now and take a refresher in a few months. Do I even have the time to take a class before Christmas time?

Wed Nov 28, 2007
Dear Santa,
I have been a good girl this year. I've been very nice to my husband and cats; I cook nutritious and fun meals; I even let my kitties cuddle up on my feet so they can stay warm. For Christmas, I would like a sea-green People 150 with a plum colored helmet... Yours truly, Shelley

Fri Dec 14, 2007
I've been in San Francisco this past week at the AGU meeting. There's lots of scooters here and not all on the road! Found an awesome scooter ornament at GUMPS and then saw one in the Macy's window, along with some kitties for adoption.






Fri Jan 04, 2008 AM
OK, now that I have the funds... I can go for a People 150 (new/almost new) or I found two Kymco People 250's that are 2007 slightly used for the price of a new 150 or I can wait to see what new 2008 Kymco EFI's come out this spring or should I take a look at the SYM? The choices are killing me! This is my first scooter so I don't want to over purchase, however I don't want to be exchanging within 6 months either. I'm a little concerned about the weight difference between the two People scooters.

Fri Jan 04, 2008 late PM
Tomorrow is helmet and sit/test ride scooter day! I'm sooooooo excited. We had dinner with some friends who have been motorcycle riders in the past and that's all we talked about was cycles and scooters (why a scooter and not a dual sport), gear, etc; plus some becareful stories. The equivalent of 'you'll shoot your eye out kid!' advice along with the try-everything-they'll-let-you-try.

So far I've test ridden a buddy 50 and a kymco people 50 and liked the kymco. I've sat on the P150 and the Aprillia Mojito 150 plus a few others. I'd really like to see the Sym as well. With the weather so iffy, nows a great time to go kick the tires - and maybe get a great deal... we'll see!

Sun Jan 06, 2008
It was so much fun! The sun was shining, it was warm out, no wind either! I rode in a flannel shirt, jeans, helmet (of course), and hiking boots and never was cold.

We drove down to the Sportique in Denver and worked with Russel and then with Val to figure out my/our needs and to show me their scooters. And they let me test drive a SYM HD 200 and the Kymco People 150! Val was really patient answering all of my questions and was very encouraging as I took the test drives. While I haven't quite plunked down the money... its going to be soon! [see post: http://terraunbound.blogspot.com/2008/01/test-driving-scooter-newbies-experience.html]

Mon, Jan 7, 2008
I'm seriously considering an HD200 or the People 150. I am a little concerned that there's not much presence for SYM yet in this country. I've looked online and the reviews have all been really great... have found a handful of SYM scooter owners ... but no forum/blog to sink my
teeth into. The other scooter I'm just as ready to buy is the P150... only issue there is that my DH and I barely fit on the seat two up (he'd be pillion)

Also I found out that I can have my choice of red, silver, and midnight blue in the SYM; all available in the crate at the shop waiting to be assembled and haven't been ridden by anyone yet.

Tue Jan 8, 2008
Difficult choice:
Sometimes it takes time to emotionally accept the practical answer; I've been emotionally attached the idea of the People 150 that it a little hard to let that go even though the SYM is a better fit. I'm trying to gauge my husband's desire to be pillion and whether that should be a real consideration to factor in. If not, then there's a really cute green or black P150 waiting. I did try on the P250 for size and had to tippy toe even in my hiking boots... now if I had some serious platform boots maybe the 250 or the 500 would work.

Wed Jan 9, 2008
Agonizing-over-the-details
Its like waking up from a daze of details. Being detailed-oriented, I go through this process where I analyze every shred of evidence I can find in print, on the internet, at the shop, [I even read the owner's manual and asked the salesperson for clarification on some details]. And sometimes drives people nuts... I think I spent less time deciding on which house to buy (except for the year of checking postings first)! So sometimes I need a nudge to step back from the details and ask what my gut says is right.

I'm kind of glad that I've happily mulled over the prospect of scooterhood for months as my requirements have become more clear with time. I thank everyone for their support and putting up with me as I have pulled you through this process too.

One nagging thought that emerged over the past two months was, how do I and my DH get to the bus? or to Rainbow Lakes? or other local places? He's not going to have his own scooter/cycle for a while.I've been the passenger many a time on a cycle and so has my hub - and he's had his own cycles for many years, many moons ago. He's willing to be the passenger, once I can handle the extra weight and his height; I've got a lot to learn. He's also getting that glint in his eye that he might be interested in his own ride (Harley?) First to learn the mechanics of riding, then add in the pillion factor.

The other nagging thought has been 'is 150cc going to be enough for our high-altitude roads'? So I want to re-check this out. If the weather holds and the wind settles down just a little, I'm off to do a last round of test rides and hopefully make a decision. (Can you tell I'm an INTP?) I've read read read everything, everywhere I can so now its time to see what my gut tells me.

Even more semi-useful urls, shameless promotion

Other places w/ test blogs, rss's, subscriptions, what ever.
http://www.travelpod.com/members/terraunbound
http://www.bloglines.com/blog/earthgazer

Photos - I've stashed them in a variety of places.
http://terraunbound.smugmug.com/
http://www.pbase.com/terraunbound
http://www.flickr.com/photos/terraunbound/
http://www.imageevent.com/terraunbound

Photography forums and reviews - and there are so many worth viewing - these are just my current top list
http://www.dpreview.com/forums/
http://www.network54.com/Forum/151930/
http://www.dgrin.com/
http://www.photo.net/community/forums
http://www.dyxum.com/
http://www.luminous-landscape.com/forum/
http://www.fredmiranda.com/
http://www.imaging-resource.com/

nice compilation of infrared sites (although old)
http://www.dpreview.com/forums/read.asp?forum=1009&message=2921413

Food and travel
http://boulder.citysearch.com/ - I always check this site out for good eats while traveling.
http://chefmoz.org/
http://www.tripadvisor.com/

Weather
Nederland weather - personal weather stations+data shown ona google map http://www.wunderground.com/stationmaps/gmap.asp?zip=80466&wmo=99999
NOAA Ned weather - http://www.crh.noaa.gov/forecast/MapClick.php?CityName=Nederland&state=CO&site=BOU
Niwot ridge weather - http://culter.colorado.edu/NWT/
http://www.met.utah.edu/cgi-bin/droman/mesomap.cgi?state=CO&rawsflag=1
Boulder precip/monthly - http://www.cdc.noaa.gov/Boulder/Boulder.mm.precip.html
http://pangea.stanford.edu/courses/gp104//waterscape/viewscaperk.php?entry=39
Road Conditions in Colorado - http://www.cotrip.org/
Avalanche Conditions - http://geosurvey.state.co.us/avalanche/Default.aspx?tabid=293
aviation weather - http://www.colorado-aeronautics.org/awosphonefreq.htm
Satellite and radar -http://www.rap.ucar.edu/weather/

Stream gages

BOCMIDCO -- MIDDLE BOULDER CREEK AT NEDERLAND

BOCOROCO -- BOULDER CREEK NEAR ORODELL

BOCOBOCO -- BOULDER CREEK AT BOULDER, CO

USGS 06730200 BOULDER CR AT NORTH 75TH ST NR BOULDER

table of stream gages - http://www.dwr.state.co.us/Hydrology/flow_list_current.asp?CTY=7
http://bcn.boulder.co.us/basin/

Local and favorite web cams
Tundra cam!
Front range cam
Eldora cam
Boulder cams
Ned cam overlooking Barker Reservoir and Nederland, Colorado
Ned cam II and weather


Maps:
Boulder County GIS maps - http://map.co.boulder.co.us/basemap/disclaimer.htm
CO - well permit (with some logs) GIS - http://165.127.23.116/website/lttools/

Plants and wildflowers
http://herbarium.biology.colostate.edu/photo.htm
http://www.ext.colostate.edu/Pubs/Garden/07233.html
http://www.denverplants.com/wflwr/nav/b_p.htm

Educational
DLESE Teaching Boxes http://www.teachingboxes.org/
DLESE - The Digital Library for Earth System Education

other
http://www.nednet.net/company.html
http://www.backcountry.com/ - hiking gear
http://forum.delorme.com/

URLs to have on hand

http://terraunbound.smugmug.com/ - current photo site
http://www.imageevent.com/terraunbound - my photo site (old)
http://www.pbase.com/terraunbound - even older photo site

http://www.nimbus.it/italiameteo/previtoscana.htm - weather in Tuscany


http://www.comune.roccastrada.gr.it/inglese/inglese_trekking.htm - hiking trails near roccastrada

Pulling it all together

We're leaving for Italy in two days! Yippee! I've got all my gear ready, now its time to see if I can fit any clothes. Just kidding. Not really.

And I thought it might be nice to share my photos and our experiences while we're in Tuscany - if we're near any wireless that is. If not, oh well; I can upload later.

The past week I've been gathering info on terme (spas), topo maps, hikes, market days, cool photo spots, and anything Etruscan... if it becomes useful I might post some of it later. First though I want to pull into this site some important URLs to have on hand while traveling... and sipping capuccino, etc. -seo