SUCCESS!!

No pictures of this, but I successfully negotiated the scooter out of my neighborhood, down the street, and about four miles to the home of our friends! It was a gloriously sunny day, and my husband and kids followed behind me in the minivan (the kids cheering all the way, I am told).

Hooray! I didn't even scratch the bike, nor lose my balance, nor drop it anywhere. My purse fit in the underseat carrier, and I wasn't even cold! Woo!

My M endorsement class is this coming Saturday and Sunday. By next week, I should be able to ride this scooter to work and on errands! Now I need a really good bike lock...

Sadness and Woe.

My scoot has fourteen miles on it.

The snow melted here, after hanging around for a week. (Hey, that's a looong time for snow to hang around in Richmond!) I decided that since the neighborhood streets, local roads and a close-by parking lot were all clear of snow and ice and most of the wet, I would take my new scoot out for some practice riding. I am taking my MSF class next weekend, so this would be perfect, right?

Wrong.

Ok, well, it wasn't that bad. I did great for a long time, rode all over my neighborhood, then got brave and went up a local road to a complex of office buildings that has a huge parking lot. This being Saturday, it was empty, so perfect for practicing stuff I know I have to do for the class. I did some quick stopping, and some turning in both directions, rode slow, and faster, parked in a parking space, and just generally enjoyed the ride. Then I got a wild hair and thought, hey, I should practice a few u-turns. There's plenty of room, and this driveway is wider than my driveway at home, so it should be good. I started with a turn to my better side, turning left. Just as I was coming around the U of the turn, I realized I was getting too close to the curb on the other side, and going just a hair too fast...I lost my balance, couldn't correct in time, and ended up falling to the outside of the turn, scraping along the curb.







It's not really that bad, and you can't really see it unless you look, but STILL. Sigh. I am sad. Oh, and I did not get hurt, except for a big grass and mud stain on the knee of my jeans where I fell into the grass. That's good. Mom, you can relax now. I am fine.

I guess I've made it mine, now, though. Hope I never do it again.

*cries*

Merry Christmas!!

I hope everyone has a wonderful holiday!! Enjoy yourselves, don't eat too much, and scoot safely if you are able to go out!

The snow is melting, and that means I'll be able to scoot soon! Hooray!

My new Buddy!

It's MINE! Mineminemineminemineminemine!

I picked up my new Buddy 125 today from my friends at Scoot Richmond. My dad and I went down there with his big pickup truck and brought it back.

Chelsea brings the bike out:


There it is!! Hanging out in the shop...


I got the rundown on the buttons, switches and operation of the bike from super-helpful scooter guy, Brandon (I think that was his name....), and learned how to take the bike off and on the center stand and the side stand. Then my dad backed his truck up to the loading dock and he and Brandon got it in.
Getting it tied down in the back of the truck...it literally didn't move at all as we went down the road. I learned something new, too, that you should tie the bike down so the forks are compressed and it won't move.


We got it home and my husband and my dad and I rolled it out of the truck using a ladder and a board. Yay! It's living in my garage right now because, well, this is Richmond, and I am terrified someone will rip it off, even right out of my backyard.

Of course, I would have to pick up my new scooter on the day that a major winter storm is coming to the area, but heck, I love snow, and we don't get that much in our winters, so I can't complain. My husband and I did each get to take the Buddy out for a spin around the neighborhood before the snow started. I love it, but MAN! It was C-O-L-D!!! I really wished for an Armadillo coat and a lap blanket, and some windproof gloves. I couldn't even manage to get much over 28mph because I was frozen. :(

Not too frozen to smile, though....


I'm thinking about personalized tags...maybe PKINPI? GR8PKN? Must think more on it....

I just might explode...

My new scoot is HERE!!! In Richmond!!!

*happy dance*

I went down to Scoot Richmond this afternoon to square up the paperwork, sign stuff, and write the big check. The scoot (as yet unnamed...) is still getting spiffed up and put together, so I won't be able to pick it up until tomorrow, but I did get to see it. *grin*

I. Am. So. Thrilled!

I think we might bring it home in my dad's truck, or I might borrow a friend of mine who has her M endorsement to accompany me and ride the scoot back to my house. Then I will put about 100 miles on it riding it around my neighborhood while I wait to take my class.

Could I smile any more? Probably not.

Pictures to come.

The Waiting....it is the hardest part....

Stiiiiillllll waiting. The Buddy is on it's way, I know it, but HOLY COW, it's like being five years old on Christmas morning all over again! My fabulous scooter dealer (enabler?) Chelsea told me the shipment is expected pretty much any time, but may be as late as Wednesday. Sigh.

I should go to the DMV and take the written test for the M class endorsement. At least then I could ride along with someone who has a license, and I have a friend with a tangerine Buddy who said she'd ride home with me. Hmmm....but then, I'd have to wait 30 days before I could get my full endorsement, and what if the MSF class is available before then? What to do....

Anyway, it's DAMN cold here (21F) so riding would be painful at best. Gonna go have more coffee.

Almost.....almost....

Okay, I wasn't going to say anything until I had the photos to prove it, BUT...

My new 2009 Genuine Buddy 125 is on it's way to Richmond as we speak!!!!



It's tangerine.

I'm getting the chrome accessory package that Genuine is offering for this season. It will have the front and rear racks, the footpegs and rear chrome fender, and the color-matched topcase. (I am not getting the windshield or the front bumper -- don't want them)

I canNOT wait til next week.

My parents are not aware of this latest development (well, they are now, as I just posted this to my Facebook page). My parents are not motorcycle enthusiasts in the least.

Thank you Chelsea. I am so glad to have supported your shop, and even happier that I am joining the ranks of the scooter-loving, scooter-owning public!


Pictures to come.