HOT. HOOOOOOT.

I haven't been riding much lately. It's been literally a hundred degrees here in the beautiful South, and frankly, I just haven't had the desire to put on a full-face helmet and real shoes to go somewhere on the scoot. Just thinking about sitting at a stoplight, baking in my helmet, is enough to steer me toward the comfort of my air-conditioned car.

I did go out the other evening, though. I really REALLY needed a break, and I wanted some ice cream.

I admit that I rode in shorts and a short-sleeve t-shirt.

At least I put on sneakers and wore my helmet and gloves. It was only 93 degrees at eight o'clock at night as the sun was setting.

There's something liberating about cruising down the curvy side road on the way to the grocery store, cutting through the thick summer humidity and feeling the breeze cool you.

And then there's the stop at a red light. Bake, bake, bake....green light!

Go!

Don't think about how awful the road rash would be if the unthinkable happened and you succumbed to a low-side fall.

Don't think about falling at all.

Just go.

Helmets Obtained, Jackets tried on

In our quest to approach our scooter-riding safely and incrementally, we have obtained our helmets. Purchased at Ultimate Cycle, here in Richmond, we got a Fulmer for me and a not-as-large-as we-thought HJC. They are both full-face with flip-up face shield, and very comfortable. Also, not too dorky-looking, which is very important. Heh. (Not really....ok, well, sort of....)


One other piece of equipment Travis and I are both looking for is a decent armored riding jacket. Both of us have fit issues; his are related to the fact that he is a largish individual with broad shoulders, and mine are related to the fact that I am short with brood shoulders. Also, I do not like pink. Apparently my not liking pink is some kind of affront to the motorcycle jacket industry, as women's gear tends to come in various shades of white, pink, or baby blue. While the men get the pick of a variety of decent colors, women have to scour the internets for attire that will not make them (me) look like ten pounds of cotton candy stuffed into a five-pound bag.

We ended up shopping at our favorite scooter shop, Scoot Richmond, last week. We periodically go in to visit with Chelsea, who is as cool as they come, and to pet the scooters that we are saving up to buy. Chelsea definitely had a number of solutions to our jacket dilemmas, and none of them involved pink. She had me try on a few Corazzo jackets and a giant Armadillo parka (warm as hell!), and I have found that I can wear a men's size small and still have all the armor in the right places. Joy! Travis tried on a few jackets too, and found a few options as well.

I checked out Corazzo's site when I got home and discovered that the 5.0 comes in a number of nice colors...one of which is flaming bright orange! I love it! Next time I go into the Scoot Richmond shop, I am going to try on a 5.0 and see how I like it, because this looks like my jacket! It is pricey, but armored, and if it is comfortable and good-looking, well, it's worth it.