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.

Exposure!

My husband is out riding the POS scooter we have, because the four days of literally constant rain has stopped and the sun is out, and I was reading through my RSS feeds when I came upon this post from Scooter Swag.

Scroll down a bit, past the cool 'Vesperado' t-shirt, and there it is, a shot of my very own Red Scooter Love bead up on my Etsy shop site!!

Woot!!

Now, don't you think it would make a terrific holiday present for that special someone who loves scooters? It would. And I can do other colors, too. :)

My Other Obsession

I love scooters, it's true.

BUT, I also have another obsession, one that I have been feeding for years. I am a glassworker, and I make glass beads and small sculptures using a torch that heats to over 1500 degrees. The other day I thought, heck, I can probably figure out a way to get a scooter on a bead. I did. This is what my first one looked like:


I made more, and I have listed two of them in my Etsy shop, which is here. Not to do too much shameless self-promotion, but I can make the beads in just about any color. Of course, I started with the Genuine Buddy colors, but I can also do cobalt blue, yellow, gray, whatever. Anyway, there it is.

Fall Riding on the POS

So, after several days of crappy weather, Travis and I finally got a chance to take the little 50 out for a neighborhood spin. Pretty much that ALL we can do with that, but still, at least it's something.

The leaves are all just past their peak around here, but I am still in love with the colors of this maple on the next street over.


Watching out for piles of dry leaves (and the wet and slick ones) makes for interesting riding, even at a top speed of 30mph. I am always surprised at how much my confidence has grown since I have been riding the Little 50. My neighborhood is awash in speed mountains and I can easily and confidently negotiate them now, even adjusting my position on the bike as I ride. I don't have a death grip on the handlebars. I can use the turn signals and adjust the choke while I am moving. Turns are much smoother, and I feel less like I am going to fall over, or not make a tight enough turn. I can turn that little bike around in my driveway without touching the grass on either side now!

I hope this means I am ready for my M endorsement class.

It sure does make me happy, though, riding this thing around the neighborhood. My oldest daughter even said, as I pulled up in the driveway, "Mom, I can tell you're smiling!" even with my full-face helmet on.



Nice.

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.

Startin' Them Early

My son, enjoying a brief up-and-down the driveway ride on my eldest daughter's Razor scooter: