scooterist

Scooters - aka mopeds aka step-through's aka scooties etc.
I was out at my friends parents house in Lubbock back in college. Somebody opened up the barn/workshop and pulled out 2 rust old mopeds. Everyone took turns riding around the yard on them.  That was my first time to ride.
     Many years later after LaDonna and I were married we lived in Dallas, tx in between downtown and white rock lake. This area they called the M streets. Aka Lakewood heights. We loved the area. We were within walking distance of Whole foods, the Lakewood theatre, and a vintage bookstore. At some point it popped into my head. I need a scooter!
     My buddy Chuck had a little honda esprit back in high school and his first year of college until some meathead stole it out of the back of his truck.  We had numerous conversations over the years about scooters. I called him one day and said "it's time we get some scooters".
     Ok let me explain some things about the 2 wheeled vehicles. First - it's only called a moped if it has pedals. You pedal it like a bike until the motor kicks in. Motor-pedal. Moped.  Sadly the word scooter has taken on many different meanings over the last few decades. You have the razor scooter with inline skate wheels, the old school wooden scooters with bigger wheels but still a handlebar, and then of course the rascal scooter mobility chair. You've seen the infomercial.
     Riding a scooter is fun. That's it. It's fun. The fun outweighs all the other things. No it's not training wheels for a real motorcycle, etc.  I love being outside, I don't have the wierd inner desire to go 150mph. I don't want to be on a huge Harley that makes so much noise that everyone has to hold their precious china when you drive through the neighborhood. I don't want to ride a crotch-rocket to wear I have to figure out how to lean over on my testicles all day long.
     So chuck was in Lubbock tx. A great area for discover non-rusted "barn finds".  Eventually He came up with 3 scooters. 2 Honda aero 50's that he took apart and turned into one working scoot for himself and an elite 80 Honda as well. My first ride on a scooter was in the pouring down rain in the flatlands. We put on rain gear, hooked up walkie talkies with ear-pieces and rode for hours without getting killed. I brought the white elite 80 home to Dallas and rode it a ton. I still wish I had it. It would top out at 41mph. It cost less than $2 to fill up and was a "twist and go".  Meaning you didn't have to shift gears.
     Over the years I have ridden at least 10,000 miles on 2 wheels. I currently have an 03 bajaj chetak.   An 85 aero 50 that has been covered in black rhino lining and stainless billets. LaDonna calls it her BatMoScooter. It's currently in the mountains at my patents house resting.   I've got a 58 all-state Vespa with a great story as well. I'll share more on that later.
     That's it. We were down to a one car family for the good part of the year and my Bajaj was my daily rider. Being less than 2 miles from work it was easy. Minus the many unexpected rainy days here.
     More to come. Would love to chat with you about riding. Later.