Scooter Time

I've been riding my 50cc scooter everywhere. Yes, through the rain and cold wind and sunshine. Because I can only go about 38mph or so at 75mpg, it changes the route I've had to take and lets me find new things.

There are a few downfalls though. A few are obvious, like longer travel times, getting my glasses wet with the rain, smelling like exhaust from other vehicles, smelling like whatever bad smell you had to endure (sewer malfunction anyone?) or actually getting too hot in the sun with a helmet on.

Some are not so obvious. One of them is tripping the sensor on stop lights, or rather the scooter doesn't. It's not so bad when there are other vehicles coming to you. But when it's 1am and you're on Halsey Blvd in Wood Village or Troutdale, that's a lonely road. With my luck with getting traffic violation tickets, I dare not run the lights. So I always make a right turn, then take a left into a parking lot and get back on the original road I want to be on. Let me tell you, that feels silly with absolutely no one around.

Another one is the ritual of getting the extra clothing on and off. With the weather getting colder, I have to put on a wind breaker and a warm layer on top of what I am wearing. Then my headset, because I want to be able to talk on the phone and ride like the big boys in their cars. I used to shove the phone between my ear and the helmet. So what, you say. Well this is all fine and dandy normally. But when you've got to use the rest room really bad, you don't have time to take all of those accoutrements off. Let me tell you, standing in front of the toilet with a helmet on is not a pleasant experience.

Oh, and you can't forget the weird looks people give you when you're on a scooter. Wait...that's just me they're looking strangely at. OK, so my leather welding gloves covered with slightly burnt fleece gloves that surprisingly still let the cold wind through may have looked odd. Or my offroad helmet with red, orange and white designs on it. Or the Mad Max look of my scooter with a lot of the plastic covers taken off.

And what is it with watering the lawn/garden at 1am in October, in Portland Oregon? At least make sure the sprinklers are aiming toward your own greenery. Also, how much pressure do those things have? The whole street is wet and I feel like going through a rain storm with a clear sky!

On the positive side, yes there are many, I'm learning a lot about Portland neighborhoods. Did you know there are more than a few houses painted pink in SE Portland? All of the neighborhood restaurants I've found in my travels have been great! One of my friends is going to have to come back to Tart fro-yo place to get her fix of pumpkin fro-yo with the pumpkin spice sauce. Or what possibly could be the only clean, spacious, unpretentiously not for hipsters and decently priced coffee house at Caffe Pallino (no I didn't misspell it, that's the name of the place).

So as we brace for the winter, will I be winterizing my scooter until the sun comes out in May? No way! I'm going to thrift stores to find better gloves, a dry bag (maybe at Next Adventure's basement) and a hard case for my laptop.