I rode Road Bikes and Mountain Bikes for over 40 years, and
LOVED it!
FREEDOM on 2-Wheels! On my last Deployment overseas in 1996, three Shipmates and I brought our bikes with us, and rode around when we were inport. During our 6 month Cruise, we clocked over 650 miles in various countries. Our most memorable, was a week inport Cannes, France. Having two days off, we rode from Cannes, Nice, Monaco, Monte Carlo, up to the Italian Border, then the Mountains. We rode back on the backside of the Mountains, smoking our Brakes.
WHAT A BLAST!!!
I have never
(and still haven't.....) ridden a Motorcycle, mostly because the opportunity just never seemed to present itself. I always thought they were
COOL, but never gave any thought to owning one. When we were Stationed in Bermuda for 6 months during our Deployment in 1981, I often rented Mopeds to tour the island. I had my Road Bike with me, but
LOVED the motorized option! I toured the Island many, many times, Riding both Rides, but the Moped was by far the most fun..... and I didn't have to wear spandex shorts and a jersey!
I've been on bicycles since I was 6, and never been without one since. That ended in 2001, when I had a Heart Attack, and had to have By-Pass Surgery. After I healed up good, I got back on my Cannondale Mountain Bike, and couldn't ride around the block! About halfway, I could no longer pull on the handlebars like I used to, for leverage, so I walked it home. My ribcage couldn't handle Riding anymore, after the Surgery. I was totally devastated..... no more 2-Wheel Riding in my future.
Thankfully, in 2006, while I was visiting our daughter in New Orleans, she asked me to take her to a Vespa Dealer, so she could Test-Ride/Buy a Scooter. I thought they were the
COOLEST lookin' things I'd ever seen! I was looking at a few on the Showroom Floor, and couldn't figure out how you Shifted them! It had a Clutch on the Left Grip, Front Brake on the Right Grip, but no Brake Pedal, and nothing like a Mountain Bike Shifter anywhere on the handlebar. What the hell??? A Sales Rep asked if I had any questions, and I had a
BUNCH!
So..... Clutch Lever was actually a Rear Brake Lever..... No Shifting, as it was a Twist-N-Go Automatic Transmission..... and No Brake pedal, because the Grip Levers
WERE the Brakes.
NO KIDDIN'???
The 8 hour drive home at the end of the week, had me thinking seriously about Test-Riding one when I got home. I didn't know What Brand, How Big, Where the Dealers were located, absolutely
NOTHING! After some Web Research, I located a Dealer about an hour from me
(Little did I know at the time... having only lived in town for a year, and interested in Scooters for a WEEK... that there was a Honda Dealer and Suzuki Dealer 3 miles down the road from me... IN TOWN!).
Went to the Dealer, Test-Rode a Red TNG
(Twist-N-Go) Verona 150! Fell in love with the Scoot! Bought it that day, and they even delivered an hour from my house!
Well.....
EDUCATION is a
WONDERFUL thing, when you know how to
SEARCH the web a little better. After having multiple problems with the TNG, I sold it to a local Vespa Dealer, that also sold the TNG's on the side. Took that money, and bought a Kymco
(I RESEARCHED those...) People S200
(163cc), and it was
GREAT! However, each year after that, I was Trading Up..... Kymco People S250, Burgman 400, and then more Medical problems stopped me in my tracks for a couple of years in 2009.
I weened myself back into Scootin' again in 2011, first with a Honda Ruckus 50..... moved up to a Yamaha Zuma 125..... Up again to a Kymco People GTI-300..... found a Low Mileage Used Honda Big Ruckus 250..... and Traded it for a Honda Forza 300 this week. Once I get over some Medical Down-Time after Surgery earlier this week,
(Down for a month...), I'll be taking the Forza for a long awaited Ride!
CAN'T WAIT!
And that's my Story
(ies)!
THANKS FOR READING... if you made it this far!
Cheers!
BB
