I finally broke down and bought the ultimate in cheap transportation. This was an important investment in my wife's sanity... She had been driving me to work each day, sometimes as early as 4:30AM, then coming back to the house for a few extra hours of shut-eye before her day began. As my hours got earlier, there was to be no convincing her to get up at 3:15. That just isn't good husbandship (husbandry?). The thought of buying another car, insurance policy, and the additional gas per week just seemed excessive. So, onward into the realm of geeky, buzzy excitement: scooterdom.
My first few rides were not as shaky as you may have thought. Years on a mountain bike have honed my sense of balance on two wheels. It helps that the BMC that I bought is only 150cc's. Not the smallest scooter you can buy, but certainly one with predictable power and reasonable size. In no time I was cruising along at 45 miles-an-hour, leaning into turns, and, well, that's mostly it. That's about all the fun you can have on a scooter, unless you take your clothes off. I guess that's the point. Gets you where you need to go relatively fast and on the cheap.
So all riding skills aside, it seems the meat of staying alive on one of these things in traffic is being aware of where the potential hazards are to you, before they make it to you. I don't think I'm ever going to "lay it down," or "go over the bars" without the help of another vehicle. I am learning everyday the meaning of defensive riding, and it is this: assume everyone driving a car is an asshole. I have learned this well riding a bike in the city, but nothing hammers the point home like an extra 20mph or so. This may seem terribly obvious, but you would be surprised how invisible you become to other motorists without that steel box around your body. So far, knock on wood, I have been lucky enough to merely observe this foolishness, rather than be directly involved in it.
The absolute worst time to be on the road for me is any time after about 7:00AM. Joe Car Commuter has spent an extra five minutes drinking coffee or hugging up on the kids, only to take his lateness out on the rest of us. The tailgating and extreme driving in general is enough to convince me that commuting is a blood sport. If you are inclined to do as I did and brave the fray out there, here are a few tips:
1) Be aware of any erratic driving within eye-shot. This includes any swerving you may witness due to texting, applying lipstick, or diaper-changing.
2) Leave enough of a following distance to land a 747 within. Any questions, see tip #1.
3) Learn to use the throttle, not necessarily the brakes to avoid trouble. Sometimes the bastards won't leave you alone. A car can't hit what it can't catch.
4) Stay out of the automobile's blind spot. They already can't see you as it is, they don't need any more help.
5) Find the most mellow route to and from your destination. My trip to work is mostly on a street with bike lanes almost as big as the ones designated for cars. Good stuff.
I think that scooters and bikes are the wave of the future for American cities. I would like to see as many scooters packing the roadways as you see in Hanoi or Tokyo, Rome or Milan. We just need to eliminate the stigma. Embrace the dorkyness. Then maybe we can start to downsize the rest of our lives in a more efficient, simpler way...
