Riding Scooters!

Pidge says I sound sad that I had to put the scooter in the trailer, and it was kind of sad because it was about 85 degrees out and perfect weather to do something with it other than store it!

But last year I parked the scooter in the garage on the night of September 30, and never got to ride it again until I was in Arizona.  The weather changed, and the rain came.  It got a bunch colder and scooter time was over.  So we're not all that far off schedule.  Usually you park it one night, without knowing it will be the last ride of the season.  Then you figure out later that it was all over for the year.

I started with these scooters back when my sons were in junior high school.  We had two Hondas that were moped legal.  We all rode them back then, even Loyce!  All you needed was an ordinary drivers license.  That was about 27 years ago.

My father was alive back then and he got into the act as well purchasing a Honda too.  But he didn't like the little 50 cc models claiming that they didn't keep up with traffic very well.  So he traded his little scoot for a 250 cc Helix big scoot.

Now that kept up a lot better, as it would go about 70 mph.  He rode that bike for 6 or 7 years.  Long after we had sold the mopeds and our sons went off to college, he still buzzed around town on the Helix. 

Dad passed on in 1994, and left the Helix in the corner of the garage.  It seemed forlorn all by itself, and I got to taking it out around the neighborhood.  Warm up the engine and charge the battery.  My mom had to go to the nursing home after dad was gone and I would go look after the house, and ride the bike in the process.

We never had enough room to store the Helix back at our home, but it gave me an excuse to go check out the now empty place.  This went on for several years.

Mom never did improve enough to go back home, so the house was sold, and I had to ride the Helix over to the local Honda dealer.  And just like that, I was out of the bike business.  Somehow, I always felt really close to dad as I rode his bike, and I'm sure it helped with my grief process.

Now we fast forward a lot of years, and I am retired with a travel trailer in Texas and then in Arizona the next year and I see all kinds of guys riding these bikes in the winter RV resorts.  And the spark was off and burning again!

Last year with the motor home, I was able to take the red 200 cc Kymco along for the first winter.  I needed to get my cycle license back again, so that's why I had a 200.  Riding skills came back quickly, but I would not have been prepared to start out with the maxie scooter.

In a way, I still feel connected to dad as I ride along on this new 650 cc monster as compared to his little 250.  He is there in spirit, telling me to keep up with the traffic so as not to cause an accident.  And he always wore a helmet!!  Always!!

So if I seemed a little sad yesterday, it is because I remember dad parking his scoot when he went in for his chemo treatment the second time.  Life moves on in interesting ways.

I'll see you all on the other side of the mountain!

Retired Rod