Modern Vespa

I find that since I've been scooting to work, I arrive at work in a much happier mood. I also find I love being out in the early morning on my LX 50. I see details of my neighborhood and of the city that I wouldn't have noticed in my car. It's just a wonderful way to get around. Some days I wish the commute was a little longer. On the way home I generally go much slower so I can just enjoy the ride without time pressure.

I am sure that the ease of commuting will change a great deal when school is back in session , but even so--I usually clock in at 7:00 a.m. so there aren't that many buses or chauffering moms out there that early in the morning.

Do you guys/gals scoot to work?

Every chance I get! It's a wonderful way to end the workday as well.

As long as were not expecting heavy rain, or snow/ice, i'll ride.

I am close, 2.5 miles and ride to work as long as the weather allows. Not only do I save on gas, and wear and tear on my car but I get to park much closer as we have a bike parking area just across from the security office, so my scooter is also closer to watching eyes.

I commute 15 miles/20 minutes each way. The GTS is the goto ride unless it's cold, rainy or I need to take a cage for some reason. I'm guessing I ride to work about 200 days a year.

I commute everyday weather permitting.....I get to ride past the sound and catch a glimpse of the ocean before I get to work. Soul-lifter for sure.

Often as I can. 8) 10 miles RT.

You know, TroutGirl, Google maps can help you triple your mileage and still get to work.

Whenever I can. I have to pay close attention to the weather.
With it being 54 miles one way, you carry extra dry clothes
I usually go in one way and home another.
When the moon shines on the ocean I take A1A and enjoy the view.
Always relaxing.
Yep been wet before and will be again, not as bad on the ride home.

She's probably running late like us all.

Year round, 15 miles each way, four days a week.
Even in the summer

No offense, but Arizona riding, while hot, is not as challenging as some other states, lol. 114 degrees is brutal though!

Yup! I bought my PV for the soul purpose of ride to work. Otherwise, its been hard to want to go, lots of crazy stuff going on. I like all the different smells while riding, well some smells.

Trying to get comfortable with running errands on the scoot and leaving it in shopping center lots. Came out of Petco the other day to a flatbed cruising very slowly past my scoot. Made my heart rate go up for a sec.

I can smell cig smoke from a person riding in front of me....yuck. At least burn some green and make it a pleasant smoke to smell!

For sure the list of unfavorable smells and other phenom rules; bad exhaust systems at the top, overzealous window washers, lit cigarette butts. But I do like the smell of bacon on an early Sunday morning ride and BBQ in the evening.

I have smelled a LOT more green now that it is legal. "Oh wait, thats probably not really a skunk."

I did for years, but I've mostly been commuting by bicycle the last few years. It takes about the same amount of time.

Brendan

Every day unless it snows or if there is a lot of ice. All four seasons.

sure do, weather permitting or if i dont have alot of things to get after work on the way home. i travel 16 miles each way, mostly nice paved back roads.

I bet it did!

One day when I rode to work one of the motorcycle riders parked his bike in "the cage" (where all bikes, motorcycles, scooters, etc. park) next to me and just gushed about the Vespa. His bike was HUGE--if it was a horse it would be a Clydesdale--and it just dwarfed my ride. "I've always wanted one of those!" he said. He looked the whole thing over, never once touching it, and talked about all these little details that I honestly did not notice. "Makes coming to work a lot more fun doesn't it?" he said. It sure does.

As much as I can, I ride the ~65 miles each way to and from work. And recently I had a job change (same company) that may allow me to move my hours back so I can ride earlier and later in the year. I don't like to ride Interstate highway when it is dark. I have hit a deer with my car (which I don't care about) but came within 10 feet of hitting a deer last Fall at 70MPH.

It put me back a bit.....

In London I was a daily commuter, even in snow. (Which wasn't my brightest idea!)

In Virginia, I plan to start commuting again by scooter as soon as I take delivery of my new BV-350.

Good thinking. It is indeed soothing for the soul.

Nice play on words, right? I really meant sole, but was too tired to change it... and it was a nice play. But yes, my favorite is the ride home at the end of a long day. And waving to the other daily two wheeled commuters.

"No offense" but I answered the posters question, there was no additional stipulation on "challenge "
Some people here in the Phoenix area don't ride in the summer, and to some that are forced to ride (not myself) it is a physical challenge in high temps.

Don't work anymore but when i live here in the late 80's i had a Honda Helix 250 and i scooted to work. 70 mile RT. Had a VW Cabriolet (rag top) that i used rarely. Now i have no car (i can use a friends if i need to). Scoot everywhere. I have major back problems and i find the scooter is much easier on my back. Strapped into a car with a seat belt is hell on my back. Have almost 39,000 on my LX. 8) Can't beat the free parking and minimal gas usage also.

From April through October, I'll ride to work every day as long as it's not raining when I'm leaving the house. My current commute is about 20 miles round trip. The rest of the year I'll ride as long as there's no snow and or ice on the roads and the temperature is above the freezing point. (Though I've ridden when temperatures are much colder.)
As it stands right now, I've used the car twice since May.

I've said for years, that even after the worst day at work, by the time I arrive home on the scoot the troubles of the day have 'melted away'.....

I live exactly 0.7 miles from work (or about a 15 minute walk) but I still ride my scoot every day!

It only takes about 5 minutes to get there, but it's great to start the morning with a little fun... Plus, my lunch options are much bigger as I'm not limited to a 5 block walking radius!

I'm in my 19th year of scooter commuting. Honestly, I hate driving.

its a case of having to these days to much congestion with all them cars

I live in North Atlanta and scoot to work 40 miles into the city on my Burgman 650. It is all highway and under construction. There is not a lot of good back roads for the Vespa that wouldn't take an extra hour.

The Burgman is a work horse, but the Vespa is just awesome to ride.

I wrote a song a few years ago that basically paraphrases this entire statement! (Never published it because I can't sing very well). To answer the question...

1- I bought my first scooter as a "weekend toy" about 6 years ago, as of 4 years ago, the scoot is now my daily driver as long as it's not raining...

2- After ~8 hours of riding in torrential rain in Thailand this summer, I think I'm over the "as long as it's not raining" thing.

Also, I have a 6-mile commute that's mostly highway; I save 5-10 minutes of my travel time thanks to California's non-stance on lane splitting.

I commute every day on 2 wheels. No snow where I live and no extreme heat. Plenty of rain. LX150 most days. Honda Hornet some days. The only way to travel.

I commute around 13,500 miles a year mostly on the BV and occasionally on the LX125.

Will commute in light snow with the right tyres but ice is a no no.

Initially scooting was purely a practical decision, on a bad day i can half my commute time as opposed to a car.

However it has become so much more, I hope to keep riding 2 two wheels for as long as my body allows.

I commute 8m each way on my LX 150 every day that I'm not going into Manhattan and there's no more than 50% chance of rain. I've had to duck out of a couple of massive unexpected thunderstorms lately, but that beats those days when it says "rain" and I take public transit and then BLUE SKIES, BABY. I really hate those days.

Right now my scoot has a flat tire, so I took the MTA to work this morning. One train was slow, the next one ran local (should be express), then a woman on my left started vomiting into a bag and the train was stopped between stations because of traffic ahead. SAVE ME, LX 150.

The scoot does it in about 2/3 of the time--45 mins as opposed to almost 1.5 hrs by train and foot. (I don't own a car.) On the other hand, some days it feels like about 2/3 of the time I spend on the bike is WAITING FOR LIGHTS. City lyfe.

I used to commute pretty much every day unless there was ice or snow on the road. Since moving further from work, however (my commute is now 30 miles each way), I find I've been using public transport more often. This isn't because the distance is a problem, but because it actually takes less time to get to work on the train - and I can relax and read a book rather than battling traffic and inhaling HGV exhaust on London's north circular road.

Every single day, rain or shine, all year. Being in Seattle, that means I am required to invest in a good set of rain pants.

Luckily, I'm one of the rare few that lives within a couple of miles of where I work - a rarity here.

I used to...from the day the streets were clear until they weren't clear any more...but this past May i lost my clandestine parking spot

and i can't afford $7/day to park.