Modern Vespa

Since I got my scooter in May, I have mostly been a back roads kinda girl. Unfortunately I don't get to ride it much since I work about 70/hrs (oops, 70, not 80) week and just ½ block from home. I've taken a few weekend rides but I think I've only put about 400 miles on it so far.

Today I was visiting my Aunt in Burlingame and decided to take the scooter. My first trip out of the city oh boy! For those who know the area, I took the Great Highway to Skyline to San Bruno Ave to El Camino. Speed limits ranged from 25 - 55 so I actually had it up to 60/65 indicated for a bit. It felt pretty comfortable. On the way back, it was a little tougher. Uphill and into the wind and WOT, could only get it up to 55 indicated. Definitely not a highway cruiser but it's nice to know that in a crunch (back road emergency/accident forces me on to the highway ), I could hop on for a bit.

I feel a little more grown up today. And it was a beautiful day for a ride along the coast!

1) holy crap, I hate 80 hr work weeks.
2) how did you manage a half mile from work? I'm literally on the exact opposite side of the city from my office heh
3) Congrats on the highway run. Skyline is a favorite of mine, as is highway 1. The LT is a great bike for these things, and more practice along with longer distances will serve you well.

Congrats! My friend and I did our first real highway run last weekend (about 240 miles in each direction)- and I know exactly how you feel. All puffed up and proud. Scooter girls rock

congrats sister!!

next july is Amerivespa in Los Gatos/San Jose...If you can make it to Burlingame now, you will for sure be able to scoot down south a bit more come next July.

That sounds like a great ride. I just pictured you riding with a big ass grin on your face. Hhaa, it must of been so liberating.

Welcome to B'game! Had I known you were coming I'd have arrange a welcome reception. (Hopefully your Aunt took care of that!)

Today was a lovely day to ride, and that's a nice route. Good for you getting out of the city! October is usually a great month for riding! Some weekend, start on the Great Highway, hit Skyline, drop over to Pacifica, and take Hwy 1 all the way down to Santa Cruz...or at least Half Moon Bay. It's a great ride, and you really need to blow off some steam after those 80 hour weeks. (Trust me, I work from home and know all about those 80 hour weeks! You've got to get out and ride to blow out the cobwebs!)

Congrats on your first big trip!

I used to put in unfathomable hours when I was in management. And to make matters worse, I drove from SF to Livermore everyday for 8 yrs. After work, my second job started (my daughter). Around 2.5 yrs ago, my then 2yrs old daughter said, "daddy, you work too much." At that moment, I closed my laptop and quit management. I am still with the same company, better hours, and most important...I have work/life balance.

Gone are (most) days of working from home in the evening. The time I lost with her are irreplaceable. I won't let that ever happen again.

Take it from an old timer, there's life outside of work. Enjoy it while you can!

Thanks for the encouragement! I had a super huge smile on today from the ride. I smelled chocolate! I think on San Bruno, what was that about? I didn't see anything. I'll be making this trip several times a week to visit with my Aunt.

I'm self-employed but it's more like a non-profit . The goal was to work less hours but it didn't work out that way. I used to commute from Belmont so when I last moved, my top priority was that it was walking distance from work so I wouldn't have to find parking for my car (didn't have the scooter then). It takes me 1 minute walking. So for now, I work a lot but my cat doesn't care as long as I feed him, dangle the occasional string and give him big belly rubs.

I'm looking forward to some longer rides, the Pacifica or Santa Cruz ride sounds great and Amerivespa is a definite goal. I've also been checking out the local group rides and one of these days I'll make it!

Lisa

If you're working 70-80 hours a week, I'm willing to take some of those hours off your hands.