Modern Vespa

I suppose I could gloss it over and say it's for the MPG's or to pollute less, but really it all boils down to a simple answer.

Because I want to, and can.

So, I commute, run errands and play on my scooter. Yes I have a car, I split my miles about equal between the SMART and the BV500.

Wow, thanks for all the replies, everyone.

I had this perception that a lot of you MVer's would only ride for fun on a sunny day, and you put the scoot away in winter (sort of like a hibernation for the scoot) untill summer.

I'm glad to hear that there are more people out there like me who ride even when it's cold, but of course it's better when it's warm and sunny!!


8)

commuting, going to the newsagents across the road, hmm errands, doing groceries, ummmm.. everything you can possibly do on a scooter LOL

love it!

I ride mostly because it's pure joy, even when I'm doing errands. Last year, when gas was over $4 a gallon, I could rationalize my riding by saying I was saving money, but I'd still find excuses to go out and ride (and use more gas). My other vehicle is a 1981 Chevy C10 stepside pickup truck, which is useful on occasion, but it gets only 15 mpg, and that's no fun at all!

News for you.....You are STILL saving money!

Because now I feel like I have a 25-hour day: I save at least an hour commuting and running errands every day compared to taking the car. That is, of course, in the wonderful world of unmitigated filtering, lanesplitting and parking on the sidewalk right next to whatever door I need to go through: I'm not sure if I would do it if those options were taken away. I do have fun riding, but it's pretty closely related to smugly passing all the cars idling in frustration or looking for parking.

Maybe I should take my Vespa outside of the city sometime and see what that's all about.

I am a sunny day rider. But since we have 288 days of sun per year, it's not very limiting. In winter I worry most about sand on the road.

I ride because I am 50 and love it!

I'm 73, and we have at least 350 sunny days per year here. It don't get any better than this!

There are not so many scoots in this town but I just love to ride. It turns chores into fun drives.
I rode motorcycles in my life BC (before children). The gas crunch gave me a good excuse to get back to it spring 08. But this time I decided I did not want to shift or polish chrome. So now I am a bit scooter crazy.

I ride whenever possible because I feel that if you have to be on the roads, it might as well be fun. Lately I have been commuting to work, all of one mile each way, and using the GT for going to client meetings and delivering plans. It is so much better than driving, but I do have an intermediate ride if it looks like it might rain. That is my 1999 Miata, always with the top down...until the rain hits.

I have been joining my local scooter club, Seven Bridges Scooter Club, for Tuesday rides lately. We ride to the beach, roughly 20 miles each way or other spots. The GT is just great for these rides. Nice people too.

i ride to use less fuel, have fun, and get stares from others wishing they had a GTS 250 Super.

I ride to find my zen. After a grueling week at work, I jump on top of my scoot and let the tension drain from my mind and body. Before I know it everything is right with the world and my place in it. (Or does that sound too Californian?)

I work full time and I'm a graduate student and I take my scoot to work and school. I ride mostly in all weather conditions except for rain and when the weather drops below about 30 degrees F. I have a gas guzzling SUV that I love but it's not as fun.

I ride because I like too!

for the irrational exuberance..

Not at all. The mind-clearing/dust-settling component of riding took me by surprise. Even at modest speeds, it is like flying, and the sensation is larger than care, and overwhelms it.

Traveling by bike, large or small, is like traveling by horse; the necessary routines of seeing to the mount are absorbing and therapeutic. The break every hour or two, and a bottle of water or a cup of coffee, is restorative; return to the ride is eagerly made, and it does not pall like hauling oneself back up again into a Suburban or Landcruiser will.

It is more elemental; smellier, for better or worse; louder, and more varied in temperature and light. It is more dangerous, demands more personal engagement than the one hand and one foot used in most cars and trucks. It is outside, needs unlulled attention; it is actual, and unlike the quasi-HDTV experience of closed compartments with cool air and surround sound.

Sydney winters are much the same as Brisvegas, except maybe a coupla degrees cooler by day. I ride to work every day whatever the weather- I really hate the bus. I would rather ride in the rain than catch the bus!