Alas, it's been a while since Stewart, or Stewie as she calls him, her 125cc Genuine Buddy scooter had gotten some exercise. So after cleanup chores were done in the garage this morning, I took Stewie out for a ride in brisk low 30s temperature. I did find its battery completely dead, apparently the key had been left in the "on" position. This is actually something very easy to do, bad design on the part of Genuine's ignition keylock supplier in my opinion. No problem though, I deployed the scoot's kick-starter and after a few kicks, was off and running.
I buzzed around the neighborhood roads, past the 1 mile mark where her high school is located where she works as the school nurse. I continued northward on Picadilly, past the open fields and subsequent neighboring housing developments until I reached the Plains Conservation Center where I posed Stewie:
There's predictions of snow for the metro area by tomorrow,
here you can see the incoming weather.
At the Plains Conservation Center
I then headed east towards Gun Club Road and took it past the Southlands Mall area to Smoky Hill Road which I took west towards the Blackstone Country Club area. Stewie got a little taste of dirt trail riding as he somewhat bumpily (not much suspension on scooters) but we got to my usual picture taking spot with no issues.
Near the Blackstone Country Club
The incoming weather's clouds had by now completely obscured the view one can get of Mount Evans so I headed on home by back roads instead of Smoky Hill Road. Even through the thick gloves I was wearing, I was starting to feel the cold in my fingers and so I only rode about 20 miles.
Still, that's about 10% of the total mileage on this scoot, so good exercise, and no need to put Stabil in the gas tank. I'll just make it part of the monthly maintenance routine to ensure Stewie gets a few miles of riding in.
9 comments:
Not wanting to ride in the ice and cold, eh? You found someone with some common sense! I was wondering how the scooting was going. I hadn't heard any mention of it since the scooter was named. As usual, your photos of the Denver area really instill a desire in me to spend some time there.
Richard
Dear Charlie6 (Dom):
I cannot believe you have no plans to add a third wheel, tracks, or a plow onto this vehicle. I was astounded to see you didn't take it up above the treeline either. Slacking?
Fondest regards,
Jack/reep
Twisted Roads
Yep, he's a good man...he not only made sure the scooter got some exercise, he also did the laundry, swept the kitchen floor and fixed the broken toilet. Sorry guys, but this man is taken!
xoxo
Wifey
Martha got herself a very handy man. I am pretty sure that Stewie enjoyed the exercise. The kick starter is definitely a nice feature when the battery is dead. I hope there will be more lil' trips for the scooter in the future.
I'd forgotten that Martha had Stewie. Gotta love them scooters! Guess it's good for all the 2 and 3 wheelers get some miles in. Hope you, Martha and the family had a wonderful holiday season!
I keep saying I want my next bike to be fuel injected, but that kickstarter is sweet when the battery is weak. Of course, that is for small cc bikes. I suspect kickstarting a Ural was a much more "manly" effort than kickstarting the Buddy.
Your description of buzzing around the neighborhood made me smile.
And, I want pictures of you on Stewie.
RichardM, the scooting does occur, she does not write too much about it. After all, it's sometimes hard to cram adventure in a commute that is at most 1 mile.
Jack, the thought had occured to me but since my better half doesn't like the cold or snow....Also, not sure it'll get above the treeline with just 125cc, at least not within the timelines I ride in anyways.
SonjaM, I will of course encourage Martha to ride more, the kick start is definitely a plus.
Bluekat, a great New Year to you and Ron as well! Thanks for the visit.
Circleblue, kickstarting the Ural really was not much more difficult if you knew what you were doing and the machine was "in tune". Though there were days, I'd just thumbed the electric kickstart when the manual one refused to cooperate!
As to pics of me on the scooter...you've seen the riding gear I use, it's a bit incongruous on a little blue scooter, and so no evidence shall be presented. :)
I suspect you may guess the gear I wear on a 100cc Symba. Actually, you saw the gear I was wearing when I was with Chris in Minnesota. It was the same gear I ride in everyday. Incongruous? Whatever do you mean?
Of course, I'm just pulling your chain a little. Once at a gas station a stranger said to me, "Do you have another motorcycle at home?" I said I didn't and asked why he asked. His reply, "You just sort of look like you have the gear for it."
And, oh by the way, about riding in a flying chair: It's like riding on the side of a hill . . . without the hill.
~k
So the ride was purely for "maintenance purposes", eh?
Amazing how we depend on batteries. Elvira is not wanted to start when it gets below freezing. No kickstarter and I'm not going to push start her. Guess it's time to fork out money.
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