Willy's White Wild Ride

So I hollered at my wife, "Hey, get a picture of me riding in the snow!" Then away I went on Ol' Blue, my sweet little Vespa, whipping and squirreling all over like I was speeding on warm grease. It was sweet!

You see, up till just recently, I was commited to keeping my Vespa in as pristine condition as possible. That is until Sunday before last, when I noticed a paint chip on the headset. Something had fallen off a shelf in the shop and made a direct hit, that in my mind, now made the old scooter a rider, and not just something to bring out on a sunny weekend day. In reality, I was glad that it happened. That chip was in my mind, the difference between a "show piece" and a scooter in really nice shape that you can ride all the time.

Really, what good does it do to have something this cool locked up only to be enjoyed every once in awhile? No good at all I say now. By gosh, I'm going to ride this doggone thing, and use it for what it was meant to be used for. From now on, it is going to be ridden and enjoyed...a lot.

This past Sunday rose cold and dark, and the fairly hot weather chick was calling for snow flurries. I went out the back door to get the newspaper, and on my way back in, I started to notice the first flakes. Swirling light wispy flakes turned into quarter sized flakes in no time, and started accumulating. Hot weather chick said that there would be nothing more than "maybe a half an inch," and "not much more than a ground cover." Well, my math had it at a total ground cover, and at least a good 2 inches. So what's a recovering stomach flu victim to do? Yep, go ride your scooter like a nut-job around in the snow.

I rode my old Chinese model 125 scooter last year, and even had my Big Ruckus out a number of times, but I really wanted to take Ol' Blue out and see how she handled. And like I said, it was squirreling all over the place trying to find the traction that just wasn't there. When in an upright position going straight, the ride was pretty good, but leaning into a corner, the backside wanted to kick out a bit. I just planted a foot and gave her the gas till we righted again. And we did it till my face was soaked, and my goggled eyeballs were too teary to continue.

All in all, I'm real happy that I finally got over my over-protective, "I don't want to get it dirty" feeling toward this scooter. Every time that I would want to break away from keeping it a "showpiece," I would end up tucking it way again, only to wait for the perfect weather opportunity to take the cover off and ride.

Well that day was Sunday, and in the cold, blowing snow, I found the "perfect weather opportunity" to take her out and ride, and I had an absolute ball.

Have fun,

Bill