The Trouble with Scooters

Vespa Rally 200

Recently, I purchased my first scooter. I had grand plans of riding my scooter and leaving my car all alone, pining away for my presence. Even better, I thought to myself, is how I’ll be able to whiz past all of those drivers on my two-wheeled piece of heaven.

Outside of my ego, however, my reasons for purchasing the scooter were altruistic. I wanted to ride something that was better for the environment than my car. I’ve recently begun biking and, as a result, I’ve grown to loathe the idea of driving my car more than two or three days per week. There’s something about being out in the open air that changes you. Since cars now make me feel claustrophobic, I decided that a scooter would be the right way to go. Plus I’d be saving so much money on gas…right?

I had it all planned out. I purchased a vintage Vespa so that I could ride in style and learn about the mechanics of scooters. You can catch a glimpse of her in the pic above. The guy that I purchased her from was accommodating enough to show me how to make some minor repairs before I bought it. When the time came to buy, however, I wasn’t so sure if I was making the right decision. There were so many variable to consider: vintage or modern, now or later. See, I’m moving to San Francisco at the end of the year and I wasn’t sure if I should buy the scooter here and ship it or later when I get to the West Coast. Nevertheless, I took the plunge. I took and passed the motorcycle test, got my permit and made arrangements to pick up the scooter. The sale went well. My friend drove it home and for two weeks I couldn’t stop smiling.

Then, it happened. After buying a helmet and taking some practice runs around my subdivision, I decided to ride my scooter to the neighborhood farm that I volunteer at on Mondays. It’s right up the street from me so what’s the worst that could happen…right? Well, there were several things, mostly stemming from user error. Starting with the fact that it took me about twenty kicks to start it up. This, I later realized was because it was on reserve and needed more gas. Then, once I got it started I got ready to take off and promptly crashed into the sidewalk across from my driveway. Again, user error. Fortunately, the crash was not major. No major damage to the scooter other than a dent in the legshield and no major damage to me other than a sore tailbone (thankfully not broken). The upside is that after your first crash, everything seems insignificant. I got right up and started her up again, this time completely unafraid of taking her to the streets. She stalled on me a couple of times, but I eventually made it to the farm. On the way home she rode like a gem until I got nervous and stopped on the side of the road.

All in all it was a learning experience. I learned what I was doing wrong to create the stalling and cutting off, namely how to use the clutch to ease into a start and stop. I also learned a lot about the experience of owning and riding a vintage Vespa. You have to be comfortable with the possibility of being on the side of the road and knowing that anything can happen at any given moment. Nevertheless, when everything goes well it’s a wonderful experience.

Unfortunately, the other part of what I learned has to do with the environmental impact of two-stroke scooters (which applies to vintage Vespas). Because a two stroke engine requires a mixture of oil with the gas, it consequently burns oil and emits particulates into the environment. Read here for more information: http://www.grist.org/advice/ask/2003/05/28/umbra-scooters/.

It just goes to show that you should do your research before purchasing any vehicle, even a scooter. Because even when you believe that you are doing a good thing for the environment, you may not be.

Keep it simple.

 

On Being Car-Less in Atlanta

Since early March, I’ve been working towards making a leap in my sustainable lifestyle by eliminating the use of my car. Inspired by a friend who sold her car and now commutes everywhere by foot, transit or bicycle, I decided to take the leap. I’m a planner, however, so I didn’t just dump the car and adopt a pedestrian lifestyle. I took baby steps. I started by committing to drive only 3 days per week. Of course, this required a significant amount of planning. For instance, if I needed groceries or had to drop off the recycling, I knew that I would need to do it on one of my “driving days.” For the past month I’ve gone down to driving 2 days per week, mostly. One of the biggest concerns for me has been the fact that I have just launched a freelance copywriting company. I was worried about having transportation for meeting my clients, so I decided to look for a scooter. After some searching I found one that was within my budget. So, hopefully, next month I will be able to stop driving my car completely.

On my journey towards being car-less, I’ve noticed a good number of people who are doing the same thing. I’ve also got quite a few questions from others who are interested in saving money on gas, being less car dependent, and getting more exercise along the way. For those of you who have doubts, it can be done. More importantly, it can be done without stress or worry. For those who are interested, I’ve put together a nice list of things that you can do to become less car-dependent.

1. Start using public transportation. This is about the easiest thing you can do to become less dependent on your car. Not only will you save money, but you’ll also save stress. No more road rage or traffic jams. In Atlanta, there seems to be a stigma associated with using transit. Seems silly to me, especially since a monthly bus pass only costs $52 and gets you unlimited ridership. That’s economical AND ecological!
2. Ride a bicycle. Seriously. I absolutely LOVE my bike. Not only do I save money on gas, but I also get a workout. Does the cubicle life have you a little on the plump side? Get a bike. Think you live too far to ride your bike to work? Think again. In most cities you can take your bike on public transportation. In my case, I don’t live close to the train station. So I put my bike on the bus, ride to the station and then bike to wherever I’m going. Sound simple? It is. And the best part is that you’ll feel like a kid again.
3. Join a rideshare. Ridesharing is just a fancy name for car pooling. Something we all did as kids and can now feasibly do as adults. Everyone takes turns driving, chips in on gas and is happy. Find your local rideshare or start one!
4. Buy a scooter. Yep, that’s right a scooter will put you right square in between bicycle and car, with less pollution and more gas efficiency. And when I say gas efficiency I mean 70 to 100 miles per gallon, depending on the scooter! But what if I want to go to the grocery store? Add a rack to your scooter. People have been doing it in Europe for years. If you’re not picky, a Chinese scooter will run you about $1200, but you could always find a used one for less. If you’re a scooter snob–like me–you want a Vespa. One thing to note here is that a modern Vespa will depreciate, while a vintage Vespa-if properly maintained-will sell for more than you paid for. Of course if you don’t want to maintain the scooter, go modern. Either way, you’ll have something for those days when you really need to get somewhere quickly.
5. Walk. I know this may sound silly, but when I lived in downtown Atlanta, I walked everywhere I had to go. This was partially because everywhere I needed to go was downtown. For those places that weren’t I took the bus. And I take back what I said about taking transit–walking is the easiest thing you can do to become less car dependent.

So, there’s the list. The great thing about doing these things is that they have wonderful side effects:

• They’re fun. If you noticed, I used the word fun in most of the list items. It’s true. When I ride my scooter I have a permanent smile on my face. The same goes with my bike.
• You’ll see the world in a different light. Driving induces tunnel vision. You spend most of your time thinking about where you’re headed instead of noticing the world around you. Now that I take the bus and ride my bike, I’ve begun to take life easier. I notice things I hadn’t before, like the beautiful red flowers on the tree that I used to drive by every day. You begin to feel like you are a part of the community, instead of just driving through it. There’s also a sense of freedom that happens. At this point, I now feel claustrophobic and irritable when I have to drive my car. It’ll happen to you too. Don’t believe me? Try it.
• You’ll be happier. Trust me on this one. The oxygen, activity and smiling faces will have a positive effect on your spirit. And you’ll feel clearer than you have in a long while.
• You’ll have a simpler life. Ultimately, this is what it’s all about.

Think about it.