UrbanNerd.com

Dear Scooterati,

I can remember getting my Vespa ET4 about 4 years ago. I sold my 1989 Jeep Grand Wagoneer to buy it. People thought I was nuts. It was November. I was enrolled in one of the last Motorcycle Safety courses offered that year. I took the road test in frigid high wind conditions. It seemed appropriate in preparing me for riding in winter. I rode my ET4 home that weekend, and then proceeded to ride it all winter, daily, for my commute.

For 3 years I rode the ET4 through all weather. It took a beating, but it kept on going & I kept on going. It was liberating. People used to ask, wouldn’t trains be better in such cold? No, I said, nothing really compared to riding. Even in the cold….. especially in the cold!

I found that winter riding could actually be more enjoyable than summer riding. I found that wearing all my proper gear… and actually being warm and impervious to the weather around me while riding to my destination was a wonderful feeling. With the exception of the bitter cold… temps in the teens and below, I couldn’t think of better days to ride.

I think you have to be a person who is okay with wearing gear… proper gear, in order to enjoy winter riding. I always have been okay with gearing up, so winter just seemed like a challenge for the right gear for me. I chose the non electric route, handle bar muffs over heated grips, insulated ski pants pulled over my street clothes, and more recently the Aerostich Roadcrafter.

However, after 3 years of riding and having no other vehicle, I took a job that forced me to purchase a car for some longer trips required from my new job. This past week, it shames me to admit, was the first week in 4 winters when I chose not to brave the teen & single digit temps. I am pondering on that today, as the coldest weather finally lifts. I find myself discontent with that change, and missing the freedom that I once had. We often call cars cages, and truly my car felt increasingly like a cage this week. Did I lose a piece of my scootering identity by giving up that part of it?

I do know one thing for sure. If given the choice to give up one, I would make the same choice today that I made 4 years ago, and gladly trade my car for my scoot.

Scoot on.