Modern Buddy

I'm wondering if it's just me, but it seems like ever since I got my scoot, I am finding things around my neighborhood that I never knew existed. Last fall, I found a dog park, a couple of restaurants and other little places that I guess just became part of the landscape when I was in my car........anyone else noticing this?

one thing i notice when i scoot is how much more you can smell! i wear a full face helmet, and even with that i smell so much more of the outside world than when i am in my car (which can be good and bad ). i can smell people cooking in their houses as i drive by, and people wearing cologne or perfume in cars near me, and of course exhaust . i am really looking forward to all the things i can see and smell as spring begins to blossom!

you know, I never thought about that, but you're right. I love driving down a residential street and smelling cut grass. What I don't love is the smell of our landfill..........smells like gizzards and hot feet!!

cassie wrote:smells like gizzards and hot feet!!

Okay, thats nasty. LOL
Kinda reminds me of when I have to ride past a sewage treatment plant. I have to hold my breath for about a half a mile!

Anyway, my favorite is when its really, really hot out and you ride along side a stream or brook and the temperature drops about 20 degrees

I love when the weather dips down like that. You are in CT? I bet you have some great rides around you........lucky

I, too, have experienced the calming scent of fabric softner while buddying through residential areas, I even smelled PEZ in the air near L.A. Zoo...I really like when you can feel the temp. changes in the dips and hills of certain areas....I like how my jeans retain the exhaust fumes from a long day of riding (especially from the vintage scoots that ride in Reflections!!)
....reminds me that I'm living!!!........

cassie wrote: You are in CT? I bet you have some great rides around you........lucky

I love it here. One minute I can be riding along the shore of the Long Island Sound and in less than an hour I can be riding up the rolling hills of the Berkshire Mountains

cassie I agree since I got off the highways and I am also not originally from this area, I too am seeing places and things I never knew existed as part of my travels-heck now (well not now,too cold) my travels take me through the zoo. mmm cute camels snacking on hay that make me smile or crummy highway billboards whizzing by -you decide.

i found 3 crack houses, 7 hookers, and 2 smelly taco joints in my neighborhood....

lou76 wrote:i found 3 crack houses, 7 hookers, and 2 smelly taco joints in my neighborhood....

Slow day?

yeah, slow day or hot date!!

I've made the comment to "cagers" that they all miss more than they think they do in a car. I discovered it years ago while on a bicycle. I started out as an overly alert driver, I saw things that friends of mine missed while driving. Then I got on a bicycle, and I started seeing EVERYTHING...it was a frightening eye openner.

I think I miss a bit on the scooter, I'm sure of it really. I have to pay more attention in front of me than on a bicycle. ON a bicycle, I can pretty much turn all the way around without risking sending myself across the road or down to the ground. The mirrors help with this, but the more practice I'm getting, the more I'm able to turn and catch what's coming behind me without losing control of the scooter or what's in front of me. I just can't turn completely around like I can on a bicycle.

I'm one of those weirdos, I have had the driver's manual burned into my brain since I first studied it nearly 20 years ago (it'll be 20 years come this May). I don't have it memerized word for word, but I have it memorized well enough that I've shocked drivers with laws and regs they didn't know existed, but have been "common knowledge" since before I was born.

I really like the happy medium world of scooters. Not having a big metal and plastic cage around me to block my view is rather cool.

BuddyRaton wrote:

lou76 wrote:i found 3 crack houses, 7 hookers, and 2 smelly taco joints in my neighborhood....

Slow day?

those were just the ones i hadnt seen befoe...

lou76 wrote:i found 3 crack houses, 7 hookers, and 2 smelly taco joints in my neighborhood....

So...where in Philly are you?

The major street I use to reach my neighborhood continues to the east almost four miles until it turns south and changes names (East 76th ST North to North 193rd East AVE). Until I rode my Budd down there one day, I never knew there was a small family cemetery, an old, small family cemetery, in the inside of the curve. Of course, I've only lived here for six and a half YEARS. The ranch where the cemetery is located is being developed, so I don't know what's going to happen with it.

ECS

It's funny; I started seeing more when I got a convertible a few years ago. Making the switch to a scoot, I notice even more. I love finding places I never noticed before on routes I routinely drive.

Then there are the places that are invisible in the daytime but glare at night... a few bars, restaurants, a neon supply shop.

it's kind of like when you drive down the same street everyday for years and one day someone asks you if you know a certain spot on that street. You can't figure out the name, but you know where it is.......things just become part of the landscape when I'm in my car in the same routine. Having my scooter puts everything in technicolor. (that may have been the lamest thing I have ever typed, but I mean it)

Plus you're taking back streets and old roads instead of the interstate. It's a whole new way to see your world. I'll admit I wasn't very happy when my husband bought a scooter because all I could think of was the negative...he would get hurt, can't bring home much stuff, only can use it a couple of seasons...and that I wouldn't get to see much of him once scooter season came. Until he took me out on it.

Now common errands are a joy, reminds me of when I got my drivers license--"Do we need anything from the store? Milk? Bread? Can I go to the post office? Video store?" And you are more inclined to just go out for a spin without the guilt of burning a lot of fuel.

So now I have my own

I'm getting to know the neighborhoods on the mountain, the twisty roads are great fun and the smells of the seasons and the cold pockets. I mostly enjoy these.
Unfortunately when I'm sneaking around the back of the stores (to avoid parking lot maham) the grocery stores' and resturants' dumpsters stand out as well.

I agree ... I'm in MD and recently saw two camels! Yup, two camels, some alpaca, llama and sheep all on one farm! Plus, no cars. It's funny how I look at them and they really look at my pink buddy!

Ivyall

louie wrote: Unfortunately when I'm sneaking around the back of the stores (to avoid parking lot maham) the grocery stores' and resturants' dumpsters stand out as well.

um, plus there are some SWEET JUMPS behind those stores.....