Tomorrow's the Day

I'll call the insurance agent in the morning with the VIN, write out the check, and pick up the bike around noonish. I've been reading about the dealer PreDelivery Inspection and other items I should double check when I go to the shop. Obviously, Wanda isn't terrible thrilled about the purchase - that's a bit of an understatement. She'll eventually come around and I hope enjoy riding with me at some point. I'm getting a helmet for her in any case, and when she's ready, I'll take her in to get a jacket and the other required riding gear.

I talked quite a bit with my son, Jeremy, today about riding safety, the Team Oregon Basic Rider Training and recommendations for riding gear and modifications. Later I learned he had a long conversation with his mom to assuage some of her concerns. How successful he was, I don't know, but I hope he had some success in convincing her that I'm doing everything right and have the requisite degree of paranoia to ride safely.

I certainly plan to take my time to learn the scooter's strengths and limitations, remain on low traffic roads at moderate speeds for the first few months of riding, and only move to more significantly traveled thoroughfares once I have gained sufficient experience and confidence in my riding abilities. I intend to be supremely safety conscious and conservative as I learn to ride and I'm definitely not going to take any risks.

I am excited to get the scooter though. I've wanted to ride for many years, but have conceded to Wanda's point about motorcycles. The MP3 500 seems to me to be an excellent compromise of safety, stability, and a riding experience and I certainly intend to make as much use of it as possible during good weather, and I hope to be able to ride well into the fall months until it gets too cold and wet to comfortably and safely ride.