The Intro

So...I recently inherited a scooter. It's a Kymco People S200. The name is deceiving, though, as it's only 163cc scooter. I don't fully understand what that means. According to something I've read, this particular scooter uses the exact same engine as a people s50 and a people s150-but the 'bore' is different. So-whatever. Let me tell you how I got started. My father passed away on August 19, 2012. He left several things, one of which, was this scooter. I didn't really think much of it. The grief was nearly unbearable, really, so it just sat in the garage of the house in which he died for about a year-and-a-half. My children had moved into that house and life went on. One day, though, I started to think about that scooter. It was just sitting there, unused. I asked the kids if they wanted to maybe get it going, and they all seemed mildly interested, but not much. So I decided I was going to get it running and then decide what to do with it. Maybe I'd give it to one of my brothers, or maybe I'd sell it. Then I got to thinking that it would be fun to putter around the yard on, maybe for Maggie, my fifteen-year-old daughter, and me to play on and just take short rides around the dirt roads that surround our house. We might even get really adventurous one day and drive it to a nearby store for ice cream and soda. I asked my very mechanically-inclined son, Josh, to have a look at it and see if it would start. He said it only needed a new battery. Well, that sounded ridiculous. Surely it needed more than that. So I went looking for a battery. There wasn't a battery to be found in Walmart. The auto parts stores did not have them either. So I just kind of gave up for a while. So a little time passed and my daughter was due to get her permit. In Arizona, you can get your motorcycle permit at fifteen-and-a-half. I figured this would be a good way for her to get to town from time to time. I went down to the MNVD and had the scooter put in my name. And then I decided to look on the internet for a battery, get insurance, etc. Well, I had no idea what kind of scooter it was. So, after a few days, I looked at the title and registration, got the necessary information, got insurance on it and then ordered a battery off of the internet. The battery came in, I gave it to Josh and he hooked it up and BINGO. It fired right up. He has a motorcycle endorsement, so he cruised around a bit on it and said it ran perfectly fine. I was so happy. I went into town and decided I was going to ride it home so Maggie and I could ride it around near our house. Just know, I was TERRIFIED of motorcycles. I'd had a few wrecks on dirt bikes and other off-road machines over the years, and the thought of riding one on actual roads was nearly overwhelming. It was the beginning of July and VERY hot. But I decided to just be brave and do it. After a couple of quick 'lessons' from Josh, I got on it and rode away. My daughter followed me in the car-she CAN drive, she just isn't supposed to yet. I putt-putted my way home-fifteen miles away from my son's house. I had to go through town and out onto some roads that have a little more traffic than I'd have liked, but I was determined. I looked down at the speedometer after I'd crossed the big highway that I have to cross to get home. I was going 55! WOW! I was actually going the speed limit. I was so brave! Or so I thought. Later, I realized I was only going 55 KILOMETERS per hour, not MILES per hour. Oh well. Eventually, I made it home. Maggie rode it around the dirt roads for a bit. Then I did the same. It really was a lot of fun. We bungeed a crate to the luggage rack and took the dog for a ride. She didn't seem to mind much and was happy to be included. So I decided to get my motorcycle permit. I knew I was going to need it if I was going to be driving the seven miles I'd have to go to get to the store. I live in a very rural area, so everything is sparse and far away. And so Maggie and I decided to go get our permits at the same time. We failed. It was really, really hard! And I had studied like mad! So I got online and bought a practice test and practiced and practiced until I could pass with very few missed. And the next day, I passed! Maggie didn't. So now I could ride in the daylight hours, but not on the freeways-no big deal, I really don't know if I'll ever have the nerve to ride on the freeway, since my scooter tops out at 65 on a GOOD day. And so I started taking longer rides. Two miles. Five miles. Then I got brave and drove about eight miles to an old bridge (Gillespie Dam Bridge)that crosses the Gila river. I was hooked. I wanted to ride much more. So then I started trekking in to town, fifteen miles away, for a few groceries. Then I started going in to pick up my daughter from practice. And one day, when she was at an away game, and my husband was away, I got really crazy and rode to a town that is about fifty miles away named Wickenburg-all by myself. I stopped and had dinner at a restaurant named "Screamers" that someone had once mentioned to me. It was good. I didn't even want to go home. By now, it was the beginning of August and it was still horridly hot outside, so all of my riding had to be done in the evening and in the early morning. I decided it was just too much fun. I was going everywhere on my scooter, whenever I could. My husband decided he also wanted to ride, so he bought himself a motorcycle about three or so weeks ago. We have been riding a lot, mostly around here. Our first 'big' ride, and the real test for my scooter, was a ride up Yarnell Hill and then to Prescott. We left in the evening, arriving in Prescott around 8:30pm. We spent the night in Prescott and then rode back home again. It was truly a lovely ride, but we have to bunch everything into evening and morning hours due to the heat. My scooter is air-cooled and I d not do well in the heat. It was a truly, wonderful experience. Now I want to ride every, single weekend. I want to just get up and go. I want to strap a sleeping bag and a tent to my scooter and ride and just stop wherever I come to. I wish I didn't even have to work so I could just ride and ride, all across the country. I don't see THAT ever happening, but I can see my next vacation being on two wheels. I have been doing searches on the internet, looking for others' experiences. I find a lot of motorcycle rides and maxi scooters, but I want to find as many stories as I can about people who ride on little scooters. I've found a couple of pretty good stories. So, let's consider this 'the beginning'. I am going to be taking as many rides as I can get away with. Some people drink, some smoke, some sit around watching TV, or lose themselves in their computers and smart-phones. This is my vice. You only get one life. I want to be able to say I had some sort of adventure in my life. I don't want to spend the rest of my life staring at a TV and doing nothing. That seems like such a waste to me! OFF I GO!