frabjous day

Day 2 on a scooter:

As I had only ridden a little around Golden Gate Park on Tuesday after Dave drove my scooter up from San Mateo, I thought today would be as good as any to get some more solid scooter experience. I drove Bryan home at 5 o'clock to pick up my scooter and off I went to seek adventure and lots of stopping on hills so I could feel more comfortable on the scooter before venturing home to Nob Hill. Here's today's path:



1. Left Bryan's at 42nd and Noriega and drove one block down to the gas station to fill 'er up. I think it cost me less than $2. When I went into the station office to ask for a receipt, the cashier gave me a very odd look, so I left.
2. Drove down to Lawton, where Bryan said I would encounter a fairly steep hill after crossing 19th Avenue. I got up the hill just fine (though I did smell my exhaust quite a bit) and wound my way down to Kirkham.
3. Drove up Kirkham to the back lot behind UCSF next to Health Sciences West. I called Heidi and saw Alana as she was going home, so I spoke to both of them a little bit. Heidi approved of the scooter's style.
4. Went back down the hill, turned onto 6th and called Fred -- of course he wanted me to come over. So I took 6th to Lincoln, then diverted onto Frederick, where I got to swerve around a large pickup truck that suddenly decided to parallel park. I turned onto Stanyan, and drove up to Fred and Janet's place on Fulton.
5. I visited with Janet and then Fred, who of course wanted to rev the engine. I tooled around the block once so he could get a look at the scooter in motion but had to pass him slowly because a car was stopped a little beyond his house. No wheelies.
6. I drove down to Fell, where while waiting for the light to change so I could turn right, a scooter behind me honked at me. I thought he might be being friendly, but then he went around me and the car in front of us to jet ahead to turn right. Oh well.
7. I took Fell onto Lincoln, where I learned I need to practice right turns some more -- it is difficult to right countersteer (press on right handlebar) while also engaging the throttle. I swung wide but stayed in my lane, at least.
8. Ever the thrill-seeker, I took Lincoln all the way down to Sunset, despite heavy traffic and road construction. I survived, and probably then hit my top speed thus far: 40 mph. I turned onto Sunset, crossing puddles and MUNI tracks on Judah (even my helmet got a little wet), then went back to Bryan's via Noriega.

All in all, I was both exhilerated and a little intimidated, but I feel much more comfortable on the scooter all ready. I will likely go on another practice session tomorrow, but I am already looking forward to my regular scooter commute! I was out for about 90 minutes today all told, so I think I'll be able to handle 20 minutes each way between home and school as long as I find a comfortable route.