Most of these folks were met at gas stations while I was filling up, but one stands out. I was at an intersection in Westfield, Mass., getting ready to make a left turn in front of what used to be Popoli's Honda, when the guy in the truck behind me honked his horn. I turned to see what the matter was, as the light was still red, and he hollared out the window, "You didn't really drive that all the way from Pennsylvania, did you?" I responded in the affirmative and invited him to pull into the nearby package store parking lot for a chat.
We pulled in and had a nice conversation for several minutes. He and the lady with him were very interested in my exploits, and astonished that my little scooter was able to make it to Massachusetts from Pennsylvania.
When one stops to think about, it, while this is shocking to Americans, who are used to big bikes and don't realize what a small bike can really do, it's not a surprise to the rest of the world.
Other work horses, well, one is technically a mule
In many less developed countries, scooters are everywhere. Not only are they everywhere, they are used to carry everything. Pictures abound on the Internet, of scooters with whole families riding on them, or scooters being used to haul unlikely or ungainly items.
This is my favorite third world scooter picture. I don't think his spares are the right size.
The presenters of the British motoring show "Top Gear," did a special several years back in which they motored up the coast of Vietnam on small displacement motorbikes, two of which were scooters (well, the Honda 50 is somewhat of a hybrid scooter/motorcycle, but it's scooterish enough for my purposes here). They went over a thousand miles and the Honda had no mechanical problems the entire distance of the trip.
Of course, Vietnam isn't the United States and there are many differences in socio-ecconomics, so it's not terribly surprising that most Americans can't get their heads around the idea of long distance motoring on a small bike. It can be done, and it is a blast.
There are issues of seat comfort of course, but there are remedies for that problem. Just the same, long distance rides are worth it. The solitude alone is priceless. I can say without question that this is the only time I've ever gone on a vacation from which I returned truly invigorated and refreshed.
Yes, it's a little crazy by American standards, but when I consider the savings in fuel and the adventure and the memories, yeah, sometimes it's worth it to be a little crazy.
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2 comments:
One of my fleet is a 50cc Chinese motorcycle with a four speed box. I use it almost every day for errands. I put a good size plastic crate on the back to carry groceries, laundry soap, soda and even 20 lb. bags of Kitty Litter. At 120 mpg it is like traveling for free. I totally relate to Asian owners and their use of two wheels as station wagons.
You and I are uncommon in this country. There's a few like us, but the general affluence of American society has put our culture out of touch with the basic principles of minimalism.
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