My current bike is a Vespa PX200 that I bough new in 2001, it's not that I'm a MOD enthusiast, but it is easy to maintain and she never gave me any (bad) trouble all along the 120000km we been together.
Last week, my wife got her own bike driving license, and I'm proud of her. Proud because we started talking about her getting the license when we where not even married, and then came the three kids and all that life that happens along, and still, she managed to pass the tests, even if it took years to get it.
Given that the main purpose of having a bike at home is to commute to work, and that she finally got her license, it is quite clear that we will start sharing the Vespa on our daily routine.
But commute to work is using a bike... but not riding a bike, it is not the same.
Ride a bike, means that you are driving somewhere, or taking a drive, it means that you decide to go out the open road and be part of it for a while. That you will get cold, or wet, or sweaty, or whatever you might find... that you might feel alive, and you might enjoy the ride. So we needed a plan.
The plan was quite simple, get some time, bring the kids somewhere, rent another bike, and go for a ride...
For the time, the last day of the summer holiday was a perfect day, a bit cloudy, so the gear was comfortable, even in the Mediterranean august.
For the route, as you need to have some initial idea about where you want to go, we decided to follow this one. but just as starting point. If we changed our minds about the destination, it was going to be okay, you know, you are never lost if you change your destination.
For the second bike, I found a Honda CBF 250 at a local store. The bike was in a pretty good shape, the back tire was asking for a change, and the neutral gear will not get in if the bike was stopped, but it had 22 bhp ready to run, and I did not need more for a ride.
The ride went just fine, I drove ahead for the most of the time, not that I was on any hurry, but I was confident about the way to follow, and at some point we stopped for a coffee and a picture.
So, this is us taking a ride, having fun, and taking it easy, as you do when you ride a Vespa.
And now, after we went back, summer is getting over, school is about to start, I'm about to go back to work... well, I'm already thinking on, you know... one more ride!
