Oh ... my ... gosh! Riding on the scooter across the river at night staring at the lighted city … breathtaking. My first ride with the scooter club and it couldn't have been more intoxicating. I have to admit, I was a very tentative participant. I caved under the peer pressure of my Vespa buddy and my husband. They said, “Go, go …it will be great.” I went and it was.

My buddy thought she would valiantly lead us to our destination but at the last minute changed her mind so we sped to a club rendezvous point and rode with a smaller pack through the streets of the big city, up and down hills and across the river. Arriving in one piece and with cheeks already flushed from the pure buzz of the ride, we joined a much larger group at a pretty famous watering hole. As a first timer, it was a bit of a meet and greet as everyone drank and munched on some fine German food. Still hesitant about the group ride, I was perfectly content to call it a night after that but about an hour later we mounted up, jumped the curb and sped off into the night.

Someone takes the lead, holds traffic at lights and intersections when possible and watches out for newbie’s like me. Actually, a lot of people watched out for newbie’s like me. Everyone couldn’t have been nicer. Confidence exuded from me as we maneuvered through the winding streets of the small river town and then all of a sudden, we hit a small highway and the leaders (who I was sticking close to by design) took off like a bat out of you know where! My bravado drained as the average speed of the group went from 35 to 50 in less than a minute.

But I did it! I made it through the entire ride. First time with the club, first time riding downtown, first time riding at night and hopefully, first of many exhilarating rides to come. So, shut up and ride!

Caroline

This entry was posted on Thursday, September 06, 2007 at 3:43 AM. You can skip to the end and leave a response.