Cheering up on a cold day…
Published by Wendy December 7th, 2007 in cold weather riding, news & gossip.I’m having a fine day. My little Met started up s–l—o–w–l–y after about 10+ days of truly frozen garage life (must have been ebbing battery power minute by minute). I urged it, I prayed, I baby-talked and it finally sputtered and ran. I blipped the throttle just a bit until it didn’t die and it idled properly for a good while. I know idling kills it almost as much as sitting around without a start or a battery tender, and this is the battery’s third winter, so I decided it needed a brief ride. OK, I needed a brief ride.
Wind chill is a balmy 22 right now and there is still crusty salt sparkling on the blacktop from recent winter street treatment. Layered in sweaters and a winter jacket, I donned my full face helmet and grabbed the windproof gloves (ha ha—they don’t really work unless I say “windproof” out loud). I rode at about 30 mph twice around the block, turning right eight times. Try to think of this as an exciting ride with lots of signaling and braking for the turns! Was it long enough to hold the battery for a short while ’til moderating temps and clear streets give me time for a longer ride? I don’t know, but it was too incredibly cold for any more. I rolled the scooter back in the garage, promised it more love and soon, and stepped lively up the back porch steps into my warm kitchen.
The cats had watched out the back door to see me leave and return to the garage. I’m convinced I saw them look at each other and giggle at my silly venture, but they had dropped their faces into completely dull masks when I got to the door, so I can’t be sure.
Just remind your cats that you have the opposable thumb.
Wouldn’t it be nice to have some sort of gauge indicating how much battery power was actually available in real time so we could know how long we would have to ride to get things fully charged?
Most of the time I ride enough to keep the Vespa battery fine all winter long but this year I have a new job that requires the cage more often and the scooter has been sitting in an unheated garage all week. It is a balmy 36 F here today so I will take a ride to make sure the scooter doesn’t think of going into hibernation.
I know what you mean about windproof. I no longer believe in that term….
Steve Williams
Scooter in the Sticks
I just saw this article about students at the University of Wisconsin who ride their scooters all year ’round, even in snow: Scoot on! Wintry weather doesn’t stop scooter drivers.
This is the first time I’ve brought my scooter battery inside, since like Steve, I was in a climate that let me ride all year, at least often enough to keep the battery going. I agree, there should be a gauge that tells us how the battery is doing while it’s in the scooter.
The only thing I’ve found to be truly windproof is my windshield, with its ‘wings’ in front of my hands. Cold hands are the biggest challenge for me, with cold neck being the next. I have a windproof fleece neck wrap that helps tremendously.