Moped Around the House

After spending a summer working on a 1980 Vespa Grande moped, I relented and bought a 2005 Tomos Arrow moped to ride until I actually succeed in getting the Vespa running. The Tomos, although a 2005, is new, so I've spent the last week breaking in the engine, riding it daily back and forth to my job at Nashoba Regional High School in Bolton. That's about 20 miles each way by Route 70 north and 110 East.

Never having ridden a moped before, I can only compare it to a bike. The Tomos handles a lot better than a bike, as it has big, fat scooter tires and shocks front and back. It has been damned cold, too, and unlike pedaling a bike, riding a moped doesn't warm you up. The full-face helmet helps, though.

The best part was riding into a gas station and filling up with $2.00 of gas. Every time I take the moped instead of the car to work, I save about five bucks. Now I just need to find some fellow riders in Worcester so I can start a moped gang.

Scooter, Redux

I like the way that sounds: "Scootereedoo."

I keep looking at my options for cheap, electrical transport to and from my P/T job in Bolton. Since I teach only three classes, it makes sense to keep my commuting costs low. Never mind that I'd feel ever so much more virtuous. So here's what I've found out so far about electric bicycles (as opposed to scooters).

Schwinn is coming out next year with a model called the Streamline, which not only looks so cool any Boomer worth his extra cash would want one, but Treehugger really likes it: http://www.treehugger.com/files/2006/10/schwinns_new_line_of_electric_bikes.php And doesn't it look sweet? No idea how many semolians that will set you back, though.

More easily obtainable -- and therefore less desirable -- is the almost-as-handsome Giant Lite, which along with its fellow travelers can be found here: http://www.electricvehiclesnw.com/main/lite.htm although these folks are charging list price; you can get one for $1000.00 elsewhere online. The advantage of the Lite is (no surprise) its weight. Check those specs!

I've investigated a number of electric scooters, too, but I'm still confused by them; some of them don't have pedals, some do, they weigh more, etc. I think if I were going to get a scooter, it would be gas-powered. The electric ones look like they'd run out of juice half-way up a hill, and I'd be left without the battery-powered equivalent of a paddle. And the only electric motorcycle that looks worthwhile (the Vectrix -- Google that one) is still under development (in Mass. as it happens) and unavailable.

To make the whole 2-wheeled commuting seem more practical, I've found a great route for my green commute along routes 12 and 110. It's about as direct as I could hope for, skirts the lovely Wachusetts Reservoir and lands me handily on the West Side of Worcester, not far from the little bungalow I call domus. On a gas scooter I could make it in about the time it takes to commute by car on the highway (the hardest thing about my commute now is getting on the highway). On an electric bike, I'm not so sure; it's 20 miles each way. At about 18 miles an hour, that's still over an hour. Granted, I'd reduce my commuting costs considerably and get fit in the process, but still...On the bright side, if the weather continues as it has, I'll be able to commute by bike all year.