At risk of divulging top secret chronological information about myself, I remember a time when things were … cheaper.
When I was in high school, $5 bucks was enough for a night out on the town. You could pool a couple of bucks with your buddies to get a six-pack of beer, you could get a pack of smokes, you could get a plate of Chinese food at two in the morning, and you could put a couple of bucks worth of gas in the tank.
Yes, $2 worth of gas was enough to cruise around all night.
The price of gas has certainly changed in the past, oh, five or six years.
I’ve been thinking for some time now about getting a something that’s a little more fuel efficient. With successive trips to the pumps less than two weeks apart costing $100.57 and $99.34, the time had finally come.
I purchased a scooter on the weekend. I’ve joined the hip, happenin’ Euro crowd. I did resist going to the Harley Davidson store and getting leathered up. The leathers, while probably practical, seem like a little bit of overkill for a scooter.
There was a great deal of satisfaction when I gassed the scooter up for the first time -- all $5.38 worth. It should get me back and forth from work for about a week. Not bad. A little better than the full-size pickup with a V8.
One of the reasons I went with a scooter, rather than a small car, is I’m not quite ready to give up the truck. As part owner of a cattle ranch, I still need somewhere to carry those two fenceposts and that half-roll of barbed wire (especially when I go to the grocery store).
The second reason I went with a scooter was for the environment. While the shine seems to be wearing off of some of the government green, I’m still thinking about ways I can lessen my footprint on old Mother Earth.
It’s fitting too, because this week is Environment Week and today is Commuter Challenge Day. Prince George residents are encouraged to find a different way to get to work other than fire up the SUV and ride to work by themselves.
I’ve done my bit by taking the scooter to work. I’m still using a gas-powered engine, but burning a thimble of gas instead of a bucket has got to be better for the environment.
I’ve only had my scooter a few days but I’ve noticed a few things. First, when they talk about motorcycle safety and awareness, they mean it. There is no doubt you are harder to see and defensive driving takes on a whole new meaning when you’re on a scooter because it doesn’t matter who is at fault, if you crash, you lose.
The second thing I’ve noticed is that I’m starting to like Coun. Brian Skakun’s pothole plan a lot more. If you think the potholes are bad when you’re driving in your car, try driving the city streets on a motorbike or a scooter. You really notice how many potholes there are and, when you’re on a bike, even the little ones pose a hazard. New paving is nice, but fixing a few potholes would be nice too.
As for me, I’ll be scooting around town and with the money I save on gas I can buy a new suspension for the truck.