Going the Long Way Round

Today we took the back/residential roads north to Everett and then rode thru Marysville to the Commissary Store.

The speeds, for the most part, were in the 30-35 mph range, but the roads had loads of curves. Ray said it would have been more fun if the speed limit was higher, but it was challenging enough for this sidecar driver.

It wasn't until we got into South Everett (which, by the way, is really pretty on the roads closest to the Sound) that I actually enjoyed a sequence of curves. I think I began to relax into the ride a bit. And I remembered my training at last, outside, inside, outside. I was so focused on muscleing/steering around the curves that I forgot to use what I learned. Perhaps it was because this is a new ride and because it's been so long since we rode anything other than a straight line with a couple of 90 degree turns.

The back roads along the Sound are definitely the long way round, but it's much more enjoyable than the freeway or Highway 99. And lots of practice curves for me, which is also a good thing. But it did take us for ever to get up to the store.

We bought groceries at the commissary and some few things at the exchange and loaded up the sidecar. We had room for more, but didn't need more. Too funny when people realize you're loading that heap of grocery bags in a sidecar!

We came home on the freeway and that was fast easy riding except it was SO COLD. I could have worn my spring jacket instead of my mesh. The sun didn't come out the entire trip. It didn't even threaten to come out.

So handy to back the scoot into the garage and have the groceries so close to the house. Lazy woman's shopping. No, wait, that's Amazon Fresh, which I love and highly recommend to anyone who lives in the delivery area. Beautiful fruits and veggies, they put the stuff from the commissary (or Safeway or Albertson) store to shame. Imagine waking up to all the groceries you need on your doorstep! It's heavenly but it isn't exactly cheap.

Yesterday we took Norman out to dinner in the sidecar. He really seems to enjoy it, the breeze and watching all the passing scenery. He never tried to jump out, or even threatened to until we got safely home. We went to Red Line Burgers and sat at the picnic tables out front. Norman climbed up on the bench and sat there like a little hairy gentleman. They brought him a burger patty on a little paper plate and a paper cup of water. I broke up his burger into reasonable sized pieces so he didn't gulp it all down at one big bite. He ate a few pieces of burger, took a drink from the cup on the table, watched the traffic passing by, had a bite of onion ring, ate more burger, had a drink. Repeat patiently. He was so funny and seemed to think he was King of the World. When it was time to leave, he hopped right in the sidecar and off we went for a little ride.

People don't seem to notice the scoot and sidecar much, but put Norman in the sidecar and you get loads of attention.

Whoopie!

My sidecar is ready at last! Yippee! Hooray!

We'll take Mr. Burgman to Dauntless Motors on Monday afternoon to have his Kenna sidecar fitted and affixed.

To say I am very excited is an understatement.

Norman had a test ride in the back of the truck, safely tethered in. It appears that he may love riding in a sidecar. He sure loved riding in the truck bed.

If you don't see any entries here, it's because I'm out riding again.

Sidecar Update

My sidecar body has been made.

The frame is finished and was delivered to the shop today.

The parts to connect the sidecar to the scooter are finished.

It won't be long now!

And yet, it's taking soooooo long.

I've wasted so much good weather waiting, waiting, waiting.

Soon, it will all be over and we'll be riding again.

Morphous Morphs Into Morphous Wrex

Ray says I have to tell Morphous Wrex's story, which also is mine. It all started with our sons giving Ray a motorcycle. It's their fault, this whole thing.

Eventually I got tired of waving good-bye as a small pack of motorcycles left our house on lovely sunny days. They all made it look so easy, especially our nephew, TJ KneeDragger. I figured if they could all do it, so could I. Forget that Ray had ridden motorcycles when he was a teenager and that the sons and the nephew are waaay younger than I am, that the last time I rode a bicycle I ended up on crutches for weeks (badly sprained ankle) and that I have never ridden a motorcycle. I had to have one too.

I did some research and consulted my resident experts. Quickly I decided that I didn't want to bother with clutches and such (I really don't like driving a stickshift car around here) and that a scooter was just the ticket. So off to test sit scooters. Hmmm. These are all too tall! I've got a 28" inseam and these scooter seats are at 35". Hmmm. Good thing this has a center stand or I'd fall over. Hmmm. Back to the internet for more research.

Ah-HA! Look at this! Yamaha Morphous. Seat height 25 inches. Ooh! Let's go look at that one! On the 8th of April 2007 I saw, fell in love with, and bought the Morphous. It really was love at first sight and adoration at first sit. The Morphous fits me perfectly and I love it's sleek ultramodern looks. My sons think it looks like a Star Wars Moon of Endor Speeder, but I think it's beauty on wheels. As you can see in the pictures, my Morphous is shiny Midnight Black. Yes, it came with only 2 wheels. Ray gave it a short test drive in the dealer's lot and declared it suitable for me. So Morphous came home with us and kicked my mini-van out of the garage. (Sorry, Blue)

I was lucky and got a spot in an MSF class later in April. Ray took me out to practice in a parking lot a couple of times and declared I was doing well. I didn't want to show up for class never having driven my own bike. So on a cloudy and cool Friday, April 13, I got way brave and took Morphous out for some practice in our neighborhood all by myself. Wow! Look at me, I'm going 7 miles per hour! AAAACK! That truck behind me is HUUUUGE! Turn into the cul-de-sac and get away from that giant grill that's about to eat us! Ahh, that's better.

Oops. What's that doing there? There's another huge truck parked right in the narrow part of the street. Now, how do I get around that truck after I circle around the cul-de-sac? Hmmm. Think about this. So far, so good, but while thinking and visualizing, I let the scooter coast. I found out two-wheeled vehicles don't coast so good at 2 mph. At that speed, they don't stand up on their own.

Wham! Flat on my back under some juniper bushes in someone's front yard. Hmmm. Scoot is still running, I better turn it off. There. Hmm. My right leg's under that scoot between the curbing and the floorboard and I better get it out. Ooo, that leg hurts. Man, 400 pounds is very heavy when it's laying on you. Shriek! That hurt worse, but the leg is now on top of the scooter instead of underneath. Oh, no! It feels broken.

Now what? Hmmm. Call for help. Oops, can't reach the phone which is in the glove box on the far side of the scooter. Well, you could crawl the 3 blocks home. Ah, no. Not. Ok, yell. So I yelled and after some minutes nothing. So I turned the scooter back on and with my right foot, pushed the horn button until the man who owned the bushes I was in came out to see what the noise was. He was so startled to find me there. He called 911 for me and had a hard time convincing the dispatcher that he didn't run me over.

EMS came, picked me up and stuffed me in an ambulance. Off to the hospital, x-rays and oh, yes, your leg's broken into four pieces, have a cast. Nearly one very painful week later, I had surgery to fix the break....one steel plate and 7 screws. A brand new cast. And I had to miss my MSF class too. A long recovery ensued. The cast came off the last week of June. Physical therapy took weeks. By fall I was cleared to get back on the scooter but then the rains set in. In January 2008 I had the screws and plate removed. More recovery ensued, but I was finally ready to try again.

And that's how Morphous became Morphous Wrex.

The wheels are another story.