When Doug and I first moved into this house my commute into work increased from three quarters of a mile to 10 miles, one way. Last fall I was thinking outloud when Doug latched onto an idea that I was toying with in an effort to reduce our consumption of gas (especially now at $3/gallon!). My first thought was to get a sweet little scooter... one that represents my personality and my need to get back to the va va voom of life.
After thinking out loud to a few friends (Bill, Dylan, and Forrest), Doug and I were assured that I really needed to get more power behind...well...my behind. The rationale behind this line of thinking is to get me up hills and give me the ability to get out of the way of trouble (i.e. the crazies who drive way too fast down 4th St. ... and everywhere else for that matter, as well as, the omnipresent Michigan potholes, and suicidal turkeys (yes there are several on 4th St.), etc., etc.). When you ponder all these possibilities it really is amazing that we all haven't parished on the madness of our roadways.
So "more power" is what Doug ran with in an effort to surprise me with the coolest anniversary (5/21) present a girl could ask for. About mid-April, he and the kids picked me up from work and blindfolded me. We drove around town for what seemed like an hour but it was actually about 10 minutes. At first he took some detours to throw me off but it really didn't take much to completely disorient me. Big surprise there I know...
We ended up at Lifecycle, a locally owned company in Kalamazoo that carries Triumph, Ducati, Eton, and Kymco. Our salesbiker, Dave with the knowledge that we were shopping for the somewhat short statured me (inseam 30 inches) and that I was a beginner, he wisely steered us in the direction of the Kymco Venox 250. This is a Taiwanese made cruiser that is the largest bike that Kymco currently imports into the US. I threw a leg over the Venox and found that yes my feet did reach the ground. I loved the look of the Triumph Bonneville that was sitting close by but had to strain to just touch my toes.
I came home and thought long and hard about the possibilities of coming to work on my own two wheels. After a few days of serious consideration I decided that the Kymco Venox was the way to go and we hired a babysitter so we could concentrate on the task at hand. Ten long days later my new toy arrived and we were able to go and pick it up. Our friend Bill rode it home for us, with a detour at a large parking lot on the way so we could try it out. I take a lot of pride in the fact that I only stalled it once before I got the clutch down. Ironically, since we picked it up last Friday it has rained pretty much everyday since. sigh.
There was a glimpse of sun today and I was able to get some practice in and I have to say it was pretty fun. Doug is loving it too so I would have to say it is quite the successful purchase. I am still thinking that something is missing on my new ride...maybe some of these. Reow!
The loved Kymco Venox is for sale. See the August 31st post for more info.
Looks like a fun ride. Is this what you meant when you said you were thinking about biking to work? ;-)
Posted by: Stephen McKenna | May 04, 2006 at 11:24 AM
please visit www.clubvenox.es
Posted by: zabalbide | August 16, 2006 at 07:04 AM
www.clubvenox.es is a GREAT SITE ,but it is in Spanish.
For an english site please visit www.prideinwhatyouride.com
If you need more power for those hills the solution is posted there for around $150 for the parts to do the mod.
obxbiker
Posted by: OBXBIKER | September 04, 2006 at 02:40 AM