Category:  vespanomics

I haven't updated because I've been riding non-stop, as evidenced by my gas consumption for the past two weeks. When the sun is out in Seattle, one does not lollygag in front of a computer, my friends.

I've put nearly 3,000 miles on the GTS now so I made my appointment for the next scheduled service. I'm told it's a quickie - fuel filter, I think, and some other things. Seems I'd be needing a rear tire around now but they look good as new to me. It's a good thing I scheduled the service ahead of time - I had to book out three weeks because they're so busy. Tis the season.

This gas update is brought to you by the new MPG Calculator at Scooterworks.com. Those kids. Always trying to make stuff easier on me.

Now that Celeste is back on the road, I haven't been riding the GTS as often. Though when I do, it's for very long trips. Something strange I noticed today: Aphrodite and Celeste have almost the exact same total mileage this week: 2,500 miles. Cue: Twilight Zone theme song.

Two interesting Fun Facts for you today, kids:

I stopped at the gas station this morning to fill up Celeste (News flash: the Frankenstella is back on the road - more to follow!) and was so amazed by the numbers on the pump when I arrived that I had to take a photo of it.

It's been a very long time since I filled up a car, and I'm not accustomed to watching that great a sum disappear into a gas tank. It helped me understand what all the fuss is about. It's one thing to see $4.75 a gallon and another to see $56.10. As I've previously mentioned, math is not my strong point. So a picture really is worth a thousand words.

I'm sorry for all you folks who have to fill up your cars. That must hurt - it hurts me just looking at it. I'll just take this opportunity to suggest a possible alternative. Scooting is not for everyone. But here's my biweekly fill-up, a decimal point to the left:

I filled up the 'ol fuel tank on Aphrodite again. It feels like I just made a trip to the gouging gas station, but I put quite a few miles on last week with all this devil-may-care joyriding in the summertime weather. A lot of those miles were clocked riding 2-up. I'll have to track a few more fill-ups before calculating to even things out. (Also because I try to do as little math as possible.)

Recently I've been doing a lot of recreational riding. I've had Aphrodite, my Vespa GTS, since February and this week hit 2,000 miles. It seems like just yesterday that I was sitting victoriously atop Queen Anne Hill, smugly cherishing my 200th mile on the third day of ownership.

Last week I was revisiting old journals from my cross-country drive in 2004 when I moved from Boston to Seattle. A few weeks before I left for the 3,049 mile trip by Nissan Altima, I wrote, "I picked the wrong time to move - gas is TWO #&%ING DOLLARS a gallon!" I giggled to myself for a few hours after reading that. A laughable complaint, in the face of this week's $4.50.