Not just a ride...

TWO rides!

Joan wanted to do some deep cleaning in the motorhome.  That is code word for: Jim, get out of here so any cleaning stuff doesn't set off your asthma.  You don't have to ask me twice.

I thought I would get out the GoPro camera.  It hasn't seen any use since before we left home.  It didn't take me long to remember why... when it works, it can be interesting.  But, most of the time, it is just a pain in the ass.  This was one of those times.

I thought I'd shoot some video to share with my scooting buddies online.  The GoPro has an app so you can control it from your phone.  Nope.  So, while I did get a few videos, they weren't much to write home (or post online) about.  On the bright, but "how does that crap happen?", side: every time I turned the video on or off, the GoPro took a photo.  So, I have some photos to share.  And, before you ask, yes, I know how to run the damn camera.  The phone and the camera just don't play well together.

Getting ready to take the Vespa out...

"If I press this fake button, it should turn the video on."  It doesn't.

Rolling out of the RV park...

Yes, it is thinning out a bit.

Out on the road and heading south...

Yes, that is a curve above.  I stopped to mess with the camera for a moment...

No, that isn't a video.  Yes, that is my "hi-viz" jacket.  Hell with it, I'm just going to enjoy the ride...

I rode out PIR (Phoenix International Raceway, or whatever it is being called currently), then took surface roads back to the RV park.  I put the GoPro away and got Joan's Xmax out to give it a run back-to-back vs the Vespa...

No, Joan was still cleaning and didn't want to go for a ride, but she told me to enjoy her Xmax and made that "twisting a throttle" motion with her hand and wrist.  Then, she took my photo with her phone...

I took a different route with the Xmax - I wanted to run it through some traffic, some surface roads, and out on the Interstate.  Not a ton of traffic out there, but heading up to Indian School Road, I got the feel of it while pulling away from stoplights.  Yeah, this Yamaha is one peppy scoot!

I turned west and rode out through Verrado (a planned development).  It is a pretty community.  A few families out walking, but not much else happening.  From there, I rode south to hook up with I-10 and took that west to Buckeye.  Plenty of truck traffic on the Interstate, and the Xmax was well up to the task; riding 65, there was plenty of power left when I twisted the throttle.

The main drag through the newer part of Buckeye is typical newish retail and restaurants.  Anything with a drive through window had long lines; everything else looked closed.  I rode south to Yuma Road, then turned east.  You would think with that neon green jacket, I would be visible.  Apparently not... some douchbag let me get close, then pulled a left turn on me.  If that needs further explanation: the guy was a massive bag of douche.  He was coming at me, with no turn signal on.  He slowed for a nanosecond, the floored it while turning left across my path.  I had to get all over the brakes, which, incidentally, are very good on the Xmax.  There was no traffic behind me, it would have taken him 2 or 3 seconds at most to let me pass.  Apparently, he does not know how a turn signal indicator works.  Apparently, besides being a big bag of douche, he is also a sphincter of the asshole persuasion.

It didn't dampen the joy of my rides.  It is a real treat to ride both of those scooters.  That Xmax would be a perfect scoot for me, except for the height of the seat and the footboards.  It has more get-up-and-go than the Vespa; it feels more solid on the Interstate; it is stable, but still "flickable" (easy to maneuver); and I can tell you the brakes are first rate.  But, the Vespa just fits me.  I find it more comfortable.  Joan feels the same way about her Xmax.  That makes me happy.  But, it sure is fun to be able to take them both out once in a while.  While socially distancing, of course.