Wanna swap?

 

No, Hart Ranch is not that kind of resort.  We decided to do our "mini loop" that is all twisty roads, including about half of Iron Mountain Road.  I got the scoots out and Joan said to me, "Why don't you leave all the camera stuff off, in case we decide to swap bikes today."

"Swap bikes?"  She is not a big fan of my Vespa because..."It feels different."  I think the only other time she has ridden this one was when we did our roll-on speed comparisons.  With about 1,700 miles on it now, the Vespa is starting to open up.  I've ridden her bike plenty, so I have my own opinions on the comparison.  I was looking forward to getting her take on it.

We started out each on our own bike.  After a few miles, we swapped scoots at a stop sign with no traffic behind us.  "Oh, yeah, this definitely feels different," she said.  And then, "Hey, this thing is really peppy!"  I also let her know that she would find the Vespa to be more "flickable" in the curves... less weight, smaller wheels, and a shorter wheelbase than her Xmax.  She saw what I was talking about right away.  Also, the riding positions are significantly different... but both are very sporting to ride.  All in all, I think she was actually quite impressed with the Vespa.

Some interesting perspectives: she thought the Vespa had a nicer ride; I thought the Xmax has better suspension.  Both are good, but different.  Before we were half way through the ride, she was ready to trade back.  A fun experience for both of us.  On Iron Mountain Road, we stopped at a known shade place to rehydrate...

 I never did put any camera gear on the bike (I had it in the top case), so this is the only photo for the day... old school, with my iPhone.  ;-)

Iron Mountain Road was traffic-free again today!  Not a single car in front or behind us in our lane, the whole way.  Not even that much traffic coming at us in the other lane.  We took turns leading - it is fun to ride behind her.  Even though we've ridden together for 50+ years, we have developed different techniques in the twisties: she is more fluid, I am more aggressive... we both get through the curves together, although I usually lead.

I was craving ice cream as we rode through Keystone... we stopped at the DQ there, and a Peanut Buster Parfait took care of that craving.  Then, more twisties back.  As her "bike valet," I told her to pull her scoot onto our patio instead of out by the cargo trailer: I washed both bikes before putting them away.  My timing was good: a large gray cloud came over us from the west; I finished her bike first and got it put away.  By the time I was done with mine and got it into the trailer, the first raindrops came down.  Back into the motorhome and a check of weather... looks like we are now in a thunderstorm watch area.  Of course, the possibility of "quarter-size hail."  Looking at radar, it may just skirt us on three sides; we'll no doubt get some rain, hope the severe stuff cuts us some slack.

The rumble of thunder is getting closer and louder.