As I'm sure many of you might have noticed my season of riding has been slow in developing. Bad weather and lack of opportunity have played a major role in curtailing a good size trip. This past Friday became the first chance I had to really put my squad to work. My day began with a trip to work at the dismally early hour of five in the morning to help unload a truck at my job. At this time of year the sun is beginning to poke light into the morning sky and you can see the landscape in the surrounding countryside instead of complete darkness. It makes for a much less nerve racking ride knowing you can see wild life venturing across the road well in advance instead of slamming on the brakes at the last second. The world also looks much nicer when you can enjoy the scenery instead of only seeing what passes through your headlight.

After completing my shift I had to ride over forty miles on the interstate to reach Binghamton for a brief doctors appointment. It gave me a chance to enjoy the relaxing ride the big scooter gives me and the economy of its fuel mileage which generally surpasses 70 mpg. The ride becomes enjoyable instead of a droning ride in my cars. Not that cruise control and comfy seats is a bad thing. It's just not as spiritually uplifting as a good ride in nice weather like the scooter or a motorcycle is.

The roads here in Central New York, even the interstates, pass through hills and valleys, over rivers and streams and generally aren't tedious ribbons of razor straight asphalt that puts you to sleep. The round trip to work and my doctor totaled 98.9 miles of enjoyment and made the morning a happy affair. This isn't the hundred miles promised in the title though. Fear not, there's more.

We decided to dine on take out that evening which necessitated taking out another member of the fleet to retrieve dinner. I enlisted the smaller scooter to pick up the meal. Even though it's a very cheap lookalike of a Vespa the scooter does replicate some of the appealing characteristics of the much more expensive original. It turns a simple trip into Town into a spirited ride through the countryside. The total trip to Town and back totals approximately eight miles bringing my mileage for the day to 107. I was satisfied with this but it just feels quite nice to be finally shaking the winter's dust off the bikes and enjoying traveling again. I'm sure this won't be my longest day of the season, it was a very good beginning and there's more to come.