I bought my first-ever moped two weeks ago. And then the buyer’s remorse began. Questions keep surfacing… summer on a scooter - does it limit me? Does it isolate me when I need to reach out for cross pollination and inspiration as a painter and writer? What are its freedoms? Will it become a new way to help me stretch and grow?
The exorbitant price of
car rentals in this pandemic year of 2021 drove me to consider alternative transportation
options. Ordinarily I spend my summers in my East Coast hometown for my yearly
immersion into a steamy, succulent, and sensual world; quite different from the
rest of my year in San Francisco. The rural alternative has always required a
car. But this year, with depleted fleets, renting a car for two and a half
months would cost the same as a trip to Egypt. I balked, and dug in my heels on
forking over so much money and have it just be gone by September.
A friend was diagnosed
with colon cancer. An idea that I’d toyed with gelled: buy a scooter and not
just reinvest but amortize the money I’d be spending on a car rental into an
inspired, new type of transport.
I became the owner of a
seafoam green Buddy 50.
My first test drive on my tiny
new wheels was exhilarating. I envisioned a summer of easy riding and carefree sun
splashed adventures. Then the initial heat wave that greeted me upon arrival
was replaced with a soggy, stormy stretch. I realized that even the local gallery
opening required navigating a slippery slope of wet roadway. What would I dare
or not dare to do on this moped?
My gym, which I’d abandoned
for over a year, as did most people during 2020, was now a slow, 40+ minute
commute on back country roads, if I cared to rejoin it. Was it worth it? Did
weight training matter anymore to me? I’d managed without it through 2020 in
San Francisco with aching shoulders, frequent massage appointments, worsening
posture, and lots of hot water. Back East, the bicycling, yoga, and heavy
lifting required by my summer cottage life (hefting propane tanks and large
bottles of water regularly) made me strong. But did I wish to invoke that extra
something to overcome gravity’s effects on my 61 year old torso and feel that lovely
stretching to the sun that weight training always provided me? That
rejuvenating element that lengthens my spine deliciously and makes me feel
powerful after pumping iron.
It seems this summer has
become a series in new dares to myself. Do I settle into becoming an old lady?
Or do I push boundaries and continue to grow and find new ways of meeting needs
and desires?
Stay tuned for more!
