----- Original Message -----

From: Holland

To: kickbiking@yahoogroups.com

Sent: Friday, July 03, 2009 5:21 PM

Subject: [kickbiking] A Day at the Beach

My fantasy scoot day has come true. Scooted about a mile to the bus stop. Put my new Freeride on the bus bike rack. Was fumbling with the bungee cord I was going to use to secure the scoot, so just skipped it and it turned out it stayed in place beautifully without it. Had a really nice bus driver who let me stand in front of the yellow line to keep an eye on it and see how it was doing for the first several blocks. When the bus got crowded, I went back and took a seat. Arrived in Santa Monica, got off, unloaded and went to the bike path along the beach. Headed north toward Malibu. Lots of nice comments. A group of counselors with an outdoor fitness camp broke into an instant chant of "Scoot-er! Scoot-er!" each time I passed them along with saying they loved it and wanted to get one themselves. I had someone who looked like a permanent outdoor resident call out from his reclining position, "Hey, can I borrow that?" It was a gorgeous day, just the right amount of breeze, a very blue sky and good bird choreography. When I reached the end of the bike path, I turned around, went back through Santa Monica and continued down to Venice Beach. Great mix of beautiful bodies and just folks, bicycles built for two, and parents hauling their offspring in trailers attached to their bicycles. Interesting to note relative speed – I actually passed several of the slower riders of one-speed cruiser bikes, but couldn't overtake a speedy roller-bladder. I'm definitely not in it for the speed, but sometimes it becomes a little game to see to what degree I can keep up with the various human powered vehicles that pop up in front of me. Saw something in the beach parking lot I'd never see before that took my breath away – kite boarding. Apparently it's often done over the water, but even more amazing to me over the ground. A guy has his legs strapped to a platform with wheels, like a giant skateboard, and is holding on to a huge kite with heavy duty gloves which is rolling him around the lot. When he catches the wind just so he and the board fly several feet over the ground. You feel like you're soaring just watching. After a couple of hours at the beach, I headed back up to the street, put my scooter back on the bus and headed home thinking this was about the best mini-vacation you could get all for $1.25 bus fare and a 45 minute ride. Hope to make this trip a couple of times a month part of my regular routine. I am loving the Freeride and around town also getting lots of nice comments, along with some outright chuckles. I liked the little girl who pointed with awe and said, "Look, Mommy – a scooter bike!"

Hope you all have a great 4th and get some good rides in!

Holland