This post is dedicated to all those who rented a Scooter for the first time in some tropical island with romantic visions of riding with the salty wind in your hair only to drive it into a wall on your first ride. And still bought one back in the States because it’s Green.

Ah the Scooter…  My visions of grandeur riding it for the first time were dashed the moment I ran into a pile of bricks while in Isla Mujeres.  After that I was banished to being a passenger for the rest of the vacation.  Still, I was determined to find a Green mode of transportation that didn’t involve waiting for what seemed like countless hours on the bus in Atlanta.

The experience of purchasing the scooter itself was great.  Tyler, at the Scooter Superstore of America in Midtown was fantastic and even gave us some literature on the tax write-off we’ll get for purchasing a Vespa this year.  You can read more about the tax benefits here: http://www.vespacity.net/green.php

Being a woman of smaller stature I needed a scooter that would be small enough for me to handle but stand out so people would notice me.  I chose an orange Vespa S50, no license or registration is needed for any vehicle that is 50cc or smaller.  It was really the perfect vehicle for my needs.  Although an urban legend that your jacket helps you to stand out in traffic, I purchased a white jacket with red reflectors on it.

My inaugural ride was quite the scary event–leave it up to me to ride just fine–taking turns just fine and avoiding any accidents with moving objects.  Where do I end up denting my baby?  On our steep inclined driveway where I rammed it into the brick wall of our house.  Darn stationary objects!

Still, it’s lightweight, low emissions and very affordable and heck, I’m driving a scooter, something I never thought I’d do after running into a pile of bricks.

Have your own funny stories about driving a scooter or moped for the first time?  A die-hard fan?  Share your comments below: