[QUOTE=Zsofia]
I know, I can’t believe anybody would rather have one of those things that looks like something you get in your Happy Meal For Boys than the classic Vespa. I’d be cruising up and down and all around the town going “Ciao!”
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Happy Meals toys! Awesome description! We’ll get classic Vespas and drive around our respective towns, looking awesome! 
[QUOTE=Bites When Provoked]
13 MILES is a bicycle commute?
No bloody way, unless it was dead flat all the way… and the weather wasn’t inclement. 13 miles on a bicycle and you’d be covered in road splash and looking like a drowned rat by the time you got there.
Add in that the OP isn’t in the peak of physical condition and assuming he could even make it all the way (and if he’s not in the habit of riding bikes, I really don’t think that’s a reasonable expectation) he’d arrive sweat-drenched and in need of a shower. That really impresses the co-workers.
I’m glad it works for you, but speaking as someone who isn’t an athlete, it’s an idea that fills me with horror.
ETA: Not to say that getting a bicycle is a bad idea; it’d be an excellent idea for getting around town locally. But it’s not an entry-level commute.
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Yeah - pretty much pegged it that 13 miles isn’t a practical commute given my physical condition (add to the weight the fact that I’m 43 years old). When I change the path to roads with more bike-friendly traffic, the distance jumps to nearly 17 miles, too. I’d still be nervous about biking what I plotted - A good portion of the trip is completely without bike lanes.
While Denver is flat compared to the mountains 20 miles to the west, it’s still rather hilly - it’d take me a while to work up the stamina for that kind of ride. It’d be interesting to get an elevation profile for it but I don’t know a site that’ll do that.
Nope - best way for me to bicycle would be to bike the 2 miles to the best bus route, put my bike on the bus, ride that 9 miles to the bus depot closest to work, then finish the last mile on my own power again.
Doable if my car breaks down but the $3.50 for bus fare that day is awfully close to the $5 in gas it costs me to drive daily. I could get it down to $3 a day for bus fare if I bought ten tickets in advance but, in general, my convenience is worth that extra $2 a day.
[QUOTE=Belrix]
Yeah - pretty much pegged it that 13 miles isn’t a practical commute given my physical condition
[/QUOTE]
Why don’t you try it on a weekend? Just to see how far you can actually go and what it’s really like?
Is it wrong for me to consider this as an ideal “scooter?”
I so want one of those.
[QUOTE=Bosstone]
I’m willing to bet the supply will be up in the fall, though, once the '09 models come in.
Personally I think the Suzuki Burgman, Honda Reflex, and Yamaha Majesty look kick-ass and not dorky at all. Dorky is this.
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Didn’t know they had become hard to find. I drive a 650 Burgman and I can at least attest to the fact that 350 lbs on one is nothing at all. But don’t buy one expecting 70-80 MPG, you’ll be lucky to get 50. But then again, you can do 100 MPH if you want to. Better mileage can be had from the 400 and it should also carry you OK.
[QUOTE=yabob]
You could retain the ease of use and counter the dorkage factor by going with one these 3-wheeled Piaggio MP3 things, currently adjudged “cool”.
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Not by me! That is FUGLY with a capital FUG. And dorkish, in my book. It looks like a little brother to ED 209.
