The month of July marks the anniversary of two things, well three really including the marriage of my parents but that is entirely besides the point! In July of 2006 after much research and searching I decided to buy a Yamaha Vino Scooter for my around the town business. It was so exciting to run around the greater Provo/Orem area and to look at the wide range of scooters on the market. In the end I decided to go with a Yamaha and I absolutely love it. Besides the retro cuteness appeal of the scooter, there is something so soothing about zipping around and feeling the rush of the wind against you. As a side note it is really quite entertaining to experience the sort of kinship with other bikers on the road as there is some sort of unwritten rule that other bikers must be acknowledged with a nod or a honk or some sort of friendly hand gesture. I will never forget the morning I was driving it to church. As I pulled up at a particularly long red light a thunderous noise came from behind me. Upon looking in my side mirror I was somewhat startled to seen an entire motorcycle gang clad in leather and tatoos pulling up behind me. I felt somewhat timid in my skirt and heels on my little scoot scoot. Needless to say a brawl was avoided!
A somewhat less fond memory and noted anniversary is of my one and only accident that I had shortly after acquiring my scooter. I should mention at this point that prior to this time I had never driven anything remotely close to a scooter, not really even a bike since I was a little tot. It took me a few days to get a handle of it and master the art of balance and turning in confined spaces. I am happy to report that I am the holder of a motorcycle license the test for which I passed with flying colors.
The top and bottom of it is that I came walked away extremely lucky. It was a single vehicle accident that took place at the intersection of University Parkway and 8th North heading towards Orem at the mouth of Provo Canyon. I was taking the left turn and a combination of my speed and the patch of gravel that I skidded on left me down in the middle of the intersection with the scooter somewhat crushing the left side of me. The cars behind me were able to stop and a hoard of people jumped out of their cars to assist me until the police and my trusty older brothers came and rescued me.
Much to the chagrin of my parents I was wearing a skirt and flip flops on this excursion so I was a little torn up, dirty and bloody. My helmet hadn't arrived yet however my head miraculously never made contact with the ground....or maybe I should say it did, I could use that to my advantage in the future! My scooter suffered minimal damage that amounted to less than $50 to repair.
I have to say that this bruise on my left thigh is probably the craziest I have ever seen. The spectrum of colors I saw between the huge purple one and the green one lower down was mind boggling. The bruises eventually went away however my thigh was left with a bit of a permanent dent in it! Some fugly scaring remains on my elbow and ankle on the left side which dashed my dreams of becoming an elbow and ankle model. That foot of mine was swollen and quite painful for awhile but after a check up at the Emergency Care Center it was determined that nothing was broken. It took me about a month to be able to walk normally but my kickboxing class tells me that it is definitely a weaker ankle than before.
Having this accident was probably a good thing. It jolted me just enough so that I maintained a good amount of caution in my driving since then. I know for a fact it is a common thing for bike riders and according to the books and the police officer who had me in the back of his squad car for what seemed like an eternity, I got off lucky!
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