Born To Be Wild

♫ Get your motor runnin', Head out on the highway, Lookin' for adventure, And whatever comes our way, BORN TO BE WIIIIILD♫  Everybody knows the song, right?!  It's one of the best motorcycle songs, according to people on the internet.  Anyway, just wanted a catchy opening to today's blog about my scooter (bromfiets as the Dutch would say).  When we moved from Best to Eindhoven six years ago we bought a scooter so that I could get to work.  (Here's a photo of me and my darling dark blue Yamaha Neo's when it was brand spankin' new)

For those that know me well, know that I am not the most coordinated person; walking, driving, sports, etc.  (It's in the family, you know who you are, ha-ha!)  So needless to say I put this poor scooter through hell and back.  Multiple flat tires, new exhaust system, multiple minor accidents, and one larger accident.  Since my scooter didn't go faster than 25km (15 mph) I was allowed to drive on the bike path and I wasn't required to wear a helmet but I probably should have.  Sometimes the bike path is seperate from the road and sometimes it shares a lane with the cars, but it didn't matter, I found a way to ding up my scooter no matter what.  I clipped more car mirrors with my mirror than a gardener clips hedges.  I even managed to drive into the forks of a forklift and rip open the bottom of my scooter.  But my scooter drudged on!  Since we live in an apartment and our storage room is up three steps the poor scooter had to sit outside, day in, day out, rain or snow, for years.  Surprisingly enough it wasn't my lack of coordination that ended the scooter, it's the lack of use.  Once my daughter came along my scooter days were over, not out of fear, but just because I didn't need it.  Apparently using it once a year isn't enough and it died.  It seems simple enough, take it to a garage and buy a new battery, but for what, it'll still just sit there.  It's now become a parking lot decoration, a home to spiders, and possibly even a science experiment for anyone studying rust.  It's hard to part with, all the memories, from Sunday afternoon cruising around Eindhoven with my husband to toting overly stuffed grocery bags stacked on top of each other home.  What to do, what to do??  Before parting for the day I'll leave you with an up-to-date photo of my poor darling scooter.