Mopeds

We kept walking by this moped rental on the way to and from. I kept saying I wanted to rent one. Scott was doubtful. But being the amazing husband that he is, he agreed.

We headed down right after the KState game on Friday, at 10:30. I had reserved a smaller moped and Scott a slightly larger one. We paid and showed our drivers licenses and got fitted for helmets then went out to the parking lot to meet Jake for our lessons.

Jake carefully went over the instruments and instructions for locking them up, and then had us practice walking them backwards and using the kickstands. Then it was time for me to give it a try first. Jake went out about 10 feet and had me hit the throttle and come toward him then brake. Yikes. He kept asking if I had any experience riding a bike or anything with a motor. Well, yes, I can ride a bike. And I rode my brother’s four wheeler and even shifted gears on it. But Jake was doubtful. Apparently while I walked over to the convenience store to use the bathroom, Jake told Scott that if I couldn’t do it, he would refund us.

So second try. Jake went out about 20 feet and had me hit the throttle again and go toward him, and when I got going, he signaled for me to put my feet up. Wobbly. I braked and Jake pointed out that when I looked down rather than out, I wobbled. And, I couldn’t hit the brake and the gas at the same time. Ok, walk it back and do it again. So I did. Then Scott did.

Then it was time. Jake sent us out onto the road to go about three roads down and turn into a large parking lot area to practice. We did. We rode around and back about 6 times. Then I was ready.

We took off, me following Scott, into traffic. Lower Kanapalali Road is two lanes, lots of cars, behind us, in front of us, and pulling out in front of us, pedetrian crossings, yikes. We made it through that part and into a residential area. Scott pulled off a couple times to make sure I was alright and right behind him. We kept going.

The road twisted and turned, past more residential areas, ocean views, resorts, shops, more twists, then about 3 miles down the road, beautiful manicured lawns and big big mansions.

Eventually, four miles down the road, we came to a golf course and zip lining and shopping area, very high end. We drove around looking for the place we planned to hike and stopped at a nice shop for a sandwich. It was amazing! I had a prime rib French dip and Scott had a bbq bacon ranch grilled turkey. The shop was a lot like the ABC stores we’ve been impressed with so we did some more shopping. We ate outside then took off to find the hike.

We hiked on a long sidewalk by the ritzy resorts and found a cool beach called Fleming Beach but it wasn’t our destination.

Finally, we found a parking lot and parked the mopeds and made our way along a boardwalk then trails along the most beautiful coast line I have ever seen. It blew my mind how beautiful it was. We took lots of pics and stopped to just watch the huge waves come up on the rocks.

When we got back to the mopeds, Scott’s bike seat had blown open. Not sure if this is what threw him off, but Scott left the key to the moped on the lock and locked it in the seat. When he discovered it, he said he would ride back the four miles to the moped place and get a spare and return. Nope, I wanted to.

So wobbly moped newbie me, took off and rode four miles all by myself back to the moped shop. I was courageous around curves, in the wind, hitting bumps, having cars behind me with not enough space to let them pass. I did it.

When I got there, Jake laughed and gave me the only key they had. I took off again and rode another 20 minutes, four miles back to where Scott was. I missed my turn and turned to look at him and when I looked up, I was headed for the median. I managed to miss it, but the side of the moped scraped along the curb before I could slow it down. I pulled over to the right, calmed down, then took a u turn in traffic back to where Scott was. Yikes.

We again took off back along the road. This time, a guy pulled out in front of me and I yelled a not very nice word right into his open window. He had some not nice things he said back to me.

About a mile later, a really great looking guy on a sexy big motorcycle almost pulled out then saw me. He watched me go by and gave me a respectful nod that only us motorcyclists understand. (Lol).

We made it back safely and turned in our mopeds an hour early. Mai Tai Di earned her cocktail and hot tub.