Me and My Invisible Bike

You just know it's not going to be a good day when you have to return some oversized boxes on your moped and it's raining (lightly).

Both of us had our boxes fall off once, the roads are rather lumpy, but I had a really nice guy help me put mine back on. And then we were off again. Once we realized that yet another internet source was outdated and there was no post office where indicated, we headed across the street to go to a vet clinic for Jack's prescription cat food (seriously, it's never ending). And guess what?

A pick-up truck ran into me.

Yep. That's going to leave a bruise. I hesitated to put this on the blog at all, but this is a blog about Key West and scootering is very conch (and so are accidents with them). I'm fine obviously. Nothing a couple of band-aids and some ice can't handle. The bike, the brand-new bike, will need to be repaired however.

How did it happen? Well, I was going straight through an intersection and someone turned into me. I'm glad we've got that rite-of-passage out of the way, at least.

I saw the truck coming and kept moving right while trying to speed up and out of its way but could see the driver was not going to stop so just jumped off the bike and did a drop and roll as far away from the scooter as possible. Once the pick-up hit the moped, I saw the man inside freaking out (at himself) and got up quickly so he could see that I was ok. As we were trying to get our vehicles and various vehicle parts out of the middle of the intersection, people were actually honking. Are you frickin' kidding me?! Put people behind a windshield and you have to wonder what happens to their decorum. My hip hurts a bit where I hit the ground (it'll probably be black & blue soon), and I've got some scrapes here and there, but overall came out ok.

The police were very friendly. It was clear who's fault it was and that person's insurance will cover it, so it wasn't a big deal (yet). I loved it when one of the officers reminded me that we had to get our licenses switched over within 30 days of arrival (we have 5 days)...I told him don't get me started on that - we were trying. He nodded knowingly.

I think poor Michael was more traumatized than I was having to watch it all unfold (he was behind me). Being the captain that I am, I suggested he finish what we started out to do and get the boxes off to UPS while I waited for the police (who came very quickly, I guess someone can honk and dial at the same time). Better he keep himself busy. I don't react to this kind of stuff until hours later and by then it'll be a respectable time to have some wine. And really, Michael got hurt more last night playing Sloshball in some park. Yes, some ying yang has come up with the great idea of combining drinking and kickball. You must have a drink in your hand at all times, so only have one hand to support yourself if you stumble & fall over first base and don't want to spill your beverage. Michael temporarily dislocated his shoulder and, though back in place, it's all soft (his shoulder).



You can't say the boy doesn't know how to pack a moped.

We'll have to go back to the Dominican Republic and show them how it's done (Ha! I don't think any other people will be able to beat the Dominicans when it comes to loading a motorcycle). Anywho - the very apologetic guy who hit me works at or owns a restaurant here and said we should stop by for a beer. I will do just that - and I'll expect a meal too.