Transam on a Moped?



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Stan

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When I retire in two years, I plan to ride the Virginia-Oregon Transam route on my Vision R54
recumbent bike. My wife would like to share in the adventure, and I very much want to include her.

The problem: she has bad knees. She's had arthroscopic surgery twice on each knee. Her doctor says
the next operation will be a joint replacement. So, cycling across the country is out of the
question for her.

My brilliant (?) solution is to buy her a motor scooter, AKA moped -- something with a 50 cc engine
such as a Yamaha Zuma. It's pretty quiet, and compatible with my 12 MPH pace. As a bonus (for me),
we could get her a trailer to carry the heavier gear.

Question #1: Has anyone had any experience with such a "mixed marriage"? Any "gottchas"?

Question #2: Would she be unwelcome at "Ride Across . . ." or "Tour de
. . ." events even if she registered as a rider? It would seem that, legally, she could join me on
public roads, but would this be poor biking etiquette? We'd like to participate in tours such as
this, but not if people would take offense at a moped in their midst.
 
In article <[email protected]>, Stan <[email protected]> wrote:
>When I retire in two years, I plan to ride the Virginia-Oregon Transam route on my Vision R54
>recumbent bike. My wife would like to share in the adventure, and I very much want to include her.
>
>The problem: she has bad knees. She's had arthroscopic surgery twice on each knee. Her doctor says
>the next operation will be a joint replacement. So, cycling across the country is out of the
>question for her.
>
>My brilliant (?) solution is to buy her a motor scooter, AKA moped -- something with a 50 cc engine
>such as a Yamaha Zuma. It's pretty quiet, and compatible with my 12 MPH pace. As a bonus (for me),
>we could get her a trailer to carry the heavier gear.
>
>Question #1: Has anyone had any experience with such a "mixed marriage"? Any "gottchas"?
>
>Question #2: Would she be unwelcome at "Ride Across . . ." or "Tour de
>. . ." events even if she registered as a rider? It would seem that, legally, she could join me on
> public roads, but would this be poor biking etiquette? We'd like to participate in tours such as
> this, but not if people would take offense at a moped in their midst.

I think it would not be well received by some riders. I suppose you could discuss it with the
organizers of the event. Personally I would not really want to be riding in a group at the elbow of
a person on a moped I didn't know, someone who might not be careful or skilled. For a cyclist I
think that is "healthy paranoia". She might also consider offering herself on the moped as a
volunteer on a big organized ride. I think the moped rider with a group of cyclists scenario
probably would work best in a local club setting where people could get comfortable with it and get
to know the rider, discuss safety, etc.

I think the E-Bike type products would probably be better received among cyclists since it is more
like a bike, quieter, doesn't stink, etc. Obviously it has substantial range limitations that rule
out long journeys on battery power.

--Paul
 
On 20 Jan 2003 06:42:38 -0800, [email protected] (Stan) wrote:

>My brilliant (?) solution is to buy her a motor scooter, AKA moped -- something with a 50 cc engine
>such as a Yamaha Zuma. It's pretty quiet, and compatible with my 12 MPH pace. As a bonus (for me),
>we could get her a trailer to carry the heavier gear.

One thing is that each state has different laws on mopeds. Some require tags and insurance, some
don't. Some require pedals to be on the moped, some don't. The trailer part might also be in
question as state laws in certain states probably prohibit mopeds from having "bobs"

http://www.moped2.org has plenty of information to help you.
 
You might want to consider, at least for a TransAm passage, something larger than a moped. Maybe
something like the Honda Reflex. Yes, it's lot more expensive than a moped, and it almost certainly
wouldn't be welcome in group rides. However, in crossing the country I'm thinking about potential
emergency situations where speed and carrying capacity might be critical. You would never choose
this machine specifically for highway travel and touring, but in a pinch it would give you the
ability to carry two-up at highway speeds. It would also probably be a lot more quieter and
comfortable for her than a moped. Remember, she will also be putting in many hours in the saddle.

Pat

[email protected] (Stan) wrote in message news:<[email protected]>...
> When I retire in two years, I plan to ride the Virginia-Oregon Transam route on my Vision R54
> recumbent bike. My wife would like to share in the adventure, and I very much want to include her.
>
> The problem: she has bad knees. She's had arthroscopic surgery twice on each knee. Her doctor says
> the next operation will be a joint replacement. So, cycling across the country is out of the
> question for her.
>
> My brilliant (?) solution is to buy her a motor scooter, AKA moped -- something with a 50 cc
> engine such as a Yamaha Zuma. It's pretty quiet, and compatible with my 12 MPH pace. As a bonus
> (for me), we could get her a trailer to carry the heavier gear.
>
> Question #1: Has anyone had any experience with such a "mixed marriage"? Any "gottchas"?
>
> Question #2: Would she be unwelcome at "Ride Across . . ." or "Tour de
> . . ." events even if she registered as a rider? It would seem that, legally, she could join me on
> public roads, but would this be poor biking etiquette? We'd like to participate in tours such as
> this, but not if people would take offense at a moped in their midst.
 
in article Qz7X9.30145$A%[email protected], Paul Southworth at
[email protected] wrote on 1/21/03 3:31 AM:

> Stan <[email protected]> wrote:
>> When I retire in two years, I plan to ride the Virginia-Oregon Transam route on my Vision
>> R54 recumbent bike. My wife would like to share in the adventure, and I very much want to
>> include her.
>>

When I did a 2000 mile portion of the TransAm in the early 80's I caught up with a fellow doing
exactly what you're considering. His wife rode at her own speed which usually was considerably
faster than her cyclist husband. She'd rush ahead to get cool drinks or find a camping spot and then
meet up with her spouse at her leisure. She carried the heavier items while he carried a pared down
load. They both seemed to be enjoying themselves immensely.

For the transcontinental, I say go for it! You have to think of other cyclists on organized, shorter
rides though.

Ray
 
Ray wrote:

> > Stan <[email protected]> wrote:
> >> When I retire in two years, I plan to ride the Virginia-Oregon Transam route on my Vision
> >> R54 recumbent bike. My wife would like to share in the adventure, and I very much want to
> >> include her.
> >>
> When I did a 2000 mile portion of the TransAm in the early 80's I caught up with a fellow doing
> exactly what you're considering. His wife rode at her own speed which usually was considerably
> faster than her cyclist husband. She'd rush ahead to get cool drinks or find a camping spot and
> then meet up with her spouse at her leisure. She carried the heavier items while he carried a
> pared down load. They both seemed to be enjoying themselves immensely.
>
> For the transcontinental, I say go for it! You have to think of other cyclists on organized,
> shorter rides though.

This is giving me some ideas. I've often wished my wife could go touring with
me. She tries riding once in a while, but various physical ailments keep her from doing much. She
has suggested one of those Ebikes, but I figure that with those, when the battery gives out she
is left with a really clunky vehicle to pedal, which wouldn't be much fun at all.

A regular moped might be better. We're both about the same size, and wear the same size bikes. If
she wants to get in 5 miles or so of riding each day, I could let her ride my bike while I take the
moped. I would have to overcome the psychological barrier of wanting to pedal every foot of the way
myself, but maybe it would be worth it.

I owned a 50cc Peugot moped back in the late 70s -- rode it to work a lot, took a spill a couple of
times and made a mess of myself that she didn't want to allow into her clean house. My memory isn't
all that clear, but I remember it being a bit on the noisy side -- not something that would allow
for conversation while we ride together. Maybe there are some quieter machines out there. Or maybe
it doesn't matter that much because there isn't all that much side-by-side riding anyway.

John Gorentz
 
Pat Clancy wrote:

in every state, if it is over 50cc (a moped), she would be required to have a motorcycle license. I
had a 70cc scooter in the early 80's and it was considered legally to be a motorcycle in every state
(I have a motorcycle license). And moped laws like I said vary from state to state or even town to
town. For example in Maryland, mopeds are legal without tags or insurance but totally illegal to
ride in the city of Baltimore. A lot of considerations to figure in in multi state moped riding.
 
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