Toilets
My toilet was leaking from the tank to the bowl - wasting water and money. So, instead of messing with the rusty, corroded old tank pieces, I replaced the whole toilet tank contraption. No more float ball for us. A few observations from the experience - if your toilet is leaking, you should fix it to save water; "hand tighten" is different for plumber hands and little girl typist hands; I now understand why plumbers charge $100+ an hour; it is possible to fix a toilet yourself. Anyway, our toilet is no longer leaking, and it's all cleaner than it was before.
Scooters
After fixing the toilet, we drove to Cleveland to check out some scooters. I've always loved motorcycles, but they seem a little dangerous. I recently discovered how economical scooters are on gas. They get over 90 mpg!! So, we're looking into getting one for my daily commute. That way, I'll take the 100 mpg scooter, and my husband can drive the 42-44 mpg hybrid. Scooters range in price from $1,500 to $4,000+. We went to Pride of Cleveland Scooters in Lakewood to check out the Bajaj Chetak, Genuine Scooter Buddy, and of course, the Vespa (just to look at, not to buy). Scooters have plenty of storage, and the one I'm thinking of gets over 100 mpg, has a cell phone charger so I don't have to charge at home, and goes up to 60 mph. It weighs about 200 lbs and I can hold it with one foot on the ground with very little effort. We also checked out the Honda Metropolitan, but it just isn't the scooter for us. I think I'll go with the Genuine Scooter Buddy.
Driving around Cleveland neighborhoods was fun. My husband loves dive restaurants, so he kept reading the names of the restaurants as we passed - "Old Fashioned Hot Dogs," "Joe's Hot Dog," "Hot Dog and Chili," everything "hot dog." It's so interesting to see the different places and wonder about the people who live there. We passed Arabic neighborhoods, the Cleveland EcoVillage, a Jerusalem jewelry store next to a Middle East eatery, Irish pubs, poverty, junk yard dogs, and lots of stuff we don't see in Akron.
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Hmmm. I have also been contemplating alternative forms of transportation. How do you think the scooters will do in winter weather and rain? I've been drooling over those new BMW Smart cars. I read recently that they are developing them into electric forms. What I'm hoping is that my old Ford truck lasts for another 7 years (it's 13 years old now) and that by then there are many more greener options available.
Oh yeah, I forgot about the winter months. Soggy rain and hard to see weather. Maybe the BMW smart car would be a better alternative. I like the idea of scooters for summer.
We both have a car, so the scooter would be for spring, summer, and fall weather - not rainy days. It would just be an alternative, since I only drive 4 miles to work. The girl at the store said the best days to ride are in the spring and fall when it's a little cool outside, since you have to wear a riding jacket and helmet.
Village Green, I bet your truck would definitely last another 7 years if you got a scooter or something for daily drives, and used the truck as a back-up, like I'm going to do.
The Smart Car is made by DaimlerChrysler, and will be less than $15,000. Check out this electric car. Zap makes a lot of cool electric cars, but the 3-wheelers don't do well in the snow. I looked into them last year (there's a dealership near Pittsburgh), but the snow is a factor.
Be careful with the scooter. I have been riding motorcycles since 1965 and they can be very dangerous under some conditions.
I think the best mode is a bicycle to save energy
Thanks for the warning. I promise to be very careful, and always wear a helmet and jacket. I saw a guy wearing a short sleeve shirt and all I could think of was road rash. Ouch!
If I rode a bike to work, I'd be a soaking mess. A scooter seems to be a good alternative (upcoming post on ~electric~ scooters!). My commute is all in the 35 mph speed limit zone, so that's reassuring.
The scooter investment won't be for a while, anyway. I've got plenty of bills to pay before I go buy myself a Buddy.
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