Last night marked my first scooter adventure on my brand new Vespa S150. And a scooter adventure requires gasoline.

So enamored was I with successfully bombing down Brooklyn’s 4th avenue into the darkest reaches of Bay Ridge (hey it was just a destination for destination’s sake) … so proud was I not to spill a drop when gassing up (not as easy as it sounds as any scooterist will tell you)… that I inadvertently had my first scooter adventure and it did not go as planned:

I locked my keys in the under-seat storage.

Yes, folks, I spent an hour at the side of the rode in Bay Ridge last night waiting for my room-mate to bail me out by heading down in a Taxi with the spare set of keys.

How it went down…

I pulled up, turned off the ignition, removed the keys and unlocked the seat to access the gas tank.

Knowing that gassing up can be a precarious exercise, I lifted out the under-seat storage bucket (or Pet Carrier as it’s lovingly known here in the States) and placed it down next to the bike away from any potential gas spills.

And here is where I made my fatal mistake, I threw my keys into the storage bucket on the concrete next to the bike to free my hands up to gas up.

Filled the tank. Screwed the gas cap back on. Paid the man. Grabbed the storage bucket, dropped it into the bike, and – POP – slapped the seat shut.

Reached into my pocket – no keys. Looked down at the seat lock – no keys. Looked over at the ignition – no keys.

Two minutes later I’m unceremoniously coasting myself off the gas station forecourt under foot power and hanging my head in shame as I park the bike just round the corner out of site of the gas attendant for fear of further embarrassment.

Thanks god my room-mate was just on his way home and willing to ride down and bail me out after a quick phone call.

Lesson learned. The silver lining? One – I did this within a relatively short distance of home, not on the open road. Two – I did it now; one thing’s for sure, I’ll be thinking very carefully next time I put that seat down, and I will never be throwing my keys in there again.

Scooter newbie … making mistakes so you don’t have to. ‘Till next time.

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