Born to be Mild: Street Legal

My first hurdle toward becoming a – what’s the scooter equivalent to motorcyclist? Motorscootist? One of those things – has been cleared: My new licence card, which includes both my full driver’s licence and my learner’s, arrived in the mail on Wednesday. I went in and did the test – around six multiple choice questions – while Vickie was in hospital.

I’m now allowed to ride the Foxy Lady on the road – provided I have a clearly-displayed L plate near the licence plate on the back and a full licence holder on his own bike or scooter with me.

Thankfully, I have both; not only do I have a bunch of nice big L plates (though I need to figure out exactly how to fix them to the back mudguard), but my stepson Karl and stepson-in-law-to-be Anthony are keen bikers (Karl’s eldest son is all set to grow up to become a Crusty Demon).

I also, after stopping in at the Scooter Shed while taking Vickie home from hospital, have helmet and gloves. A kevlar riding jacket is still in the shopping list (around $150), but my old leather jacket should do for now.

Licence wise, the next step is to get my full licence. As previously mentioned, I can either wait six months and do a practical test, or sign up for a Q-Ride course which will let me sit the learner’s test early if the Q-Ride instructor issues me with a certificate of rider competency.

I did some searching and found a few Q-Ride outfits around town, including one who does the courses at Fretwell Park. The course is anywhere from $500-650, though, so it’ll likely be a few weeks before I stash enough money away to take it (money that’s technically budgeted for other expenses).

Then there’s the Foxy Lady herself. I still need to get her registered in Queensland. The first step there is getting a roadworthy certificate.

Hurdle #1: I’ve found only two places in the Cairns region that will do a roadworthy on a motor scooter and both of them are in town.

Which means I need someone to buddy me all the way in, hang around while they do the roadworthy check and then ride with me all the way back to Gordonvale.

Hurdle #2: Getting the Foxy Lady registered is going to cost around $300 for six months’ rego and comprehensive third party insurance.

Dad reckons he’ll help me out there, and thankfully we’ve got the cash to hand (again set aside for other things, so Dad’s help is definitely welcomed).

All in all, I’m still not sure whether I’ll be able to replace the car with the Foxy Lady before May 2013. Still, I wasn’t expecting to replace the car at all a few months ago, so you think I’d learn how useless predicting the future is!

In the meantime: It’s time for this old fart to start nagging my stepsons to take me out riding!

Are you curious?

When have you tackled something that you couldn’t do on your own? Who helped you, and how?

How do you wrangle your budget when big, unplanned expenses come up?