The journey home and the mysterious honking

Several months ago I purchased my first scooter. It was a beautiful day. The sun was shining, there wasn't a cloud in the sky and I had just moved into my new, spacious house. Things could not be better, that is until I received a phone call from the local motorcycle shop. My 2009 Ruckus had arrived.

I drove down to the dealership and after hours of signing papers and waiting for the repair shop to screw the handle bars onto the body my scooter was mine to drive home. Of course by now a threatening storm cloud had moved over the dealership and began to spew forth rain like no one should ever have to experience while living in a desert. I was nervous to say the least.

I had ridden bikes before in snow, sun and rain, at 3 o’clock in the morning down a mountainside road, through Main Street going the wrong way at 5 o’clock in the morning, through a construction zone, over bonfire ashes, but at this moment I was frightened.

Rain made the roads slick and I was pushing 50cc's of raw power through these wheels. I was certain I would die, but I strapped on my helmet and drove on home. I merged into traffic and was immediately heading into fierce winds. I topped out at 25 mph on my first straightaway, soaking wet and wearing only shorts and a T-shirt.

At this point a car decided to start tailing me. Obviously, with their four-cylinder, Japanese-made engine, they could be going at least twice my speed with no worries. I couldn't worry about that now – I had to prep myself for my first turn. I reached my left thumb over and began to flip my turn signal successfully. It clicked over and my signal began to flash. Then, the car behind me honked. Why the hell would he honk at me? Is this someone I know? Do they think I'm going too slowly? Pass me then you piece of sh*t. Godd*mn motherf*ck*r, I'm driving here. Sure I'm driving slowly but leave me alone. I became increasingly annoyed. They honked again...I turned. They were no longer on my tail, no more honking from them. I continued to scoot away, slowly.

The rain let up a bit and the roads were a little drier now. I was starting to get the hang of this. I prepped myself for another turn and then another, "HONK!" What?! Nobody is behind me. Who just honked? I checked my mirrors. I looked side to side. Then, I looked down at my hands. There it was, the culprit. I realized it was me all along. I had been honking as I flipped my turn signal on.

This happened for the next couple weeks on and off until I got a feel for everything. Driving through neighborhoods honking randomly as I passed kids play basketball in the streets and fathers mowing lawns, I would honk for no reason.

-Seth