The end of era (for me) .... the start of one for someone else?

I never thought this moment would come.
I love my Vespa - My very first motorcycle.  I learnt a lot with her and on her, and we had some fabulous rides together - why on earth should we ever be parted?... Im still asking this question now...... even now that she has been sold and belongs to someone else

I have to admit that the Vespa hadn't come out of the shed for nearly 2 years;  Now that I have the Royal Enfield I much prefer to ride a bigger bike.  But nevertheless, it is fun and cool and just 'easy' to jump on the scooter for a little buzz around, and so I imagined that I'd always keep her for those special moments when only a scooter will do.  However, in recent months my mind has started to wander (again) and despite not yet finishing the Trike (although it is making good progress) I am starting to yearn for another project...... a big one this time (but more on that another day / another blog).

It started to dawn on me that if i was going to start another project,  i would need both cash and space, and as much as I love the Vespa, it was nuts to have her just sitting idle in the shed - and so I put her up for sale.
I started with eBay - I put her up several times - got load of watchers, and several offers, but no buyers.  Eventually I decided to try Gumtree instead (eBay was charging me each time she didnt sell, whereas Gumtree is totally free) With Gumtree I got quite a few offers, and a handful of genuine people actually coming out to see her.

Saturday 12th July 2014
Paul - very nice chap - and his mate turn up, ride her up and down a couple of times, have a cup of tea, hand over cash and load her in the back of his van - simple as that!
It was all over and done with within the hour and I didn't even have a moment to pine / doubt / cry!

I did manage to pat and say 'goodbye' to her - i'm not ashamed to say that I always talked to her - particularly to say 'thank-you' for a nice and safe ride - and although I was sad to see her go, I think Paul seemed like he was going to look after her and enjoy her :-)

So in conclusion;
She came to me on 5th May 2010, and left me on 12th July 2014 .....
thats 4 years, 2 months and 7 days together...... 1529 days
and in that time, I rode approximately 3760 miles on her
I sold her for £1350.  (I lost track of how much she cost in the rebuild, but I don't think I've profited other than from the experience and pleasure)

..... Next project?.... watch this space