Friday, October 3, 2025 My Moped Moment

We went to Madeline Island in Wisconsin recently. My husband suggested ahead of time that we would want to rent mopeds to get around on the island. Inwardly, I rejected this immediately because…well, fear has no rationality. The closer the trip got, the more it seemed clear that a moped ride was going to be in my future, whether I liked it or not. I looked at the website of the moped rental place and was reassured that no prior experience was necessary; the staff would show you all you would need to know. But I still would have been happy for a reason not to do it. “Oh no – it’s raining! Too bad!” Or “It turns out I’m really too old to learn something new, Too bad!” In spite of my misgivings, the day came.

I had pictured that the moped training session would start with perhaps a 5-10 minute video, followed by the kind of of hovering instruction a parent gives when teaching their precious child to ride a bike without the training wheels. Instead, the young man showed me the moped and in about 15 seconds covered the three things I needed to do to run the thing. I am not exaggerating (which I need to say because I love to exaggerate). “You’ll do this on the left handle, push this button and do this on the right handle. Have fun!” Not so fast, buster. I asked him to tell me again more slowly and at the amused look on his face, I had to tell him, “I’m not kidding.” So he went over it again. I still wasn’t completely clear on things, so he suggested that if we wanted to practice a little bit there was a parking lot just up the street. Of course my motorcycle-riding hubby did not need any practice, but yes, I want to practice a bit. Perhaps more than a bit.

Somehow I managed to get myself over to the lot, fielding a series of “micro-panics” on the way. (Did I invent that term? I really like it!) Once in the lot, I proceeded to careen here and there, turning awkwardly and not using the two handles (brake on the left, accelerate on the right) very well. While my husband’s back was turned, I ran into a bush and had to extricate myself. I managed to get over to where he was and I said grimly, “I don’t have any muscle memory for this at all.” He responded cheerily, “You’ll be fine!”

And I was. It turns out that once you hit the open road, there’s not a lot of fussing that you have to do with the handles. In addition, there was a great deal of fortifying prayer going on in my mind. By the time we got to the Big Bay State Park (25 minute ride at 25 mph), the micro-panics had subsided almost entirely and I was actually enjoying it. On the way back to the rental place, I was feeling like a pro. Hubby joked to the kids that I was already looking at buying leathers. Ha ha! I feel a micro-panic coming on.

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Fear not, for I am with you
Be not dismayed, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you, I will help you.
I will uphold you with my victorious right hand.
Isaiah 41:10

This post will self-destruct at the first sign of a micro-panic. Oops – gone already!