Day 2: My First PiHigh, An Impromptu Race, and The Evolution of PiPride

     After my very first opportunity to ride a Pi Moto in public, I have to admit that the PiHigh is a very real phenomenon. From the first moment that I turned the ignition and lightly pressed the throttle with my left thumb, the immediate pick-up and smooth acceleration automatically put a smile on my face. What kept the smile on my face - aside from the feeling of the salty bay wind running through my hair - was watching my viper red Pi Moto turn heads left and right.
     By the end of my first official excursion as a PiBlogger, it was more that just a PiHigh.
     It was more like PiPride.
    Whether they were casually jogging pedestrians or decked out Lance Armstrong wanna-be's, every single person I zipped past on my silent yet stylish ride couldn't help but do a double take and ask, "What was that?"
     The funny thing is, we are still trying to figure that part out.
     Is the Pi Moto an electric bicycle or a light-weight motorcycle? Pi Mobility Founder and Inventor Marcus Hays is leaning towards the latter (even though it's too slow for the freeway and just light and small enough to fit on a Muni bus bike rack. . .)
     Motorcycle or not, when my co-blogger Jenny and  I took Pi Motos along the scenic bike path that runs from Sausalito to Mill Valley, no one seemed to question our right to be there. If anything, they welcomed us as we rode along, me on a viper red model, Jenny on the safety yellow, both decked out in stylist helmets and white Pi lab coats.
     As we sped North along the canal with San Francisco behind us and Mount Tamalpais ahead, we toyed with gears, feeling what it was like to pedal a 65 lb. frame along flat terrain, wondering what it would be like on a 25 degree incline. But that is the subject of a Pi Blog to come. . .
     While Jenny snapped photos, I scanned the path for a good place to stop and take a few videos of the Pi Moto in action. We settled on a stretch near Tam junction, just off the Highway 101 Stinson Beach exit in Mill Valley. I took a couple of her riding by on the motor alone, then a couple more of her pedaling along, none of which seemed very engaging.
     Then, at one point, Jenny decided to let a random mountain biker ride by her a few dozen yards down the path and then try to race him before he passed me and my camera. She smoked him, primarily because the guy was just taking a leisurely afternoon ride. It made for a much more interesting clip and I was about to pack up for us to head back to the Pi Factory when she signaled me to ready the camera again.
     As it turns out, Mr. Mountain Biker was intrigued by the sleek, banana yellow electric wonder that left him in the dust and, after asking Jenny about it, actually asked challenged her to race for real. The resulting videos - which I labeled "Pi Moto vs Mountain Bike" (see the window below) - are as classic as they come, not only because she continued to beat him to the finish line, but because the silent operation of the Pi is undeniable compared to his squeaky old two-wheeler.
     When I was done recording their sprints up and down the path, I politely asked him for a testimonial. Sweaty and out of breath, he was happy to oblige. (Thanks, David!)
     After we packed up, Jenny and I headed back to the Pi Factory, laying on the thumb- throttles the whole way, effortlessly whooshing past winded cyclists galore. At a stop light between Sausalito and Marin City, an older male cyclist asked us so many questions about the Pi Motos that we inadvertently clogged the bike path in both directions.
     Although Jenny and I apologized to those  passing us in the dusty shoulders on either side of the concrete, we couldn't help but notice the grumpy riders checking out our colorful yet sexy curved frames. . .
     "Thaaaat's right," I told them in my head. "Take a good hard look, 'cause there's a lot more where this came from."
     And all at once, my fun-loving PiHigh became a shameless case of PiPride. . .