Sexy, shadowy shot of moped ruling Bushwick by Lilly Frances.

It was the summer of 2009 in Minneapolis. A friend told me he and his roommate just bought something cool. In his backyard, he showed me this bright blue machine that was too large to be a bicycle, too small to be a motorcycle. At the time, I only had a foggy notion of what a moped was. A week later, I was obsessed.

Two-wheeled motorized vehicles have long been associated with freedom, spiritual journeying and rebellion. (See: Zen And The Art Of Motorcycle Maintenance, Easy Rider, The Wild One, thousands of rock songs written about motorcycles.)  With a moped, I’d found a way for meek nerds to experience their own version of that exhilaration. Mopeds are faster than bikes, almost as ch­eap, and you can show up places not covered in back sweat. You don’t even have to have tattoos and do meth! This article is for those who are too cheap and impatient for the train and too fat and lazy and sweaty for a bicycle. My people, I present you with MOPED 101. (more…)