It was pouring this morning when I got up so feared I would not be able to scooter, which was especially disappointing because for various reasons I had not been able to scooter the first half of the week when the weather was beautiful. Fortunately, the rain stopped before I had to leave. So I put on a pair of shorts, t-shirt, and my waterproof shoes, and packed my work clothes in my backpack and off I went. (I knew the trails would still be quite wet and there would be quite a bit of spray up.)
I walked down the hill by the park, knowing my breaks weren't ideal in the rain and that there wasn't room to coast to a stop at the bottom.
They were working on the interstate bridge that goes over the path, putting up all the wood that holds the concrete once it is poured until it has cured. The path was littered with chunks of wood so I kept my head down and wondered if this may be one of those situations a helmet would especially be helpful. But I made it through without incident. Then I arrived at the wooden bridge that crosses the creek. I had learned from previous scooter rides that breaking on the bridge when wet is not a good idea as the back end fishtails forward. Even with being careful, I had barely started crossing when the whole scooter started twisting underneath me. Fortunately, I was not going very fast and was able to just step off without injury. I walked to the other side of the bridge.
I arrived at the bus stop and was really glad I did not wear my work clothes as the backs of my legs and tops of my socks were caked with mud and the back of my shorts were wet. A small towel I had packed in my bag helped me clean up a bit before the bus arrived.
The best part of the morning was that on a morning like this, no one ventures out, especially since there was still a chance of rain at any point. So the path was quiet of human noise (except the construction area) and just filled with the sounds of the birds and wildlife rustling in the leaves.
Two years ago, I started a new job which meant a new commute. My previous commute was a 12 minute walk which I enjoyed year-round, in any weather (rain, snow, cold, heat, etc.). I knew my new commute would be quite different but I was determined to find a way to avoid getting in my car and to include some time in nature each day.
Hence, this is where the scooter came into play. So after some research online, I bought a Razor A5 Lux in blue and began playing with it. Fortunately I had a few weeks in between jobs to test it out and pick out my ideal routes.
My commute then included a 1.7 mile scooter ride in the morning through my quiet neighborhood and then down a beautiful bike path full of wild life to where I catch the county bus to work. In the afternoon, I alternated between taking the county bus followed by that same 1.7 scooter ride from the morning or taking the coach bus to the park and ride followed by a 2.5 mile scooter ride on the sidewalk along a busier road. They both had their advantages and I liked the flexibility.
Now you may ask yourself, how much of the year could I really scooter in such a cold weather state? The answer is most of it. The cold didn't stop me. It never has. Snow covered trails would stop me though but fortunately my city plowed the bike paths, so they don't stay snow covered for long. And I don't scooter on wet pavement in the morning as the spray up turns the back of my dress a bit muddy. (In the evenings when I can go home, clean up and change, I don't mind the rain or wet pavement.)
In November of 2018, I moved to a new city, Birmingham, AL in a much warmer climate, where my commute is now 7 blocks. It is amazing to now have a 4 minute commute to work! Such a change from my one-way hour commute in Milwaukee!
Let me tell you how I came up with the name for this blog, "The Scooter Lady". I was downtown Milwaukee afterwork one day riding my scooter. (I don't even remember why I was hanging out downtown that day.) I stopped in the local mall and was carrying my scooter when someone yelled out, "hey there's the scooter lady!" When I told a colleague at work this story, he told me I needed to create a webpage for The Scooter Lady. So without further ado, read on for my experiences commuting by scooter.
No comments:
Post a Comment