The Scooter Lady: October 2018

In 2016, 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.

Wednesday, October 10, 2018

A Change of Pace

I know it has been a while since I last posted, although it really doesn’t seem that long ago. I haven’t scootered as much these past couple of months. Mostly because my husband started commuting with me quite regularly and he doesn’t scooter. So we usually walk to the nearest bus or when the weather is bad or we are pressed for time, we drive to the park and ride. It’s been nice commuting with him but I do miss my morning scooter ride.

Soon all this will be changing and I hope to have new experiences to write about. I have accepted a job in Birmingham, Alabama and we will be renting an apartment less than a mile from my work, perfect scooter or walking distance. It will be fun experiencing a new city and a new lifestyle (downtown apartment compared to the house in the suburbs we live in now). And no longer will snow get in the way of my scooter rides!

Stay tuned for what is to come next.