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.





Thursday, August 3, 2023

Stormy days

 One risk of commuting by scooter (or on foot) is the uncertainty of the weather.  In the last hour of my work day, the skies darkened as strong storms approached.  A severe thunderstorm warning was issued and a chorus of thunder sounded between lightening strikes.  I did wonder whether it would pass by the time I was ready to go home.  

Fortunately, the rain had turned to a drizzle and the lightening was in the far distance as I stepped outside onto the sidewalk outside my office.  I swerved around the deepest puddles as my made my way towards the local park that was on my route.  Usually this is a park full of people - dog walkers, runners, children playing, people lounging on a blanket in the grass listening to a guitar player, etc.  Today, it was empty, eerily empty.  I paused as I saw the young yellow-crowned night heron sitting in his favorite tree.  I'm sure he was enjoying the quiet.  Then paused even longer as one of the resident ducks swam towards where I stood, looking for food that I didn't have.  And then I continued on my way.




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