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.





Sunday, June 28, 2026

A new city, a new chapter

I have moved to Atlanta.  Although, I had spent a number of weekends before this setting up my apartment here, this is the first official weekend.  I don't have to drive back to Birmingham this afternoon.  Tomorrow I start my new job.

I do have some cleaning to do in my old apartment, along with collecting the last of my things (including my scooter) that didn't fit in my car yesterday.  So I'll go back for a day or weekend in the next month or so.  But officially, this new chapter has begun.

I did my first grocery run this afternoon.  Midtown is quite a bit more pedestrian friendly with maintained and often wide sidewalks and traffic lights that actually take into account the massive amount of pedestrian traffic.  There is one intersection I love where pedestrians actually get a full turn (with no right turn on red allowed) which even allows for (and encourages) diagonal crossing.  There are more hills though than in Birmingham so although the walk to the grocery store is a few blocks closer, I get a bit more of a work out pushing my cart.

The grocery store is really weird because of the hills.  The main entrance is on the higher side of the building and so I then have to take a ramp to go down a level to the food.  It's really close to the MARTA station I'll be taking to work so if there is ever a quick need to grab something on the way home, it will be easy to do (as long as it isn't too heavy for the walk home without my cart).  

I now have so much to explore on foot.  In every direction, there are things I want to explore.  And it looks like finally, I will have everything I need at my fingertips.  I have walked past a pharmacy, the post office, a UPS store, a store for my cell phone, the library, more restaurants than I will be able to try in a year, the symphony, a huge art museum, several major theaters, so much green space including my favorite gardens, so many churches to check out, the belt line, etc.  There is even a strip mall with big box stores like a Home Depot only a mile walk away.  And that doesn't even take into consideration all the places I can go by just hopping on the MARTA!

I don't know yet what, if any role my scooter will play in this next life.  It's rusting, the handlebars are crooked, and the tires are bald. It's ten years old and really probably should be retired.  And there are so many people and electric scooters mingling around that it feels like a lot to navigate through on my own scooter, especially with how walkable everything is.  

Maybe I'll finally invest in and learn to ride a One Wheel and do joy rides through Piedmont Park instead.  I had been seriously considering one just before my ex-husband asked for a divorce.  It's not as whimsical as a kick scooter though and I really enjoy the whimsical aspect of riding a scooter.  I guess we will see what this neighborhood is like.
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