Scootering (and Pedaling)

A good friend (she’s the one who rescued us during our first visit last May) let us use her scooter while she went back to her home country for a couple of months. We didn’t use it for a long time. We didn’t even dare try it. The roads are pretty much the same here, but the driving style isn’t! Things move a bit slower but they’re much more (seemingly) chaotic. Lines in the road and street signals are ‘suggestions,’ not necessarily hard and fast rules.

But eventually I tried it. I went around the block and survived. It was fun. Even Wyatt went a little ways. That was at the beginning of Spring Festival when there wasn’t much traffic. She let us borrow the helmet too. It’s *small*. I am too afraid to look in the mirror when I wear it as I’m sure I look like a complete dork. The straps are a bit tight under my chin. When I swallow, it’s quite tight. But better than a split head I guess. I also can’t wear my contacts because of the wind drying them out while I ride. The contacts twist and very quickly I can’t see. That isn’t safe either. So I wear a tiny helmet, tight enough to make my eyes bulge with my glasses over my bulging eyes.

A few days ago, I actually rode it to school. Her scooter is a bit like the old mopeds. You can pedal it or use the motor. What’s nice is that if it breaks down, you can still pedal home. Pretty frequently I see people having to walk home their larger scooters because the battery is dead. These electric scooters are EVERYWHERE. The scary thing is that they are almost silent. So if you are walking and they come up behind you (yes even on the sidewalk), you don’t they’re there until they flash by, scaring you to death!

Anyway, it was really fun. I’ve never driven a motorcycle so I really enjoyed it. But this thing is really more like a bicycle as far as how fast and ‘dangerous’ it is (don’t worry, Mom).

So yesterday, I decided to take to take it again as I needed to begin planning for the semester. I cinched on the tiny helmet, bulged my eyes out, put on my glasses, rode to school and plugged in to recharge. When it was time to leave everything was fine until I left the front gate of the college. The motor died. There was still power to the little ‘beep-beep’ horn and the headlight, but not the motor. There seems to be a loose wire somewhere in its belly. I had to pedal the approximately 4 miles home. Fortunately, it’s mostly flat terrain. Unfortunately, the scooter is too low for me to pedal comfortably. It was also the warmest day we’ve had this year. So with a tight helmet, bulging eyes, glasses, and pedaling knees flapping up to my chin, I sweated through my clothes and made it home alive.

Next time I’m taking the bus.