Visiting my sister and her family always presents options for activities that I don’t normally do in the course of my daily life. These activities invariably involve my youngest nephew Gray, who is the perpetual-motion machine of the family.
Yesterday Gray and my sister Elizabeth and I went for a walk around the neighborhood during a break in the rain that’s been falling for the past week. Gray decided to take one of these along:
Elizabeth’s family has gone through many generations of scooters as her three kids (currently 10, 13, and 15) have grown. I’ve never owned one, and now I’m wondering why not, as they are an entirely joyous way to move through space. I looked up some information on scooters for adults here and found a variety of models, even for slightly varied terrain. The accompanying copy is certainly compelling:
Only a decade ago adults riding scooters may have looked and felt out of place – now they are more likely to look and feel smart. Scooting is at least twice as fast as walking, and in contrast to biking, is allowed on sidewalks because the ability to slow down and stop, instantaneously, makes scooters much more pedestrian-friendly. And, Micro’s tall, smooth-gliding designs succeed in making riders feel, well, a little bit elegant.
I don’t know about the elegant part, but being able to glide along smoothly does propel me into an uncomplicated state of happiness.
Gray’s scooter du jour is called the Razor Powerwing Deluxe, which is ridden by swaying side-to-side. In some ways it feels like skate skiing, as you are pushing from each side to generate forward momentum. But unlike skating, you don’t take your feet off the platform, so it results in a swivel-hipped kind of movement. Gray does a very good Elvis impersonation on his scooter (sadly not documented).
Of course I had to try it. It’s not my size, but it was really fun trying on a different way to move. Gray isn’t so enthusiastic about trying to muscle it up a hill, but I liked seeing if I could tweak my movements to improve efficiency. Again, it kept reminding me of how one attacks terrain on cross country skis (is anyone noticing how I’m thinking a lot about skiing these days? where’s the snow?)
And going downhill was pure joy (combined with a little danger–there were landscaping trucks around– which makes the joy even greater).
So I’m going to get me one of these ASAP, so I can get to go Wheeeee! whenever I want. You can see for yourself below.
[vimeo 150344640 w=500 h=888]
<p><a href=”https://vimeo.com/150344640″>IMG_6465</a> from <a href=”https://vimeo.com/user47311571″>Catherine Womack</a> on <a href=”https://vimeo.com”>Vimeo</a>.</p>
Readers, I’d love to hear what makes you go Wheee! and when you last did that.
What fun. The last time I went ‘weeeeeee’ is cycling down a bomb hole in Thetford Forest, at night, in the snow. I was ever such a little bit scared and so decided on doing what I did when a child and soon realised that it took my mind off the fact that if I placed my body in the wrong position, I’d be over the bars and on my face. The last time I did that, I ended up being pumped full of Ketamine and thought I was in a circus tent. There are videos of me somewhere but I’m not sure I’m brave enough to post them.
Fun fun fun! Whee! Love the video. And yes, you can guess what makes me go “whee!” It’s my bike, downhill especially. See http://fitisafeministissue.com/2013/11/17/how-does-it-make-you-feel/
Awesome! I could just piture you with your headphones on rocking out to favorite tunes while scooting down the street.
Like Sam I am a downhill on my bike nut. Also when I was riding on a velodrome and realised I was up on the high sides powering along – parallel to the ground below. That was very, very cool.
How do you find that scooter-glider in terms of “suspension” on hard pavement? A friend mine, bought and used a manual scooter @68 yrs. She found as an older adult, the pavement very hard on the roll going over sidewalk cracks, etc.. I haven’t tried it myself, so not sure of any cushioning,
Hi Jean– no it doesn’t have suspension, so it was pretty rough on uneven pavement. Will look into this– I was thinking with suspension and different wheels it might be more forgiving. Good question!
I have rollerskates! Not rollerblades, which I do see occasionally on the bikes paths, but quad skates with outdoor wheels on them (I’ve never seen anyone else with these exercising outside). I fell in love at nine, skated in my driveway all through junior high and high school, then rediscovered skating again two years ago and have barely stopped skating willingly a day since then. Snow ruins the outdoor skating but luckily there’s a rink close enough to me. I just can’t go as fast there because of the unpredictable skate patterns of children (and some adults too).