Fossil Free Friday: Electric Scooter Jones

  

Lots of years and smiles traveled on this scoot

 

I rode the old scooter to work this morning. I really enjoyed the ride to work this morning - sort of.

Part of it was simply the joy of a beautiful morning at 40mph. And part of it was the mirth of a vintage scooter.

Life is more fun on a scooter! (Find it here.)

People embrace vintage scooters in a way that they seldom embrace other forms of transportation that get noticed. People wave, smile, and ask friendly questions. The old bike doesn't carry connotations of entitled wealth, hooliganism (or wanting to be viewed as a hooligan), or an attempt at compensating for undersized appendages. Young men (not on a Harley) often yell, "Get a Harley," but that's about the biggest form of negativity we face. And it's not like a bicycle where drivers often resent your intrusion into their domain.

Find it here

 

[There is one weird little thing with driving a scooter - people in cars and trucks race you everywhere you go - there's some stigma about being seen going slower than a scooter, no matter how fast a scooter may be.]

Riding an old scooter around can be extremely enjoyable! But if you are like me, there's a big elephant in the room (or on the scooter). It's that gasoline and emissions thing. Old scooters may get great mileage, but they are very messy in the way they go about it. It's definitely not the vehicle for a Mesquite Hugger who wants to save the world. I ride mine very little and do not feel good about it when I do.

But I sure miss all of the good stuff that comes with riding one. Most of middle-aged life feels like obligation, busy-ness, and fixing things that break. It would sure be nice to scoot and smile guilt-free from one obligation to another. (Sigh)

I will get there one day. Until then, I keep my eyes open and do a lot of dreaming. I dream of building my own. (The Silver Pigeon twins). I dream of buying a new retro-vintage scooter.

(Fido. Bolt. Scooterson. Schwalbe.)

Or picking something up that's cheap and readily available.

 

Do you think this electric scooter would make my butt look fat?

Do you think I could pull off this look?

 

And then there's this guy who really did build a green Vespa. Hmm...

 

How about you? What green transportation are you jonesing for?

 

May you find it, and may the having be better (for all of us) than the jonesing.

Fossil Free Friday: From the Roley Poly to the Rolley Scooter

Yesterday I ran across a link on Endless-Sphere about the Scooterson Rolley (Rhymes with holy). At first, it seemed pretty gimmicky, but the more I looked at it and learned about it, the more intrigued I became.

 

While this is not the best part of the scooter, my favorite part is that it does not need a kickstand - it is self-balancing - just like Weebles!

 

A rather cool new European/British electric scooter

The attached video is very informative and explains a lot of the features:

Check out the Video

 

Man, that's a fat tire!

 

 

If my math is right, it has a 36 volt 11 amp-hour battery pack. The range is up to 30 miles and the top speed is either 16 or 20 miles per hour. The info on the motor setup is a little vague - one or two hub motors at 250 or 500 watts. The hydraulic disc brake setup is impressive, and the level of control vs. simplicity is very appealing: no pedals, no throttle; just kick-kick-sit. And it gets to know you and does not talk to strangers (without your permission). Yep, this thing is pretty cool.

 

 

Anyone hiring?

 

I really want to ride one of these! Yep, my dream job is just to go around test driving funky electric two, three, and four wheelers. This one is definitely on the I wanna ride it! list. Just FYI, I also want to test ride the GeoOrbital Wheel, the Spira Foam Car, the RadWagon, the FlyKly scooter, the Boxx Scooter, the Bolt M-1, the VanMoof, the Genzes, a Yuba elMundo, and (of course) the Fido Scooter.

 

May you find yourself some cool green transport, and may you call me if you need someone to try out your cool new machine!