Riding a Foot Scooter Along My Ordinary Walk
The Old Scooter and Winter
Winter is coming, and with the arrival of winter comes the need to swap the tyres from summer to winter. In the process of getting the snow tyres out of the cave I pulled out my old scooter. The one that I used when I had a one month driving ban for speeding. I would not have been driving above the speed limit if I was not stuck behind someone driving below the speed limit.
At the time I was happy to lose my licence for a month because it meant that for a month I could commute by bus and train rather than by car. It meant that instead of being attentive for 45 minutes per commute I only needed to be attentive to get onto the bus, and to get on to the train. After that I could stare at my phone like a commuter, and relax.
Commuting by Foot Scooter
During this time I bought a foot scooter and I used it every single day that I had to commute. I found it quick and efficient. It’s better than a bike because it folds into a much smaller volume, but it’s also good because it’s lighter than a bike. This means that you can scoot from home to the bus, and from the bus to the train, and then from the train to work. You can reverse the journey to go home.
Small Wheels
The one drawback that I found with the foot scooter I have, is that the wheels are tiny so if I hit the wrong bit of pavement or pothole I will go flying, as others have done when playing with scooters. People forget that scooters are unstable. If the front wheel gets caught the user will be thrown forwards. In some cases people break their jaws, their arms, or badly wind themselves.
I never did, because I always keep my weight to the back of the scooter, and I almost always anticipate locations where the scooter could catapult me.
Quicker than Walking and Running
Yesterday I went for a ride with the scooter. I tried a 7.7km loop that I usually walk and run. Of course I didn’t ride it at full speed down the slopes I encountered, and I walked on the uphill bits. It’s on the flat bits and gradual descents that the scooter is at its best. That’s where we make minimal effort and yet still get from A to B with ease.
These days you spot a lot of people using electric foot scooters and I think they’re missing out. They’re missing out on exercise. They’re missing out on fitness. They’re missing out on endorphins. For me the entire reason for using foot scooters is to play and have fun, to get from A to B faster than by foot.
My average speed on the foot scooter yesterday was around 10 kilometres per hour but my peak was 26 kilometres per hour. If my foot scooter was newer, and I trusted it more, then I would have gone faster. That’s without an engine. That’s without large wheels. Imagine the freedom I would gain from a foot scooter with large wheels.
Use Case
If you’re working at the Palais Des Nations, or Grand Saconnex you have a very nice descent, from the airport to the lake and the train station. If and when you’re comfortable with long descents this is a perfect opportunity to skip the train from the airport, or waiting for buses. Just get on the scooter and ride it down that long descent.
Of course be cautious and obey traffic rules. No need for a motor here, gravity does the work.
The Desire for Bigger Wheels
For years now I have had an obsession with getting a foot scooter with larger wheels for one key reason. Safety. If you hit a stone, pebble, or if you go from one road surface to another you run less risk of being flipped over. I used it this morning to get from my home to the garage to pick up the car. The scooter feels fine on good road surfaces but as soon as I hit cobbled surfaces I feel the scooter almost getting stuck and slowing down by a lot. Bigger wheels would make me safer.
The one drawback is that it could be heavier to push on the flat, and to carry.
Learning Curve
The advantage of using a foot scooter, compared to a skateboard, is that with a scooter you’re standing on one foot whilst pushing with the other, and steering with your weight, and the steering column. With a skateboard you have to balance on the board and if you want to stop or turn you need to add weight either forwards or backwards, whilst keeping your balance. to stop you need to learn the techniques. With the foot scooter you press your rear foot on the wheel break and you slow down.
And Finally
A human powered foot scooter costs a quarter of what a powered scooter costs so it doesn’t make much sense to pay an extra five hundred or more francs. Walking the bits that are too steep to climb is easy. If the effort seems hard at first there is a simple solution. Ride it more. The more you use a foot scooter the easier it becomes to use. We gain experience, but our physique adapts. Our leg muscles get stronger. Our endurance increases, and our technique becomes more efficient.
