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Scooter Commuting
I have the infamous “last mile” problem. Public transportation (Caltrain) leaves me in the suburbs 2 miles from my final destination, too far to walk on a regular basis. For the first year and a half of graduate school, I mooched rides from various classmates to and from the train station. While only riding in a car the last 2 miles reduced my carbon footprint (certainly better than driving from San Francisco) it wasn’t ideal. I thought about getting a folding bicycle, but that’s very hard in a skirt. So one day, I finally got sick of relying on other people, and began investigating kick scooters. Now, six months later, I'm a scooter commuter! Here were my major requirements for a scooter: - folding,
- lightweight
- larger wheels (less work to go farther)
- handbrake
All of what I read online pointed me to the Xootr brand. So after class one day after investigating scooters for all of a few hours a night before, I went to a store and picked up a scooter (I called ahead to make sure they had what I wanted in stock) I purchased the Black Xootr Mg with a Fender . From the first moment I pushed off, I knew it was right for me. I love commuting on my scooter, and here’s why:- Honestly, I think I look awesome, which may seem superficial, but that doesn’t make it unimportant. I love riding my scooter with my skirt flowing in the wind, headphones, sunglasses, and my backpack.
- It’s good for me. After my first day (6 miles) I was so sore I could hardly walk. During crazy periods in my life when it’s hard to get to the gym, at least I get a few miles of scooting in.
- My visibility as a green commuter helps create more awareness in my grad school community and in the communities where I scoot-scoot-scoot my way around.
- (the most important reason) It’s good for the environment. I want to raise my kids someday on a green planet.
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