So most of you who know me, know that I’m not the most coordinated of individuals. I walk into tables, trip over my own feet, slice/burn/peel myself when in the kitchen and I’ve even been known to choke on my own spit (yes, I know, gross).
One of the things I have never been known to do, is ride a bike. My balance is iffy, and I’m terrified of falling. So when I discovered my new office is not actually in the area I thought it was going to be, and that there are not yet buses that go to the area it actually is in, I needed to rethink how I was getting to work.
Currently I’m renting a car, since the current office is almost 30 km away from home with no direct bus route. The new office is only 3 km away.
I could walk, but its incredibly hot in summer and when we tested out the route, while it is doable I arrived at the office building a panting, sweaty mess, not a very professional look.
So we started thinking of alternatives. I could try get lifts to and from work (there must be people from the city going but then I would be stuck on their schedule), take taxis (expensive), teach myself to ride a bike (hahahahaha) or I could buy an electric scooter, or korkinet as they are called in Israel.
Of all the options the scooter sounded like the best idea, yes it requires balance, but for some reason learning to balance on a scooter seemed easier than the bike.
So I started researching, doing brand comparisons and price comparisons and found a Xiaomi M365 on sale from one of the big Israeli supermarkets.
After some back and forth and discussions with Paul, we bought it.
3 days later it was delivered to our door and we went to the local bike shop and bought a helmet and some knee and elbow pads.
My first try in our driveway was, well, interesting. You need to kick off and get the scooter to 5 km/hr in order for the accelerator to engage. Now that’s not very fast, but remember, you need to be upright and balanced, so when the accelerator kicks in and you start going faster, you don’t fall down. Yeah, it took me a few tries before I got that part right.
A few days later we took the scooter to a local park that has a big flat surface that kids use to ride their bikes, scooters and skates. Perfect for practicing.
And after a few false starts, I got it. Like a switch got flicked. I was suddenly balancing, and going forward for long stretches, and not tipping sideways or falling off. I have almost mastered turning left and turning right still needs work. But I’m doing it. I learned something new!
And guys? Riding a scooter is FUN. I want to ride all the time. I was totally disappointed that I had to take the car to work the next day and not ride the scooter.
That said, I still need a bit more practice before I’m comfortable going the full 3 km to work, but thankfully I have another week or so before we move to practice.