Monday, January 18, 2010

Outlet Mall Outing Report from ScooterMama

From Anne:

Yesterday, we went to a nearby outlet mall, one of those big outdoor places in the middle of nowhere, where a large ring of stores surrounds a central parking lot. I did pretty well with the 'Scoot, making the full circuit of the mall and stopping in several stores. No way in heck I could have done that on foot!



Some problems were:


  • Knocked over a couple of small items that were hanging low in crowded aisles. No breakage, thankfully.

  • A few times, especially after an up-incline, the amber light flickered on before returning to green. Is this normal? (I had not recharged my single Li-ion battery after a previous outing, so I momentarily panicked that Scoot was out of juice.)

  • At one point, on a down-ramp, someone suddenly stepped sideways in front of me. I did NOT have the instinct to go for my brakes, but I sure did holler! Fortunately, did not hit him. Guess I need to practice more using my brakes -- I rarely do, just release throttle and put my feet down..

  • At another place, there was no one to help with the door, so I got off and tried to pull Scoot thru the door with one hand while holding door open with the other. All of a sudden, Scoot was bucking like a horse! Either the throttle got stuck open, or, my hand was still on it, even tho' I didn't think it was. No harm done except to my pride, and people sure came running to help then! So it's prolly best, when confronted with a non-automatic door, to wait and ask for help.

  • By the time we were done, my bottom was sore, even with the larger seat. Anyone have any ideas for padding the seat? I don't think just adding a cushion would be safe -- too easy to slide off. One thought - Junonia sells padded bike shorts - maybe they would help?



3 comments:

  1. Advise I always give everyone is to turn the TS off whenever you are not sitting on it. I had a "less than graceful" moment one day when I didn't turn it off before I decided to get off. I guess I inadvertently turned the throttle and it rolled out from under me before I was completely off. I always remember to be grateful that there isn't anyone there with a camera when I have "one of those moments".

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  2. Hello ScooterMama!

    Several things to remember:

    If they have crowded the asles, you'll end up knocking things off the shelves regardless if you're a rider or walkie.

    People will get in your way whether or not you are on a scoot and you may or not be able to stop regards if riding or hobbling. Yelling is the right thing to do in either situation. Maybe then, they'll learn to be a little more courteous to everyone.

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  3. I still sometimes nick things and make them fall over/off the shelf when scooting through stores.

    I have to remember to only pull the scoot through doors with the non-throttle side of the handle bar or I turn the switch off while I am wrestling it through. Some doorways seem very narrow or the door is just hard to push with one hand.

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