Shopping with a rolling cart

This is Rhonda's new shopping cart.  It came from Office Depot, and costs about $20.  According to the manufacturer it can hold 60 lbs.  You can see it on Office Depot's website here.  

This is Melissa, shopping in Target with Rhonda's new cart. She said it worked well for her. Rhonda said to let you all know that it folds up and stores easily in her vehicle.

Questions from a New TravelScoot Owner

Hi Elizabeth,

Well, I’ve had my Travelscoot for a couple of weeks…. It hasn’t changed my life yet… but I’m working on it! How long did it take you to get good at folding and unfolding? I’m still struggling but it’s slowly getting better. I haven’t wanted to go out in the heat and humidity but my first trip was an indoor shopping mall that I had not been to before. That was fun! I just zipped up and down the whole thing.

But I wasn’t shopping. I was just checking out the mall. How the heck do you go shopping with it? My next trip was to a crowded store with narrow aisles. Today was my third trip. The store wasn’t crowded but more narrow aisles. Both times I carried one of those small baskets in one hand but that’s tiring and it keeps getting gin the way. Any suggestions? I paged through the blog posts but didn’t see anything like that.

Thanks for any tips you may have. Will you be going to the convention this year? I plan on it. Should be a lot easier with the scooter. Last time I went, I hurt all weekend just from walking the halls.

JeanMarie




Hi JeanMarie,

Congratulations on getting your TravelScoot! I wish we lived in the same city so I could show you how I shop with mine. But first questions first... It took me a few weeks to be really good at folding and unfolding it. I did that with mine for about a year, and then I switched vehicles with my husband and now I just load my fully assembled into the back of our van. Since I use mine every day it makes it a lot easier.

I remember the first time I went to the mall by myself and I enjoyed zipping up and down the whole thing too. If there are people around I do slow down to their speed, but when no one is near I speed it up.

How the heck do I shop with it? It depends on what kind of store I'm in, but most often I use a tote bag that I hang on the handlebars. I highly recommend that you go to http://think-king.com/ and buy the mighty buggy hook and the cup holder. The cup holder works great for carrying a drink around, OR you can put glasses, camera, and anything else you can think of. I put the hook at the very top of the front steering column, right under the handlebars. I hook my car keys on it, or you can hook a shopping bag on it too. They also have a new product called a jumbo swirly hook. I haven't tried that one yet.

You can also put items in the fabric triangle. Sometimes I use a bicycle basket I attach to the front of my scoot, but that keeps me from being able to pull up to things as close as I'd like to.

Anyway, the tote bag I use is the size of the reusable bags you can get at Target or Walmart for around 99 cents. It works really well for me. I also manage to pull a cart around the grocery store if I need to do big grocery shopping. That's not as easy, but I often will leave the cart at the end of the aisle and just zip down the aisle to get what I need. When I get to the checkout I stand up to unload the buggy. This isn't shopping, but I also used to pull my mother around in her wheelchair at her nursing home. I'd get right up beside her and put my left hand on her right arm rest and off we'd go. It was a lot of fun.

To really make the TravelScoot work for me I had to take on a problem-solving attitude. Two years later and I can say that when I'm using my scoot it feels like an extension of my body. I can turn it tight, I can go anywhere with it that my hips fit. We've folded it up and put it under a chair in a bar (to get it out of the way), and I've had three fully assembled ones in the back of my van.

Enjoy your scooting!

Elizabeth

 

TravelScoot and Hope -- Jen's Adventures

Elizabeth,

A beautiful Monday to you! I've already started my adventures! My best friend and I went to the mall, lunch and more malls- a perfect girls day out! There's no way I could have done it without my Travelscoot.

I was surprised that I could carry it down the stairs- it was a lot easier than I thought it would be. I put the seat pieces and battery in a backpack and carried the frame in my hands. I didn't know that it locked shut- that was a huge blessing! I could hold it however I needed to in order to get down the three floors to the car.

The 'cub' battery lasted the entire day and never showed a low signal. It took about a minute to get set up and going. Not bad for a first time! I'm sure I'll get faster as I get used to it. I loved how I could back up and reposition myself without having a loud 'Beep Beep!' accompanying my movements. I'm big enough- I don't want to beep too!

I opened up the throttle to full just to test it out- my friend had to run to keep up with me. The Travelscoot really moves! We had a good laugh over how I'm going to be her trainer now- like in the Rocky movies. She can shut me up if she can catch me on my Scoot!

The only thing that didn't work for me was the seat. I had too much pressure but I also have bad posture and trunkal weakness from my illness so that's to be expected. Hubby is a mechanic so we're going to see if we can fit a special seat on Scoot for me so I don't develop a sore. I took a page from the blog and removed the seat back and that helped get my sitz bones more supported.

I got to shop (found a great formal dress for twelve dollars!), go out to eat and just enjoy being outside. I never thought I would be able to do those things again. The lines no longer mattered because I wasn't in pain. I wasn't afraid that I would fall in public and be embarrassed or even worse- be hurt! It was wonderful!

All that's left to do is to name my Travelscoot. We're using 'Scoots' right now- but that will change. I was thinking of naming her 'Giddy' because that's how she makes me feel. She also gives me my 'giddy-up'.

Thank you again so much for your blog- I never would have thought it was worth it till I read all these adventures!

-Jen

An Angel on Wheels

Rhonda relayed this story to me earlier today, and I don't know if I can do it true justice (or convey her sense of enthusiasm!), but I'll bet that some of you out there have had similar experiences where you just happened to be in exactly the right place at the right time.

Last week Rhonda's mom was visiting, and Rhonda and her mom set out to do a whirlwind of shopping -- two big malls, several department stores, a few Walmarts, and I'm sure there was at least one visit to Target. In the parking lot at Burlington Coat Factory, a man came hurrying toward her, cane in hand, wanting to know more about her TravelScoot. After you've had a TravelScoot for awhile you get where you can tell who is serious, and who just wants one for fun. It was obvious this man had been searching for the perfect scooter and knew it when he saw it. It was pure chance that put them in this parking lot in Baton Rouge, Louisiana at the same moment because this wasn't a store Rhonda went to often, and the man and his wife were from Mississippi and just happened to be in town that day.

Rhonda gave the man one of Tony's cards and answered his questions. She also gave him her phone number, just in case. The man has a medical issue that's progressively worsening, causing him to need help walking distances. He needed a scooter small enough to fit in the trunk of his sedan. It also needed to be lightweight enough for him and his wife to handle.

Over the weekend Rhonda heard from the man. He'd called Tony and ordered a TravelScoot, a lithium ion battery, and an SLA battery. He said he told Tony that he had met Rhonda, and called her "An Angel on Wheels."

I had a tear in my eye by the time Rhonda finished the story, because I know what it's like to be that man, searching for something you're not even sure exists and all the sudden it's right in front of you. That's how I felt late one night when I was searching the internet and happened upon the TravelScoot site.

Rhonda shared one of her favorite moments when she first rode her scoot, feeling the wind blowing her hair. He couldn't exactly identify with that (given his lack of hair), but said he was looking forward to feeling the wind on his face.

Jen's FIRST Adventure!

From Jen

I've already started my adventures! My best friend and I went to the mall, lunch and more malls- a perfect girls day out! There's no way I could have done it without my Travelscoot.

I was surprised that I could carry it down the stairs- it was a lot easier than I thought it would be. I put the seat pieces and battery in a backpack and carried the frame in my hands. I didn't know that it locked shut- that was a huge blessing! I could hold it however I needed to in order to get down the three floors to the car.

The 'cub' battery lasted the entire day and never showed a low signal. It took about a minute to get set up and going. Not bad for a first time! I'm sure I'll get faster as I get used to it. I loved how I could back up and reposition myself without having a loud 'Beep Beep!' accompanying my movements. I'm big enough- I don't want to beep too!

I opened up the throttle to full just to test it out- my friend had to run to keep up with me. The Travelscoot really moves! We had a good laugh over how I'm going to be her trainer now- like in the Rocky movies. She can shut me up if she can catch me on my Scoot!

The only thing that didn't work for me was the seat. I had too much pressure but I also have bad posture and trunkal weakness from my illness so that's to be expected. Hubby is a mechanic so we're going to see if we can fit a special seat on Scoot for me so I don't develop a sore. I took a page from the blog and removed the seat back and that helped get my sitz bones more supported.

I got to shop (found a great formal dress for twelve dollars!), go out to eat and just enjoy being outside. I never thought I would be able to do those things again. The lines no longer mattered because I wasn't in pain. I wasn't afraid that I would fall in public and be embarrassed or even worse- be hurt! It was wonderful!

All that's left to do is to name my Travelscoot. We're using 'Scoots' right now- but that will change. I was thinking of naming her 'Giddy' because that's how she makes me feel. She also gives me my 'giddy-up'.

Thank you again so much for your blog- I never would have thought it was worth it till I read all these adventures!

-Jen

Paper, Plastic or a TrolleyBasket?

From Cynth:

Check this out...

http://www.trolleybasketusa.com/index.html

This looks like it would be good to pull behind or left hand drag for shopping on the "out of everything days". It has nice rubber wheels, the front ones swivel for easy pulling.

Here's a link to see how the wheels are mounted:

http://www.trolleybasket.com/Wheels.htm

I emailed this place yesterday because I couldn't find a site to order one from since they are geared toward supermarkets. And they responded with this:

--------

Hi Cynthia,

Of course we would be happy to sell you a TrolleyBasket. I would be very interested to learn about your experiences with it together with the mobility scooter - I think you will find it to work well. I would recommend the 8.5 gal version which we have in red, blue or black and that is $24.49. I would be happy to send you a basket if I may ask for your shipping address and payment information (credit card or check). If you prefer you can also purchase it directly from Amazon.com using this link.

http://www.amazon.com/ShopperBasket-Rolling-Shopping-Basket-Gallon/dp/B0018GXV7E/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=home-garden&qid=1245572555&sr=8-1

Thank you and kind regards,

Peter

Cynth and Kira at a rummage sale

From Cynth:

Here is a picture of us at the rummage sale we went to Saturday. Hooks are in use :)

Yes we had fun, the grand kids found many items they "needed". All those sacks were just on the 2 hooks. They work great.

At the mall -- AFTER

We were almost finished shopping at this point. Rae and Kelli left me in charge of watching the packages so they had their arms free to try on shoes. It seemed like a good photo op. I was certainly carrying my share of the packages!

I know most people don't take pictures when they go to the mall, but going to the mall is impossible for me without my scoot. I had a WONDERFUL day of independence and freedom, and that was worth photographing.

At the mall -- In the dressing room

This is my sister Rae. You can see a tiny bit of the handlebar peaking out from under the clothes. We were in a small dressing room. Me, her, a chair, and my scoot.

At the mall -- DURING

Here I am in JC Penney's, shopping for clothes for my mom. Yes, the racks were close together, and YES, I was driving in between them. You can't tell from this picture, but I could actually drive my TravelScoot without moving the clothes that are piled on top of it. I just put my hands under them to reach the handle bars.

Grocery Shopping

I was going to do this right, with pictures and everything, but that will have to wait until I am able to take pictures.

At the 2008 Big As TEXAS Assembly, there was a workshop about scooter useage given by a woman with pulmonary hypertension. She has a professional job, and uses her scooter (not a TravelScoot) at work and anywhere she needs to walk more than a few steps. She has a van with a lift, and is well versed in how to lead a productive, happy life while using a scooter. One of the things she talked about was using her scooter in the grocery store. Her scooter has a small basket, but that's not enough room to shop for family groceries. What she does is to get a regular grocery cart and park it somewhere in the store. She goes and gets things and brings them back to the cart. She also has a laminated sign that she puts on the cart to keep the store employees from thinking it's an abandoned cart.

I do something similar, without the sign, but I try to pick stores that aren't crowded and have fairly wide aisles. Our Super Target is good for this sort of shopping. I control my scoot with my right hand (that's the side the throttle is on), and grab the front right side of the cart with my left hand. I can actually roll it behind me like that if I need to, or if the aisle isn't crowded I can roll it beside me. Sometimes I just leave it and bring things back to it. It's worked really well so far. When I get to the checkout I go in front of the buggy and pull it behind me. Then while the person in front of me is checking out I stand up and unload my cart. It's not a perfect method, but it works pretty well. I appreciate my independence very much, and I'm willing to be creative about my shopping methods in order to have it.

One cool thing about using the scooter in a big store is how fast it will go. Who cares if you're all the way in one corner of the store in the dairy section and you remember you need a cell phone charger from the complete opposite corner of the store? Just zip right over there, taking great care to SLOW DOWN if there are people walking anywhere near you.

Yes, that was the day I heard the comment, "Look Mommy, it's a rocket!"