My Throttle

I almost took somebody down in Target this weekend with my TravelScoot. It's not my fault they pulled out in front of me without even looking up, is it? ;-)

Sunday I met friends at a Super Target. While we were enjoying our Starbucks Coffee and talking, we took turns tooling around Target and testing the new seat (love it) and new seat back. The new seat back was comfortable for everyone else, but not for me, and I think it's because I carry a lot of my weight in my back.

What I really want to write about today is the throttle. The throttle on the TravelScoot is on the right handlebar. You rotate it toward you and it gives the scoot power. When you let it go the scoot stops, or you can use the hand brakes if you're about to run over someone in Target and need to stop really fast. I've written in this blog about having to lean in a little to get my scoot going, and having to push off with my foot. I'd talked to Hardy about this because I didn't have that problem when I tried his scoot. He figured out that the scoot I got had a different throttle than his. My throttle had about a 5-second delay before it kicked into full power. I'm thinking that's so skinny people don't get thrown off the back if they start too fast, but it wasn't working as well for me. Hardy sent a throttle with no delay and Alan installed it Saturday night. It made an enormous difference in how my scoot takes off. I am very pleased with it. Melissa has ridden mine several times and she thought it was a great improvement too.

Rhonda and her husband Dave were there too. Rhonda has a courier service where she delivers legal documents to our governmental building. She has pulmonary problems that cause her to have asthma attacks. She's getting a TravelScoot to use for her business, which hopefully will keep her out of the emergency room this summer. She and Dave learned how to break it down and put it together and they also took it outside and put it in her vehicle. They were so cute. We could see them outside through the window at Starbucks. Dave took a corner on two wheels, and Rhonda went flying by dragging her rolling briefcase behind her. They came back into the store with her driving the scoot with one hand and holding Dave's hand with the other.

We got a number of comments from shoppers. One lady came into Starbucks to ask about it for her mom, and several others made positive comments. It was a fun day.

Hurry... QUICK... You have to SEE THIS!? Did you see it?! Hurry!

Today I took my TravelScoot to my mom's nursing home for an adventure. She can't walk and she can't easily travel by car, so it's hard to give her a change of scenery. Her nursing home has gorgeous grounds that go on for acres. Soooooo...... I got her out in the hallway and on my left side. I controlled my scooter with my right hand, and grabbed the right arm of her wheelchair with my left hand and we took off, side by side. We went down one hall, and then another one, and then we kept on going until we saw sunshine. "Oh yes!" was her answer to asking if she wanted to go outside, so I opened the door and out we went, side by side down the sidewalk, past the Virgin Mary statue, down the wheelchair ramp and into the parking lot. Sweet freedom. We were going fast enough that the wind was blowing her hair.

I've always wanted to take her on a long walk like that, but just couldn't. I have a feeling she was the envy of the home today. The "Hurry... QUICK... You have to SEE THIS!? Did you see it?! Hurry!" was something we heard from the other end of the hall. It was someone on the staff telling a coworker to look at what we were doing.

Independence is a GREAT thing and the memories we made today are priceless.

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!"

Read this before connecting the battery

This post is for Lynn Ellen and Cynth, and anyone who is ordering a TravelScoot. You see the red connector on the left side of the battery? Do not, and I mean DO NOT connect the battery connectors together more than necessary. (Like if you have a really strong husband, read this to him several times before he connects the battery.) There IS a warning in the manual about this, but Alan and I didn't pay enough attention to it. I mean, you know, like... WHO reads the instruction manual? YOU should.

When it is connected correctly, I can disconnect it with one hand. However, the first time we connected it, it took a pair of plyers and some lubricant to get it apart. Luckily no damage was done to the connectors. I am impressed with being able to plug or unplug it with one hand.

Ramps

Cynth said:

"Thanks Elizabeth I appreciate you answering all my questions :) You have my
undying admiration for this and all seat belt issue work you do."

Thank you. It's hard to believe but it's been 10 years since I started the seat belt campaign. For anyone who might be reading who is thinking, "huh, what?" go to http://www.ifisher.com/honda.asp for more information. If you're a big person, and your seat belt is too short, you can find seat belt extender resources there.

"I do have yet another question. I know you said on the http://www.travelscoot.sizepositive.com/ page that the travel scoot wasn't
strong enough to take you up ramps. How much of a grade can it handle?

There are slopes at the zoo where I plan on taking my grand kids in a couple of months. This too is the reason I asked if it could be pulled from the front, so if it couldn't haul me up a hill I could walk it up the hill."

I've only been using my scoot for 6 weeks and I don't know anyone else my size who has ever used one, so this is a learning experience for all of us. Hardy told me before I bought mine that because of the weight, ramps were going to be a problem. My experience so far has been that I can do minor ramps (like the ones going into stores) without any problem, as long as I get some speed going first and approach the ramp straight on. It also helps to lean my body forward and put my center of gravity more toward the front of the TravelScoot.

There was one ramp at the Marriott in Dallas that was at least 2 feet tall, with a short rise to it. I approached it going fast and straight on, and make it about 3/4 of the way up. I stayed on the scoot and walked it the rest of the way up. I kept giving it power using the throttle, because that helped me propel the scoot better. HOWEVER, another thing Hardy warned me about, is that the lithium ion battery has a built in shut-off to protect that battery in case it gets overloaded. He said that battery might be a problem for me because of that. It has not been, not even on the ramp at the Marriott. Two other supersize friends tried it too, with the same results. I don't know which battery you are planning on getting, but I prefer the lithium ion one, both because it's lighter (6 lbs as opposed to 20 lbs) and because it doesn't damage the battery to charge it when it's not fully discharged.

I take a "where there's a will there's a way" attitude, and figure out how to work around things like ramps. Be sure you get some speed going before you start up a ramp, approach it straight on, and do not stop while you're on an incline if you can help it. Worst case scenario is that you have to use your feet to push yourself up the incline, you get off the scoot and walk it up the incline, or you get one of your wonderful relatives to give you a little push from behind. (I doubt that that's a Hardy-approved method, but I've got some strong people in my family!)
I can tell you that what it lacks on ramps it will more than make up for on flat surfaces. I'm amazed at how fast it flies!

"I have talked myself into ordering (hello Visa) a travel scoot now... without
saving up cash first. The money it will save me by being allowed to shop myself
will be no drop in the bucket plus I will be free to go places I haven't been to
since I hurt my back 5 years ago."

I need to write up some shopping tips for you, and hopefully before long you'll be giving me suggestions.

"I asked Hardy if he would be willing to sell me a larger seat like the one you
are testing. I hope he is willing."

I'm certain he'll be willing to do that, but he doesn't have them yet. As far as I know I have the only one that exists. It's going to take him time to get them manufactured, but I'm sure he'll send you one when they come in.

Keep me posted on when you order!

Can you walk the TravelScoot?

Cynth posted a comment in the comments section, but I wanted to reply to it here and make it a topic.

"That looks much more comfortable.

I do have a question on another topic though. Can you "pull" the travel
scoot from the front; like walk in front of it and pull it? Or does the belt on
the back wheels have to be engaged to let the back wheels spin?"

The new seat is comfortable and I prefer it given the choice, but the original seat is comfortable too. It's not the same kind of luxury you can get from the big comfy seats on a standard scooter, but I imagine one of those seats weighs just about as much as the whole TravelScoot.

Yes, you can pull the TravelScoot from the front, or walk beside it and push it. It's not my favorite thing to do because it's a little awkward. I usually just sit on it and push with my legs (talk about building up some leg muscles -- who says you can't get exercise from a scoot?) or I could also pick it up and carry it.

I don't know how to answer the part about the belt other than to say you can walk with it and the front and back wheels will spin. You just have to be sure the brake isn't set. I set the brake when I get off it to keep it from moving when I'm getting off.

I love the new seat!

I love the new seat! I still prefer using it without the backrest. I don't need the back support, and I like keeping it as simple as possible so my scoot is even easier to handle.

Here's how the seat looks from behind:

http://ifisher.com/travelscoot/seat2.jpg

If you'd like to see a picture of the new backrest, here's a link:

http://ifisher.com/travelscoot/backrest.jpg