Cup holders

Several people asked here and on Facebook where B'racha got her cup holder. Here's her reply:

OK, folks, the price variance is huge!


Best two sources I found are:

http://www.wheelchairselect.com/
SKU:nvm1131
$14.67 + shipping (he mentioned 5.95 but whether that was to my location or flat for that product I don't know)


http://www.Amazon.com
Nova cup holder
$19.95 w/ free shipping IF you have PRIME


Be forewarned, it received poor reviews at Amazon, for a ridiculous reason, which prompted me to write my first ever, I believe, review pointing out (indirectly of course)the fallacy in the issue.


Mine has been on my rollator for 3 years, in the back of my car & although it feels a little flimsy, groceries, boxes of books, & luggage have been mindlessly dumped on top, with NO damage, nor has extreme heat in the parked car affected it.

My favorite cup holder is still my Think-King. I like drinks with ice in them, and it holds very large drinks. It's also great for holding my glasses, camera and car keys. http://www.think-king.com

Check out these photos of it in use! http://www.think-king.com/photos.html
 

B'racha's Nova Cup Holder

Elizabeth's Think-King Cup Holder

Overheated Motor and Battery Overload

My motor overheating is a "once in a great while" problem, but it does happen. I didn't want my battery review post to be confusing, so I'm putting this as a separate entry. Even though Leo the L'ion performed beautifully at the zoo, over the course of a couple of hours my motor overheated three times. The first two times were after I'd been riding for awhile and then gave it a bumpy wooden bridge to struggle with. The third time was after I'd ridden my great nephew Jaxon around and around and around and around and around and around.

If your first thought is, "Oh no, I don't want a scooter that does THAT!" keep in mind that I'm much larger than the average rider. My friend Rhonda, who is about 250 lbs., doesn't have these same problems. Yes, her battery has overloaded on an incline, but it happens far less frequently than it does for me. Also, in everyday use for work and shopping it's rare for these things to happen even to me. I did have the smaller lithium ion battery overload twice on a recent shopping trip at the mall, but the first time was because I was in a jewelry store with incredibly plush carpet and the second time was on carpet when the battery charge was already low.

So... how do you know if it's the motor overheating or the battery overloading?

In both cases the scoot just suddenly stops, leaving you wondering what just happened. If you try turning the throttle, it doesn't do anything. The way you'll know which thing happened is by looking at the lights on the on/off switch panel.

Battery overload: Red light on display or no light on display.
Motor overheated: Green light indicating the battery is still giving you power.

What's the solution? If the motor has overheated just sit for a few minutes and give it a chance to cool down. I wasn't timing it, but it wasn't more than 5 minutes before I was moving again. If your battery has overloaded you can either charge it again briefly to turn it on again or use your scoot as a generator and, leaving the battery in the on position, get off and give it a couple of hard pushes until the battery light turns green again. (My husband and sister Rae have gotten mine going for me again by running with it.) If you were on an incline when the battery overloaded, turn around and try going back down the incline. That's always worked for me to get the battery going again.

Reviewing the new battery, or "Leo goes to the Zoo"

I'm still struggling with what to call the new larger lithium ion battery, but I like B'racha's suggestion of Leo the Li-on (or should it be Leo the L'ion?), so I'll try that moniker on for this post, especially since my first adventure with it was at the zoo. First let's hear what Cynth has to say about hers. I snitched this from a post on her Facebook page...

Speaking of my new "gold brick". The parking lot where I usually shop has a fairly good slope to it. I try to park on the down hill side of the slope so I don't have to worry about my scoot making it up the slope with me and all my groceries. Today the store was packed and I had to park at the top of the slope.


I spent nearly $200 on groceries and what not (I have company coming this week) so you know I had lots of poundage in my TrolleyBasket and hanging from my scoot. Not to mention the 400+ pounds of fabulous sitting on the seat.


The regular Lithium Ion battery would flash yellow at me when I attempted this slope in the past with this much of a load. The double did not flash yellow once I gave it full throttle all the way to the car. I hope it keeps performing like this I was impressed.

In a previous post I wrote about the Tulane Transplant "Gift of Life" Celebration on Saturday, which was held at the Audubon Zoo in New Orleans. After the celebration Alan and I headed out to enjoy the zoo and put Leo through his paces. I can't explain the technology behind this new battery, but Hardy did tell me that it should work better on inclines. Was he right?

Saturday was an extremely hot day and I scooted over lots of surfaces from grass, to cobblestones, to some uneven wood planks, and many places where there were gaps in the concrete or where the cut outs weren't as smooth as they could have been. My scoot handled it all beautifully. It went over small bridges and up inclines like a champion, even though it was a blisteringly hot day.

The BEST part is that Leo never overloaded, not even once, and given past experience, I am quite certain the smaller lithium ion battery would have. I give it several big gold stars. Yeah!

In the pictures below I'm trying to catch up with the zoo train. Rhonda would describe this as "mama duck and baby duck." If you look closely you can see that I have both my lithium ion batteries stacked. I never needed the smaller one.
 

2009 Tulane Transplant "Gift of Life" Annual Reunion Picnic

On Saturday, while Peggy was in Audubon Park in New Orleans for the Memory Walk, I was right next door at the Audubon Zoo for the 2009 Tulane Transplant "Gift of Life" Annual Reunion Picnic. In 2005, my younger sister Rae gave a kidney to my older sister Georgia. Saying that it changed both their lives doesn't begin to explain the impact on our family and our future. For more information on how you can donate life, visit http://www.organdonor.gov/.

Having a TravelScoot enabled me to be there, and to fully enjoy the zoo.
 

My sisters Georgia and Rae

Me with my great nephew Jaxon.  He LOVES my scoot!

Rae's Certificate of Appreciation.  Click on it to see it larger.

My brother in law Jimmy with his grandson Jaxon.  (This picture is actually from 2008.)

Alan taking a self portrait of us.  Click to see it larger.  We ARE in there!

My husband Alan and my sister Rae

The people who are standing and holding certificates are all living donors.  What a great group of people!

My niece Shelly and her daughter (and my great niece) Madelyn.

Shelly with her children Jaxon and Callie, my great nephew and great niece.

Peggy at the 2009 Greater New Orleans Memory Walk

From Peggy:  This is Silver (my TravelScoot), Jimmy (my parrot "horn"), and me at the Memory Walk in honor of family and friends.

Peggy sent me an email yesterday with this picture, and told me that one of the people she was "walking" for in the Memory Walk was my mother.  Having dearly loved someone with dementia magnifies the importance of what Peggy and scores of others did in New Orleans on Saturday.  Bless you all!

B'racha's Scoot's Accessories

Prius trunk w/ Scoot, battery, & 2, wheeled shopping baskets called Trolley Baskets. Mine are adapted for use with a scooter, but they are also sold to grocery chains, & individuals, for use by walking people as well.

expandable cup holder

Holder can expand even more. I need to move it down so that it is just above the basket.

B'racha's Scoot 101 Course

B'racha's Scoot 101 Course

The TravelScoot is shown here partially collapsed. The Prius floor can be lifted out, creating an even deeper well in back and in that configuration the Scoot doesn't need to be collapsed. For that matter, the back seats both fold down so there is lots of room even with Scoot in place.

Notice that in these photos, the front basket is still attached, even though the scoot is folded. 

Attaching the battery. Be careful not to plug the red connector too firmly, or you'll have trouble disconnecting it.

 Attaching the seat

Putting on the seat back, which, btw, does not have to be used.

Jim said it took under 3 minutes for me to to assemble it the 1st time, and that was with a defective, and difficult, battery connection which has since been replaced.

We dug luggage out of the attic to show friends what they could do if they had a Scoot.

Spreading the joy, and singing of freedom!

Ooops, cut it too tight...where's that porter?

Luggage cart & "porter." Mustn't forget to tip him. ;-)

This photo also shows how the luggage handle is looped over the seat post and explains how you could carry multiple pieces of luggage under your legs if they are on their side rather than flat.