subject: A New And Fun Twist For Electric Scooter Riders [print this page] A New and Fun Twist for Electric Scooter Riders
Ten years ago, when I was attending my university, I used to love rollerblading at a popular park. The time I spent going up and down hills on well maintained, asphalt trails brought great pleasure to me. I would arrive mid morning when there was a comfortable summer temperature, a nice breeze and natural scenery that gave the air a crisp perfumed scent. Midweek wasn"t too crowded so I only had to work around a few other people as I sped around the eight mile track. The most fun I had was barreling down hills at top speed. It took a lot of huffing and puffing to get up those hills, but the downward trip was an exhilarating highlight that I could experience over and over again with out growing tired of it. I have fond memories of the dozen or so trips I made to the park over a span of two to three years.
But life doesn"t like to keep things the same when life is good and things are working well. You must apply your mind and gain wisdom. So I attempted to adapt with little ones arriving and job commitments as I grew into a responsible dad. For many years I was unable to get to the park with any regularity. To say that I frequented the park once a year would be a reach, over the last decade.
Today, my children are older and prefer to go for push scooter or bike rides around the neighborhood. Sometimes we load up the riding equipment into the van and head off to a neighboring park. My wife suggested that I take my rollerblades along while the kids ride their bikes so I can have fun, too. It didn"t take too many times around the looping asphalt trail to realize that:
I had one word for rollerblading up and down hills at the big park"FUN!
I have on word for rollerblading around and around on a flat surface at my neighborhood park"WORK!
Every stride of my blades is an effort and I can coast at a moderate speed at best. It did not seem like much of a payoff. I ended up sitting on a park bench watching the kids. As I was looking around I noticed kids riding Razor electric scooters, smiling and having a blast. I was thinking my kids may wish to try one but I didn"t want to pay full price. While surfing the web on my computer I came across a popular classified ad website with Razor scooters for sale. I found a razor E300 scooter that was reasonably priced. I attempted to ride it and was only able to go 5 mph. The teenage owner laughed and stated that I was too heavy for the scooter and that was why it ran so slowly. He said that was his problem and he felt he was too big and too old to ride it.
I eventually purchased it with the intent of letting my kids ride it. Then I got the idea of removing the front wheel and modifying the handlebar the allow me to use the modified device to push me around while wearing rollerblades. I took about $5 in parts and required an hour and a half of my time. The first time I tried my modified E300 electric scooter I couldn"t believe it. I was early March and I drove to a school parking lot near my home. I was bundled up in my rollerblades, safety gear and winter clothes. The cold breeze cut against my face but I was happy. My body weight was supported by the rollerblades, so my modified E300 electric scooter had only to push me around the breezy parking lot. I was able to reach 15 mph while making laps around the parking lot. It was a blast. I have used my modified E300 electric scooter numerous times since then.
It is a twist to the Razor electric scooter function but it is a lot of fun to use. I get a good ride and I don"t have to climb any hills. I am able to tool around nicely paved streets and I am not bound to parks or long drives anymore. It has opened a whole new world of fun for me. The neighborhood kids want to try it and some may even think I am a cool dad.
See my Youtube video at:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zq6vWf2Z8MQ
I have written more extensively about this modified E300 electric scooter if you wish to check it out at:
http://www.IModifiedMyE300.com
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