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I now have an EV

It's official, I now own an EV.

A Tesla? A BYD? A BMW?

Nope.

I now have an e-scooter.

You might be wondering why on earth a 73 year old man would risk his life on such a potentially dangerous form of transport.

Well it's an unusual set of circumstances so let me explain.

When I suffered nerve damage a few months ago I lost the use of about 80 percent of the calf muscle in my right leg. That makes walking any distance of more than a few hundred metres pretty much impossible right now.

So why not just drive?

Unfortunately, the damaged nerve is in my backside so sitting for any length of time becomes decidedly uncomfortable, especially if you're being bounced around inside a vehicle. I can handle a trip to get my B12 injections at the doctor's office but even that produces discomfort that lingers for a few days.

Looking at all the factors, I figured that the obvious option would be some form of transport that allowed me to move about whilst standing. That perfectly describes an electric scooter.

Of course I also plonked down a bunch of cash for a good quality helmet and do not intend using anything like the 50 KPH top speed of this thing. In fact, I'm finding that 15 KPH is more than fast enough for this old guy.

I'm quite impressed with the actual performance of this device. The manufacturer claims up to 80Km of range and independent reveiws indicate that well over half that number is quite a realistic expectation. I certainly do not expect to be traveling that far so this is excellent for my purposes.

Perhaps the most impressive aspect is its abilty to climb hills.

There are several fairly steep sections of road between my house and the airfield so I was a little worried whether a puny e-scooter could transport my hefty 80Kg up such an incline. I need not have worried; the damned thing never even slowed down.

The overall construction is of pretty high quality with metal used where strength it's needed and plastic where it's not.

As for handling -- well this is my first scooter so I can't compare but it certainly took a few Km of practice before I started feeling comfortable and confident but now it's pretty much like riding a bike and I don't feel vulnerable or at risk, even when scooting along on the road.

This particular model has some nice security features as well, including finger-print unlock and a clever alarm system that will scare the snot out of anyone who might think of stealing it while I'm in the supermarket getting my groceries.

Today I'll spend some time "tuning" the braking system though because the rear brake is super-sensitive and prone to locking up if you squeeze even a little too hard. Apparently this is the result of having a pretty big disk brake *and* electronic brakes via the motor. I'm told that synchronising the effect of these two systems is necessary to ensure more progressive stopping power so I'll have a play.

Hopefully, by summer, my leg will be good enough to support my love of walking long distances in the baking heat but until then I'm pretty happy to be saving a fortune by scooting instead of driving, given today's soaring petrol prices.

I certainly wouldn't recommend an e-scooter to most 73-year-olds but I'm still working out and still have a lot of strength plus good balance with plenty of muscle protecting my bones so I'm not too worried even if I do take a tumble at 15 KPH.

Let's hope those aren't my famous last words eh?

Carpe Diem folks!

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