An evening scooter ride

Last night, around 8:15 p.m., I felt restless, so I put on my sandals and pulled out my scooter from the closet where I had stashed it the day before after bringing it back from Birmingham.  In front of my complex, there is a bike lane separated from traffic by barriers that runs parallel to the sidewalk.  It didn't look too overrun with electric scooters so I entered it, picked up my feet and propelled myself forward.

It was downhill as I headed east and so I really picked up speed.  Oh, how I flew with the wind in my hair and the colors of the sunset streaking the sky!  The initial downhill was enough to propel me up the rolling uphill section that came next.  Then I reached the beltline.

I headed north and kept going until my legs got tired and the sky had turned dark.  The trail was active as I passed and was passed by walkers, dog owners, children, bikers, and electric scooters.  I received a number of smiles from people which I assume were because here I was a grown woman on a kick scooter.  The only other kick scooter I saw all night was a girl about 8 years old.

When I reached a point where it seemed to end after I had gone through a pretty cool tunnel under I-85, I stopped to see where I was and estimated I was between 3 and 4 miles from home.  I recalled how much of that ride had been downhill so expected the return would be a workout so I turned around.  I reflected on the fact that not once had I needed to cross or enter traffic!  I now live somewhere that I can go this far on protected bike lanes and paths.

As I retraced my route, I would get occasional glimpses of the skyline, lit up for the night.  It took my breath away.

There was a stretch of that last half mile where the hill was a bit steep and so I walked to rest my tired muscles.  By the time I walked in the door of my apartment, I was drenched in sweat and exhausted but I felt so alive.  It was so good to get back out on my scooter.  Maybe I'm not quite ready to retire it.