I have officially been without a car for 3 weeks!  And I learned a valuable lesson today about the difference between riding the scooter and riding my bicycle: respect.  Granted, I have only taken the scooter on the road once, but it gave me a good feel for things.  This morning, I road my bike to the bank and grocery store, and I got a totally different perspective.

Because I only drive the scooter around 30 mph, everyone wants to go around me.  They are annoyed that I am on the road at all.  Unfortunately, my neighborhood is bordered on all sides by large roads.  It is hard to get anywhere without using them.  Often taking smaller roads would lead you on a ridiculously long and arduous path to where you need to go.  My destinations all happen to be in a direct line along these bigger roads.  It was very intimidating being the “slow poke” when I know the world is filled with anxious, unhappy people who are texting their friends and trying to get to work 2 minutes earlier than they would if they just slowed down.  These people scare the bejesus out of me.

However, today when I road my bike, people were so polite.  They would see me and wait to pull out so I could ride by.  It was so refreshing!  Apparently, a person on a bicycle is more well regarded than a person on a scooter.  I ride my bike in the bike lane where feasible and on the sidewalk the rest of the time.  When I stop at an intersection, I know no one is going to smash into the back of me.  It just feels so much safer.

I know I haven’t given the scooter due diligence yet, but I was never a motorcycle person to begin with.  I had a boyfriend who took me on the back of his Ducati a few times, and it terrified me!  He was disappointed that I was not more of a thrill-seeker.  Bah!  He’d never been to Europe.  That’s more thrill than I can handle.  (But I still wouldn’t ride a scooter in Rome!)

In the scooter vs bicycle debate, perhaps I could split it halfway. I am thinking maybe an electric bicycle is more my style.  They are slower, but I’m not in a hurry – I’d rather get there alive (and without getting stressed out).