The New Horsepower in Town

I was seventeen and had just landed what I considered to be a plum job mucking stalls at a horse farm on the North Shore of Long Island. It was a plum job because I loved horses and couldn't afford just about anything at all to do with them and I would get one free lesson a week in addition to eight bucks a day for the job. You could have kept the eight bucks and I would have been happy. However, it was one of the hardest jobs I ever had. The heat. The flies. The smell. The sheer muscle it took to push that wheelbarrow full of manure up a ramp to dump it or to haul those bales of hay from the hayloft . . .

Yet when I was done each day, I got on the used gas scooter I had just bought and rode the half hour or so back to my modest little town of Mineola. The feel of the wind and the smell of the trees usually made me sing, badly, all the way home. People smiled and waved at me and by the time I got home, I was completely relaxed.

And so, it should come as no surprise that I'm eyeing gas scooters as the new horsepower in town has started proliferating. There is not much I covet in life, but, my goodness, have you seen them? So very, very cute. Much, much cuter than the one I had.

I have had the good fortune to be at a red light on my bike on two separate occasions when someone riding a scooter was there as well. I asked both people the same questions:

* How do you like it?
* How many miles per gallon do you get?
* Are the drivers being nice to you?

Both riders gave the same answers. Love it. 80-100 mpg. Yes.

And so, it was with a bit of a shock that I saw a scooter rider on 14th Street at Juniper recently getting honked at very aggressively by drivers. The scooter rider was not doing anything wrong, but the anger emanating from the cars around him was palpable.

Is the atmosphere in Dunwoody kinder, or are scooters still a novelty here that we have more patience toward them right now? Not sure, but my guess is that we are going to see more of them and, as with everything, we decide what kind of city we want to be in the choices we make and the way we treat folks--in this case, those who are trying out some different transportation decisions.

I had a little email back-and-forth with Bill Gornto, owner of Twist 'n' Scoot Motorscooters in Midtown. He says sales are already triple what they were last year, and this year is far from over. Mostly young professionals buy them but he has customers from young to old. Regarding riding in traffic, he offers this specific advice:

Atlanta traffic is very busy and the drivers are aggressive. You have to be three times more careful on a scooter. Slow down approaching intersections, stay out of vehicular traffic blind spots and expect anything and everything. Never challenge anyone, just stay clear of any potential problems and take those lesser used streets and roads. Enjoy the ride getting there... possibly quicker!

When you are driving in Dunwoody, keep in mind the challenges that scooter riders face.

Thinking of getting one yourself? If you get one with an engine under 50cc (usually 49), you don't need to register it or get a license for it. It is considered a DOT road vehicle and you must follow all auto driving rules. Many scooter shops recommend you attend ScooterSchool, where you get the know-how for safe operation of your scooter.

There's a stable at Zaban Park (where I took this picture) that I visit on my bike, and there's not one time that I go there that I don't think about that scooter I used to have.

Now, if they could just make one that can hold two kids and stuff from a trip to Costco, I might be able to make it work.