"It's more fun than you even think it will be!" Josh told me a few weeks ago when we were talking about the pop-up electric scooter rentals that were dotting the corners of our neighborhood. "You will really like it."
I downloaded the app, created an account, and was ready to ride except... there wasn't a scooter nearby when I wanted one, we left town, I forgot about it, and we left town again.
"Do you guys have those Bird scooters near you?" my sister asked me this morning.
"Oh my gosh, yes!" I answered. "I can't wait to try one! Have you done it yet?"
She looked a little surprised. "Um, no. We've been too busy hating on them because no one who uses them here wears a helmet or follows any traffic rules. They are all over the park and the Beltline, and someone is going to get seriously hurt someday soon."
"I would follow the rules," I said. "And Josh told me it's more fun than you even think it will be."
On the way home from lunch we saw one of the simple black and silver machines parked just a few blocks from the house. When we got home, I pulled up the app on my phone. "There's one right down the street!" I reported. "Let's go!"
We decided to combine scooting with shopping, and a little while later we set off. "There it is!" I pointed excitedly at the opposite corner. "My scooter! I'll be back for you!" I called and on we continued to Trader Joe's. Not 20 minutes later we were on our way home, but the scooter was gone! Someone else had rolled away with my first ride.
Crestfallen, I pulled out my phone. There were no others available on the way home, but there was one a little past the house and around the corner, so we dropped the groceries and Courtney, Annabelle and I trotted up the hill. It's more fun than I even think it will be! I told myself.
Arriving at the spot marked by the pin on the map, we found... nothing. Josh had told me that some people near him lock the scooters up on their property so that they will have them, even though it's against the rules. I could have reported it missing, but since I was still inexperienced with the process, I sighed and let it go.
The app showed one more option for us, about 4 blocks to the south, but the winged icon kept appearing and disappearing. My sister was optimistic. "Let's go see," she said.
Why not? I thought. It's more fun than I think it will be!
"There it is!" I said as we approached a bike-share station, and as the three of us neared the corner, a white van pulled up and 2 guys jumped out and grabbed the 2 scooters that were leaning against the rack. After a lot of conversation and phone-checking, they hopped on one of the scooters and rolled away as we stood, jaws open.
I shook my head. "That was not meant to be."
And the three of us turned toward home, vowing to scoot another day. How can we not? It's obviously going to be more fun than I even think it will be.
(EXCITING WRITING NEWS!!! This week Annabelle and I are going to post each of our versions of the same topic. For Annabelle's version of the tragic trilogy of lost scooters, click here.)
I downloaded the app, created an account, and was ready to ride except... there wasn't a scooter nearby when I wanted one, we left town, I forgot about it, and we left town again.
"Do you guys have those Bird scooters near you?" my sister asked me this morning.
"Oh my gosh, yes!" I answered. "I can't wait to try one! Have you done it yet?"
She looked a little surprised. "Um, no. We've been too busy hating on them because no one who uses them here wears a helmet or follows any traffic rules. They are all over the park and the Beltline, and someone is going to get seriously hurt someday soon."
"I would follow the rules," I said. "And Josh told me it's more fun than you even think it will be."
On the way home from lunch we saw one of the simple black and silver machines parked just a few blocks from the house. When we got home, I pulled up the app on my phone. "There's one right down the street!" I reported. "Let's go!"
We decided to combine scooting with shopping, and a little while later we set off. "There it is!" I pointed excitedly at the opposite corner. "My scooter! I'll be back for you!" I called and on we continued to Trader Joe's. Not 20 minutes later we were on our way home, but the scooter was gone! Someone else had rolled away with my first ride.
Crestfallen, I pulled out my phone. There were no others available on the way home, but there was one a little past the house and around the corner, so we dropped the groceries and Courtney, Annabelle and I trotted up the hill. It's more fun than I even think it will be! I told myself.
Arriving at the spot marked by the pin on the map, we found... nothing. Josh had told me that some people near him lock the scooters up on their property so that they will have them, even though it's against the rules. I could have reported it missing, but since I was still inexperienced with the process, I sighed and let it go.
The app showed one more option for us, about 4 blocks to the south, but the winged icon kept appearing and disappearing. My sister was optimistic. "Let's go see," she said.
Why not? I thought. It's more fun than I think it will be!
"There it is!" I said as we approached a bike-share station, and as the three of us neared the corner, a white van pulled up and 2 guys jumped out and grabbed the 2 scooters that were leaning against the rack. After a lot of conversation and phone-checking, they hopped on one of the scooters and rolled away as we stood, jaws open.
I shook my head. "That was not meant to be."
And the three of us turned toward home, vowing to scoot another day. How can we not? It's obviously going to be more fun than I even think it will be.
(EXCITING WRITING NEWS!!! This week Annabelle and I are going to post each of our versions of the same topic. For Annabelle's version of the tragic trilogy of lost scooters, click here.)
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