Scoot Scoot!

Last year I was showing off my beautiful, old, junky bicycle, but nowadays it's big city, big bike for this boy! China is all about moving on up, so here's the next level: a scooter! A Heart Good Time Star Scooter! I don't know if that's the actual model name, but that's what it says on the front!

Possibly some horsepower in there?

Let's talk specs: I don't know any! It runs on a battery, doesn't require a license plate, and transforms into sidewalk mode when the situation calls for it. I charge it overnight under my apartment building every two or three days. It could definitely run for longer, but I'm a man who enjoys a full, stiff battery. Plus you never know what challenges you might face tomorrow; you may need to carry a passenger or go up a hill!

I picked this baby up used from another teacher at my school about a month after moving to Fuzhou, because I quickly realized how popular scooters and e-bikes are in this city. On major streets they usually rival the number of pedestrians, especially when you factor in how many e-bikes are carrying families of three. So far it's been really convenient, both for my daily commute to school and for longer trips to the large Westernized grocery stores. 

Notice the repair job I did using only zip ties

It's a lot of fun to drive! Sure, the traffic here can get a little crazy, but with so many two-wheelers on the road, drivers are a lot more aware of us than they are in Canada. It's chaotic, but there's a different kind of organization within the relaxed rules that lends confidence to drivers. I just have to keep watching out for those street cleaning trucks that just launch water everywhere while blaring "It's A Small World" over loudspeakers. Dive, dive! 

Serious airtime on that kickstand