Travelling as a Pack

I originally bought an Electric Scooter for commuting. Less sweaty than a pushbike, more compact (it folds up for easy storage on bus/train/QuickCat/office/flat). I calculated from home to the train station saved fifteen minutes, and from Central to the office another nine. That’s a forty-eight minute time saver every day! Obviously, this also depends on whether the public transport is on time or not, but give or take a few minutes, in the year I’ve been riding my scooter to work, there has been a significant benefit to the plus side.

And let’s admit it: it’s fun. As an ex-motorcycle rider, something I agreed with my wife to give up when our first child was born, I do get a bit of a thrill charging around the place. Albeit a slightly middle aged thrill, but one nonetheless. I chose a scooter that has a bit more grunt to it than the otherwise more conservative scooters which are designed for the commuter, and although I don’t utilise its higher spec’s all that often, It’s nice to have the extra power up the sleeve, especially when my boys want to race me on their bikes. Or did. Now they want to race me on their electric scooters.

Now I’ve nothing against bikes, but riding with my kids was getting to be a bit of a chore. Don’t get me wrong, I love to spend time with them. But it’s not exactly flat around our place. One kid would get miles ahead, the other would need a shoelace done up. Then one might succumb to exhaustion and so I’d have to push that bike up the hill as well as my own. And although not completely out of the routine, we go riding electric scooters more often.

Yes, kids do seem to have it all nowadays, exactly what we were thinking as Christmas rolled around. So that’s how two shiny new scooters appeared beneath the tree, and ever since we’ve been zooming down to the beach, across to the creek, up to the park. We don backpacks and carry essential survival gear like binoculars and Swiss army knives and telescopic rods and explore the forest or do a spot of fishing.

And go racing.

It’s an easy two kilometre cruise in the bike lane to a great empty parking lot that’s only used on market days, (another place to visit on the scooters)! We’ve worked out our course and the kids just love tearing it up. My wife comes along on her bike on these occasions -we decided we don’t really need to upgrade to four scooters - and it’s always a blast. And then we relive it on the GoPro, do some editing, make a new movie. Plenty to keep us all busy and entertained. We also use an App available from the scooter company that the kids love checking out and comparing stats.

The other great thing about the scooters is that we have a routine we all participate in such as the maintenance. The boys are great at ensuring the scooters are regularly charged and cleaned after our outings and that everything is in order before. The helmets and pads are all lined up ready to go, so that whenever we get the urge it’s minimal effort to go out into the world and have fun. In the past it would be hard to get them to accompany me just down to get some bread and milk; now they’re up for it nearly every time. The scooters have definitely contributed to a healthier family lifestyle and especially now in this time of isolation, have been the best dollar to fun ratio we could have ever expected.

WHAT WE RIDE

I chose the Zero 8 for its relative affordability, capability on hills and for its speed. And I say ‘speed’ because it is does have a lot more go than most scooter around the 1K mark, but doesn’t go too quick for the kids to get into too much trouble. It also folds, which for me is a must. We might not need to utilise this that often, but when we do, it’s well worth it. Public transport, camping trips, expeditions to the beach and places with extended bike tracks. It’s a feature not uncommon with e-scooters, so is a no-brainer.

For me, I picked the Zero 10x for basically the same reasons as well as it being a classic commuter with some extra grunt. And I’m glad, because I couldn’t have the kids beating me in a flat out sprint! Both models have that bit of crossover, meaning that you can still ride through grassy parks and on hard dirt tracks. Both also have good battery times and distance expectations, maybe not quite as much as the manufacturer’s claims, but more than enough to match our needs.

In summary, what may appear on the surface to have been a hefty investment into family 'toys', these escooters have already earned a firm place in our family inventory. As the kids get older, they will be able to take themselves to school or work and family holidays now have a group activity we can take with us. The longevity remains to be tested, but the solid build is reassuring and having a local store for repairs and accessories negates the worry.

We look forward to many more adventures to come!

~ Article provided by one of our happy iScoot customers