Although the colonization of Mars has been talked about for years, we still don’t have a planet B suitable for life. However, what we have is a chance to fix ours. Gradually, piece by piece, a little something every day. For example, on a scooter. That’s on what I roamed Košice all June as part of the Bike To Work initiative. Along with me, 13 other colleagues were using an alternative mode of transport. In total, we rode over 1756 km and saved almost 400 kg of CO₂. And what other benefits has the scooter brought me?
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No traffic jams
There’s nothing like the feeling when you run around a row of standing cars with a smile, because a bridge that was rebuilt 5 years ago is under construction again.
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Faster than by car or public transport
The benefit stemming from the first one. No traffic jams = no delay. Plus no sweaty co-travellers! I’m home at Terasa in 12 minutes. And I drive responsibly, within the allowed speed limit, not like the dude in this video.
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I don’t deal with parking
Resident zone? Cool, I’ll park it on the sidewalk. I don’t like the surroundings and I’m afraid of someone stealing my steel horse? I’ll take the scooter on my shoulder and put it right next to my work table.
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I won’t sweat
In his blog about Bike to Work last year, Dávid mentioned the need to use a shower after arriving at the office. With a scooter, this fragrant duty is eliminated. At the most, I have to rearrange my hairstyle, which got blown away on the way, because I don’t even have to wear a helmet.
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Less honking
Cyclists find it difficult in Slovakia. According to drivers, they don’t belong on the road, according to pedestrians, they don’t belong on the sidewalk and there’s pitifully few bike paths. The result is either grumbling bystanders or honking cars. However, a scooter on the sidewalk doesn’t bother anyone and it belongs there according to the last amendment of the law, which included electric scooters among non-motorised vehicles. Of course, some of the sidewalks are in a deplorable condition and from time to time it shakes me up quite a lot. But on the other hand, which road in Košice doesn’t have potholes and poorly installed manholes? I think I’d have to look for a long time.
In short: I plan to continue to ride the scooter to work as long as the weather allows me to do so. And I consider the project Bike To Work a good motivator. Everyone should at least try alternative transport options. They may be pleasantly surprised by all the benefits they can gain from this. Not to mention that they’ll contribute to reducing the burden on roads and protecting the planet as a whole.
P.S. The scooter has not yet been included among the means of transport in Bike To Work, so I counted as a cyclist. Overall, we succeeded as follows:
So next year again!
