The Close Call

[errantember]

I went from my house in South Austin all the way up to north past Mueller airport on my scooter in very cold temperatures tonight to go to a Re-Evaluation Counseling class I recently signed up for with my old Permaculture instructor Selwyn Polit. The scooter's range is reduced by as much as 40% in very cold weather, as it has lead-acid batteries. I charged the it for three hours there, which is respectable, but definitely not a full charge. I *then* proceeded from Mueller down to Elysium for Combichrist, *then* drove home *without* *recharging*.

By the time I was going pulling into the driveway, the E-meter was blinking red. It's the closest call I've had so far, and it's an *awesome* test of maximum range on the bike, since it's rarely this cold in Austin. Taking these kinds of risks is exciting. It helps me feel like I'm pushing the envelope for sustainable transportation, and the consequences of getting it wrong aren't *too* bad.

At least, they aren't when it's not nearly below freezing outside. :)

Comments

[errantember.livejournal.com]

It's also worth noting that the front shocks that EVTAMERICA sent me appear to be the same as the ones they replaced. On the back ones are noticeably bigger. However, because the back ones were so weak originally, the original front shocks probably wore out faster, since they had to handle a larger percentage of the load. I don't really know how to test the shocks to see if I *really* needed to change them, and I've kept all four original shocks just in case.