Sunday, December 14, 2014

Soggy Swifty Scootering in Seattle

I've got a new vehicle! It's a SwiftyOne and it came all the way from the United Kingdom. I picked it up in Seattle last Thursday. It was a damp day and Swifty doesn't have fenders (yet) but I still had a blast riding this machine. I'll be posting a lot more about Swifty in the coming weeks, but for now here are a few photos from Swifty's first day in Seattle.

Me and Swifty in front of G and O Family Cyclery in Greenwood. Photo by Madi Carlson.

Seattle's Greenwood neighborhood abounds in transportation options: Cargo Bikes, Kick Scooters, Spacecraft...

One of my favorite bits of commercial street art

The Norwegian Bus Stop.

More lovely street art on Fremont Avenue.

Swifty's 16 inch wheels do fine on rough, uneven sidewalks.

It's a damp day in Seattle. We get a lot of damp days, hence the moss.

Swifty survived his encounter with the Fremont Troll.

Swifty along the shores of Lake Union.

Mercer Street Books is one of the finest little bookshops in Seattle.

Swifty checks out the tourist sights in Seattle.

There's a whole lot of art in Seattle.

The Space Needle and rain welcome Swifty to Seattle.

After 8 miles of soggy scootering, I fold up Swifty for the bus ride to Issaquah.

Swifty tucked behind one of the seats on the Sound Transit 554 bus to Issaquah.

Swifty's home in Issaquah.


8 comments:

Mike said...

When you scooter long distances do you switch kick legs?

Kent Peterson said...

Yep, I trade off which leg is kicking.

Smartboy said...

I have been following your blog for a month or so now (I stumbled across it shortly before I came across the let's kick scoot forum), and I think you have sold me on the SwiftyONE. I have been using a Micro Flex Air occasionally for commutes from Leschi (just north of I-90 on the east shore of Lake Washington) to downtown Seattle, but it has proven once again to be one of the worst scooters out there.

My question for you is if you purchased your Swifty from the manufacturer? If not, where did you buy it?

Kent Peterson said...

Smartboy,

I got my Swifty from the manufacturer in the UK, but I'm trying to convince a couple of Pacific Northwest shops to become dealers. Bulk shipping ( about 15 scooters) will bring costs down. Shoot me an email (kentsbike@gmail.com) if you want to test ride my SwiftyONE or want to chat about scooters.

Anonymous said...

This is GREAT. That is a very special scooter you have there! I really like the small footprint and thoughtful design. Dual 16" inch wheels are perfect even if it didn't fold. The photo of the folded Swifty on the bus is very helpful. I'd love it more if it had proper fenders and a water bottle cage or two.

Way to pull this off for America.

Paul said...

Hey Kent! I've been a Seattle scooter rider for about ten years. I have a SwiftyONE which got me through the pandemic, as well as a Kickbike Safari, a GoPed, and a Xootr. Until now, I haven't met any other Seattle kick scooter or footbike riders. I never understood why they are so rare around here. Why do you think that is?

Kent Peterson said...

Paul, I'm not sure why scooters have never really caught on with adults. They are fun and a good low impact form of exercise. I still scoot around on my Swifty & my Kickped. It's a shame I'm no longer in Seattle, if I was we could form our own little scooter gang!

Kent Peterson, Superior, Wisconsin

Paul said...

Yes! I'm sure the two of us would've made quite an intimidating kick-biker gang! Well, I won't give up, I've started doing Cascade Bicycle Club rides with my Kickbike. That always generates a lot of polite interest. If all goes well I'll be doing STP in 2022. Keep on scootering!