It hasn’t been above freezing for days now, and the best option is clearly fireside,  preferably with a jug of mulled wine.  But I needed to go out and fetch supplies, so in the name of research I ignored the inviting option of the 4×4 with its’ heated seats, and had a go at using the e-scooter for the trip to the local shop….

……………… fancy trying it?   read on.…

Firstly, there was the cold! –  scooting in cold weather means combating wind chill even if the air is still, because you’re moving at speed in one direction or another. My thickest coat and face scarf were effective, but my jeans weren’t up to keeping the cold off my legs. I had gloves, but also a chemical warmer (see above) in each hand. These didn’t impede my grip on the handlebar, and they last for hours when opened (mine were still hot 3 hours later!) and  I had good boots on, but it was essentially the same as standing motionless on a freezing train platform for half an hour,  now ,where did I leave the chilblain cream?

There was ice, even though I was on gritted roads.  I let some air out of the tyres to give more grip and slowed down. I felt safe enough, but no way would I venture anywhere that wasn’t gritted.

I’d read that lithium batteries underperform in the cold and noticed I used more battery charge than usual. I wasn’t worried about having to push it back, but that was only because I’d just been the 4 miles.

 

My conclusion?   I’m not going to be commuting to the office on it in this weather, that’s for sure, it would be no fun and potentially fatal!  A much the better idea is to drive back to Portugal with the scooter in my luggage and see out the rest of the winter there.

Roll on the spring!