I always thought of riding a kick scooter as an unbalanced form of exercise. Everyone favored one leg. The other leg consistently remained motionless, supporting the weight of the body, but doing nothing more. I imagined the rider’s active leg getting muscular and strong, while the other remained slim and weak by comparison.

But there he is. A man, of a certain age, on his scooter, making one kick, two kicks, three, then switching sides to repeat the routine, one kick, two kicks, three with the other leg. He repeats the motion again and then again. He is making his way down the road at a steady speed, using both legs.

“It’s nice to see you using both legs.” I say while riding my bicycle along side him. “I am using both legs,” he replies clearly having misunderstood me. “Yes, exactly.”  I add. He continues, “Of course, otherwise my body isn’t balanced.” I readily agree. He continues, “Twenty years ago, when people saw me, they said these things were for kids. They laughed at me. I made them anyway and started selling them. Now look. Everyone’s riding them.”

I ruefully admitted, ” Not me.”

We chatted a while longer, primarily about the transportation gliding smoothly beside me.

I slowed down to make a right, we said our goodbyes, and the man continued down the road with one kick, two kicks, three.