The other day as I walked down the footpath, probably with the dog, a couple of young boys of say 4 & 6 passed me taking advantage of the gentle slope of Ponsonby Road. The older, annoying one, was on a scooter. The younger of the pair was on one of those little starter bikes with no peddles. I liked him. He was cooler. He was the natural born rider.
The big kid just stood on the scooter and went down the hill in that gumby handlebar grip and the look of uncertainty that all scooter riders have. The young one threw turn after turn, went as close as he could to things without hitting them, had his eyes forward, and whether it was concious or not, was making the most of the energy offered up by that bit of footpath outside Bhana Brothers as he swerved left and right, planting a foot only when he needed too. I could see the life each of these kids would lead almost mapped out before them. The kid on the scooter just getting fat playing video games after giving up scootering due to the continued falls and I like to think, a childhood of being harassed by kids more like his little brother; the kids with balance and style.
JUST LOOK AT THIS GOOBER.
I imagined the younger boy, with only a tinge of envy, simply riding his way through life on all manner of bikes and boards with wheels and without, endlessly styling. Effortlessly balanced in everything he does.
Now I don’t have a problem with people who don’t possess balance, until that is, they get on something that requires it. And lets face it – hundreds are. On ashphalt and in the ocean. The latest thing to be democratised is ‘gliding’ and most people can’t do it. Because if you could, you would have been doing it before Lime scooters and cheaply made stand up paddle boards came along. You’re not a natural born rider if it’s taken you twenty plus years to figure out “Hey, I could ride that”.
THIS CAT KNEW WHAT WAS UP FROM DAY ONE
Natural born riders know how to use gradient as an energy source. Natural born riders bend their knees, relax their shoulders and know what they need to do 20 or so metres before they need to do it. Non- natural riders are just holding on. To everything.
I saw a woman face plant off a Lime down at the viaduct. Her hat came off in the wind, she reached for it: Whoops. Shouldn’t have taken my hand off there now my face is hitting the footpath. That hurts. She got off lightly, I was surprised she even got to her feet. I’d say she came within a fraction of either the speed, angle or weight that would have been required for a serious injury. If you’re dumb enough to take your hand off the thing you’re stupid enough to have to be holding in the first place, well you know.
Because these things have motors, the rider has no real sense of gradient or the distribution of weight and energy. They’re just straightlining in a hurry. On a skateboard, or even a bike, you have a sense of these things, you can feel what to do next. Slow down. Speed up. Go over there. Which is why you look cooler. You’ve become part of the environment. Instinctively using what has been put there for you. It’s just coming naturally. Because there are riders and there are not.
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