Heels and Scooters



A co-worker stopped me today to share an experience from the night before. On her way home she had stopped at QuickTrip (perhaps one of the greatest creations in the world). While she was shopping for a cold beverage, she heard a disturbance. She looked up to see most of the patrons in the store running out into the parking lot. She made her way to the door to see what the cause of all the commotion.

When she got to the front doors, she saw a woman wearing high heels lying on the ground with abrasions on her forearm and a split lip. The woman lying on the ground was also wearing a silver half-helmet. Not far from where she was lying was a little silver scooter lying on it's side. The woman stood up and began trying to right the scooter and the friendly patrons were more than happy to assist the lovely damsel in distress. A few minutes later, the little scooter, which was paint matched to the woman's helmet, was back upright and all was well in the world.

I know that scooters do not go very fast and they are low to the ground. But the woman in the QuickTrip parking lot has a lip and a forearm that will attest that AGATT (All the Gear All The Time) is still a good idea. And as sexy as a pair of high heels are on the feet of a woman with long gorgeous legs, I would venture to say they are not the ideal footwear for scooters or motorcycles and very well could have been a contributor to her lipstick getting smeared that evening. I understand that everyone wants to turn heads when they are riding, and I will not knock that.

But, before you run out and jump on your scooter or motorcycle this summer, even if it is for a quick trip down to the local QuickTrip for milk or a lottery ticket, consider that the parking lot of a QuickTrip is as busy or busier than the parking lot of Wall World. Cars are coming out of the eight lanes of gas pumps. Cars are coming out of the parking spaces in front of the store. And, cars are coming in both driveways from the surround roads. It only takes one of those to not see you for a sudden braking maneuver to be required.

Sudden braking always has the potential of going bad if the rider locks the back tire or if the front wheel is in a turn and the rider gets on the front brake hard. With the front wheel turned and the front brake almost locked, the bike will transfer its weight forward and because the front wheel is not in line, it will cause the bike to try to fall down.

Not being there to see what happened, I can only speculate on what caused the spill. But being a patron of many a QuickTrip and observing the madness of the traffic at times, I would guess she was turning into a parking spot and someone made a quick move towards her. She probably made a quick grab of the front brake and things were headed South. Trying to stab a foot down at this point might possibly keep things upright, but could lead to a Tib/Fib fracture if the rider stomps the ground too hard trying to save it. And, if rider is wearing high heels, the rider runs the risk of the heel breaking and dumping them or dislocating their ankle.

Enjoy the riding weather but consider the footwear and gear you are wearing before you take off.

-Peace

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