Musselburgh Coast

A rather dull day with laden skies and the forecast of rain did not stop me getting out on the new Swifty Air. I loaded the scooter in the back of the car and headed down to the coast at Musselburgh, a few miles east of Edinburgh. I knew there was some dirt trails there and I wanted to try out the Swifty Air fitted with Maxxis Hookworm tyres. The trails were a mixture of graded gravel, smooth tarmac, rough tarmac, tussocky grass and even a slippery concrete path that is under water at high tide. A good mix to test the Swifty.

My route followed the John Muir Way towards North Berwick, skirting round the old disused filter beds from a now demolished coal-fired power station and along as far as Prestonpans. I then about turned and headed across to explore Prestongrange Museum, with its old beam engine, Hoffman continuous brick kiln and assorted railway paraphernalia. A good spot to stop for a few photographs.

The return route took me back through Levenhall Links and into Musselburgh where I stopped back at the car for lunch. After which I headed further along the coast to Musselburgh harbour, with a detour up the River Esk and down again, before the rain started, so I returned to the car and headed for home. All in all about 3 hours spent with the scooter and 10 miles under its wheels.

My scoot on the Swifty Air has produced a few observations I want to share. The first is that the Swifty Air is excellent on rough terrain. It’s not easy, as my legs muscles will attest at the moment, and probably even more so tomorrow morning. It doesn’t fly along the same as the more nimble Swifty Zero but they are both configured for their own specific purpose, so that is to be expected.

My next observation, after completing my first decent scoot, some 10 miles in all, is that’s it’s jolly hard work and much more strenuous than cycling, even cycling cross-country. I will certainly sleep well tonight. It is quicker than walking, slower than cycling and less effort than running.

Another observation, from being in the vicinity of people, is that most will say hello. A few will plainly ignore you even when you say hello to them. And it is usually the women who smile at you and your scooter. You often catch comments as you scoot past, mostly wondering what had just gone by. Children are the best, they just stand and stare then say to their parents that they want one.

Further observations from the days scoot are that tidal walkways are very slippery when wet and great care is required not to slip. I also need to devise a cunning device that will support the Swifty when I want to pose it for photographs. And finally, I cannot stress enough just how much fun is to be had with a Swifty scooter. Wish I’d bought one years ago.

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