Scooter ... another form of Mountain Bike?

This week, I found out that the front ball bearing on my scooter was completely worn out. I noticed the scooter seemed to be sticking when I was trying to steer, so I asked the facility guys if they could grease it up. They took one look at the wheel and said the ball bearing race was completely worn out. So ..... the scooter ended up getting repaired yet again.

On this particular day, the facility guys were going to go out and get some grab bars that I had asked them to install in some of the housing units across the streets (at the shelter). There are some residents who require grab bars for accessibility purposes. I had called the medical supply company and they also said they had the scooter part, so off the facility guys went to purchase the grab bars and pick up the scooter part. However ....

When they got there, the guy at the store says that they don't have the part. Apparently, the ball bearings that my scooter uses aren't made anymore. Ugh... My scooter was all taken apart and there were no replacement parts. I actually took a look at the old ball bearing and seriously, it was ground to a pulp. They couldn't have reinstalled that piece had they wanted to. I don't think it would have made another trip back and forth from my apartment to work.

Fortunately, one of the residents from the shelter came to the rescue. He knew a little something about fixing bikes. He took one look at the scooter and said it looked just like a mountain bike as far as the steering column goes. So, off he went to a bike shop. He said he told them that he was fixing some lady's scooter. From the way he told the story, I think he made it sound a bit like a sob story ... that he was fixing some lady's scooter at the Mustard Seed. I'm sure the guy at the store thought it was some homeless person's scooter. But I wasn't there to correct the story ... and he got the part donated to him. However, the part did not quite fit, so he ended up taking the ball bearing apart and reconstructing it to fit. This process took hours, but now, the front end turns very smoothly. I was so thankful for this!

Let's just hope it keeps running for a while longer yet. Nevertheless, if the scooter is comparable to a mountain bike, I must say I have the most comfortable seat possible for a mountain bike!!!