The Scooter Shaman
| Vendula KosíkováMikuláš Radosta wanted to run a scooter rental, but he ended up borrowing scooters for free. He founded a scooter club and runs a tourist club for children, and the scooters have already become part of it. "Renting scooters for money would lose the spell," Mikuláš explains.
Far from Prague
"As a young boy, I used to ride a scooter through the streets of the Old Town in Prague, where I grew up. I was part of a scooter gang. Today, you wouldn´t be able to ride through the streets because of the tourists, "recalls Mikuláš, who left Prague for the country ten years ago.
Against the flow
Nowadays, when everyone thinks primarily about making a lot of money, Mikuláš's story is at least refreshing. He belongs to those people who care for the environment in which they live, and for the values distant from those of the common world focused on performance. With scooters, he connects people and creates a rare co-existence in his neighborhood.
Like a shaman
Mikuláš got the idea of borrowing scooters for free when reading a book by Lame Deer, in which the Sioux medicine man depicts the lives of the Indians, and confronts the hierarchy of their values with the values of our civilization. "Lame Deer healed the sick for free, he got the healing abilities as a gift, and if he had taken money for healing his medicine would have lost its spell," Mikuláš explains.
How it has started
Mikuláš Radosta lives by himself in a small house in Příčovy, which has a population of only 300 inhabitants. He takes care of the dog Misha from the animal shelter, a cat and two goats. He has no car, nor a driver´s license, and he rides to his work, a sheltered workshop in Svatý Jan, on his scooter every day, regardless of the weather or a season.
In a month he rides over 500 km. "I used to ride a bicycle before but pushing a bike up the hill is somewhat inappropriate, and it´s not a habit to ride a scooter uphill and that I like," Mikuláš explains why he changed the bike for a scooter five years ago.
With enthusiasm and for free
Since that time he has bought 12 scooters for his money, which he rents for free to his friends, acquaintances and strangers. He founded the scooter club Povltavský koloběžkový klub and his scooters are also used by the children from the local tourist section THOM Příčovy, which Mikuláš is a leader of. His collection contains eleven Yedoo Mezeq New scooters and one Yedoo City New scooter adapted for children.
Without a car
"I haven´t got a driver´s license and I'm not even tempted to get it. Actually, I´ve never sat behind the steering wheel in my lifetime. The cars are smelly and bothersome. Without a car one thinks more. If I want to get somewhere, I'll walk there, I'll ride there, or go by public transport, or I´ll find out that going there is not worth it ... Without cars it's easier than people think.
Even a simple moving from one place to another can be quite an experience. After I stop enjoying the pushing off I'll get an electric motor for my Mezeq.
On one of our first section rides (20 km long circuit around Radíč) went with us a young boy on his balance bike and this year we had 40 children at our summer camp," enjoys Mikuláš, who seems to have devoted all his leisure time to the generally beneficial activities. So, if you wanted to discover the beauty of the Sedlčany region, you can find the scooter point in Příčovy. Contact Mikuláš in advance via Facebook where you can find him under his nickname Karas Nik.
We hope that we´ll be able to meet more of such people and we are glad that scooters could be part of this amazing story as well.
How many of similar people live in your neighborhood?
