“The Big Scoot! Will Ride Right into Your Heart
The strongest communities often come from the strangest places. Think of any out-of-the-box idea and there will be a legion of people passionate about it. There’s a corner of the universe for everyone, and documentaries that shed light on the unexpected ways and places communities form are such lovely reminders that humans are creatures of connection. Director Corrie Vaus has found one such group of people in the world of scooters. No, not the Razor scooters you’re likely thinking of, but motorized scooters. The Big Scoot! is about an ambitious group of individuals who want to push their scooters, and themselves, to the limit.
Anyone who has driven across the United States will tell you that it’s a lesson in patience, endurance, and well-timed snack breaks. Most people who make this voyage do so in a car, train, or plane. There are a select few, however, who make the trek on motorized scooters. Think Italian Vespa puttering from California to South Carolina. This isn’t a fictional thought exercise, it’s the 2023 Scooter Cannonball, an eight-day gauntlet where scooter riders test themselves and their machines. The route varies year to year, but the goal is always the same: make it across the country in one piece.
courtesy of The Big Scoot!
As one might imagine, the Scooter Cannonball isn’t a high-octane race. The most souped-up scooters top out somewhere around 80 mph. Even then, a rider isn’t going to make it all the way gunning it every day. The organizers of the event are adamant that this isn’t a race, it’s a points-based competition where the only prizes are bragging rights and pride. Scooter Cannonball feels like a hybrid of summer camp, sightseeing, and competition. The Big Scoot! manages to capture the fleeting feeling that comes with this event. These are strangers who, over the course of eight days, become close in that summer camp way. They spend hours in the parking lots of hotels tinkering with their scooters, playing games, and drinking beer. As the participants say throughout the documentary, these people may have nothing else in common, but they have scooters and this marathon, and that is enough.
courtesy of The Big Scoot!
“I’m emotionless and emotional at the same time, if that makes sense,” one of the participants says about making it to the final day of the Cannonball. The 2023 event saw a record 182 participants start the race in California, but not all of them finished. The Big Scoot! tells us about the people on the bikes, why they’re riding, what they’re chasing, and what they’re leaving behind. As people say about every type of endurance test, the act itself is what makes you learn about yourself, not the finish line. The people who mount these scooters say the same. The rider’s emotionless emotional feeling is familiar to anyone who has done something they weren’t sure they were capable of. The feeling is too big to process all at once and you have to let the weight of it all wash over you.
The Big Scoot! is filled with the charming sort of folks who one might imagine would sign up to ride a scooter across the country. Some have attempted the Cannonball multiple times, while others saddle up for the first time. On the road they’re equal, and The Big Scoot! is enamored of them all. Even with blown tires and busted engines, smiles paint the faces of the participants in a way that’s infectious for the audience. The Big Scoot! manages to create the sensation that the viewer is a pillion rider on a slow-moving but emotionally grand journey of a lifetime.
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