I arrive five minutes before training starts and our instructor has already opened the bike shed. I grab a scooter and off I go to warm up. What’s happening – I’m accelerating and whizzing along with both feet on like nobody’s business! “Great!” I suddenly hear my instructor shout behind me. I go around in a wide circle and glide over to the group with one leg bent behind me.

Coloured circles are laid out in a line once more and we have to cycle around them and back in a wavy line, using the left foot to advance only on one side. It’s hard! I quickly realize steering is the obviously important part in this exercise. My first attempt fizzles out shortly before the finish line, so I try again, and despite my jerky maneuvers with the handlebar I make it. “Small loops, but not bad”, says the instructor as I come back.

A circle is made out of cones and we once again do a partner exercise. Two cones of different colours are placed opposite each other and the instructor picks me to demonstrate the exercise with her. I’m preening just a bit. We both start scooting at the same time, and the trick is to keep an eye on each other. If the person in front of me is going slower, so should I, if she’s going faster, I should pick up speed. I’m assigned another partner. After a few minutes the instructor says we must have confused something and we burst out laughing – I’m looking at my partner, but I joyfully speed up all the time, while she goes slowly.

Then we have to scoot along each other as far as we like, which is really pleasant as the soccer field is empty. As we scoot, we are instructed to chat and look at each other. It starts to rain and we have to take cover in the shed again. My scooter brings me safely there before I can get too wet.

It rained hard and by the time it stops, we are confronted with puddles and mud. But I am undeterred. Pick up speed, both feet on the scooter, and your partner pushes you a few times without you getting off the source of locomotion. I’m staying upright longer than I expected and that’s exhilarating! Next up – we scoot along in a line, discover that we “forgot our keys”, make a small turn and go back, “get the keys”, make another small turn and resume the journey. My line soon turns in to a curve and my turns don’t feel small, but I think my “retrieving” mission was successful.

Then we scoot towards a bunch of cones and “discover” them only in the last second. Ooops, an obstacle! Scoot around the obstacle. Yep, steering. I do OK and don’t crash in to anything.

But my crowning glory comes towards the end of the session. We’re supposed to scoot off, speed up, get both feet on, and then slowly brake with our bodies by squatting and leaning back a bit on the scooter. I have no idea how this is going to turn out and my primary concern is not to slip and fall in the mud. But things go surprisingly smoothly and my scooter gently slows as I hold the requested position, making a I-actually-do-this-every-day face.

My sneakers are dirty and my jeans look like I’ve voluntarily stomped around in the mud to get them as splattered as possible. But I don’t care!

Off we go, scooting around. Gather speed (man, my legs are tired), one two, three, second foot on the scooter and hold “as long as it rolls” – check. I need to pause a bit in-between, but I do shoot off further away today, so that I actually have to hurry back to the instructor each time she announces a new exercise. But why walk when you can scoot.

This exercise was the basis of today’s session. We try three more combinations in varying degrees of complexity. Scoot off, both feet on the scooter, then bend one leg behind you and stand on the other one as long as you can – check. Imagine yourself looking down and, gasp, seeing a spider (bees were also suggested) on your foot and needing to shake it off.

Mostly check – not so much shake, but definitely some off. “And now,” our instructor says, “write in the air with your foot. It can be a zero, or the letter A…” I optimistically imagine myself “writing” a V, but as soon as I take off, jump on and extend my left leg, it becomes clear that I’ll have to start smaller. “A one is also OK!” our instructor shouts. A one it is. But a “quick” one, without the top bit.

At this point it starts to rain heavily and we take cover in the shed. It stops after ten minutes and we resume training. We were lucky – the kids practicing soccer in the distance were running laps with no breaks. “This next one is a partner exercise!” And for a minute we’re all in school again – because the people I would rather not partner with are eyeballing me. They rush over and start yelling something, so I pretend to be confused and ask a lady who seemed to have a sense of humour. Same – gather speed, scoot along with both feet on the scooter, during which time your partner runs alongside you and gives you math problems to solve. You do so while staying on the scooter. This is fun – I discover I’m better at speeding up and standing longer on the scooter.

The next exercise is also with a partner. Same base, only without the speed, both feet on the scooter, and as soon as you start to slow down, the partner holds you around the waist and carefully pushes. Your job is to steer. Half-check.

Last challenge: each of us gets a coloured cardboard circle which we lay on the ground. We’re supposed to ride along it, then loop back to it, and then loop from there in another direction. Brows are furrowed as we listen. “Basically make a figure 8. Small 8, large 8, doesn’t matter.” I make a whole potpourri of eights, at least as far as I can tell. Small, large, crooked, half-done, eights that fold in on each other, eights that unravel towards the end.

It rains again and we take cover. Since the clouds above still look threatening, the instructor lets us off early. But I ask for a few more minutes and do some joyful one-legged gliding.

I’m a beginner, so I signed up for a course for beginners. There’s a small butterfly fluttering in my stomach as I approach the sports center where the training takes place. Our instructor tells us to grab a scooter.

“You’ll simply do as I say. Every exercise has a purpose.” I keep a close watch on her hands and feet as she shows us the first basics – how to step on and off, how to do this with one leg crossed behind you, and how to step off with a turn. Then we start to scoot, the difficulty increasing with each exercise. I quickly discover the part that’s most fun for me – right foot on the scooter and pushing with my left. I’m careful to scoot in short bursts of speed, braking cautiously.

Within minutes most of us take off our jackets and continue to work up a sweat on the football field sized training ground. “Yes, yes, it’s exercise!” our calls instructor encouragingly. Jump on and off the scooter, holding for a few seconds – check. Scoot gathering speed, one, two, three, both feet on the scooter and hold as long as you can – check. Ride around a circle on the ground, one foot in, scooter stays outside of the circle – half check. That one was harder. Ride around small coloured circles laid out in a line on the ground, swaying the handlebar – mostly check. I look back expecting to see a mess, but the circles are still there. Push your scooter along a curvy line two times, making sure first the front and then the back wheels follow it. Scoot around in small and large circles – check. At least it felt like a circle. Gather speed, both feet on, squat once (more if you can, but I’m saving up my ambition) – check. Wow! And then the same, only standing on tiptoe instead of squatting – check.

Ride around in larger circles, not looking down, but around. Check!

Main impressions – I did not fall off, coordinating my feet around the scooter took some time, as did finding a good grip for the handlebar. “You’ll feel your leg muscles tonight”, says our instructor by the end. Oh, yes.