LANCASTER, N.Y. — After hours spent riding his electric scooter, Alex Simon stopped for the day in downtown Lancaster. He took a look around, and couldn’t help himself from admiring the view.

What You Need To Know

  • Alex Simon, a native of Las Vegas, is riding e-scooters across U.S. Route 20 from Boston to Newport, OR

  • Simon is raising awareness for e-scooters, e-bikes and electric transportation

  • Simon is more than halfway across the country, rotating between nine scooters with the help of support staff

“It’s beautiful,” he says. “I love it! The town hall here is amazing. I love this town.”          

Simon is in the middle of a cross-country scooter ride spanning more than 3,000 miles, riding on U.S. Route 20 from Boston to Newport, Oregon. The Las Vegas native wants to bring attention to e-scooters and electric transportation, in general.

“When my father passed away (last November), I started thinking about my own legacy, and what I was doing to make the world a better place,” Alex said. “To be honest, I was pretty disappointed in myself and what I was doing. I decided I wanted to change that. I wanted to do something big, I wanted to do something impactful to honor him.”         

Alex expects his journey to take a month, a trip made more difficult because he’s averaging just 25 miles per hour. Alex covers about 120 miles per day, which is just a fraction of his responsibilities.

“I need to record my daily recaps. I need to post pictures. I need to get on live streams with different Facebook groups and the media,” he said. “I need to still take care of my work obligations, and try to speak with my mom and my family.”  

He also kept his day job, continuing to work as a consultant each night before he goes to bed. Alex enjoys his rides, but admits that tedium can set in when he covers great distances.

“I heard some Fleetwood Mac, and suddenly I find myself singing for the next three hours,” he said. “Eight to 10 hours of just you thinking. Trying to find the meaning of life!” he joked.            

As of this writing, Alex is about halfway across the country. While he has a long way to go, Alex believes he can power through the remaining states.

“It’s going to get really tiring, and it will be emotionally draining, and certainly physically draining,” he said. “But it’s part of what makes this trip so special, and why I’m hoping it will really generate the awareness that I want it to.”

You can keep track of Alex’s progress here.​