Frenchman Ben Voron had always wanted to visit America and see the country coast-to-coast, which is a dream he recently realized, 30 miles at a time.

Benjamin Voron, who rode across the United States on an electric scooter, showed signatures on his helmet from people he met along the way. (photo by Edwin Folven)

Voron visited Los Angeles last week on the final leg of his cross-country trip on an electric scooter. He purchased the Vectrix VX1 scooter in Paris and had it shipped over for the trip to prove that an electric scooter can be used for more than just short trips around town.

“I chose the scooter to show that electric vehicles are both economical and reliable,” Voron said. “The biggest challenge was to find a plug every thirty miles. This bike is great for cities, and riding it across the country was a big challenge, but the best thing was the American people I met who helped along the way with my trip.”

Voron began his trip in New York City on March 17 and selected a route down the East Coast, and through the South and Southwest to maximize the number of locations he could stop to re-charge the scooter’s battery. He said he ran into heavy rain and had to plan his route around tornado warnings in the South, and endured long stretches through Texas that seemed endless. He estimates that he had to stop 200 times to recharge during the trip.

“The most difficult part was West Texas, New Mexico and Arizona. There was nothing out there,” Voron said. “It was just really hard. Sometimes I would find a little village where they would let me plug the scooter in, and other times it was just one house. The people were very friendly, though.”

When Voron arrived in California, he went through San Diego and came to Los Angeles, where he stopped for some sightseeing. On a visit last week to Griffith Park, he ran into City Councilmember Tom LaBonge, who scheduled a welcome ceremony. Voron gathered under the Los Angeles Sister Cities Monument on May 24 with LaBonge and officials from the French Consulate, and received an official proclamation from the City of Angeles.

Voron said he covered approximately 4,100 miles and passed through 18 states, His plan was to ride to San Francisco before returning to France on June 8. Some of the people Voron met on his trip signed his red, white and blue striped helmet, which Voron said he will keep as a memento of the adventure. Voron, 34, said 10 years ago he completed a world-wide bicycling trip that took him through 24 countries, and he added he is considering embarking on a similar trip on a scooter in the future. He added that he hopes the journey will lead people to consider using alternative forms of transportation.

LaBonge said he is also a big proponent of alternative transportation, and meeting someone like Voron is “what makes Los Angeles special.”

“This young man is an adventurer with a cause, and deserves our recognition for proving that you can go a long way on a little energy … and not leave behind a big carbon footprint,” LaBonge added. “I especially like Monsieur Voron’s helmet, which reminds me of the Captain America helmet Peter Fonda wore in the iconic road-movie ‘Easy Rider’. This guy’s an ‘easy rider’ for the 21st Century, easy on the environment.”