PWC or Truck?

I'm thinking of doing some errands today, and then heading off to Trivia afterwards, all in the arms of my power wheelchair, or with my truck. This is not a simple choice. It's a toss up between the PWC and my truck. With my PWC, I can't go as far, or as fast. With my truck, I have to get in and out, transfers that are challenging for me when I am solo.

I am increasingly using my PWC for excursions, going as far as I can with battery and transit. I am at the point where "quick errands", while slower with the chair, are easier when I don't have to transfer in and out of the truck. Given the time it takes to transfer, get my manual chair into the truck, get buckled in, then go, sometimes it's even faster to use the PWC over the truck.

The most significant issue with the PWC is that I am exposed to weather. Given the way things have been going with thunderstorms and winds in Calgary lately, this is a very real concern. I don't mind a little rain, but on Saturday I was over at the mall across the street when the heavens opened up. I tried braving the rain, but the mere crossing of the parking lot road saw me so soaked that I knew I needed to head back. I went into Starbucks, had a coffee, and waited for the squall to pass.

That's not to say I would have been "golden" with the truck. The transfer into the truck takes a few minutes. Doing that transfer in the pouring rain is equally challenging. On the other hand, there is underground parking at Market Mall; more than once I have saved myself from weather by parking downstairs both here at home and across the street. But then again, transfers are difficult, especially when I am alone.

What I think I might do today is split the difference. I will use my PWC to do my errands. Then I will come home and use my truck to go to Trivia. Or vice versa. Either way, in all ways, I am spending more time in that chair. It's the way things will go, eventually. At some point I won't have a choice, so learning to do it now is better that being forced into it.