macgeek
07-10-2005, 11:59 PM
Concord Monitor Online
THIS STORY HAS BEEN FORMATTED FOR EASY PRINTING
------------------------------------------------------------------------
They're 'Born to be mild!'
Author(s): ***JOELLE FARRELL
Date: July 9, 2005
Page: A01 070905 / Section: Front page
Jonathan Gleich pimped his ride. He didn't add fat chrome exhaust pipes, hand-sewn leather seats or a fancy paint-job of a buxom beauty. Instead, he installed an electronic rearview mirror, a strip of lights between his tires, and a message board across the front that reads "Born to be mild!"
If Gleich had ridden into the Laconia's Bike Week last month, he may not have gotten out alive. But the Brooklyn native was the SegwayFest's equivalent of a Hell's Angel.
And just as tens of thousands of bikers gather each year in the Lakes Region to check out the latest gear and show off their motorcycles, more than 80 Segway enthusiasts met in Manchester yesterday for a more genteel rally. Segway riders banded in groups along trails and in the city streets, tested the latest models, and played Segway polo. Some even built their own machines from scratch at the Bedford plant.
The SegwayFest started three years ago when a group of enthusiasts decided to organize a large get-together for owners of the two-wheeled, self-balanced battery-powered scooters. This year, the group organized three events, including one in New Hampshire, where the Segway was invented and is manufactured. Riders flew from Texas, California and Indiana to visit the factory, which some called "the mothe ship."
The Segway, invented by Dean Kamen of Manchester in 2001, is smart and sensitive. It mechanically figures a person's weight and how to balance it. To move, just lean forward. To stop, stand up straight. Turn a handlebar knob to turn around. The machine is so well tuned to the human body that one need only think about moving, and the Segway begins to drift forward.
Segways can travel at speeds up to 12.5 mph and can go from 8 to 24 miles without recharging, depending on the model and the battery type. They cost about $4,500.
The machine has caught on not only with technology nuts, but also with people with disabilities. Kathy Frow, a medical saleswoman from of Austin, Texas, said a back injury used to limit how much she could walk and slowed her down at work. But since she bought a Segway, she works comfortably and says she has enough energy to
go out on weekends and after work.
After a sciatic nerve injury in 1998, John Hainey felt shooting pains in his back and right leg almost every time he moved. Hainey, 51, of Torrence, Calif., took disability leave from IBM and said he was housebound. Last March, he bought a Segway.
"Now I can go literally anywhere," said Hainey, who walks with a cane. "The simple thrill of getting up, having motion and not having pain."
Segway riders rolled up to the Radisson Hotel on Elm Street yesterday and then rode or took a shuttle to the Segway factory on Technology Drive in Bedford. Owners of older Segways admired a new red sporty model. Some test drove an all-terrain Segway with thick tire treads through an obstacle course complete with uneven wooden panels, logs, rocks and fake grass.
Others rode the four-wheeled Centaur, a Segway-like ATV that can go up to 20 mph. The company has only built two Centaur prototypes so far, and there are no plans to market the item, which makes riding it even more tantalizing for technology junkies.
On a grassy space outside the factory, a group from California demonstrated Segway polo, which they play at least twice a month back home. The game started as a joke shouted over a cubicle wall, said George Clark, who works at Apple computers in Cupertino, Calif. But tech guys are known for ingenuity, and within a few months, eight men in helmets and slightly shortened mallets rode their Segways onto a field, seeking glory.
Yesterday's match seemed a far cry from glory of any sort.
Clark flew off his Segway at least twice and nearly let a ball slip through his legs and into his team's goal. Alex Ko got beaned in the head with the ball (luckily an inflatable ball and not the wooden one used in real polo), and Steve Wozniak, who co-founded Apple Computer and calls himself "the enforcer"at Segway polo, played with a semi-healed broken hand and a pinched nerve in his back.
The ball often rolled between the Segway tires, leaving players to arch backward and retrieve it.
Still, the four players had fun, so the way it looks doesn't matter much. And as Eric Fleming, communications coordinator for Segway, jokingly said during a breather, "Hey, it's not a real sport until someone gets hurt."
SegwayFest continues through tomorrow.
Technical problems?: If you have a technical problem with your account please contact us by e-mail at concordmonitor@newsbank.com.
Return to the home page of the Concord Monitor Online
Copyright 2005 Concord Monitor
"Think outside the car"
THIS STORY HAS BEEN FORMATTED FOR EASY PRINTING
------------------------------------------------------------------------
They're 'Born to be mild!'
Author(s): ***JOELLE FARRELL
Date: July 9, 2005
Page: A01 070905 / Section: Front page
Jonathan Gleich pimped his ride. He didn't add fat chrome exhaust pipes, hand-sewn leather seats or a fancy paint-job of a buxom beauty. Instead, he installed an electronic rearview mirror, a strip of lights between his tires, and a message board across the front that reads "Born to be mild!"
If Gleich had ridden into the Laconia's Bike Week last month, he may not have gotten out alive. But the Brooklyn native was the SegwayFest's equivalent of a Hell's Angel.
And just as tens of thousands of bikers gather each year in the Lakes Region to check out the latest gear and show off their motorcycles, more than 80 Segway enthusiasts met in Manchester yesterday for a more genteel rally. Segway riders banded in groups along trails and in the city streets, tested the latest models, and played Segway polo. Some even built their own machines from scratch at the Bedford plant.
The SegwayFest started three years ago when a group of enthusiasts decided to organize a large get-together for owners of the two-wheeled, self-balanced battery-powered scooters. This year, the group organized three events, including one in New Hampshire, where the Segway was invented and is manufactured. Riders flew from Texas, California and Indiana to visit the factory, which some called "the mothe ship."
The Segway, invented by Dean Kamen of Manchester in 2001, is smart and sensitive. It mechanically figures a person's weight and how to balance it. To move, just lean forward. To stop, stand up straight. Turn a handlebar knob to turn around. The machine is so well tuned to the human body that one need only think about moving, and the Segway begins to drift forward.
Segways can travel at speeds up to 12.5 mph and can go from 8 to 24 miles without recharging, depending on the model and the battery type. They cost about $4,500.
The machine has caught on not only with technology nuts, but also with people with disabilities. Kathy Frow, a medical saleswoman from of Austin, Texas, said a back injury used to limit how much she could walk and slowed her down at work. But since she bought a Segway, she works comfortably and says she has enough energy to
go out on weekends and after work.
After a sciatic nerve injury in 1998, John Hainey felt shooting pains in his back and right leg almost every time he moved. Hainey, 51, of Torrence, Calif., took disability leave from IBM and said he was housebound. Last March, he bought a Segway.
"Now I can go literally anywhere," said Hainey, who walks with a cane. "The simple thrill of getting up, having motion and not having pain."
Segway riders rolled up to the Radisson Hotel on Elm Street yesterday and then rode or took a shuttle to the Segway factory on Technology Drive in Bedford. Owners of older Segways admired a new red sporty model. Some test drove an all-terrain Segway with thick tire treads through an obstacle course complete with uneven wooden panels, logs, rocks and fake grass.
Others rode the four-wheeled Centaur, a Segway-like ATV that can go up to 20 mph. The company has only built two Centaur prototypes so far, and there are no plans to market the item, which makes riding it even more tantalizing for technology junkies.
On a grassy space outside the factory, a group from California demonstrated Segway polo, which they play at least twice a month back home. The game started as a joke shouted over a cubicle wall, said George Clark, who works at Apple computers in Cupertino, Calif. But tech guys are known for ingenuity, and within a few months, eight men in helmets and slightly shortened mallets rode their Segways onto a field, seeking glory.
Yesterday's match seemed a far cry from glory of any sort.
Clark flew off his Segway at least twice and nearly let a ball slip through his legs and into his team's goal. Alex Ko got beaned in the head with the ball (luckily an inflatable ball and not the wooden one used in real polo), and Steve Wozniak, who co-founded Apple Computer and calls himself "the enforcer"at Segway polo, played with a semi-healed broken hand and a pinched nerve in his back.
The ball often rolled between the Segway tires, leaving players to arch backward and retrieve it.
Still, the four players had fun, so the way it looks doesn't matter much. And as Eric Fleming, communications coordinator for Segway, jokingly said during a breather, "Hey, it's not a real sport until someone gets hurt."
SegwayFest continues through tomorrow.
Technical problems?: If you have a technical problem with your account please contact us by e-mail at concordmonitor@newsbank.com.
Return to the home page of the Concord Monitor Online
Copyright 2005 Concord Monitor
"Think outside the car"