luckie
06-28-2006, 09:38 PM
Segway into the 80s
June 28, 2006
By Barney Burke
Port Townsend Leader
http://www.ptleader.com/main.asp?SectionID=10&SubSectionID=10&ArticleID=15330&TM=52668.93
Not only is he still driving, Lowell Bogart is going where few octogenarians have gone before. For his 80th birthday, friends Margo and Bill Bowers rented four Segway Human Transporters to enjoy with Lowell and his wife, Barbara. The gyroscope-controlled devices arrived at the Bogarts’ uptown Port Townsend home just as the drizzle let up on the afternoon of June 16. After a few minutes of instruction, Lowell was cruising the sidewalk, smoothly rolling over a curb and onto the street. Soon afterward, the Bowers were right behind him. Then it was Barbara’s turn to learn how the Segway is set in motion by leaning forward or back, and through a steering control on the upright control shaft.
“I hate that you do things so easily, you old fart,” Barbara joked as Lowell whizzed by. Barbara, 71, was a little apprehensive at first. “I don’t like this thing at all,” she said. But then it started to move as she leaned forward, and she smiled and said, “It looks like fun!” Soon all four donned helmets and made their way down Lawrence Street to Monroe, which has the gentlest slope of all streets leading from uptown to downtown. They zipped along Water Street, stopping at Barbara’s office at Windermere Downtown. They also made a side trip to Union Wharf as bystanders craned their necks.
“They looked at us kind of amused,” Lowell said. “We just had to try ’em out,” he said. “It was great fun.” At one point, Lowell recalled, he forgot how to steer the thing and came within an inch of hitting a car. Alas, no one was seriously injured, as journalists are fond of writing. Three years ago, President George W. Bush tried out a Segway without having received any training and immediately took a spill. Former president George H.W. Bush, then 79, quickly mastered the device after a brief training from Segway officials. The former president and first lady both own Segways, according to the company’s newsletter. “I say ‘go for it,’” advised Lowell to anyone contemplating a Segway rental or purchase. “It’s a great gadget.”
And while it theoretically might be a way to reduce pollution in urban areas, Lowell said, “I just can’t see hoards of people riding around in them.” For one thing, sidewalks aren’t designed for having a great number of Segways in use, he said. The Segway was invented by Dean Kamen, who also invented a wheelchair that can lift people up to reach high shelves and even use stairs. A Segway can go about 24 miles before needing a battery charge, according to the manufacturer. Segway Inc. is a privately held company and has released little information on sales and profits. The first production models were sold in 2002. Depending on optional equipment, Segways sell for $4,000 to $5,000, according to websites featuring the product.
Traffic laws
Under Washington law, Segways are considered “electric assist” devices and may be used on either sidewalks or roadways. But like a bicycle, they must travel in the same direction as vehicles when on a street (see RCW 46.04.1695 and others). Segway operators do not need a license or a helmet under state law. Segways also appear to be exempt from the City of Port Townsend’s helmet law, which is set to take effect in July 2007. That law applies to bicycles and “recreational vehicles,” which are defined as “non-motorized skateboards, roller skates, roller blades, scooters and hoofed conveyances.”
Married 33 years
Barbara and Lowell met in Knoxville, Tenn., where he was employed as a geologist for Kerr-McGee Corp. They worked in the same building, he recalled, saying, “I saw her go by in a mini-skirt and she was pretty cute.” They got married in the Smokey Mountains in 1973. Later, they moved to Oklahoma City. In 1976, they came to Port Townsend on a vacation and moved here shortly thereafter.
They were bed and breakfast pioneers, buying the James House on Washington Street. They operated the James House for several years, sold it, then took it back when that operator foundered. That’s when Barbara went into real estate, eventually becoming a broker for Windermere Downtown. The Bogarts eventually sold the James House to the current owner, Carol McGough. The Bogarts have lived in their Lawrence Street home since 1979. Originally built for a member of the Plummer family, it was later owned by state Sen. Edgar A. Sims, for whom the local road is named. They first saw their current home on the annual homes tour in 1979, and initially didn’t realize it was for sale. But they didn’t hesitate to buy it, and Lowell has been enhancing the beautiful garden ever since. The Bogarts met the Bowers several years ago through a real estate transaction. The Bowers thought that renting the Segways would be great way to celebrate Lowell’s 80th birthday.
June 28, 2006
By Barney Burke
Port Townsend Leader
http://www.ptleader.com/main.asp?SectionID=10&SubSectionID=10&ArticleID=15330&TM=52668.93
Not only is he still driving, Lowell Bogart is going where few octogenarians have gone before. For his 80th birthday, friends Margo and Bill Bowers rented four Segway Human Transporters to enjoy with Lowell and his wife, Barbara. The gyroscope-controlled devices arrived at the Bogarts’ uptown Port Townsend home just as the drizzle let up on the afternoon of June 16. After a few minutes of instruction, Lowell was cruising the sidewalk, smoothly rolling over a curb and onto the street. Soon afterward, the Bowers were right behind him. Then it was Barbara’s turn to learn how the Segway is set in motion by leaning forward or back, and through a steering control on the upright control shaft.
“I hate that you do things so easily, you old fart,” Barbara joked as Lowell whizzed by. Barbara, 71, was a little apprehensive at first. “I don’t like this thing at all,” she said. But then it started to move as she leaned forward, and she smiled and said, “It looks like fun!” Soon all four donned helmets and made their way down Lawrence Street to Monroe, which has the gentlest slope of all streets leading from uptown to downtown. They zipped along Water Street, stopping at Barbara’s office at Windermere Downtown. They also made a side trip to Union Wharf as bystanders craned their necks.
“They looked at us kind of amused,” Lowell said. “We just had to try ’em out,” he said. “It was great fun.” At one point, Lowell recalled, he forgot how to steer the thing and came within an inch of hitting a car. Alas, no one was seriously injured, as journalists are fond of writing. Three years ago, President George W. Bush tried out a Segway without having received any training and immediately took a spill. Former president George H.W. Bush, then 79, quickly mastered the device after a brief training from Segway officials. The former president and first lady both own Segways, according to the company’s newsletter. “I say ‘go for it,’” advised Lowell to anyone contemplating a Segway rental or purchase. “It’s a great gadget.”
And while it theoretically might be a way to reduce pollution in urban areas, Lowell said, “I just can’t see hoards of people riding around in them.” For one thing, sidewalks aren’t designed for having a great number of Segways in use, he said. The Segway was invented by Dean Kamen, who also invented a wheelchair that can lift people up to reach high shelves and even use stairs. A Segway can go about 24 miles before needing a battery charge, according to the manufacturer. Segway Inc. is a privately held company and has released little information on sales and profits. The first production models were sold in 2002. Depending on optional equipment, Segways sell for $4,000 to $5,000, according to websites featuring the product.
Traffic laws
Under Washington law, Segways are considered “electric assist” devices and may be used on either sidewalks or roadways. But like a bicycle, they must travel in the same direction as vehicles when on a street (see RCW 46.04.1695 and others). Segway operators do not need a license or a helmet under state law. Segways also appear to be exempt from the City of Port Townsend’s helmet law, which is set to take effect in July 2007. That law applies to bicycles and “recreational vehicles,” which are defined as “non-motorized skateboards, roller skates, roller blades, scooters and hoofed conveyances.”
Married 33 years
Barbara and Lowell met in Knoxville, Tenn., where he was employed as a geologist for Kerr-McGee Corp. They worked in the same building, he recalled, saying, “I saw her go by in a mini-skirt and she was pretty cute.” They got married in the Smokey Mountains in 1973. Later, they moved to Oklahoma City. In 1976, they came to Port Townsend on a vacation and moved here shortly thereafter.
They were bed and breakfast pioneers, buying the James House on Washington Street. They operated the James House for several years, sold it, then took it back when that operator foundered. That’s when Barbara went into real estate, eventually becoming a broker for Windermere Downtown. The Bogarts eventually sold the James House to the current owner, Carol McGough. The Bogarts have lived in their Lawrence Street home since 1979. Originally built for a member of the Plummer family, it was later owned by state Sen. Edgar A. Sims, for whom the local road is named. They first saw their current home on the annual homes tour in 1979, and initially didn’t realize it was for sale. But they didn’t hesitate to buy it, and Lowell has been enhancing the beautiful garden ever since. The Bogarts met the Bowers several years ago through a real estate transaction. The Bowers thought that renting the Segways would be great way to celebrate Lowell’s 80th birthday.