First Segway Ride with a Purpose

[Mr5150]

I rode the Segway into Kragen today to get brake pads for my van.. It didn't even phase them. Picked up my pads that I ordered online and scurried away. Not much slower than car traffic due to stop lights. I did get several double takes from people at the stop lights. One guy followed me to Kragen to ask how much. I told him and he said, "No more questions..." smiled then drove off.

I figured with my Prius getting 50mpg and me going 2 miles round trip on Segway and at 4.50/gal for gas I saved about 18 cents. Factor the 10 cents for a full 8 hour charge and that's STILL a realized savings of EIGHT cents! If I do that everyday it'll pay itself off in less than 172 years...incredible. No...really. Absolutely incredible. But it was WAY more fun than the Prius! :D

Larry

[Froley]

Most excellent---
glad to hear from a 3rd Prius owner here--i have an i2 on order for delivery 7-15 and plan on using it around town and the prius for commuting as you are apparently doing---congratulations the combination of a segway and prius to me is very logical.
Froley

[Mr5150]

It's been great. I was actually quite nervous to try and ride it right into the store. My wife thought I was joking. "You're going to do what?" she said... Then I started second guessing myself with several "what if" possibilities. It was all in my head for the most part. Most people are cool about it . I've had an occasional "jab" thrown at me but that's life... I just ignore it. More often than not, people are just genuinely curious and want to ask questions about it. I've never seen one in my town, so there's kind of a celebrity that comes with it. Even my 23 year old son who said I looked ridiculous, tried it. He tried as hard as he could to hold back a smile, but couldn't manage to as he said, "SWEET!" and glided down our court. I've made a couple of converts so far...

Happy gliding...

Larry

[mark1qhorsey]

Larry,
I don't know about you, but I would never presume to ride a PT into a store,
without knowing the management pretty well. Just because Inc says its cool, in their
propaganda, it really isn't. It spreads bad humor about the Segway to impose as such. Imagine doing that with a wet, slushy set of wheels... The best experiences with a PT are of course on trails and in public parks. Go Glide and good luck.

[bentbiker]

Larry,
I don't know about you, but I would never presume to ride a PT into a store,
without knowing the management pretty well. Just because Inc says its cool, in their propaganda, it really isn't. It spreads bad humor about the Segway to impose as such. Imagine doing that with a wet, slushy set of wheels... The best experiences with a PT are of course on trails and in public parks. Go Glide and good luck.I don't think Larry had much slush on his ride at this time of year. I agree that we should not "impose", but I think there is nothing wrong with common sense. I'd bet Larry's Segway was a lot cleaner than many of the mechanics who came into the store that day. My local hardware store loves mine. I've ridden it through Home Depot once, and many medical buildings with nary a single negative comment. I think you could make a good case for NOT asking and demonstrating how safe and uneventful your usage is in that environment; if you ask, they are almost forced to say "no" just to be safe. If you don't ask, they form an opinion based on your actions. Just my experience.

[Mr5150]

I didn't intend to presume anything...I didn't want to leave it outside in a high traffic area. I was prepared to discuss with the manager where I could leave it if there was an issue. I'm very familiar with the layout of the store, very roomy. One girl just smiled and the manager said my order was ready for pickup. Extremely laid back...as if if it were a natural occurence, as it should be. I don't imagine I'd trounce through the aisles of Safeway with it. One of those people in the red 3 wheel scooter carts might be offended ;) I certainly wouldn't sloosh mud all over the place, that's silly. If there had been ANY HINT of a bad vibe, I'd have come back in my Prius. Everybody was VERY cool about it..that's the point. If I can subtly promote the Glide to my community all the better. I'm willing to discuss it with pretty much anybody on the path, yielding when necessary, never imposing. I appreciate your concern, though I can assure you I have the utmost respect for people who might not appreciate my new found freedom (managers, customers, etc).

Happy Glides, Larry
(I love this thing!)

[mreisner]

I glide to the gym. They're very nice about letting me park it inside & out of the way. While I take up less space being on the Segway, I still walk it through the building - too many small children & big people not paying attention to where they're going. I do lock it, just in case.

[SegwayDan]

Good Segway ambassadorship! It's important to be courteous and thoughtful of others, especially while gliding.