BenBethel
03-31-2003, 01:21 PM
This is now my eighth day of gliding - and I must say it's been quite the experience! Highlights:
I've calculated 64 miles so far.
I've gone inside the Phoenix Art Museum, a few cafés, an open air mall, my office, a hair salon, a fire station, and a trader joe's grocery store.
Only problems - the open air mall security pounced on me, then I showed them the law here in Arizona and they backed off. And the Phoenix Art Museum, where the main security guard was being totally closed minded... which was fine, but he refused to even look at the law! Then, I went in the museum by foot and saw several people with strollers, several people on electric carts, and even a frail gentleman pushing his wife up a steep pedestrian ramp that has signs on it saying "no wheelchairs" as it's meant to move masses of people to the next level, but not really for wheelchairs!
I've had cars screech to a halt on busy boulevards, people slow down to talk to me as I'm gliding - for half a mile - lots of smiles, lots of laughter, probably close to one hundred demonstrations, people genuinely appreciative of the technology.
Not for everyone, but I've gotten to the point where I don't even use the control stick unless I'm turning. And I make small adjustments to the left and right by shifting my weight. This just adds to the magic of gliding, but at the expense of very, very sore calves and quadriceps at the end of each day, and I think I'm actually in pretty good shape.
I only wish there were more people with them here in Phoenix. I ride the busiest streets in the busiest section of town, downtown through mid-town and up to uptown and back, every single day. I'm giving Segway a lot of exposure, and soon it'll have to catch on and soon I'm hoping that there will be more people with them.
I just don't think that online sales are the forum for this product. Granted, it only took me 30 seconds of gliding to decide to make the purchase, but I would not have blindly purchased a segway due to my budget. If there were stores or dealerships or even temporary sales locations at local malls, car dealerships, bike shops, street festivals, etc. then they'd sell a lot more quickly.
The biggest area to sell these, and it sounds really terrible, is probably to people who must have mobility but can no longer drive, such as those people with DUIs... here in Phoenix DUIs are a way of life for many people. After your first DUI, you lose your license for a year and then your basic insurance becomes $300-400 a month. There are a lot of people out there who should not be driving, but still are - without a license or insurance! And sadly, these people are probably still drinking and driving.
Can't wait to see what happens when the 'p' comes out and the 'i' drops in price and they hit brick-and-mortar retail locations. I think they'll slowly trickle into society and then hopefully explode and will become commonplace.
Anyway - just a few thoughts from my first 8 days of gliding! This is a purchase I will never regret.
Ben
www.benbethel.com
I've calculated 64 miles so far.
I've gone inside the Phoenix Art Museum, a few cafés, an open air mall, my office, a hair salon, a fire station, and a trader joe's grocery store.
Only problems - the open air mall security pounced on me, then I showed them the law here in Arizona and they backed off. And the Phoenix Art Museum, where the main security guard was being totally closed minded... which was fine, but he refused to even look at the law! Then, I went in the museum by foot and saw several people with strollers, several people on electric carts, and even a frail gentleman pushing his wife up a steep pedestrian ramp that has signs on it saying "no wheelchairs" as it's meant to move masses of people to the next level, but not really for wheelchairs!
I've had cars screech to a halt on busy boulevards, people slow down to talk to me as I'm gliding - for half a mile - lots of smiles, lots of laughter, probably close to one hundred demonstrations, people genuinely appreciative of the technology.
Not for everyone, but I've gotten to the point where I don't even use the control stick unless I'm turning. And I make small adjustments to the left and right by shifting my weight. This just adds to the magic of gliding, but at the expense of very, very sore calves and quadriceps at the end of each day, and I think I'm actually in pretty good shape.
I only wish there were more people with them here in Phoenix. I ride the busiest streets in the busiest section of town, downtown through mid-town and up to uptown and back, every single day. I'm giving Segway a lot of exposure, and soon it'll have to catch on and soon I'm hoping that there will be more people with them.
I just don't think that online sales are the forum for this product. Granted, it only took me 30 seconds of gliding to decide to make the purchase, but I would not have blindly purchased a segway due to my budget. If there were stores or dealerships or even temporary sales locations at local malls, car dealerships, bike shops, street festivals, etc. then they'd sell a lot more quickly.
The biggest area to sell these, and it sounds really terrible, is probably to people who must have mobility but can no longer drive, such as those people with DUIs... here in Phoenix DUIs are a way of life for many people. After your first DUI, you lose your license for a year and then your basic insurance becomes $300-400 a month. There are a lot of people out there who should not be driving, but still are - without a license or insurance! And sadly, these people are probably still drinking and driving.
Can't wait to see what happens when the 'p' comes out and the 'i' drops in price and they hit brick-and-mortar retail locations. I think they'll slowly trickle into society and then hopefully explode and will become commonplace.
Anyway - just a few thoughts from my first 8 days of gliding! This is a purchase I will never regret.
Ben
www.benbethel.com