Gliding in Iowa

[terryp]

We're visiting my inlaws in Iowa this week, and sent the i-series along in its original box. Many of the roads in this farming community are covered with a thick layer of crushed rock, so the HT gets pretty dusty and dirty, and the range is reduced, but it navigates them just fine.

I've gotten a lot of interest from residents, and will get more in a parade Saturday, and probably give lots of demos at their local Farm Festival that night. Nothing but positive comments so far here in the country, and the only thing yelled from a pickup so far has been 'Hey, scooter dude!'.

Several people I've talked with say they've seen TV commercials for the Segway. One person said they saw a half-hour infommercial narrated by Dean Kamen, and others said they've been seeing ads for it for months. Wonder how much of that is true. Several people said it was the last thing they expected to see on the street in this town!

We went to the 150th anniversary of the Iowa State Fair yesterday. It was senior's day, so there were lots of electric scooters on the grounds, and maybe the Segway would have been allowed - guess I should have tried. It's such an open fair that it would have been easy getting around with it. I was disappointed that the new dealership in Lemars didn't have an exhibit - they could have gotten lots of exposure.

I'm hoping that the original box is good for one more trip! I found out recently that our parent company uses a LOT of Pelican Cases, and has some very large ones that I can use on future trips. If I find a combination of cases that works well, I'll post the results.

Practicing safe Segs in Seattle

[defenbaugh]

Terry, my daughter lives in the Des Moines area and we take ours there a lot. The area has a developed walking/bike path system which borders their lot. I have glided in that area. No prohibition signs are in the area and only one person has given me the "are you supposed to be here" stare.

Ron

[Cube128]

Argh, I live in Des Moines and walk on the trail system all the time, and I've never seen you guys! You should tell me when you're coming down next...

[defenbaugh]

quote:Originally posted by Cube128

Argh, I live in Des Moines and walk on the trail system all the time, and I've never seen you guys! You should tell me when you're coming down next...


Cube, my daughter lives in Johnston. I'll email you the next time we bring the HTi to Johnston.

Ron

[terryp]

While gliding the streets of one small Iowa town I was stopped by a motorcycle cop and told (very nicely) that the Segway was a non-licensed motor vehicle, and was therefore not allowed on city streets. I had checked the Iowa law regarding EPAMDs before I left home, and it says that sidewalks and bike paths are okay, and street usage is up to each jurisdiction. The sidewalks in this particular town were about as bad as any I've seen, and tended to dead-end about every other block. It's quite an inconvenience to have to check every town you might want to glide in, and it seems to me that if bikes can ride along the side of the roads, Segways should be allowed there too.

All in all it was a great trip. I didn't have the HT with me in DesMoines, but knowing that there's a Seg-friendly bike path there, maybe we'll try it next time.

Practicing safe Segs in Seattle