Saturday, May 06, 2006

Cruising "Sweet Spot" Located

Good drivers over 35 yrs of age will recongnize this scenario. Say you have a car which does not have cruise control. When you first get the car, it's difficult to "hold the perfect cruising speed" at highway speeds because your foot has not learned the perfect pedal position yet, and your leg has not memorized the perfect position to hold your leg and foot so that locating that sweet spot is possible. But after a few weeks, your muscle memory takes hold and you know EXACTLY where to hold your foot, how much pressure to apply, etc., in order to HOLD that perfect cruising speed.

I hit that moment on my Segway last night.

I found that there are at least three components to holding the Segway at top cruising speed, which I estimate to be somewhere between 11.8 and 12.2 MPH.
1. Position of my feet on the platform. They need to be centered and not angled.
2. Position of the handlebar in regard to how close I have it to my stomach. Too close is bad, too far is bad, about 1-2 inches seems to be perfect.
3. The most important one: The sound of the pitch and whine of the little electric motors. I can tell by the sound that the motors have reached the peak position where if I go any faster, the accelerometer is going to forcibly slow the Segway down. If I can use my ears and keep the whine about the same place all the time, I stand a better chance of maintaining that perfect "top speed" without being forced to slow down.

This is going to make for faster commutes over time, as I perfect the method of recognizing and maintaining that sweet spot speed.

Also from yesterday: I forgot to mention that my dentist also took a huge interest in the Segway. He came outside with me to see me ride it and asked many questions about it. He seemed genuinely interested. I love the social aspect of the Segway more and more as time goes by.

Friday, May 05, 2006

Lots of Segway Inquiries/Comments on Cinco De Mayo

First comment of note was a 20-something young dude in a car who yelled, "Right on bra, that thing is SICK!" as he drove by.

At REI, a guy in a black diesel truck asked me, "What the Hell is that?" I said, "Segway." He said, "What?" I said, "Segway." He said "How fast can it go" and I said "12.5 miles per hour" and he said, "can I see how fast it can go?" And I said, "sure" and gave him a little 20 foot and back demo. He said, "Cool, thanks." and took off. I apologized to the young lady waiting behind him in the green car and she said "That's OK."

On my last leg home, I saw a guy standing in his drive and he waved me over and asked me a bunch of questions. He thought it was "tight, Bro."

Had at least two other people yell and honk at me today. I guess it's the Margaritas !!! LOL
Segway Scares a Doggie

Came up on a lady walking her two large hound dogs/labs this morning. We were on a skinny sidewalk, so I stopped on the side and let her pass. When the dogs approached, I gave a little high-pitched "Hi puppies, what are y'all doin'?" and they wagged their tails. As they got about 4 feet from me, one of them noticed I was not just a "tall guy" standing there, and he quickly "sidepedalled" it away from me, looking very scared. The owner said, "It's not gonna get you" and we both gave a little chuckle. First time I scared a dog.

Renewable Energy on my Electric Bill

I signed up for the SRP Renewable Energy program, in which I pay $3 extra on my bill which SRP then invests into renewable energy such as solar, wind farms, etc. That $3 will just about charge my Segway for a month, so now I'm paying for "clean electricity" for the charging of the Segway. Makes me feel good inside.

Thursday, May 04, 2006

What are these people doing in the news?
* Gov. Schwarzenegger
* Louis Rukeyser
* Kwame Brown
* Keith Selix
* Manuel Uribe
Stephen Colbert
Kobe Bryant
Britney Spears
Suri Cruise
Opal Mehta

They all have recent stories to tell or problems we like to laugh at.
What are these people doing in the news?
* Gov. Schwarzenegger
* Louis Rukeyser
* Kwame Brown
* Keith Selix
* Manuel Uribe
Stephen Colbert
Kobe Bryant
Britney Spears

They all have recent stories to tell or problems we like to laugh at.

Tuesday, May 02, 2006

New Commute Speed Record

I was really cooking on the commute this morning. Hit EVERY light green or yellow, and had NO delay points. Made it in just under 20 minutes, somewhere between 19 and 20.

I also realized that being a good driver of cars and being a "pedestrian" who cares about other people's commute is a bonus as a Segway rider. Let me 'splain:

One of my "pet peeves" is a pedestrian who is in a crosswalk just TAKING HIS/HER SWEET TIME crossing the road when there are cars waiting to turn right or left across the crosswalk. I have always told my kids I think that is the RUDEST behavior a pedestrian can have, because they are holding up cars just because of their slowness. Don't they realize that although THEY THE PEDESTRIAN might not have anywhere they need to be, that the car drivers MIGHT be in a hurry? I always say that if you are in a crosswalk, get your ASS through it if there are cars waiting. Jog or run, but get your slow ass moving !!

Today I had two instances where being a "caring pedestrian" came into play.

I usually ride on the "left side sidewalk" going against the traffic because that gives me a better view of upcoming traffic situations and makes it easier for me to see what's coming up behind me on my left, which is the traffic which is going the same direction as me. Today I had a situation where I was coming up to a side street intersection and there was a pickup in the left turn lane going my direction who wanted to turn left down the sidestreet I was about to cross. I looked ahead and saw a "break" in the traffic coming toward him, and I knew he would try to make his left turn because the group of cars coming up after the break was a large group. Because of the timing, if I had gone across the road and he had to wait for me, he would have been forced to wait for that large group of cars. So to help HIM out, I stopped at the corner and indicated with my hand that he should go. He went, and I had no obstruction after that. It worked out great for everyone. The most important point is that I, as a pedestrian, did a little tiny favor to the driver so HIS commute was less stressful. That makes me feel good.

The other thing was a couple of cars going the opposite was of me who were trying to turn right, just ahead of me. I gave a finger wave to both of them indicating they should go, rather than block the right turn lane waiting for me. I find that it is very easy to "direct traffic" by hand waves to influence cars who are either waiting for me or GOING to have to wait for me unless something is done. In almost EVERY case, I try to get the cars out of the way, unless I am busting it trying to make a green light or something. It's my little way of being a good citizen and "caring Segway pedestrian."

Monday, May 01, 2006

Free Segway Rides For Kids

My kids' school had an "after school Carnival" on Friday, and somehow I started giving free Segway rides and a big long line formed. After about 25 kids had ridden, the assistant principal told me to cease and desist due to liability concerns. I understand their concern, but as all Segway owners know, there is nothing at all dangerous about "owner supervised Black key rides" when the owner is standing right in front of the Segway while the ride is going on. It was just a lack of knowledge thing on the school's part, but I understood and stopped the rides. The kids who got to ride really liked it. I enjoyed giving the rides. It was cool.