Segway Riders Get High on Mount Washington

TacticalJack writes "Rob Owen, a retired clown, and two other riders surged up Mount Washington at 12.5 mph, the AP reports. It took the Segway riders two and half hours to complete the 7.6 mile endurance test. The team used six batteries, fought off 50 mph winds and battled bitter cold to reach the 6,288-foot mountain summit. All of which begs the question, why not buy a motorbike?"

Comments

Answer?

[sokk]

"All of which begs the question, why not buy a motorbike?" Because then they wouldn't have hit the press.

I was thinking more like...

[hangareighteen]

It begs the question: Why mention that he's a retired clown?

Re:*gasps*

[bersl2]

All of which begs the question, why not buy a motorbike?

Remember, this is the same crowd that will build antennae out of Pringles cans and will try to put Linux on every conceivable device with a microprocessor. We're geeks; it's because we can, and we'll do it with geek style while we're at it.

Astroturf?

[SunPin]

Any chance that this was engineered by a marketing firm? Will we see it in Mountain Dew commercials?

It is amazing.

[pr0ntab]

It is amazing how difficult it is to form an intelligent response to this article.

I can understand slashdot's collective interest in all things Segway, but I think at this point there's probably nothing more that can be said about the subject.

I see this as a parallel to a prophetic article in which the Hurd is used to power the next Furby, thus sounding the death knell for both technologies.

Furby = nearly dead retired clown, and Segway = The Hurd, in case you didn't get my analogy.

It's an interesting technology looking for a market that doesn't exist. People in densely packed cities are doing just fine with inexpensive bikes. Americans like their cars. The Segway is the butt of a lot of unfunny jokes, and publicity stunts like this.

I predict that someone below this post will undoubtedly compare this to George Bush's run-in with the Segway, claiming he is less intelligent than a clown, and less fit to run the country.

Go at it slashdot. You'll only find +1 Funny posts here.

[OT] Short linguistics lesson

[achurch]

As any linguist will tell you, language changes. The dictionary is not the final word (so to speak) on word usage; real live speakers are. If the vast majority of current writers and editors say that "begs the question" means "provokes us to ask", then it does, no matter what some huffy dictionary author may try to convince you.

...like a fetishist on his way to the sex dungeon.

[Jeff DeMaagd]

I wonder if they were trying to harken to the roots of the US interstate system (although I think Germany's Autobahn predates it).

I recall a small expedition done by the military to show that an truck caravan can be used to cross the continent. Everyone thought it was stupid because, well, anyone who is anyone carried their freight by rail. Eventually some people realized that the interstate highway system could be used.

But, even in light of this, I would rather hike all the way up that mountain than ride one of those dorkmobiles.

Here is a fun article:
http://www.washtimes.com/upi-breaking/20 030810-081 911-2985r.htm

I quote:
"Anybody who rides around on a Segway is a mewling pantywaist passive-aggressive dork with arrested-development issues who probably saves his e-mail in tidy little folders organized with happy-face icons.

I already feel better."

and:

"One thing that makes me very very happy about the current political debate is that most lawmakers agree that Segways should require a helmet. Since an actual motorcycle helmet would conflict with the eco-friendly coolness of the Segway experience, they're tending toward some kind of modified bicycle helmet that looks like one of those strap-on leather jobbies worn by the Fighting Horsemen of Notre Dame. Put a computer programmer in a tieless linen suit on a Segway with a leather football helmet on his head, and he looks like a fetishist on his way to the sex dungeon."

Re:*gasps*

[Golias]

The average speed of a car in a major city is 6 mph. A segay can do 10 - 12, at least.

The "average" speed of cars driving on downtown roads during rush hour includes stopping for traffic lights and slowing for congestion... both of which a Segway would need to do on a crowded urban sidewalk (assuming the city even lets them on the sidewalk, instead of on the street with the bicycles where they belong.)

In other words, you just compared the Segway's top potential speed to the real-world speed of cars in traffic. A completely invalid comparison. A Segway in the city during rush hour will go at almost exactly the same speed as the cars... and on a cold Minnesota day, with sleet pounding down on you, that would be completely intolerable.

Not to mention the fact that most cars are out of downtown traffic and flying down the interstate highway in a matter of blocks, at least in the Twin Cities area. A Segway might get me from the Metrodome to the Target Center in 10 minutes, but can it get me out to Lakeville (a distant suburb) in under 45? Obviously not.

Take notes, inventors who wish to change the world. No personal vehicle will ever replace the car for daily commutes in the US unless it offers the following:

1. A comfortable enclosed cab to protect from the elements.
2. A top speed that at least approaches one mile per minute, and do so reasonably safely and under control.
3. Enough passenger space for a mother of two to drop her kids off at day care on the way to the office.
4. Luggage space allowing enough room for a laptop case, a gym bag, maintenance parts for the vehicle (just like cars almost always have a spare tire, a jack, and jumper cables in the trunk).
5. A convenient way to keep it powered on demand - extended downtime to recharge batteries is not acceptable.

Until the "Segway 2.0" or whatever meets all five of those points, anybody who wants to buy it would need to own both that, and a car... which means that it will remain nothing more than a toy for yuppies.