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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?"
"All of which begs the question, why not buy a motorbike?" Because then they wouldn't have hit the press.
It begs the question: Why mention that he's a retired clown?
... People with too much money AND time.
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.
Yes, to you or I, walking is no big problem. But we're not talking about the _average_ computer user geek here are we? =P
Imagine a huge guy who stays on his computer for days on end.. Or even the malnourished walking stick variety. Is he going to want to actually walk around when he can get some computerized device to do it for him?
I didn't think so either. =D
in girum imus nocte et consumimur igni
Slightly off topic, but this might be of interest to readers tonight, so what the hell!
This reminded me of the Mt. Washington Auto Road Race. To be a little more on-topic, one year they had a Geo Metro electric car 'do' the race- it looked really funny, because both driver and 'navigator' were required to wear helmets since it was a sanctioned race. Unlike some of the 600hp cars, the starter didn't exactly have to jump out of the way with them).
The hillclimb is the US's oldest motorsport event, believe it or not- however, it's also one of the most troubling. Despite attracting a healthy crowd every year, Audi pulled sponsorship after Frank Sprongl(driving an Audi S2 rally car) stopped winning, despite numerous VW and Audi entries.
The final straw for Audi, sponsorship-wise, was most likely the guy in the Legend car(motorcycle engine, 4 wheels, micro-sized chassis) who went off, clipped a rock, and was pulled from his car by a 16 year old cornerworker, right before the car burst into flames from a severed fuel line(the engine compartment was severed from the car by the rock). Long ago Audi had stopped their factory rally teams after a slew of deaths in the Group B category in various rallies; Piesch, now head of Volkswagon Audi Grouppe, declared at the time that he "never wanted to see rings stamped on a spectator's chest". Audi of America management were probably sneaking the Mt. Washington race under the radar of the parent company, but all that changed with the big crash(the kid even got a medal from the Governor).
Another factor is that Audi now considers rallying a been-there-done-that(Audi dominated rallying in the early 80's with the first Quattro Coupes and Sport Quattros), no-longer-cool kinda deal; their customer base just doesn't care, or so they think; guys who drive A8's don't like hanging out in the rain watching cars go by throwing rocks into their faces; they like sitting in a hospitality tent in cool comfort. So that's why Audi threw themselves into LeMans and ALMS(American LeMans Series), along with the Speedvision(er, SPEED Channel) SpeedGT(S4's, last year) and ProGT(RS6's, this year) races.
Mt. Washington management has given a variety of excuses for not continuing the race; first it was Audi, because they couldn't find another sponsor(rumor was they were looking for 1 million- an ABSURD amount of sponsorship money; it may be the oldest motorsports events, but it's also one of the lowest profile). Then it was because the road needed resurfacing(although honestly, having driven it myself three times as well, it WAS getting really bad). Then it was because the lodge, which had absolutely nothing to do with the race, burned to the ground and was 'behind schedule' on being rebuilt, or some such nonsense.
There are rumors going around that the race will continue next year. The local region of the Audi Club of America might attend(as it has for many, many years- we were the yahoos with all the Audis parked to the left of the starting area). Depending upon how solid the Audi+VW marques are represented, I'll be there- our little sub-event is a great family affair and I've always enjoyed myself; it's pretty gosh darn cheap, and getting there and back is half the fun(there are some GREAT roads in the area). Spectators can do whatever floats their boat- you can go up to any of several points on the mountain via van to watch the races(warning- you're limited as to when you can get back down!), you can hike the mountain(not for the inexperienced), you can watch from the start line and see trap speeds etc...and you can also watch from a nice point that's just a few minute's hike and gives you about 20 second's view per car.
The basic idea, if you're wondering, is simply to get up the mountain as absolutely fast as possible. Frank Sprongl was a regular winner, but his S2 is no longer competitive against some of the cars that started showing up- Jerry Driscoll(sp?) kept building meaner+meaner purpose-built tube-frame cars with insane engines in 'em until he started winning, despite not having all wheel drive(which is a MAJOR advantage, to the point that it's a seperate class in any sanctioned rally).
Please help metamoderate.
Segway / DEKA Research is a New Hampshire company.
Mount Washington is the highest point in New Hampshire (or New England for that matter, but not -- as is commonly believed around here -- the highest point on the US east coast: that title goes to North Carolina's Mount Mitchell).
As a popular landmark & attraction, Mount Washington has great appeal in New England. The "This car climbed Mt. Washington!" bumper stickers are ubiquitous, and driving up the mountain's wind-swept road in the family minivan or station wagon has been a rite of passage for generations of New Englanders.
That is why they had to drive Segways up the mountain. This is a New England transportation invention, but that just wouldn't be complete without the obligatory drive up Mount Washington.
The real question is whether or not the Segways they took up the mountain have any space for the bumper sticker :-)
DO NOT LEAVE IT IS NOT REAL
I have a wheelchair. I can walk just fine- for distances of a mile and a half or less. Any more and my joints can't take it, the inflammation gets too bad and i'm out of commission. So i can get through my workday, but i have the wheelchair for group adventures where it's more fun if i can keep up. Great for museums, but more difficult outside, especially on hills. My arms aren't any better than my legs, so it needs to be pushed, rather than wheeled by me. It works out great, we all take turns, and while i can't push anyone in it, everybody gets a chance to ride and that way i can walk for a little of it and still be part of the adventure. For them it's novel and fun; for me, it's my chance to take part in these excursions. Without it, i'd miss out on a lot.
A segway would be a great thing to have, but before i spend that kind of money on it, i need to know how it does in real-world operation, with real-world surroundings like dirt and tree branches and so on. So i watch for things like this. It's not a wheelchair and it's not a walker and it's not a little red wagon to be pulled in- it's a scooter that you don't have to propel on your own. Believe me, the energy it saves will be put to use elsewhere. I would love to be able to keep up on a hike!!!
"I'd say 'Have a good time,' but arson is still illegal.