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Crossing America on a Segway
Harald Paulsen writes "What do you do if you are tired of working in a cubicle and want to escape the Office Space? Two guys asked themselves this and decided to go across America on a Segway, making a documentary of their road trip. A trailer is available and the movie might show up at Sundance."
Wow, Dean Kamen (of DEKA Research & Development, the inventor of the Segway) is a PR genius. I'm sure he is behind this somehow. I used to work in a building in Manchester, NH next door to his office. He was always getting press on various things long before the Segway was announced. He got press on the Segway before anybody knew it was going to be called the Segway or what even what it was.
Bradley Holt
When I was taking my parents up into the Rockies in September (they were out for a visit and dad had never been), we were at a pull-off on the road up to Mt. Evans when we saw these guys. They told us they were mostly done with the filming, but had come back to Colorado to get a little more material they needed for part of it. One guy with a camera and a big van was filming another guy on a Segway. They'd chosen some particularly beautiful scenery as a backdrop, which I imagine was the point. Anyway, I guess my point was that the format for their filming was Segway + Big Van, not 2 Guys + 1 Segway.
I hear that some people still travel down old Route 66 on occasion...
And a mighty fine road it is too. However, old Route 66 varies from state to state. In some parts, partly due to the way the dice fell, and to the later efforts of preservationists, you can drive on the narrow old-style red slab road. Other parts of Route 66 have been literally paved over with an Interstate.
Long stretches of Interstate have a parallel access road, and in places that's old Route 66 itself.
Regardless, it's certainly possible to cross the USA on non-Interstate roads. I've come pretty close 3 times; but we weren't thorough enough to avoid Interstates when it would have been inconvenient.
More problematic would be finding a route with frequent enough battery charging opportunities.
i think you mean http://www.thefatmanwalking.com/, which is about the cross-country trek.
If anyone has taken a kid to Disney World, you know that you do a LOT of walking. My feet hurt more after my time on the Segway than they did chasing a 5-year old around Magic Kingdom all day.
So while this may seem "lazy" and easier than walking or riding a bike, I can't exactly imagine a less comfortable way for an able-bodied person to travel a long distance. That said, I'd still love to get one.
-S
--- What parts of "shall make no law", "shall not be infringed", and "shall not be violated" don't you understand?
From the pictures on the website, it looks like they used I-series Segways: the p series is smaller and is mainly used indoors. Now depending on the battery and the air pressure in the tire, it can go between 15-25 miles. If the tire pressure is the recommended 15psi, then the NiMh batteries will go about 15-16 miles (higher tire pressure will allow the segway to go further) and the newer Lithium batteries will go about 22-23 miles (once again depending on tire pressure). When I got my Segway training, I was surprised to find out how important tire pressure was to its performance (I work at a science center and teach people how to ride them). If they did this last summer, they should have gotten the Lithium batteries: I would feel sorry for them if they got the NiMh batteries as they don't work as well under hot conditions, and additionally, you should let the battery cool off before you charge it (and drain it once in a while too). The lithium batteries are much more forgiving.
Hello there, I am the one who added my comment to Mr. "Really Lame" http://slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=173406&cid=144 27883. Like I said in my previous comment, I am glad to see everyone hot & bothered about our little movie. I worked as an assistant editor (among other things) on the film in question. Being involved with this project was truly a great experience. And I would be happy to answer anyone's questions on it. Of course, I was not there for the expedition. Perhaps Josh & Hunter, the filmmakers, will better able to answer some of the specifics, but I can help you out a bit too.
Some intial responses to the questions I see on here...
-Batteries -- They carried several with them. And changed them out as necessary. I don't remember if they charged the batteries when they stopped for the night, or if they had some method of charging on the road.
-Trailer -- yes, actually it does come in handy when you have to lug lots of extra batteries around. (And we're obviously not talking about the common AA variety.)
-Dean Kamen, was not involved in any way in this project. Though they did meet him at the end of their trip.
-Two guys on a Segway -- not exactly. One man (Josh Caldwell) on a Segway made the entire journey, although others in the crew rode occassionally too, when they were stopped, or alongside Josh. I can assure you that there was no funny business on the device itself.
-How long he had to stand -- well I am not sure how long Josh rode every day, but the journey was 100 days long, plus a little added couple days at the end to meet Segway & Dean Kamen.
-how they travelled on a single charge -- as already mentioned they had several spare batteries with them.
-did they film & drive, film & drive -- as someone who personally sifted through an unbelievable amount of footage, I can personally attest to the fact that they entire trek was on Segway.
-Sundance -- Sundance lists some of their selections before they even accept submissions! Others are listed later. And I believe some films are sometimes accepted later.
-10mph the whole way? -- Not sure, the max speed is 12.5 mph, but I think they averaged 10mph. I can ask. I know they rode by one of those speed detectors that tell you how fast you are going, and it read 10mph.
-Saw the trailer a year ago. -- Don't think you saw this specific one as I am almost positive it was made last summer. Maybe you saw an early teaser? Why has it been a year and you still haven't seen the movie? The movie itself wasn't finished till last summer. They have been submitting it to various film festivals. When you are doing things independently, it can take a lot of time and hard work to get your movie out there -- it even takes Hollywood sometimes more than a year, cut them some slack, huh?
Well, I think that's enough answers for now, let me know if you want more!