Segway of Oakland set to roll on Angel Island SF Bay

[slide4less]

Segways set to roll on Angel Island
Guided tours commence March 11, 2007 in pilot program

Contacts:
Darren Romar or Steve Steinberg
212 International Blvd., Oakland, CA
www.segwayofoakland.com ; www.segwayangelisland.com
1-(888)-8SEGWAY

Angel Island is the largest island with the highest point in the San Francisco Bay – a popular day trip for visitors seeking superior bay views and 13 miles of hilly, forested trails from which to explore this scenic, historical treasure. In March 2007, twice-daily guided Segway tours will enhance island exploration in the first program of its kind in the state.
Segway of Oakland presents Segway Angel Island Experience, a unique way to take in nature’s wonders and learn to ride a cutting-edge vehicle ( www.segwayangelisland.com ). The Segway is an electric, self-balancing, personal-transportation device designed to travel miles on a single electrical charge. It is one of the most noticed methods of movement in the 21st Century.
Two professionally guided Segway tours will commence each day at Angel Island from March through November 2007 in this pilot program in conjunction with California Parks Company, the island concessionaire. This is the first such tour to operate in a California state park, according to organizers. Segway of Oakland has offered guided tours of Oakland’s Lake Merritt and Jack London Square since 2003.
“At Angel Island we can accommodate small, intimate groups of up to eight on our fleet of Segway XTs,” explained Segway of Oakland partner Darren Romar. “The two-and-a-half tour will circle the island’s Perimeter Trail, which is about eight miles long. It is a paved trail with plenty of room for Segways. It is much easier to learn to ride out there than on a city street.”
“Participants will not only learn to safely ride a Segway, but they will also experience different speed settings and plenty of varying terrain, including the beach,” added partner Steve Steinberg. “The tour covers almost 2,000 vertical feet and most of the island, offering the best views of downtown San Francisco, the Golden Gate Bridge, the San Francisco Bay, and waterfront community of Tiburon. Our goal is to help increase revenue for the park by adding another fun thing to do on the island, and get more people out enjoying California state parks.”
The tour takes in Angel Island’s surprising history: For more than 6,000 years Miwok Indians used it for hunting and fishing. During a 100-year period from the Civil War to the Cold War the U.S. military constructed numerous installations that played a vital role in World Wars I and II. It was also used as an immigration station, according to www.angelisland.org
Cost for the Segway Angel Island Experience is $65 per person (ages 16 and above only), and corporate tour-and-catering events are available. Ferries to the island depart from Tiburon, San Francisco and Alameda/Oakland – visit the Angel Island Web site for more ticket information and links. To make tour reservations call 1-888-8SEGWAY or visit www.segwayangelisland.com
To kick off the tour, organizers will host a special barbecue event for Segway owners and media professionals on Saturday, March 11, 2007 at 1 p.m. and a fleet of Segways will be on hand for media use. The only cost to participate is the price of a round-trip ferry ticket from one of the three departure locations listed above. Go to www.segwayangelisland.com or call Segway of Oakland to RSVP.

[Florida Ever-Glides]

You did NOT conduct tours in 2003. You started tours sometime in the latter part of 2004. Accuracy is an important part of credability....

[bentbiker]

Slide4less,

If you are going to extend an offer of a free barbecue to all 25K Segway owners, you have plenty of credibility with me. Good luck; the more people who have a positive experience with a Segway, the better chance we'll have of stopping unfavorable legislation. I wish you were a bit closer.

[pam]

Were you there, Tom? There for both the organizations that have merged into one? Segway of Oakland and Segway Junkyard?

Steve could have been doing informal tours, easily, or SofO, easily, although not publishing or advertising them as you did.

His credibility might well be intact.

Pam

You did NOT conduct tours in 2003. You started tours sometime in the latter part of 2004. Accuracy is an important part of credability....

[Florida Ever-Glides]

They were probably doing tours on the Monterey Trail with Jeff Jarvis...

[slide4less]

We own www.slide4less.com and in 2003 we started with 5 Segways and we were the first in California to rent we are still first on Google for Rent a Segway

[Florida Ever-Glides]

Renting is NOT Guided Tours! This is a fundamental problem today with companies that call themselves Guided Tours. And, this is giving 'real' Guided Tours a BAD name.

If you don't know the difference between a rental and a guided tour, you're hurting all of us.

In fact, you were NOT providing GUIDED TOURS since 2003, and you were not even the first rental in California. The guy in Belmont Shores near San Diego was doing rentals long before you!!!

[slide4less]

When we started there were no dealears. We did a lesson tour Of Jack London Square,Downtown Oakland and Lake Merrit And told of Oakland History all the way and we even made 12 sales for segway LLC, I was given $50 parts credit for each sale. We did a little over 300 people befor we became Segway Of Oakland

[BillPaxton]

Sounds like a great time! I wish I lived closer so I could come have some BBQ! BTW, how much BBQ are you going to buy?

[KSagal]

You did NOT conduct tours in 2003. You started tours sometime in the latter part of 2004. Accuracy is an important part of credability....


Tom,

You missed the bigger picture. I think you may have chosen a slightly less confrontational presentation, but that would be less fun...

Why don't you really get upset over the larger inaccurate fact in that press release! We all know that those Miwok Indians only used that island for 5986 years! That is a whole 14 year mistake, and a much larger deal than than your argument of a single year or even a couple months...

[jrvcd]

is the date saturday march 10 or sunday march 11th please confirm i am thinking of flying up steve thanks.

[slide4less]

I had the date wrong its on sat march 10th 2007 We will have vegetables and I hope to have 75 to 100 people. We have a new website checkout www.segwayangelisland.com

[bentbiker]

I had the date wrong its on sat march 10th 2007 We will have vegetables and I hope to have 75 to 100 people. We have a new website checkout www.segwayangelisland.com (http://www.segwayangelisland.com)
You may get 41 from southern CA alone -- I understand PLO is renting a double-decker bus to make the trip with his 40 closest friends.

What's with "vegetables"? You said BBQ.

[polo_pro]

You may get 41 from southern CA alone -- I understand PLO is renting a double-decker bus to make the trip with his 40 closest friends.

What's with "vegetables"? You said BBQ.

His point may be that vegaterians are welcome. You got to remember, Steve hails from nearby that progressive "tofu and bean sprout eating" mecca called SF...yeah, the same place that was just so progressive, they were one of the first to ban the segway!

We only get the double-decker and come on up to the Bay Area when Steve says the magic word. Come on...you know it. Say it with me!

P

O

L

O

[nickyboy]

Plo,

I'm glad you got back to your POLO subject. I was getting worried, the last five or six posts I've read from you did not mention it at all!

Nick

[bystander]

P

O

L

OI was looking at the Google satellite map (http://www.google.com/maps?ie=UTF8&oe=UTF-8&hl=en&q=angel+island,+ca&z=16&ll=37.859947,-122.441039&spn=0.008691,0.014656&t=k&om=1&iwloc=A). It appears that there's a location on the West side of Angel island called Fort Reynolds that seems to have a parade grounds that might fit a you-know-what field.

Course it's probably a protected historical landmark and off limits. But maybe someone more familiar with the location would know better.

[polo_pro]

It appears that there's a location on the West side of Angel island called Fort Reynolds that seems to have a parade grounds that might fit a you-know-what field.

Course it's probably a protected historical landmark and off limits. But maybe someone more familiar with the location would know better.

Ah...good man figuring that out! Now we just need a plan...how to smuggle 12 polo mallets (and a polo ball plus goals and cones) onto the island? Maybe something like in "The Rock" but backwards?

Well, I could also call Steve and ask if his Junkyard Dogs want a sound thrashing on the field of play (and the extra publicity it'll generate)! Maybe that's the better/easier plan?

ps - As I've always said, "Have mallet, will travel for polo!" 8^) 8^) 8^)

[KSagal]

A little known fact of history was that the Miwok Indians actually invented Segway Polo.

Of course, they had the dis-advantage of not having segways available to them, so they used to stand on little platforms and have other Miwok indians push them around.

There is even a rumor that those indians used to give instructions to their pushers in a language that was strangely similar to the way pirates talk!

[Five-Flags]

Aye, Matey! Somebody please hit that bloke wid' a polo mallet!!:D :D

[flyoguy]

I will repeat this question on this thread since it seems to be getting much more visibility than the original thread.

The general rules for Angel Island contain the following statement:

"....Roller skates, roller blades, skateboards, scooters, and wood fires are also prohibited."

Not everyone knows a Segway isn't a scooter, so are we sure Segways, brought by the general public, will be accepted/allowed on the island and on the ferries?

Segways from an approved tour business 'could' be a whole different story because of the insurance that the business will obviously have. Segways brought over by the general public may or may not have any insurance.

I am very excited to be able to participate in the party, but there will be a certain amount of cash outlay required to join in so I would like some kind of confirmation that there won't be any problems when we get there.

Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks

[slide4less]

If you have your own segway you can ride on Angel Island .In the past 3 years only a few people brought any out and the park let them ride.
We started renting out there last Oct 2006. The Blue and gold Ferry will let you take a Segway and the Triburon Ferry will also .They charge $1 extra just like a Bike

[flyoguy]

I like it. Sign my wife and I up. I'll call and RSVP.

Still waiting to hear from all the SC gliders about a caravan or carpool......

[flyoguy]

I just talked to the Blue and Gold Ferry. They do not charge the extra $1 for Segways. They are aware of the new program and the event on the 10th. They seem to be welcoming it with arms wide open.

The ship they use holds 300 people and they don't expect to fill it. No prepurchased tickets required. Guess they don't know about Plo's double-decker bus.

Very cool.

[Drew Gilbride]

I work for the Angel Island-Tiburon Ferry and am very excited about the Segway Tours coming to the Island. I noticed on this message board that there was quite a lot of interest from Segway owners who wanted to bring their own Segways to Angel Island, so I called the Park Superintendent and asked him. He told me that the only Segways that will be allowed on Angel Island are the ones for the organized tours, and those being used by people because of physical disabilities. I don't like to be the bearer of bad news, but I also don't want people showing up and being disappointed. Angel Island is a State Park, and visitors are subject to the Stae Park regulations.

[Mr_Laurenzano]

Tom,

You missed the bigger picture. I think you may have chosen a slightly less confrontational presentation, but that would be less fun...

Why don't you really get upset over the larger inaccurate fact in that press release! We all know that those Miwok Indians only used that island for 5986 years! That is a whole 14 year mistake, and a much larger deal than than your argument of a single year or even a couple months...

"Tom was that you with d... when...(LB),(FP)."
I would love to tour this one..You missed the bigger picture.
CRASH

[flyoguy]

There's a major contradiction between post 21 and 24. One says personal Segs are OK, the other says they're not allowed.

This needs to be cleared up. I need to know if I should cancel my hotel reservations or not.

[slide4less]

UPDATE Party on Angel Island March 10th

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Segway of Oakland will have a Party saturday march 10th 2007 11am-3:30pm on Angel Island State Park in San Francisco Bay.This is the Kickoff Party for our New Segway Tour checkout www.segwayangelisland.com This party is for Segway Owners and the Press.We will have a Fleet of segways for Use and a limit of 10 private Segway will be allowed on the Ferry for This event only,If you need to bring a Segway Call Steve Steinberg 510 414-8429 for info on getting on the Island (The ferry will not let you on with a segway unless you are 1 of the 10 Private Segways ) We Will Have Segways to use and we will have a BBQ Free of Charge You will have to buy a Ferry Ticket about $9 round trip.After the Party only Rental Segways and Handycap use of Segway will be Allowed on angel Island.

RSVP Please . steve@slide4less.com Steve Steinberg 510 414-8429
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