Who are you ?

[Tarkus]

Hey,

I have noticed in some other recent threads that their are more than a few of us that have chosen the Segway over other options.

Just wondering who we are and where we are from.

I'm also wondering how access has been for you.

Thanks for your time.

Be Big,
Alan

[singman]

My name is Mike and I live in St Paul Minnesota. In the 10 months I have owned my Red Button 167 I have yet to be refused entrance to any store or mall. There are two places in the area (Mall Of America, & Apple Valley Zoo) that will not allow Segways. I just avoid them.

The thing I have noticed the most is that people will come up and ask about the Segway as they have heard about them, but never saw one up close. I feel like a Segway Ambassador everywhere I go (unpaid).

The biggest crowd I encountered was at our State fair this past summer and I had no problems maintaining a snails pace. At slow speeds I think the I2 would be ideal. The one I test rode was very comfortable standing still and I didn't seem to have that slight rocking motion that mine does.

I ride it to therapy at the hospital and had a security guard ask questions about the Segway, and then he smiled and sent me on my way.

I have a copy of my vehicle handicap permit in a visible pouch on the front of my machine and my folding cane sticking out of my front bag. They usually see the handicap permit, and turn and head the other way.

I had a police officer tell me that if you act like you know what your doing and look confident, they usually won't bother you. So far they haven't.

I have two four wheel scooters (for sale), but have retired them in favor of the Segway . I wish I had a dollar for every time someone would look at me on the scooter, and then step in front of me and stop abruptly. It was my fault if I hit them. I did mount one of the Air Zound horns on the scooter, and it would scare the living crap out of them when I honked. I refer to it as my politically incorrect, but very effective horn.

With a scooter you get tired of looking at peoples butts all the time, as most of them aren't very scenic to start with (but neither is mine)!!! With the Segway you get a much better view and people have less problems missing you.

In crowds I have people passing me up, but that's OK. I may be the first Segway they encounter, and I don't want to make a bad impression. When shopping my wife uses the Segway as her personal mule to carry purchases.

[KSagal]

When shopping, my wife uses me as her personal mule, and unfortunately, I don't have my seg with me often enough!

[IcanGlide]

Well, you already know some about me already from my Wal-Mart thread, but here is the rest. I live in the southeast corner of Alabama, in a place called Ashford. With the exception of my last Wal-Mart denial, access has been 100 per-cent. I've been in hospitals, grocery stores, malls, ball fields, and our local military base with no problems. I even zip around some of the smaller roads around my house. Reaction has been the same as has already been mentioned in other posts. Most "Have seen it on TV but not up close"; "Are you holding that thing up?"; "Where's the other wheel?"; "Looks like a bicycle built sideways or something". The reactions are always hilarious. Sometimes, people will chase me down and ask, "What is it, and where did you get it?"

I entered a furniture store one time and had a two year old boy eating an apple just climb on board with me. He stood on my feet, bit down on that apple, wrapped his little apple hands around the handgrips, and off we went.

Having the Segway has really changed my life. Now I can "glide" anywhere with my wife. And yeah, I love being the pack-mule for my wife. Instead of sitting at a mall, I can get anywhere faster and easier than anyone else. I even take the garbage cans out to the road for pickup riding my seg. And it's funny watching the people run off of the road when I show up.

I like advertising for Segway. One lady I came across said her husband had injured his back somehow and wondered how she could get one for him. My wife and I told her and she got him one for Christmas.

Frank

[EzthePrez]

Hey
It's good to know I'm not the only one who uses his segway in his everyday life. I use it to get around school, and other errands. I do this because six years ago I was in a car crash, and I got very badly hurt. It was in Jamaica, and I broke my neck. I'm not, like, supposed to be alive. That's why they call me "Miracle-Boy". I'm a normal kid again.
Ezra

[Tarkus]

Hey
It's good to know I'm not the only one who uses his segway in his everyday life. I use it to get around school, and other errands. I do this because six years ago I was in a car crash, and I got very badly hurt. It was in Jamaica, and I broke my neck. I'm not, like, supposed to be alive. That's why they call me "Miracle-Boy". I'm a normal kid again.
Ezra

Wonderful story of courage.

I'm happy also to see new people here !

Be Big,
Alan

[Dragan]

As some of you know, I'm a dealer in western Canada. I first got into the Segway scene as a pre-retirement plan. Things took off, big time. We won the outstanding dealer award for Canada in our first year.

Then, Cancer came knocking. After 17 hours of surgery during which the Doctors removed about half of my jaw and then rebuilt it with the fibula from my left leg, I went from using the Segway in place of a car to using it for getting around EVERYWHERE.

I am cancer free, however the price paid is a severe limp. The Segway makes that mobility issue disappear, and I can't imagine what my
"new normal" would be without it
Wayne

[Sven]

I'm a retired guy and have been an active sports/fitness buff throughout my life. Everything changed last year when my knees became permanently damaged because of a staph infection following what was supposed to be routine arthroscopic surgery to correct minor meniscus tearing. After two months in the hospital, I've rehabed to the point where the pain is tolerable and I can walk for short periods with a cane. When I am faced with longer distances, I use my Segway. I like to think that I'm too able to use a wheelchair, so using the Seg to get around both helps to conserve my knees and my psych. I am a strong supporter of efforts to remove any barriers to the use of a Segway by mobility-impaired folks.

[cruiter]

After reading your other posts, I decided just for laughs and giggles to try out our local Wall Mart. I parked far out in the parking lot so getting it out of the car on the ramps wouldn't be a big deal and just did a normal glide to the front of the garden section and on down the sidewalk to the main entrance. The "kart" lady sort of had that "deer in the headlights" look so I asked where the bike section was and did they have pumps. Taking her completly off guard like that, she walked ahead and showed me the area. I rode very slowly letting folks even cut in front of me. Wasn't a big deal at all. At the bike area I got the assistance of two more personnel to look at pumps and decided I didn't want one of theirs. They told me of a bike store nearby and I slowly rode it back through the store with no problems or questions from any store personnel. Was a good test. Next try will be the Home Depot for maybe something like a light bulb :).

Well, you already know some about me already from my Wal-Mart thread, but here is the rest. I live in the southeast corner of Alabama, in a place called Ashford. With the exception of my last Wal-Mart denial, access has been 100 per-cent. I've been in hospitals, grocery stores, malls, ball fields, and our local military base with no problems. I even zip around some of the smaller roads around my house. Reaction has been the same as has already been mentioned in other posts. Most "Have seen it on TV but not up close"; "Are you holding that thing up?"; "Where's the other wheel?"; "Looks like a bicycle built sideways or something". The reactions are always hilarious. Sometimes, people will chase me down and ask, "What is it, and where did you get it?"

I entered a furniture store one time and had a two year old boy eating an apple just climb on board with me. He stood on my feet, bit down on that apple, wrapped his little apple hands around the handgrips, and off we went.

Having the Segway has really changed my life. Now I can "glide" anywhere with my wife. And yeah, I love being the pack-mule for my wife. Instead of sitting at a mall, I can get anywhere faster and easier than anyone else. I even take the garbage cans out to the road for pickup riding my seg. And it's funny watching the people run off of the road when I show up.

I like advertising for Segway. One lady I came across said her husband had injured his back somehow and wondered how she could get one for him. My wife and I told her and she got him one for Christmas.

Frank

[Sharkie]

Well, I guess I should jump in with a post in this thread. I was quite used to being busy in my life, but that changed quite abrubtly during the summer of 2000. I had a major heart attack, that left me with less than 25% of my cardiac function remaining. I was told in no uncertain terms by the doctors that I was no longer allowed to work, so that took a bit of getting used to. I also had to get used to the idea of money being a thing of the past, as my income had just been completely eliminated. Fortunately, my wife has enough income to keep us afloat, but luxuries like travel are the exception rather than the rule. I managed to scrimp and save some money, and buy myself a well used scooter, and I used that from time to time, but I always hated it. A relative of my wife's had left some money to us, with instructions to buy myself a model plane of my dreams. That is the plane pictured in my Avatar. In the summer of 2005, our van was broken into, and the plane was stolen. Thanks to good insurance, I got a settlement that allowed me to get a Segway. I was told by the dealer that I would sell my scooter within a month, and he was close, it was 3 weeks. I use the Segway to go everywhere, and have been denied access very little. Being Canadian, we have different circumstances up here, but for the most part, I don't get much hassle about using a Segway.

Jim

[Suzined]

Check out "Leonard Segways to Mobility, www.chinookobserver.com The dull brown strain on my teeth is bug juice--I just started using the red key and I grin a lot....

[Timezkware Tim]

I'm a 48 year old Spanish-American and work as the Food Service Director for a major sports venue in the LA area. I've been in Santa Monica since 1991, originally from NYC, specifically Clinton (Hell's Kitchen), a low-rise residential neighborhood 3 blocks from Times Square, which is like 100 miles in NYC geography. I still have my apartment there and visit once a year.

I am basically healthy but lost most of my hearing in an accident at home 6 years ago and now have to wear 2 hearing aids. I'm very thankful for many nice things I have in life. One of my hobbies is restoring and building hot rods (I have a trophy winning 1969 modified Mustang street rod that took me 3 years to build). I live a couple of blocks from the beach with my wife of 25 years. She is a professional singer and actress and veteran of many Broadway and regional companies. I am the world's biggest NY Mets fan. No kids, one dog, 2 turtles and a rabbit. Yes, I race them and the rabbit always wins.

Since my accident, it's extremely painful to play most team sports that involve the upper body like baseball and volleyball. Segway polo gave me the opportunity to be able to play a team sport for the first time in 6 years. My thanks to plo for getting me out there for the first time.

I live less than 2 miles from downtown Santa Monica, but the traffic is so bad it typically takes an hour to go there and back in a car. I hope that the Segway critics will stop being afraid of the unknown and will lighten up on this great transportaion alternative.

Tim