Hello from the "other" Vancouver

[jimnbeck]

Greetings from Vancouver USA!

Played with a few Segways recently while on vacation down in SoCal (in San Diego and--unexpectedly--at Disneyland). Ready to buy, so I'm investigating the in's and out's of legality and practicality in the Pacific Northwest. My commute is a relatively short 3 miles each way to work, with bike lanes the whole way. Looking to confirm what's expected from a Segway operator in these parts, but see there aren't all that many in the greater PDX metro area. I have yet to see a Segway in operation in either Portland OR or Vancouver WA, but trust they're out there. Any networking help/info sharing would be appreciated.

Have a great day!

Jim

[mark1qhorsey]

Hi Jim,

Yest it's fun to glide! Is it going to be a toy, or
a serious commuter alternative for you?

Some things you may consider related to your climate-
PT travel is obviously limited to your tolerance to the outside weather,
and length of the commute.

Make sure your employer buys in to parking / storage before you buy it!
You will want to store it indoors at work or buy a good cover anytime.

Gliding safely in heavy rain might be a bit problematic.
Wear bright stuff!
You will have accidents, though usually not serious.

Go glide - maybe tour around Portland with Segway of Portland
to get a feel for the 'acclimatized' glide.

Good to hear your enthusiastic!

Good luck!

[dionysus]

Jim, welcome! I have some copies of the legalities in Oregon and Portland specifically that I got from another great resource on this board. I'm not sure about Washington/Vancouver; but, I'm pretty sure Nelda has those. She's a great resource on the board, you could probably Private Message her. Let me know if you'd like copies of the "law" for Oregon/Portland. In a nutshell:

*Bike lanes are legal and roads where speed limit is less than 35.
*Sidewalks are legal as long as you yield right of way to pedestrians, and go at a normal walking speed when approaching pedestrians, driveways, or intersections.
*MAX lightrail is legal as long as you walk it on and off and use the bike allocated spaces to "park" (without hanging it of course!)
*Tri-Met buses are allowed only for those with a disability. (I think a sticker on the machine suffices usually).

Try to really stick to the rules, some of the laws have language about "for now or until they cause a problem". We don't want to give them reason to make it more restrictive! I hope you decide to join the "ranks", I know I haven't regretted it!

Corey

[sfrantz]

Welcome Jim,

I live in SE Portland and commute to work everyday, rain or shine. It's 2 miles one way, and I usually go home for lunch. I've put over 1600 miles on my i2 since August.

The previous posts in this thread got the basics for you. There is a local group called the Rose City Gliders. Our Yahoo group is at
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/rosecitygliders/

Welcome!

Stephen

[jimnbeck]

Great info... parking will be no issue, as I'm the HR in my building! The commute is about 3 miles each way, residential roads with bikelanes (no sidewalks), speed limit 35mph the entire way.

Already heard from Nelda, feeling welcomed. Headed down to Corvallis later this week (I'm an OSU alum) to pick up my i2.

Cheers!

Jim

[jimnbeck]

SFrantz, what sort of helmet/jacket combo do you use for winter commuting?

Jim