New tour operator

[Firefly Hollow]

Hello from Little Hocking in beautiful southeast Ohio! I am a new Segway owner and am loving it. I was first introduced to a Segway at the science museum in Edmonton, Alberta Canada while visiting relatives at Christmas. As soon as I tried it I knew it would be perfect for birding.

We own 95 acres mostly wooded with 3.5 miles of wide trails. I have used a John Deere Gator in the past for birding. Even with the noise it did an adequate job but I knew that having a silent mode of transportation would be ideal. Our trails have some steep hills up to the trails across the ridges. As I have aged, hiking the trails is quite a labor. I wasn't sure that the Segway could handle some of the hills so I contacted Jarod at Segway of Ohio to ask if there was any way I could test ride one on our trails. He said sure and brought one down. Bless his heart, he walked the whole trail ride with me and the Segway worked like a charm. I was so impressed that I decided to move forward with my plan to offer birding and nature tours on Segways. I can see where the Segways will allow access to the trails for persons with some disabilities who would otherwise be unable to enjoy the beauty in such a quiet manner.

I have had people who have partial paralysis due to strokes or head trauma ride the Segways with no problem. I have had several elderly people give them an enthusiastic try and loved them. One gentleman had Parkinsons like tremors. They were no obstacle for him. Another dear friend is 65 and has never ridden a bicycle. In minutes she was zipping along. Once people get past their fear that they have to balance them they do fine.

I had to build a bridge over our creek to make access for the Segways so I have not started advertising the tours until now. With the bridge complete I am ready to go. Eventually I would like to branch out and possibly start a non-profit business that will provide tours as therapy for veterans, physical rehabilitation, cancer patients and others suffering from devastating illnesses. After spending years supporting my mother through her own battle with breast cancer I know firsthand how much getting her out into the woods helped to lift her spirits. Unfortunately but understandably, finding funding for such a venture is tough with our current economy. Meanwhile I hope to reconnect people with nature and hope that it will make them more aware of their environment and the impact that what they do has on it. I also plan to use the Segways to help raise some funds for charities by charging a small fee for test rides at fundraising events with all the proceeds going to charity.

I also have a commercial daylily garden (organic) and have found that the Segway has made my life so much easier in maintaining it. I use the Segway to spray an organic deer repellant on the plants. I mix up a 2 gallon batch and rest the sprayer tank on the universal cargo plates while I zip along spraying the garden. I also use the Segway to run back and forth between the garden and the house (a steep hill between the two). It sure has saved a lot of wear and tear on my legs and lungs this year :D.

Although we have lots of trails of our own I would like to use them on the local rails to trails trails as well as other local bike trails. The state law states that I should be able to use them but I didn't want to start off on the wrong foot so I asked permission of the persons in charge of the trails. The reponse was "No motorized vehicles." Even though I told them that they don't fall into that category I still was told no. Have any of you out there had any experience breaking through these barriers? If so, I appreciate any help or advice. I guess I should have asked forgiveness instead of permission.

[BarryT]

yes, asking forgiveness might have been the better choice first time out, but hey, you took a shot!

My best advice is try to educate, perhaps show some printed legislation that shows how segways are classified in your state, and offer a demonstration. All can be done at the same time, and remember that you catch more flies with honey.

At any rate welcome aboard, and enjoy the ride....uh, glide I mean :)

[Firefly Hollow]

Barry,

I tried that. I keep a copy of both the Ohio Segway laws as well as the West Virginia Segway laws with me (we live 1 mile from the Ohio River and West Virginia). When I went to the local bike path advisory committee meeting I brought copies of the law and my Segway and invited people to try it out. Out of 11 people only two tried it. They were also the only two who supported it. The rest played ostrich and kept their heads in the sand and disappeared after the meeting. Of course two were bike shop owners and I'm sure felt threatened. Not that they had anything to worry about. One member made the comment that by allowing Segways they would be discriminating against people who couldn't afford one. I had to tell him that was a double edged sword. With that logic, they would be discriminating against people who could afford one. One of the two people who supported allowing Segways on the bike path said that some of the recumbant bicycles they had looked at cost as much as the Segways.

I have offered to let any of the people in charge of the trails try one out but so far no takers. I have ridden them on the sidewalks of two local cities with no hassle. Still trying to get folks out into the country to try them out in the woods. I've found it interesting that the most interest so far has been from senior citizens. Sort of breaks the stereotype. My brother says it's just "Jazzy Envy":D. But after trying ours out we'll see how long it is before his wife has one. She got on it and immediately disappeared up their private road. We actually got worried enough about her to get in the car to go see if she was okay but just as we started out we saw her approaching the end of the driveway with a big smile on her face. The down side was that the nosy neighbor up the road saw her and had to come (drive) down to check it out. They were afraid that it would cost them an hour or two of gossip but she just kept hollaring out her car window "I want one! I want one!"

We will be gliding in a local Homecoming parade this weeked (Parkersburg, WV), a county fair parade (in Marietta, OH) on the 30th and have a booth offering test rides for a donation at the Ohio Green Fayre in Johnstown, OH on Labor Day. Hopefully we will get some tours booked for the fall migration and for fall foliage tours.

[KSagal]

You need to look into the specific laws in your state. I am sure Jared can help there...

Just because some folk who may be ignorant of the laws says that "no motorized vehicles" are allowed, does not mean that particular law applies to your segway...

Many states specifically state that EPAMDs are not motorized vehicles... If your's does state that, then the restriction of motorized vehicles does not apply to you...

One other caution. Many EPAMD laws have dimensions that include the i series, but the x series is too large. Be careful here, as many states have protections in place, but they do not include the x series...

If your state has declared EPAMDs to be not motorized vehicles, then the trails committee that you spoke to needs to have a specific law that states that segways or EPAMDs are prohibited.

Good luck. It seems that your efforts have a lot of heart in them...

You might use the power of the press to your advantage. The next time you have one of your therapeutic tours on your property, invite the local papers... Even the regional ones... If you have a bit of notoriety, and a positive write up, it may be more difficult to deny you access, especially if they are bending the laws to do it...

[JohnM]

http://codes.ohio.gov/orc/4511.512


The law giveth.....

4511.512(A)(1) Electric personal assistive mobility devices may be operated on the public streets, highways, sidewalks, and paths and portions of roadways set aside for the exclusive use of bicycles in accordance with this section.

And the law taketh away.

4511.512(A)(3) A local authority may regulate or prohibit the operation of electric personal assistive mobility devices on public streets, highways, sidewalks, and paths, and portions of roadways set aside for the exclusive use of bicycles, under its jurisdiction.

[Firefly Hollow]

John,

I was just going to post that same thing but you beat me to it. So far there is no sign preventing us from riding on the local bike path but now that I've brought the issue up it may change. In hindsight, I should have kept my mouth shut. Of course they are having trouble with people standing in line across the path for a rest room by some soccer fields that the path passes. They don't seem to be able to get a sign to warn bikers and pedestrians alike about the dangerous situation so maybe I'll be lucky and they won't be able to get a sign up to prevent Segways. I was also told that there have been Segways in use on the bike path for the last 2 years. So far no problems so I don't see what the issue is.

I think I neglected to say we have X2's with the Adventure package and dual saddlebags. So far I don't see any extra restrictions or exemptions in Ohio or WV for the X2's vs. i2's.

Has anyone out there used them on any segments of the rails to trails systems across the country? If so, where? I would like to contact the person in charge of those segments for some support in trying to get them on the local rails to trails system in WV. It is a beautiful stretch of trails that goes through a tunnel and a State Park.

On another note, I hopped on my X2 last night around midnight to glide down to the hollow to view the perseid meteor shower. It was a beautiful clear night. I didn't see a single meteor but enjoyed the glide in the dark anyway (I did have my LED headlight while I was gliding). The Segway still freaks out my 2 old horses( age 29 and 31). They don't hear it coming so when I finally come into view one horse about jumps out of his skin. Last night with the headlight on, the other horse snorted and blew but came over to see what it was. He's getting brave. The X2 also works great for chasing deer out of the garden. I also heard a great horned owl hooting in the distance. I think eventually I will offer a night owl prowl on the Segways. So many possibilities!

[Firefly Hollow]

Karl,

The press idea is a good one. I will definitely work on that aspect. I was planning on creating a press release to send out but I will also invite some journalists/reporters out too. I also plan to invite some local birding experts (Birder's Digest office is located about 30 miles from here) to take the tour too. Hopefully that will get a write up for us in a national bird publication.

Thanks for the helpful suggestions:)

[Bob.Kerns]

http://codes.ohio.gov/orc/4511.512


The law giveth.....

And the law taketh away.

Yes, but someone telling you it's forbidden as it's a motor vehicle, is NOT the same as actually creating a formal regulation via due process. It's someone's random misinterpretation of the law.

Ask to see the exact wording of the regulation, when it was passed, and the vote (if applicable). Probably it doesn't exist. Yet, anyway...

[BarryT]

At any rate it sounds like you have a good handle on the situation, and I think for alot of us hindsight is 20/20 - funny how that works.

Good luck with the tour operation, and keep us in the loop with any progress (glass half full) for the ostriches.