PT’s Perspective: A penny a mile!

Bob and I went out for a glide the other day – or so I thought.  But we just kept going and going and going … and before I knew it, we were out of Lancaster and on our way out Route 340 toward Smoketown!  Of course by then I realized this wasn’t going to be a regular glide around town.  Bob was running an errand.

So we zipped east on the shoulder of the road most of the time.  But there were sidewalks occasionally that we could use.  We passed a few pedestrians here and there, but we mostly had the shoulder to our selves.  There was constant traffic heading past us, but it was pretty calm and courteous.  The best part was the breeze when a truck went by – it was warm that day.

Anyway, when we got to DJ’s, we crossed at the light and headed down Witmer Road.  That was nice – sidewalks and asphalt paths all the way to Target.  And once we got to Target, we crossed Route 30 at the light and headed up the hill on the sidewalk to the new shopping plaza – Mill Creek Square.

We only spent about 15 minutes at Mill Creek Square, and then it was back to the shop.  East on Route 30 to East Town Mall, across Route 30, north on  Oakview Road, west on Route 340, and back into the city.  Smooth sailing all the way!

The whole trip took us less than 2 hours – and that was with a 15 minute stop at Mill Creek Square!  We went 14 miles averaging almost 7 miles an hour.  And I still had “juice” left in the tank!  I only used about ¾ of a full charge – at about a penny’s worth of electricity per mile.

I can’t wait for the next errand!  It’s great to be outside.

Glide on!

Percival Transporkamen

Kudos: SCORE!

No, we’re not playing Segway polo.  Not a bad idea though.  Check it out here. 

Actually, “SCORE!” is the answer to a lot of questions that small business owners (aspiring, new or established) ask.  How about the following?

• “I have this cool new gadget, but how do I sell it?”
• “Uh, now that I can sell it, how do I finance it?”
• “Oops, how do I keep track of all of that money?”
• “Help!  Where can I find someone to help me get all of this stuff done?”
• “How do I figure out if I’m actually making money?”
• “Who do I send these tax payments to?”
• “Marketing?  Isn’t that just for big companies?”
• “Isn’t there someone else out there with the same problem that knows how to fix it?”

So what is SCORE?  Just the best FREE source of business advice on the planet!  SCORE stands for Service Corps Of Retired Executives.  It’s a volunteer organization with over 13,000 members who offer small business owners confidential business counseling at no charge.

It may sound like it, but this isn’t a commercial.  We’ve used SCORE’s invaluable resources since we started our business and can’t say enough good things about it.  With everything from mentors providing advice on creating business plans to moderators of networking roundtables, you can’t afford NOT to take advantage of their services.

Curious?  Need some help, too?  Visit the SCORE Lancaster website here for more info and the national website here for even more workshops, events, templates, and tools.

Normally, when you get free advice, you get what you pay for.  But in this case, the free advice can’t be beat.

Bob Stauffer

PT’s Perspective: A King On Prince And Queen

The more we glide around downtown Lancaster lately – primarily on Prince and Queen Streets – the happier I am that I’m a Segway PT.  The sidewalks are relatively open and clear.  But I feel bad for my buddies the cars and trucks who aren’t so lucky.  The street construction often keeps them at a crawl.  It’s a shame they’re relegated to a snail’s pace over short distances when they’re designed to travel long distances at higher speeds.

Gee, I wonder if their owners have ever thought about leaving them at home to rest and trying other transportation for shorter distances.  Between walking, running, bicycling, unicycling, riding the bus, or even gliding on a Segway, they may save money, time, feel healthier and less stressed, pollute less, or have more fun!

Imagine what could be saved if only a portion of all of those short trips in cars and trucks were replaced with alternate means of transportation!  Here’s what a Segway can do to help.

Glide on!

Percival Transporkamen

Kudos: What? No Segways on the County Park Trails?

Yup, you read the title correctly.  A Segway guy is congratulating someone for not allowing Segways on trails.  Weird, huh?  Well, let me explain.

A few months ago there was an article in the local newspaper about Lancaster County’s updated ADA policy on trail access by the disabled in county parks.  You can imagine my surprise when the article mentioned that because Segways don’t fall within the policy’s power limitations, they weren’t allowed for use by the disabled.  Being a Segway advocate, my first reaction was to fire off a forum response on the article’s web page or send a letter to the editor.  But being the analytical guy that I am, I thought I better investigate a little before blowing off steam.

First, I realized that the county was being proactive because the federal government had just released its updated ADA policies (http://www.ada.gov/regs2010/ADAregs2010.htm).  That’s extremely admirable considering that many other local governments don’t get around to addressing ADA policies, or seem to misinterpret them – to the irritation of their residents.

Then I went to the county’s website and read the ADA policy update (http://www.lancastercountyparks.org/parks/lib/parks/ADA_Accessibility_Policy.pdf).  It was relatively straight-forward, but I was a little confused about a few points.  And I wasn’t clear what the trail access policy was for the able-bodied (http://www.co.lancaster.pa.us/parks/lib/parks/Final_Ordinance_No._98.pdf).  So I emailed the county parks department administrator and scheduled a time to talk with him.

When I met with him (gliding there on my Segway of course), we had an excellent chat about trail access by the disabled and able-bodied, the reasoning behind the county’s decisions, Segways, and Disability Rights Advocates for Technology (DRAFT – http://www.draft.org/DisabilityRights.aspx).

My take-away is that things are much clearer now.  If you’re disabled and want to use a Segway on the county’s trails, you should be good to go – as long as you’re courteous and operate it safely and responsibly.

But concerning the use of Segways or other motorized vehicles on the trails by the able-bodied – it’s not allowed.  Why?  Because the county’s policy is to promote physical exercise for the able-bodied.  And I agree.  Congratulations to Lancaster County!

So get out there and enjoy the trails.  Walk, run, ride your bike (safely and responsibly) – just move your feet!

Bob Stauffer

PT’s Perspective: Paul who?

Today’s tour was great, even when someone yelled “Mall Cop” out their car window at us!  I wish I could see that movie sometime, because lots of people talk about it.  I heard it’s pretty funny, even though the movie character (I think his name is Paul something or other) does things on his Segway that I don’t want anyone doing on me!  Someone said he took his girlfriend for a ride on his Segway and I KNOW that’s not supposed to happen.  And I think I heard some little kid say that the guy in the movie actually ran over a little dog on his Segway!  I’d sure never do that!  I really like dogs, and most of them seem to like me too – or at least they’re really curious about me.  I’ve never had one try to lift his leg on one of my wheels, but I keep my eyes open when dogs are around . . . just in case!

Percival Transporkamen

PT’s Perspective: Hey! Look out for the … !

Another great tour today!  It’s so much fun to take people out and show them how easy Segways are to operate – and they always learn so much about Lancaster.  After a few minutes of practice, most people get really good at gliding and they’re really careful about not running into things . . . most of the time.

Today, however, we had a little incident.  Don’t worry, no one got hurt or anything – no one but me, that is.  See, people are good at watching out for stones and sticks and door stoops, but sometimes they don’t see other things.  I try to warn them, but they don’t always hear me.  Terri or Bob (the Chief Gliding Officers at Red Rose Segway) usually notice things and try to warn the people in the group too, but that doesn’t always work.

Oh well, it’s just a little dog poop stuck in my tire tread – but I sure hope someone cleans it out soon!

Percival Transporkamen

PT’s Perspective: Nervous No More

I got to go out on a tour today – yea!  This nice lady was gliding on me and, boy, was she nervous at first!  I think she was afraid I’d throw her off or something, but I’d never do that.  I’ve got five gyroscope sensors inside me and that’s what keeps me balanced.  But some people don’t know that, and they get scared.  She started feeling better once we got outside, especially after we spent a few minutes playing in a nearby parking lot.  I could tell she started feeling more comfortable when I heard her laughing.  By the end of tour she was even starting to pick up some speed.  What fun!

Percival Transporkamen