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Crossing America on a Segway 224

Posted by Hemos from the like-going-from-holland-to-utah-in-one-sitting dept.
Harald Paulsen writes "What do you do if you are tired of working in a cubicle and want to escape the Office Space? Two guys asked themselves this and decided to go across America on a Segway, making a documentary of their road trip. A trailer is available and the movie might show up at Sundance."
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Crossing America on a Segway More

Crossing America on a Segway

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  • Power? (Score:3, Interesting)

    by Artie Dent ( 929986 ) on Monday January 09, 2006 @10:30AM (#14427478) Homepage
    What did they do for the long stretches without a place to recharge?

  • These guys are just lazy. (Score:4, Funny)

    by ic3b3rg333 ( 468602 ) on Monday January 09, 2006 @10:30AM (#14427480)
    People have been doing this on bicycles for years.
    • There's a huge difference between doing it by bicycle and doing it by Segway.

      You recharge a bicycle with pizza and it's much faster.

      KFG

    • Re:These guys are just lazy. (Score:4, Insightful)

      by Billosaur ( 927319 ) * <wgrother AT optonline DOT net> on Monday January 09, 2006 @11:43AM (#14428157) Journal

      Lazy, perhaps... but lazy like foxes!! Imagine, quitting the workaday world on a whim, hatching a scheme to ride across America on what has to be one of the least inspiring forms of transportation available (I'd rather jog and I don't jog!), and film it, get it shown at Sundance (the new "buzz generator" [sorry Hollywood]) and reap the rewards as thousands of their friends (who have just as little life and money as they do) pay $10 a pop to see this in some theatre! Brilliant!

      Wake me when someone crosses America on Oprah's back...

  • Apt wording... (Score:2, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward
    If you're crossing America on a Segway, you'd definitely need a trailer...
  • Combine this trip with the idea of the million-dollar homepage selling pixels, and you would get a inkjet-printer equipped Segway printing commercials of the sponsors on the asphalt all the way from Seattle to Boston.
  • Hope they kept it away from the White House, I heard Segways aren't too welcome there [about.com].

    On a more serious note, FTA:
    "Our focus turns now towards Sundance and some other strategies for the film. We have some exciting things in the works, but can't discuss yet. So, we've been advised to keep the promotional stuff to a minimum."

    Advised by whom? The law team of the company that will be promoting the movie for Sundance etc? Or perhaps the marketing team, to keep from stealing the thunder of a theatrical re

  • PR (Score:4, Informative)

    by mysqlrocks ( 783488 ) on Monday January 09, 2006 @10:34AM (#14427520) Homepage Journal
    Wow, Dean Kamen (of DEKA Research & Development, the inventor of the Segway) is a PR genius. I'm sure he is behind this somehow. I used to work in a building in Manchester, NH next door to his office. He was always getting press on various things long before the Segway was announced. He got press on the Segway before anybody knew it was going to be called the Segway or what even what it was.

    • Re:PR (Score:5, Funny)

      by Nuroman ( 588959 ) on Monday January 09, 2006 @11:00AM (#14427730)
      Yeah, he's such a PR genius that now everyone has a Segway. The old folks next door. The kids on the way to little league. There's so many out there you can't look out the window without someone riding by on a Segway.
      • Yeah, he's such a PR genius that now everyone has a Segway.

        By PR I mean he is good at getting press. I didn't say he was good at converting that press into sales.
      • From a PR standpoint, the fact that they're not worth buying only makes it more impressive that everybody knows what they are. I mean, it doesn't take a PR genius to publicize a cure for cancer, right?
    • He was always getting press on various things long before the Segway was announced. He got press on the Segway before anybody knew it was going to be called the Segway or what even what it was.

      I call those newsvertisements. They are common. Supposedly, these guys [schwartz-pr.com] are very good at getting newsvertisements out in the wild.

      I'm probably talking about something that few people were conscious enough to remember here, but there was a very successful knife that was sold on TV in the '70s. It was called Ginsu, an

  • Forgive me...... (Score:4, Funny)

    by acvh ( 120205 ) <geek@msci[ ]s.com ['gar' in gap]> on Monday January 09, 2006 @10:35AM (#14427532) Homepage
    .....they also appear to have hosted their website on a Segway.

    as for making a movie about their experiences - well, it probably won't be Easy Rider.

  • two? (Score:5, Funny)

    by Golias ( 176380 ) on Monday January 09, 2006 @10:39AM (#14427559)
    Wait... TWO guys on a Segway?

    Well, that'll get this documentary an NC-17 rating if anything will.
  • Sounds like a perfectly reasonable and intelligent way to cross the Nevada badlands...
  • I think it would be interesting to see a comsumption analysis for the trip in terms of oil. (Setting aside, for the moment, coal-genereated power, etc.). Perhaps the Segway vs. a bicycle vs. an efficient motorcycle vs a hybrid car.
    • "Perhaps the Segway vs. a bicycle vs. an efficient motorcycle vs a hybrid car"

      I guarantee you that the bicycle uses the least oil of these four, unless of course the bicyclist subsists on a diet of oil.
      • I guarantee you that the bicycle uses the least oil of these four, unless of course the bicyclist subsists on a diet of oil.

        How is a bicycle guaranteed to use less oil than a Segway?

        If anything, I'd expect your average bicycle to use marginally more to keep it it good running order, given the mechanism is exposed to the elements.

    • Why would you set aside coal generated power? That's the whole problem with these kinds of things. These guys are probably patting themselves on the back as "progressives" but I'd be willing to bet that people would be surprised at how inefficient it is to move around on a segway. Going from coal/nat gas to electricity, across the grid, into a battery, and then back to mechanical power is pretty lousy for efficiency. I'd be willing to bet a motorcycle would get better fuel efficiency with respect to emissio
    • Hybrid cars rarely get what they are advertized to get in city and hwy milage. http://www.consumersearch.com/www/automotive/hybr i d-cars/fullstory.html [consumersearch.com]. Every motorcycle I have gets between 45 and 60 mpg in city and hwy. One is a 650 thumper (single piston) and the other is a 1100 v-twin. My buddies bike can get as good as 45 mpg if he is not pushing it hard and he rides a Yamaha YZF-R1. They may beat out the segway for oil usage, segways are battery hogs... they gotta be:) Bicycle gets it 100 percent
    • I think it would be interesting to see a comsumption analysis for the trip in terms of oil. (Setting aside, for the moment, coal-genereated power, etc.). Perhaps the Segway vs. a bicycle vs. an efficient motorcycle vs a hybrid car.

      Bicycles don't use very much oil but they sure go through a ton of cow and pig --Mmmmm pork.

  • Stock Segways or were they modded somehow? (Score:4, Interesting)

    by Gunfighter ( 1944 ) on Monday January 09, 2006 @10:45AM (#14427612)
    Can you imagine how long these two had to stand? At least on a bicycle you can sit on the seat. Perhaps slap on a Segway hack to give the driver something to sit on?
    • I've always wanted a recumbent tricycle with some kind of continuously variable transmission and a roll bar. It would look totally dorky, but maybe then I wouldn't feel terrified trying to ride on the road...
    • Standing is much easier on you than actually pedalling a bicycle. Especially when it comes to hills. Standing in one spot can be hard, since blood will pool from lack of muscle movement. However this can be overcome by just moving your legs around a bit every once in a while, which is still less work than pedalling.

    • Re:Stock Segways or were they modded somehow? (Score:4, Interesting)

      by mrtrumbe ( 412155 ) on Monday January 09, 2006 @11:10AM (#14427820) Homepage
      Lots of people stand all day long at their job. Pit traders and security guards come to mind.

      In terms of mods, I'd be more interested in how they got the thing to travel more than the advertised 6-10 miles on a single charge. From wikipedia: "The p-series is capable of covering 6-10 miles (10-16 km) on a fully charged standard battery, depending on terrain. It takes 4-6 hours to recharge."

      Can you imagine covering the country 6 miles at a time?

      Taft

      • I imagine they're carrying spare batteries or something to that effect. If they didn't I don't think there would be towns every six miles to recharge the batteries.
      • From the pictures on the website, it looks like they used I-series Segways: the p series is smaller and is mainly used indoors. Now depending on the battery and the air pressure in the tire, it can go between 15-25 miles. If the tire pressure is the recommended 15psi, then the NiMh batteries will go about 15-16 miles (higher tire pressure will allow the segway to go further) and the newer Lithium batteries will go about 22-23 miles (once again depending on tire pressure). When I got my Segway training,
      • Can you imagine covering the country 6 miles at a time?

        Yes. Lets assume you travel on a full charge, charge, travel on a full charge, charge while sleeping, and do the same thing the next day.

        Traveling 2462 miles @ 12.5 mph will take about 200 days.

        OK, that is two 100 mile stints with a 5 hour charge between them. Each 100 mile trek will take 8 hours (ouch). So one can Segway for 8 hours take 4 1/2 hours off while charging, Segway for another 8 hours, and then you only have 3 1/2 hours to charge and slee
      • Segway Trail

        Narrator: Your Segway has lost a wheel. Resupply/Keep going?
        keep going

        Narrator: Sam has been bitten by a poisonous snake. Medicate/Keep going?
        keep going

        Narrator: Your Segway has run out of batteries. Recharge/Hunt?
        hunt

        Narrator: You are out of ammunition. You have killed everything in the vicinity. You now have 13,058lbs of meat. You are overburdened.

        Narrator: Sam has died.

        Narrator: The Segway is irrepairable.

        You have died of stupidity. Play again?


        We laughed, we c

    • Re:Stock Segways or were they modded somehow? (Score:5, Funny)

      by OakDragon ( 885217 ) on Monday January 09, 2006 @11:23AM (#14427955) Journal
      Before I would consider buying a Segway, I would wanted it modded in some ways. First, I would need a seat. Wait, maybe 2 - no, four - seats so that I can bring some friends along. Of course, that would affect the stability, so I would probably have to add another set of wheels. And with all that extra weight, I doubt the electric motor could provide the necessary juice, so some sort of gasoline engine might be appropriate. Then to keep the weather out, maybe some metal sheilding on the top and sides, with glass windows to see out of. Oh, and of course a radio.

  • The Straight Story (Score:5, Interesting)

    by jamie ( 78724 ) <jamie@slashdot.org> on Monday January 09, 2006 @10:49AM (#14427647) Journal
    The idea reminds me of The Straight Story [imdb.com], which was a really charming, honest, pensive film.
    • Really, I thought it was a very cynical trick played on Disney by David Lynch. I think Lynch laughed himself to sleep every night while filming it.
      • Really, I thought it was a very cynical trick played on Disney by David Lynch. I think Lynch laughed himself to sleep every night while filming it.

        He's not the only one. Brian De Palma also scored with "Mission to Mars".

  • Saw these guys in Colorado (Score:5, Informative)

    by Brychanus ( 901893 ) on Monday January 09, 2006 @10:54AM (#14427686)
    When I was taking my parents up into the Rockies in September (they were out for a visit and dad had never been), we were at a pull-off on the road up to Mt. Evans when we saw these guys. They told us they were mostly done with the filming, but had come back to Colorado to get a little more material they needed for part of it. One guy with a camera and a big van was filming another guy on a Segway. They'd chosen some particularly beautiful scenery as a backdrop, which I imagine was the point. Anyway, I guess my point was that the format for their filming was Segway + Big Van, not 2 Guys + 1 Segway.
    • Anyway, I guess my point was that the format for their filming was Segway + Big Van, not 2 Guys + 1 Segway.

      So, we have to take it on trust that they didn't film a bit, pop the Segway into the van, drive 500 miles, get out, film a bit more, etc.
      • So, we have to take it on trust that they didn't film a bit, pop the Segway into the van, drive 500 miles, get out, film a bit more, etc.

        Or treat it as fiction. Actually one could examine the segway. If it has gone thousands of miles, that'll show up as wear and tear even on a movie.

  • Attitude? (Score:2, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward
    Wait, I can't figure out if as a Slasdhot reader I'm supposed to support this endeavor or fanatically oppose it!!!! Can anybody tell me if Segways are Open Source or not? That will clear things up.
  • How about something that runs on more than just Windows and a Mac? I hear that a few people on this site might run Linux or *BSD.

  • Talkin' bout my generation... (Score:5, Funny)

    by VAXcat ( 674775 ) on Monday January 09, 2006 @11:22AM (#14427942)
    My generation's defining film - two guys do a big cocaine deal, drop out of society, take drugs and have sex with beautiful women while crossing America on outrageous Harley choppers (Easy Rider)....your generation, two dorks on Segways...

    • Re:Talkin' bout my generation... (Score:5, Funny)

      by NardofDoom ( 821951 ) on Monday January 09, 2006 @11:54AM (#14428257)
      Yeah, but these guys probably don't get shot at the end of the movie.

      I'm not saying they shouldn't be (for the sake of the gene pool), but still...

    • More like..

      My generations defining film.. One guy thinks he's two guys, has sex with a beautiful (but very messed up) woman, realizes the pointlesness of consumerism, forms a para-military organization, and blows up credit card company buildings (Fight Club). Your generations defining movie?... Forrest Gump.
      • There's no arguemtn, Fight Club was a great film...but Forrest Gump came out in 1994, and thus is ANOTHER film that indicts YOUR generation...Easy Rider came out in 1969...that's the generation I'm talkin' bout...
        • 1969 is dead. As I understand it, generations grow older and don't live in one single time period. Baby boomers like to think of themselves as the flower-power-hippy-free-love generation, but they've all grown up and become corporate drones wanting a paycheck. Don't try to sell me that old Easy Rider story, because it ain't 1969 anymore.
        • Yah, whaterer you say Forrest...my generation invented rock and roll music, went to the moon, and stopped an unjust war. Your generation...wrote a web page and invented rap music? Ya have a lot to be proud of...

    • Easy Rider would have been a good movie if it weren't for the pointless film school ending, of course I guess that pretty much describes the movie.

      But really I guess there's no good way to end a movie like that, either film school or a cliche.

      My suggestion would have been to have them arrested and taken to jail. :-P

    • My generation's defining film - two guys do a big cocaine deal, drop out of society, take drugs and have sex with beautiful women while crossing America on outrageous Harley choppers (Easy Rider)....your generation, two dorks on Segways...

      Riding Harleys with Hendrix in the background might have been cool in its day, but today, give me a Segway blasting out "The Final Countdown".
  • A new TV show based on the old one which starred Martin Milner and George Maharis. The premise was they traveled RT66 in a Corvette to discover America. The new one could be two dorks on Segways doing the same thing.

    http://www.tvparty.com/route1.html [tvparty.com]

  • I found Segway riding to be very tiring (Score:5, Informative)

    by sdo1 ( 213835 ) on Monday January 09, 2006 @11:29AM (#14428004) Journal
    A year or so ago, I spent a few hours on a Segway for a tour of Epcot Center [wdwinfo.com] at Disney World in Orlando. It was a ton of fun crusing around on the thing and I'd highly recommend it. But in the end, I found that my feet were really sore and tired at the end of the experience. Why? Because basically, you're just standing there. Just stand for 3 hours and let me know how you feel. Now walk around for 3 hours. Completely different feeling. Just standing and doing nothing else is very fatiguing.

    If anyone has taken a kid to Disney World, you know that you do a LOT of walking. My feet hurt more after my time on the Segway than they did chasing a 5-year old around Magic Kingdom all day.

    So while this may seem "lazy" and easier than walking or riding a bike, I can't exactly imagine a less comfortable way for an able-bodied person to travel a long distance. That said, I'd still love to get one.

    -S

    • I give three hour segway tours of Forest Park here in St. Louis, and the secret is to shift around...I usually have only one foot planted on the platform at one time while I rest the other: usually by planting my toes on the top side of the platform or over the backside (it's hard to describe...). I bet it's not "safe" but my muscles move and shifting enough that I'm comfortable!
    • So while this may seem "lazy" and easier than walking or riding a bike, I can't exactly imagine a less comfortable way for an able-bodied person to travel a long distance.

      You must not have much imagination. For example, you could hang under an SUV [suntimes.com].

    • So while this may seem "lazy" and easier than walking or riding a bike


      You're right... unless you are going uphill, riding a bike is less work than riding a Segway, because on the bike you get to sit down, whereas the Segway forces you to stand.


      The solution, of course, is to place a barstool on the Segway and sit on it while driving.

  • while traveling through the middle of the Nevada desert? That would be a rough awakinging!

  • Rich guys' toys. (Score:3, Insightful)

    by grumling ( 94709 ) on Monday January 09, 2006 @02:27PM (#14429749) Homepage
    Maybe it is a little bit of sour grapes, but does anyone really think the Segway is ever going to be used by the disabled and aged people of the world (or the mailman)? So far I've only heard of them being used by 1)polo players (woz invented it), and now this. I did see a few young yuppie types on a bike trail in Denver (side by side, taking up the whole trail), and judging by their bellies, they should have been moving their feet.
    • Actually, the predecessor to the Segway was Kamen's four-wheel-drive (6 wheels, though) wheelchair -- the IBOT --it can climb stairs and permits the user to sit at eye-level with the non-disabled.

      Here's a somewhat froo-froo link [mdtap.org], but one that has a picture.

      If you google for IBOT you'll see a lot of coverage, but I have not seen any of these things around. Maybe there are still some approvals to work out. I wonder how much power they require, too.

      Anyhow, if the item can be costed such that a disabled p

  • A great experience (Score:5, Informative)

    by lisahurley ( 944480 ) on Monday January 09, 2006 @04:05PM (#14430624)
    Hello there, I am the one who added my comment to Mr. "Really Lame" http://slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=173406&cid=144 27883 [slashdot.org]. Like I said in my previous comment, I am glad to see everyone hot & bothered about our little movie. I worked as an assistant editor (among other things) on the film in question. Being involved with this project was truly a great experience. And I would be happy to answer anyone's questions on it. Of course, I was not there for the expedition. Perhaps Josh & Hunter, the filmmakers, will better able to answer some of the specifics, but I can help you out a bit too.

    Some intial responses to the questions I see on here...

    -Batteries -- They carried several with them. And changed them out as necessary. I don't remember if they charged the batteries when they stopped for the night, or if they had some method of charging on the road.

    -Trailer -- yes, actually it does come in handy when you have to lug lots of extra batteries around. (And we're obviously not talking about the common AA variety.)

    -Dean Kamen, was not involved in any way in this project. Though they did meet him at the end of their trip.

    -Two guys on a Segway -- not exactly. One man (Josh Caldwell) on a Segway made the entire journey, although others in the crew rode occassionally too, when they were stopped, or alongside Josh. I can assure you that there was no funny business on the device itself.

    -How long he had to stand -- well I am not sure how long Josh rode every day, but the journey was 100 days long, plus a little added couple days at the end to meet Segway & Dean Kamen.

    -how they travelled on a single charge -- as already mentioned they had several spare batteries with them.

    -did they film & drive, film & drive -- as someone who personally sifted through an unbelievable amount of footage, I can personally attest to the fact that they entire trek was on Segway.

    -Sundance -- Sundance lists some of their selections before they even accept submissions! Others are listed later. And I believe some films are sometimes accepted later.

    -10mph the whole way? -- Not sure, the max speed is 12.5 mph, but I think they averaged 10mph. I can ask. I know they rode by one of those speed detectors that tell you how fast you are going, and it read 10mph.

    -Saw the trailer a year ago. -- Don't think you saw this specific one as I am almost positive it was made last summer. Maybe you saw an early teaser? Why has it been a year and you still haven't seen the movie? The movie itself wasn't finished till last summer. They have been submitting it to various film festivals. When you are doing things independently, it can take a lot of time and hard work to get your movie out there -- it even takes Hollywood sometimes more than a year, cut them some slack, huh?

    Well, I think that's enough answers for now, let me know if you want more!

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