Tuesday: The Segway Experience

Tuesday, April 29 at 7:24 p.m.

How sweet was that?!?

For lunch, I took out the personal transporter for one heck of a journey. I went to the coffee shop for a cup of joe in the Fan, I picked up some lunch for myself and flowers for the lady in Carytown, I stopped by my apartment on Broad Street to drop off some dry cleaning I picked up, I mailed some letters at the post office near VCU and made it back to work in record time.

Most importantly, I did it all with out buying a single gallon of gas or directly producing any pollution. Not too shabby.

Though it only has a top speed of 12.5 miles per hour, the Segway seems a lot quicker, especially when you take out one-way streets, waiting for stop lights and stop-and-go traffic. Plus it's just small enough so you can simply ride it into most businesses and grocery stores with out the hassle of locking it up.

After work, it was another quick jaunt through the fan and back to my apartment.

I'm not going to say riding a Segway is totally without any cons, however. Though it wasn't raining today, I can imagine that would be awful even though the machine is suited for all conditions.

Plus, you always have to face the stigma of being a Segway rider. I'm not going to say I looked like a total dork but I did have my doubts when a car full of high school-aged girls drove by me on Monument and yelled, "Nice Segway, you dork!"

At least I wasn't polluting...

OK, I am a dork.

Here are the numbers:

Travel time to/from work: 20 minutes (1.1 miles each way)

Total travel distance: 8.9 miles total (including errands)

Cost: Less than $1 (including free electricity at work)

Pollution Factor: Al Gore got a cramp from smiling all day (virtually no local pollution)

Besides getting harassed by high schoolers, I had a really good time today. I especially liked the part where I drove by a gas station with out cringing when I looked at the sign.

-- Kent Jennings Brockwell, co-editor

Tuesday: Segwayin' it to lunch

Tuesday, April 29 at 1:15 p.m.

They say these things have a battery range of 25 miles. I'm going to test that at lunch.

I'm also going to test how much you can do on one of these things without killing your self. Can you drink a cup of coffee while winging it down the street with out serious facial burns? How about texting or carrying a bag of groceries?

I'll find out for you and I'll let you know when (and if) I get back in one piece.

-- Kent Jennings Brockwell, co-editor

Tuesday: Segway or dorky way?

Tuesday, April 29 at 4:41 a.m.

I know it is an ungodly hour to be writing this but I have a ton of work to do this week and needed to get into the office a good bit earlier than usual. Plus, the only time I can actually get any real work done at the office seems to be when there are no phones ringing, new e-mail notices pinging or over-caffeinated coworkers signing (horribly).

I also wanted some extra time to play with my new toy. Well, it's mine until I turn it in.

To close out our story on alternative transportation, we rented a Segway for a day to take care of all our daily travel needs. Earlier this week, I picked up a unit from Buck Ward at Segway of Richmond, the area's only Segway dealership.

After a quick tutorial and a few moments of my life flashing before my eyes, I had the hang of it and, with Ward's blessing, I decided to drive it back to my apartment.

To start off with, a Segway is really, really easy to use, even if you are a shaky uncoordinated moose like me. To move forward, you lean forward. To slow down, stop or move backwards, you lean back. To turn, you lean toward the direction you want to turn. Getting your timing correct is another thing but it only takes a few minutes to get it. Plus, the machine self balances and basically thinks for you.

It's tough to understand until you actually get on one but I highly suggest it if you get the chance.

Anyway, back to my journey from the dealership. It was awesome. After I mastered the whole stopping thing, I was a regular Steve McSegway on the mean streets of downtown Richmond. I was amazed at how well the transporter traveled up hills and over cobblestones. I made it back to the apartment in record time and had a lot of fun doing it.

This morning, after unplugging the unit from the wall, I turned it on and pushed it towards the door. Though I live on the second floor and the Segway weighs more than 100 pounds, the motors really assist you get it up and down stairs with much less effort than you would think.

After I got to the sidewalk, I jumped on, leaned forward and I was off in a whir. Before I knew it, I was at my office and at my desk, Segway resting in the corner and plugged into the free electricity at the office.

The trip wasn't bad and was really fun. I have to get to the grind but I'll talk more about it this afternoon. Here are the numbers:

Travel time to work: 10 minutes (1.1 miles total)

Cost: Far less than $1 (electricity is cheap and it doesn't take much to keep a Segway charged)

Pollution Factor: Al Gore is jealous (no direct emissions, yea!!!)

-- Kent Jennings Brockwell, co-editor

Pardon my exhaust...

Monday, April 28 at 8:31 p.m.

Alrighty. So as it will happen with real life, things got crazy towards the end of last week and saving the earth through alternative transportation became the farthest thing from my mind.

Surprise interviews popped up, friends unexpectedly showed up from out of town, meetings were called on the other side of town -- plus, there is something about showing up to an interview an hour late, drenched in sweat and parking your Huffy in the waiting room that simply screams "not professional."

That being said, this week isn't looking much better and I have already filled up my gas tank. Though I don't think I'll be able to bike to work at all this week, I will still test out a Segway tomorrow.

Yes, I'll take the bullet for all of you who have thought both "Man, those things look cool" and "I would never be caught dead on one" at the same time.

I'll be that guy.

Until then, with my Star Wars lunchbox firmly in hand...

-- Kent Jennings Brockwell, co-editor

Wednesday: GRTCommuting, part two

Monday, April 28 at 2:22 p.m.

Though Wednesday's morning commute by bus went about as perfect as it could go, the rest of the day's mass transit travel was pretty normal.

To get home from work, I actually took a look at a bus schedule before I walked to the stop, though I was basically reversing the route I took during the morning. I arrived about ten minutes early so I hit up a nearby convenience store for a six-pack, my weekly lotto ticket and a newspaper. After finding a seat at the bus stop bench, I got through the front page and the entire sports section (about 15 minutes) before the No. 10 arrived.

When I got to Broad Street, I took my transfer and my five-pack (I was parched from waiting, OK?) and walked to the next stop. I only had to wait about three minutes before my bus arrived and I was home in no time.

On the way home, I walked by the cleaners from the bus stop and picked up my suit as well as some dinner from the diner next door.

Later that night, I had another bus travel experiment planned. Earlier in the day, I had bought tickets for the Old Crow Medicine Show performance at The National, which started at 8 p.m. When my special lady friend (Big Lebowski, anyone ... anyone?) arrived at my apartment, we headed to the bus stop, once again without consulting the GRTC's Web site for route information.

Within a few minutes a bus pulled up. As we boarded, we asked if it would take us by The National. The driver said it would and we were off.

Getting home via bus, however, might have been a problem. Many of the GRTC routes shut down around midnight and there was no telling when the show would let out.

Luckily, just as we walked out of The National around 11 p.m., there was a bus heading in the opposite direction. At least it was a sign that we might get home.

After we reached the bus stop, we were joined by a dozen or so over-served VCU students with the same idea. Though we waited for well over 20 minutes, our chariot finally arrived and it was fortunately headed toward our part of Broad. Shortly enough, we arrived at our stop and stumbled home.

All in all, our day of bus-only travel went pretty smoothly. Here are the numbers:

Travel time to work: 16 minutes

Total travel distance: 7.4 miles total, with about 0.8 miles of walking

Cost: $5.30 (Four one-way fares @ $1.25 with two 15-cent transfers)

Pollution Factor: Al Gore is smiling and crying at the same time (heavy pollution but it's shared between thousands of passengers a day)

-- Kent Jennings Brockwell, co-editor

Wednesday: GRTCommuting

Wednesday, April 23 at 12:49 p.m.

I used to ride the bus all the time when I was a lowly student at VCU, back when they gave out free bus fare cards. I loved the fact that I rarely paid for gas unless I was going on a date or hitting the town. I also loved the extra 20 minutes of sleep I got on the way to my 8 a.m. classes.

Also, my truck at the time didn't have air conditioning or front shocks to speak of so I enjoyed arriving on campus not covered in sweat with a ruptured kidney from bottoming out in one of the Fan's numerous cavernous potholes.

Today I am joining the 10 million other GRTC riders (at least that is how many customers GRTC said it had over the past two years) and I'm taking the bus all day long, starting with my commute to work.

Though you can preplan your trip on the GRTC's Web site, I decided to wing it just to see how difficult or easy taking the bus to work could be. Today I headed out the door and around the corner to a covered bus stop near Broad and Davis. Just as I reached the corner, the No. 6 bus pulled up.

Being that I was heading to Harrison Street where I would get on another bus to take me to Main Street, I hopped on, paid my fare and a transfer and took a seat with the ten or so others on the bus. It was $1.25 for the first ride and 15 cents for the transfer.

If you have never ridden the bus (or a city bus at all for some of you), it's really not that bad. It's clean, the seats are fairly comfortable, the air conditioning and the heat work very well and the ride is reasonably smooth and quiet. Depending on the length of your ride, it is the perfect opportunity to catch up on some reading, work on your laptop or simply take it easy until you get to your destination.