DC Roadhog

Has Applebies taken over the Addie's kitchen? Dinner there this week was quite a dissapointment. The food was overcooked, or should I say, left on the warming table for 20 minuites beyond when it should have been served. Both tables beside us, who sat down after us, were served well before we were, and though they appoligized for the wait time, when the food came, they did not appoligize for the dried meal. The fish looked as if it was one of those pre-made frozen single serve portions that you get at a chain plance, the veggies had enough salt in them to make the ocean seem fresh water. And the pork chop was tough, so tough that one of our guests lost a bridge What a let down, and all the other times, the food, has always been superb. For a $400 dinner for four, I expected more than what I would get at a Chain place in the mall.

Great event again this year. Always some great sources and lots and lots of samples. On the last day you needed a shopping cart to get out of the place.

Kate Hill in Chevy Chase DC Kate & Company 202.362.9704 or Louise Millikan in Tenleytown DC, ToDoLouise 202.270.7675 are both great to work with. Neither are cheap, they don't work for free, but you will find they are inovative and very skilled at providing wonderful food for events, not just weddings. (both great friends of mine who love organic food and the local farmer's markets.)

What a great way to get a rise out of a user who has not logged on in awhile. Though I was not thrilled to see the name I was reassigned as Roadhog! But I will take it since I am a car guy! Onward and upward!

And this site has gotten more out of it than that. Hey it has been a great glide with you guys, and next week, we will have a bunch of Segway HT users in town, from all over the country, for an event at Walter Reed Army Hospital for vets returning from Iraq who will be learning how to use the Segway to help them with their mobility. Dinner will be served......

Enough ALREADY We have had our fun, and it is time to get back to the business of good food and good customer service. And several of us got together on our Segways today - and had a marvelous meal, where we, and our Segways were most welcome.... Great site, I plan on spending more time on it finding out more about DC wild and wonderful places to eat and be merry!

This ongoing blog thread has made the Red Key - which is the Segway Users online news magazine. http://www.theredkey.net/

No problem about getting a glide, we would be glad to get you a demo Mr. Rocks. Or stop in at the downtown dealership, and they will give you an in-store, inside demo. On the topic of having your Segway valeted, when we were out at the Inn at Little Washington last spring, we did have them valeted! And just about everyone stopped by the table and asked about them. My favorite line from a downtown DC valet when I showed up on my Segway, was, "buddy for 10 bucks I will valet anything" Enjoy the Glide Folks!

Loved Beacon, we got there last winter. We got there as it opened on a Saturday evening, no tables for us either, but the bar was available, and it was the best place to sit, and mingle with the locals. Our waiter had a brother who lived in DC, and loved baseball, so we talked about the Nats and DC. Would highly recommend it, but who knows now that months have gone by, it is probably nothing that special anymore.

SegwayFest was a group of owners who came from all over the world to DC http://www.segwayfest.com/dc.html There are about 200 people each week who rent Segways from tour operators in DC in the high tourist season. http://www.citysegwaytours.com/washington/ http://www.segnation.com/ http://www.capitalsegway.com/cs/ http://www.segsinthecity.net/ Many tourists come to DC and rent Segways, then want to go out for a good dinner. So where should we send them, that they can talk about what a great time they had in DC, and about the DC Segway experience? Many DC area Segway owners, want to go out, with their Segways - and where should we send them? The DC SEG Group had talked about offering Segway Friendly window stickers to Segway Friendly businesses, so that Segway users would know where they are welcome. Now I think the time has come! For you sports fans - the first ever international Segway Polo Match will be held in New Zealand next month... http://www.bayareaseg.com/Polo.htm

Looks like there is a need for some education about the Segway Human Transporter on this site. Segways are Electric Personal Mobility Assistance Devices EPMAD's made here in the United States. They cost between 3 and 5 thousand dollars new. They are sold at dealerships, of which there are a good number in the Washington Region, and one in DC proper. Segways ARE NOT vehicles, and ARE NOT classified as vehicles in any state or district in the United States. Therefore there are no licensing requirements for Segways. In Maryland and Virginia, you can purchase Segway Insurance, but not in DC, here Segways are under your household insurance. Segways are legal in 44 states and the District of Columbia for use; some municipalities have modified laws for use to fit their specific communities' needs. Segways are rechargeable, battery powered, self balancing, 2 wheeled human transporters, that can stand still, move at a snails pace, or up to 12.5 mph or anywhere in between at the users control. They can go up to 24 miles on a single charge. There are several types of Segway HT's available. The I series, which most people have that take up the same amount of space that a person does, when standing, and add 8 inches to the height of the person using the Segway. There is the smaller P model, which are a fewer of, and not many of here in DC, which was designed as a lighter weight machine for indoor use. There is the XT model, with large tires, which is designed for off road use, and not really an urban transporter. Segway I's & P's have silica-based tires, like wheelchair tires, that do not mar floors and were designed for both indoor and outdoor use. Segways require a digitally encrypted key called an I-button, and each Segway comes with 3 of them that control the speed of the machine, up to 5 mph, up to 8 mph and up to 12.5 mph. Without that specific key the Segway cannot be turned on. You can use a bike lock to secure a Segway. Segways are tough virtually indestructible and very dependable machines, that take a lot to damage them, so they would not be easily hurt if they were stuffed in a coatroom. Popping wheelies on them is not an easy task because the computer controlling the Segway is always monitoring the machine. There are some folks who do extreme segging, but not many here in DC. Anyone who uses a Segway goes through a training program (and that includes the customers of the several DC tour companies around town.) Like any thing, it takes some getting used to, and most Segway users master the Segway within a few hours. We have a population of about 1000 privately owned Segways in the immediate DC area, and numerous units owned and used by the federal government, Metro, and local corporations. Many police departments and security forces, as well as the DC and Alexandria Police Depts are using Segways. Segways are in all three of our airports, and at airports around the country. Segways do not pose a threat to anyone, but do offer users a viable alternative to fossil fuel powered transportation. Next time you have trouble finding a parking space, or are mad because of traffic, think, you could have used a Segway HT instead!

DCDOT offers to install bike racks all around the city. Contact Jim Sebastian at Ddot who is the bike coordinaor for DC, for more information. An accessible bike rack would make many gliders very happy. Also many large DC buildings that offer indoor parking, also must have an indoor bike parking area, something else worth finding out. Segways are often seen locked up there. And the ones that have power outlets make it a great reason for Segways to be parked in a designated area. Allowing disabled gliders into a place of business on a Segway will be a big help for them and provide a more positive feeling all around.

First of I am NOT "The" Segway user - as Don asked when he approved my registration for this site. But I am the co-founder of the DC Segway Enthusiasts Group, as well as the President of Segway Enthusiasts Group America, so I do know something about Segways and the user community. Let me say, that it IS rude for anyone to just glide with his or her Segway into any place of business, with out first asking if it is OK. We encourage our SEG members to be responsible gliders and not just assume that they and their machines are welcome anywhere without first asking. On the other hand, we do have a good number of disabled Segway users who find the Segway makes their everyday lives easier, and give them the mobility they have been denied, and that a wheelchair or powered wheelchair does not offer them. A number of these users have given up their wheelchairs and use their Segway HT's in place of what everyone thinks of as what a handicapped person should be using. It is unlawful to ask any person if, or what, their disability is. So unless they tell you, how would anyone know if they are handicapped? Many folks can stand, but cannot walk. So just because they have a disability does not mean they are to sit out their life. Though I think the man on the Segway showed some poor judgment, assuming that his machine was welcome in Bistro Bis, he may have assumed that since he was already using it within the hotel, it was fine to do so inside of the restaurant. The Segway user could have approached the situation differently. Though it is equally as bad to say that disabled people should only get accommodation if its obvious they're disabled, or announce to the world the same. Someone with MS who can stand perfectly well, but can barely walk a step, can with a Segway, move around without hindrance and with full dignity. . I know many of you have seen the trouble disabled persons have in feeling comfortable in places like restaurants, just stepping up or down one step to enter, sitting down at a table, or even more troubling, having to ask for assistance to use the restrooms, can be quite an effort and an embracement for them. People, who are disabled, really do not want to advertise the fact that they are disabled. What they want is to live their lives like everyone else with the freedom and dignity that we all deserve, especially when we are doing something enjoyable like eating at a DC restaurant. Last fall when DC hosted SegwayFest DC, we had a number of disabled folks attend with their Segways. Not one of them had any problem in a restaurant. Actually no one, disabled or abled bodied, had problems. Individuals and groups took their Segways in to Ceiba, Acadiana, Beacon Bar and Grill, Hooters DC, and Occidental, to mention a few, without any problems or discrimination. When it was a group dinning event, during the reservation process it was said that they would be coming on their Segways, once at the restaurants, most offered the users the opportunity to bring the Segways into the establishments without a problem. Even our host hotel, The Hotel Washington, was most accommodating to our user community, allowing Segway use throughout their historic building. I am sorry to hear that our Segway user community ruffled feathers with the restaurant community during the busy and crazy time of restaurant week. But on the other hand, you are in the hospitality business! And a little consideration and communication on both sides would have gone a long way here. But of course then none of this would have made the Reliable Source and gotten so much attention as it has. Just to let you know that In February an army of Segway users will be coming to DC, for a Segs4Vets event. Where the Disability Rights Advocates for Technology (DRAFT) (http://www.draft.cc/draft3/) will be training the rehabilitation staff at Walter Reed, so that veterans returning from the Iraq war with a missing leg, can make use of a Segway to help them in their mobility. No doubt a good number of these Segway users will want to spend money and time enjoying many of DC's fine restaurants. I do hope you will show them the courtesy that all your customers deserve. If you have any questions about Segway, or need a demonstration on the saftey of Segways, the DC Segway Enthusiasts Group will be glad to show you how useful these machines are. In the mean time - lets keep folks dinning and shopping in DC, no matter how they get there, by cab, subway or Segway! (DC even has it's own downtown Segway Dealer - Captial Segway - so you will be seeing more Segway users at your establishments in the coming years.) William West Hopper Gliding on a Segway HT and going out to more DC restaurants who like Segway users as customers!