Thursday, April 13, 2006

Give up your job to ride 10 mph across the USA?

Feeling burnt out by the rat race, Josh Caldwell and Hunter Weeks stepped off the corporate treadmill and quit their comfy corporate jobs. Some of might feel jealous at this point. Some might even dream of retiring a few years early - or taking a year’s unpaid leave - to go travelling. But what would they do instead of the daily grind? Ride a Segway across the USA, chart their progress on 10mph.com (the Segway’s maximum speed), and then edit their video footage into a film? Unlikely, but true.

You can read all about the road trip expedition on their website and even watch the film’s trailer. After rather a lot of battery changes, and hospitality from strangers along the route, they made it from Seattle to Boston, even extending the trip an extra few miles to drive up to Segway’s HQ.

To quote Rose, one of the 10 mph team:
“[The] story will exhibit the America we saw at just 10 mph, the scenery and the stories of the land, the people, and the crew of the film while highlighting the humor, drama, and ultimately very personal imbroglios one must face to pursue the American Dream by starting a business in this modern land of opportunity.”
Over the last year, the 200 hours of footage has been edited down, and the finished product is now being previewed at film festivals across the US: Vail, East Lansing (where it won first place in the documentary competition) and Longbaugh.

The website sums it all up in some appalling prose:
The story is unique and will inspire many with the bold decisions Hunter and Josh made to pursue their dream. Their use of the Segway to travel across the USA creates a modern day, twisted, and very slow road trip, which acts as the perfect catalyst to their transformation as individuals. They become filmmakers and more importantly they learn the essence of what life is all about. But it's not without challenges, risks, and sacrifices.
Personally, I found it fun keeping track with their progress across the states – and I was just a little bit jealous that they had the guts to through with it. And I even have a 10 mph T-shirt to prove it!

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