Quest

Thanks to John and Jon from the San Diego Union Tribune for their detailed article on the Zuumer, ZuumQuest, and our very own Tom Boyd!  

The Orange County Register’s Laylan Connelly asked a surfer and a skater what they thought before we zuumed into San Diego!

CBS News 8 (san diego) covered the Zuumer, as fun, green transportation!  

Car Guy Dave Stall’s coverage on KUSI San Diego, as stable, alternative transportation!

San Diego CW Channel 6 News in the Morning Coverage (following the ad):

ZoomiLife Blog Coverage of the Zuumer - Following the EV Industry 

ZoomiLife Blog review after test driving the Zuumer:

[I'm buying one] Because the Zuumer is the single most innovative, most useful, and most fun VLEV (Very Light Electric Vehicle) that I’ve ever ridden, and I’ve tried a few. And I don’t impress easily.

Mark Maynard and Dave Stall’s Show on SignOnRadio.com with our own Tom Boyd.

GizMag.com’s excellent wrap-up of ZuumQuest ‘08!

Stay tuned, more to come!

Today saw the end of ZuumQuest ‘08 - ahead of schedule and with a warm welcome from the San Diego Union Tribune.  As we topped Hill Street in Point Loma we stopped for a minute to look down on downtown San Diego, San Diego Harbor, and the Coronado Bridge!  We spent most of the day by the Star of India and the rest of the San Diego Maritime Museum - talking to lots of people interested in our take on fun, green transportation.

Zuumers at the Coronado Bridge, San Diego

Tourists (cruise ship terminal nearby) and locals (running or walking dogs) stopped to talk about the Zuumer and the trip it just made.  Before we knew it, we had a small crowd gathered, eager to learn more about surfing on land and “How can I order a Zuumer?”

We couldn’t ask for a better homecoming, more sunshine, or a better end to our trip down the coast.  Some stats:

650+ miles on 1 Zuumer
1000+ people test driving the Zuumer in 14 days
100 miles in one day, conquering the hills of Big Sur
4 College Campuses
Multiple Silicon Valley Corporate Campuses
1 Alt Car Expo
The Response from Countless Beach Communites…priceless

On the second to last leg of the trip we went through Oceanside, Carlsbad, Leucadia, Encinitas (including an impromptu demo at Hansen Surf Shop), Del Mar, and, finally, crossed into the city of San Diego.  As we climbed the hill at Torrey Pines (at about 13 MPH!), and the sand gave way to trees, we knew we were getting close.  After a brief stop at UCSD, the Zuumer made it down La Jolla Shores Drive.  The beach and La Jolla Coves had a decent size crowd, especially for a weekeday, and the Zuumer got more than a few looks from surfers, tourists, and locals.  Two even had the time for a converstation about the future of battery technologies!  

It is hard to beat the afternoon along the home stretch of a trip that has shown us most of the California Coast…

Another day at the beach!  We spent the day riding Zuumers along the boardwalk (and giving new meaning to the term “rubbernecking”). Three Zuumers carving prompted questions, looks, and more “cool” and “awesome” reactions than we could count… 

Sunday afternoon along some of the best Southern California has to offer…

With great thanks to the organizers, and to the over four hundred visitors who waited in long lines to test-drive the Zuumers, we left the Santa Monica Civic Center and headed south. Our time at the Alt Car Expo was one of the highlights of this trip down the coast, and we’ll be sure to mark next year’s show on our calender. We were impressed by the Zero Motorcycle, the many flavors of plug-in Priuses, the NEVs, the Chevy Volt and the others that aded to the range of exibitors present. Equally impressive was the curiousity and passion for EVS, particularly that of of the visitors to the show. We answered thousands of questions over the course of the day and we were happy to share what we know about Zuumers, EVs, Green Technology, and surfing on terra firma (aka carving up a storm in the civic center parking lot).

Thanks again to the hundreds who rode, expressed interest, inquired about deposits, offered collaboration…

Today we made the stunning ride from Santa Barbara to Santa Monica - passing through Malibu and lines of surf wagons!  Both the surfers and cyclists who were out today caught glimpses of the Zuumer glding by - a few even stopped us to take a closer look! With hundreds of Zuumed miles behind us, we arrived at the Alt Car Expo in Santa Monica…more on this great event after a full day there tomorrow (Saturday, at the Santa Monica Civic Center).

Zuumer amongst the ubiquitous beach cruisers in Santa Barbara

Santa Barbara’s own Mayor Marty Blum test drove the Zuumer today (along with a few of her enthusiastic staff).  In the Mayor’s own words:

“Santa Barbara cares deeply about its environment. We believe sustainable transportation electric vehicles like the Zuumer, are useful, if not essential, to reduce traffic congestion and carbon exhaust emissions that pollute our beautiful skies.”

left to right: William Lofft, Mayor Marty Blum, Tom Boyd

The ZuumCrafters spent some time at UCSB today - we had the opportunity to meet with a variety of campus staff - especially those that use Electric Vehicles on campus.  Our Zuumers went over well with the group (and even better with those who saw the Zuumers carve and came outside to join in!).  Thanks to Arjun and the hardworking group at UCSB:

After wrapping up some other meetings (more later), we guest lectured Adam Green’s class on Sustainability at Santa Barbara City College - the students had a blast riding the Zuumers around SBCC.  Thanks to Adam for inviting us to be a small part of his project based course, and to the students for their excellent questions and feedback - we hope to see all of you soon!

With hundreds of miles behind us, as well as the summits of countless hills, the Zuumer is still a blast to ride downhill. When we surf it (feet apart) or ski it (feet together) - we’re enjoying the predictable, controlled way you can lean into a turn.  

Leaving the Santa Maria (where we stopped the day before, south of  SLO) we headed south towards Santa Barbara - after some time on the old stagecoach trail (could the stagemen have imagined a silent electric vehicle making the same trip 120 years later?), it was time for our Zuumer to take on the last large hill towards the Santa Barbara sand. We were happy with the performance of our now well-abused test Zuumer, and particularly its hill climbing ability.  

On our way to hanging out by the beach, we stopped at the Amtrak station - as we found out getting on and off the train with a Zuumer isn’t much different from what dozens of Santa Barbara cyclists-commuters do daily…