Have you ever wondered how hard it would be to ride one of those strange looking two wheel electric Segway contraptions? It's a peculiar machine that some people look upon as they do the mechanical riding bull in Gilley’s Bar in Urban Cowboy. We recently took on the challenge of a first Segway ride, and we are here to tell you – it’s more like riding an escalator than a bull.
Get out and try one
Our adventure started in Pacifica, California, just 15 miles south of San Francisco on scenic California Highway 1. We dropped in on Silicon Segway, and talked with owners Joe Trimble and Jim Heldberg about how the Segway transporter works.
It didn’t take long and we were involved in a brief, but thorough training session, watched a how-to video, and selected safety helmets. Before we knew it, we were rolling Segways out the storefront door and preparing to take on the byways of beautiful Pacifica.
Jim Heldberg was our tour guide, and he quickly had us up on our machines practicing all the basic maneuvers. Within minutes, we were sufficiently confident in our ability to ride a Segway, so we moved off the practice pad and took off along an oceanside trail.
The Segway is an amazing machine
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When you turn on the power, the Segway lets you know when it’s time to climb aboard. You step up, one foot at a time, and the machine automatically balances itself for your weight and proportions. You lean forward to move forward and backward to move backward. It should be more complicated than that, but it isn’t.
You turn the stick right and you go right. Turn it far right and you will spin around in a perfect circle. Lean forward a little and you will spin faster, lean backward and you will start to spin backward. That’s all there is to it.
After a short while, the two-wheel electric scooter feels like an extension of your body. You learn to adjust your speed by leaning forward and backward in a matter of minutes, and then away you go.
Your forward top speed is 12 miles per hour, and the machine will gently pull back if the limit is exceeded.
Jim took us for a tour of an old rock quarry, and up a substantial hill with twelve switchbacks – and a spectacular view of the ocean. By the time we reached the top, we were all confident in our ability as novice Segwayers.
If you decide to try a Segway
Silicon Segway provides tours and sales of Segway transporters. Check here for tour schedules. Joe told us, “Jim and I recently initiated a new Segway tour of Treasure Island, and it has fabulous views of San Francisco.” We cannot wait to take it.
After riding a Segway, you may want one for Christmas. New machine prices start at $5K+, and used machines are available.
The Segway range is about 24 miles per charge, and it costs about ten-cents worth of electricity for a full charge – very GREEN.
A Segway tour is great family fun, but check with the owners for age and size restrictions. We know there is no top age limit because Jim said, “So far our oldest tour participant was 92.”
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© Travels with Wayne and Judy (syndicated)
Photos © Wayne and Judy Bayliff
Comments
After reading your article about the Segway I think my wife and I will put this on our list to try. It sounds like fun. Thanks
Wayne and Judy: Glad to see Judy back in the pics. We did a Segway tour of Snow Canyon in St. George Utah and loved it. I wish more cities would make it easier for us to use them around town.
WOW!! I want to try it!!
Very cool. Wondered how people stayed up without falling.
I am reminded of a tour group I once saw zipping through the Champs de Mars in Paris on Segways. That looks fun, I thought to myself. My next thought was, I wonder if my insure will cover death by Segway. Always cautious but you may have inspired me to try it.
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