Segway PTs parked at bridge on Asheville Greenway

Yes I know the Segway is a nerd toy, but I have wanted to try one ever since they appeared on the scene a few years back. Hey it’s got two wheels & a motor. In fact it has two motors. Sure it’s not as cool as this but it is a whole lot more accessible.

Ok, this is sexier than a Segway, but a whole lot harder to start & turn.

I guess I’m just an oversized heavily muscled nerd who is also a redneck motorcyclist, because I really enjoyed riding this thing on a recent tour around Asheville N.C. This foray into a pleasant couple of hours of geek enjoyment began as I was trying to use up my Marriot Rewards free hotel stay before it expired, so I booked a room at the Courtyard in Asheville & started checking on the internet for tours & guides & saw the Moving Sidewalk Tours website. After checking the very reasonable prices I booked two Segway PTs for the tour, one for me & one for my beautiful, patient, long suffering partner in life. Of course this led to her asking me that question that women have been asking men for thousands of years, “you want me to do what?”. I have invited her to write her own opinion at the end of my review, so be sure to read it too.

The world famous Heck’s Angels lol

At the beginning of the tour there is a short class to get you acclimated with the operation of the machine. Once you put aside all of your preconceived notions & the instincts that you have developed riding all other two wheeled transportation, the controls become very intuitive.

In one way a Segway is like riding a horse, when you first learn to ride & you step up on the platform it will wiggle & dance under you a little bit. If you are nervous it will reflect that by being a little jiggly when you are trying to be still or start to maneuver. It feels like it is alive under your feet, but quickly settles down once you relax. The simple truth is that it is almost impossible to fall off of one without being really stupid. Just lean your whole body forward to go, & back to stop. For turning you tilt the handle bars in the direction you wish to go. After a few turns around the parking lot our group was ready to go. Our guide Wes was very considerate and the first leg of the tour was down a quiet residential street full of older homes before we ventured uptown to the tourist, shopping, & entertainment district.

One of my preconceived notions about these machines is that they were toys to be used on skating rink smooth surfaces. They handled pavement, sidewalks, & bike trails with aplomb even though these were the street going version, a few bumps and jolts didn’t upset them at all.

All in all this is a great machine, especially for a city dweller who works & shops within a few miles of home. Sure the top speed is only about 12.5 mph or so, but the view standing up on the platform above everything else on the street or sidewalk is terrific. The range is rated at 24 miles & I am inclined to believe that unlike some electric vehicles that it is an honest number.

Now I just got to try one of the off-road versions somewhere! Perhaps the company should send me one for a long term evaluation. 😉 I swear I’ll take good care of it and let everyone in the world know if it’s any good or not.

Peace Y’all

And Now It’s Time For Mrs. Psyco’s Opinion!

After my initial shock that we were going to be riding on these contraptions, I said to myself they can’t be that hard to ride so I made up my mind that I would try. Then we meet the other couple that was going to ride with us and they were much older than we are and they said it was so easy, so I was really ready to go. But when I stepped on it, it went to wiggling and I tried to get off but I couldn’t keep it still, so I said help me I can not do this, I want to get off. So Wes helped me off and I looked back at Floyd and I saw that he had it figured out. I decided to try again and after trying several times and being  told to relax and not to hold on so tight I finally got it. It took me between five and ten minutes and then I was on my way loving it and feeling so carefree. What a rush!

Thanks to Moving Sidewalk Tours for an enjoyable afternoon.