My Next Ride? Probably Not.

[dhgeyer]

I've been seriously curious about these critters ever since Dean Kamen announced them on December 3, 2001. They're made here in Manchester, NH. Of course we've all seen them around, but I had never had a chance to try one out. About 2 weeks ago, Segway opened a retail outlet in a storefront on Hanover Street in downtown Manchester. They started advertising Segway tours of the historical mill district, complete with narration by a very knowledgeable tour guide. Sue got to go along free, being a Granite State Ambassador (think info booth at the airport). GSA's get all kinds of free stuff because all the hotels, restaurants, and tourist activity places want the GSA's to know all about them and be favorably inclined. I had to pay $69.00.

Anyway, after about a 45 minute training session (that really is all it takes), we were off for an hour and a half tour of the mill district and riverfront.

Impressions: They are, as claimed, easy to operate, although not quite as intuitive as I had imagined. They are fun. They will go about 24 miles on 20 cents worth of electricity, after a 10 to 12 hour recharge. Sue and I had a great time, and covered several miles on the tour, which we could never have done in that time on foot. We could have done it on bicycles, but we would have been more tired. They definitely have their uses. On the downside, they have no suspension at all. I can only guess that adding a suspension would be impractical given the unique way they are controlled. At any rate, we were advised to bend our knees for every little bump, and even doing that it was a rough ride over anything but a very smooth surface. Also, Sue and I both noticed that our calf muscles got tired very quickly, and after the tour, our feet hurt. I attribute this to the fact that, since the vehicle is controlled partly by foot pressure on the pads you stand on, you can't move your feet at all while in motion, and only gingerly when standing still without causing unwanted movement. I suspect the calf muscles would adapt in regular use, just as the muscles for riding a motorcycle do after a while. As for the sore feet, most of the people who use them aren't on them for 45 minutes at a time with no break (we did take one break where we got off for a few minutes). More breaks would have been better.

Sooooo, that's one more to scratch off the "Bucket List", and a good time was had by all. It won't replace the motorcycle or the bicycle, or revolutionize the way we all live, as was originally claimed.