A seamless segue from human to robot

I did something I never thought I’d do. I took a Segway tour of my own city. And it was…awesome! Part human, part robot, and part nerd, it made the familiar streets feel new again. Maybe it was just the fact that people rushed to get out of my way. That was certainly new. I feel like people usually are very much in my way.

I bought some Living Social deals for SegCity and made a reservation for the location on 17th Street. We picked out some rad helmets and sat down for some mumbled instruction while our guide raced around on her Segway. Then it was time for individual turns while we practiced balancing, going forward and backward, figure eights and stopping short.

We signed wavers and nervously headed out to the streets.

Our guide lined us up single file and we would stay in that order for the duration. The weakest of the herd was up front, so no one was in danger of falling behind. After only a few minutes we were all riding like pros and cruising around the city.

It’s pretty cool how you accelerate and steer through very subtle movements in your feet. Your hands are merely holding on for balance, which means you can let go often and take photos, fix your hair, etc.

My favorite parts were tailgating my father and slaloming through the columns at Palmer Events Center. Circling around the capitol was cool, too, because there was no traffic and you could really open that baby up.

We were entertained for a good three hours. I’m adding a SegWay to the list of expensive toys I want one day.