Last summer, the summer that the blog was brand new, was the summer of new adventures, of things I'd never tried before. Sailing, kayaking, skydiving, etc.
This summer has been a good one, but it's definitely been filled with more low-key activities.
Thinking back on the big thrills of a year ago, I decided it was about time I tried something brand new again.
I determined ahead of time that riding a Segway around downtown Milwaukee probably wouldn't be as thrilling as some of the other aforementioned activities – but I was wrong. Yesterday morning was probably the most fun I've had all summer – and that's saying a lot, considering it's been a pretty great few months.
Dave and I drove down to Segway of Milwaukee in the Third Ward yesterday and arrived at 10 a.m. sharp for our tour. Two other couples were waiting when we got there, and we were promptly greeted by the owner and our tour guide, who told us that we'd be getting a quick tutorial and a training session indoors before we headed out for our two-hour tour around the city.
We loaded into the elevators together and rode up to the third floor where the Segway training area is. We sat down and filled out liability waivers and then Dennis went on to tell us about the machines before us.
He said that the number one question he gets when he's out riding a Segway is "how do you balance that thing?"
The answer: you don't balance it, it balances you.
This machine is incredibly smart, hence the hype around it when it was first invented. The computer inside of it registers your body position 100 times per second and adjusts accordingly. It makes a noise at you (or yells at you) if you do something you're not supposed to, like go backwards too quickly or mount it when it's not balanced. (A little green smiley face on the display screen lets you know when it's balanced.)
Going forward and backward is done completely by moving your hips. Lean forward, it moves forward; leans backwards, it goes backwards. The faster and farther you lean, the faster it goes. You steer it with a lever on the left handlebar. Twist it forward, you turn left; twist it backward, you turn right. Again, the faster you turn the lever, the faster you'll spin.
For the next 45 minutes, one by one we were given our Segways, and taught how to safely mount and dismount, how to turn, how to stop, etc. Once we had a feel for it, we had to go over the different obstacles that simulated what we'd be facing once we hit the streets: curbs, uneven terrain, potholes, etc. Getting on for the first time was pretty scary, because you're not sure if you'll fall. Of course you won't, and after the initial wobbling, you feel comfortable pretty quickly.
Once we'd gone over our obstacles, we moved into another room and zig-zagged through cones for awhile. After everyone had gone through the lesson, we were ready to head outside. There had been a few mishaps – for example, I got overconfident and nearly smashed into a wall – but we were all feeling pretty ready.
We had to pull our Segways onto the elevator and then ease them down a flight of stairs before we were finally out on the sidewalk. Dave volunteered to be the number two man, so he was directly behind the tour guide for our whole trip, and like little ducklings, we all followed where she led.
It was the most fantastic summer day – the sun was shining bright and there was a cool breeze coming off the lake. Our tour took us through the Third Ward, where we stopped a few times and learned about the fire of the late 1800's that burned much of the area, the firehouse, the new condos that were going up, the Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design, and the Milwaukee Public Market.
Each time we got to an intersection, the tour guide (I feel terrible that I can't remember her name – I really liked her, but I guess I was having too much fun to register her name) would go out into the middle of the road to make sure it was safe and then we'd scoot across. At one point I got such a case of the giggles because Dave would approach the ramps up onto the curbs so slowly and carefully. I wanted to go fast, but since he was right ahead of me, I couldn't. I told him it reminded me of our kayaking outing when he was Mr. Slow Poke.
Our first stop to play around at bit was down at the Summerfest grounds, and we took a few minutes to zoom around the open area. The feeling was incredible! When leaning forward really far, the Segway pushes back against you until it's completely vertical, so that it doesn't go any faster than its current max speed. (at this point, our max speed was set at 5mph.) Rocking back and forth was awesome – lean forward really far and get going really fast, and then lean back and stop – then turn and do it again. It was completely exhilarating – I loved it.
We ventured on and made it down near Discovery World and Pier Wisconsin. This is when our tour guide let us know that we could increase our speed by using one of the colored keys that was attached to our machine. We inserted our yellow keys and just like that, we had upped our max speed to 8mph. The difference was pretty significant! Not only could we go forward faster, but we turned a lot faster, too. Once again, she let us play around for a few minutes and it was a blast.
Side note: Segways can go up to 12mph, but for insurance purposes, we could only go up to 8mph. It was probably for the best – those babies felt FAST at 8mph. Anyway, we'd been going for about an hour by now, so we were told to dismount and walk around for a few minutes since we were probably feeling it in our knees and legs by now. I was feeling it in my back, all that back and forth action, and it felt good to walk around a little.
It was right around noon at this point, so we got to watch the wings of the Milwaukee Art Museum close and then open again. I've never been down there at the right time to see this and it was really cool! A whole big group of people had gathered on the bridge over Lincoln Memorial Drive to watch.
After a few minutes, we hopped back on our Segways and continued down the lakefront path, and when we reached the huge grassy area we were allowed to play around again. Dave and I had a race and of course no one really won since our machines went exactly the same speed, but we just couldn't stop laughing, it was so much fun. I swear, my cheeks hurt by this point because I just couldn't stop smiling!
My favorite parts of the tour were being able to play around like that, and I thought it was nice because often when you take tours, like horseback riding or something similar, you have to keep your speed down and follow the leader at all times – which of course gets boring! There was no boredom here, though.
Dave got reprimanded in this field (half kiddingly, of course) because he was going fast and tried to turn and fell off his machine for a split second – when we were specifically told, don't bail on your machine! Almost everyone in the group had at least one incident on the tour – I tried to turn around and take a picture and fell off for a second before almost hitting a curb, another guy completely hit a wall on the Riverwalk, and another woman hit the side of a building – of course they were all because we got too confident and stopped paying attention!
After we rode along the Riverwalk, our tour took us back up overlooking the Art Museum and finally back through the Third Ward. Before we arrived yesterday, I thought, wow, I'm not sure if I want to spend three whole hours of my morning doing this – I'm a busy lady! But when we got back, I wished we could stay on longer!
Dave and I had fallen to the back of the line by this point and when we knew we were nearing the store, we started to try and eek out every last moment of enjoyment that we possibly could. At every intersection when we had to wait, we'd do spins and jet off on our own really fast for a couple of seconds. When we got back to Segway of Milwaukee, of course we were the last to get off of our machines. I mean, who knows when we'll get to be on a Segway again! I likened it to when I was little and it was time to get out of the swimming pool – I'd dunk my head under and do handstands and somersaults all the way to the ladder, and of course I'd be the last one out of the pool, every single time. I don't like when the fun is over!
We pulled our machines up the steps and into the elevators, and parked them next to the walls so they could be charged up for the next tour. We tipped our tour lady and said our good-byes to each other in the elevator.
The two other couples we were with obviously had a blast, too – we all walked out of there completely energized and excited.
The seven of us got a lot of attention while we were out and about; people watched as we went by, cars honked their horns, construction workers and little kids waved. Several people asked us where we got these and if they were fun. Well, duh!
Segway of Milwaukee does good business – they do two tours per day, at 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. The largest group they'll take out on one tour is eight people. The youngest they can take is 12 years old, and they said the oldest people they've had on tours have been in their seventies.
If you wanted to buy a Segway of your own, they're about $5,000. That's quite an expensive toy! I pondered in my previous post: remember when Segways were supposed to be the next big thing? Well, they certainly do live up to the hype, but who can really afford a $5,000 vehicle that tops out at 12mph?
As a fun, touristy thing to do on a summer weekend, a Segway tour can't really be beat. A woman on our tour commented on what a fun, unique wedding or birthday gift it would make for someone, too.
At $70/person for three hours, a tour isn't exactly cheap, but it's completely worth it if you have the money. The feeling of zooming around on something that keeps you on top of it no matter which way you move is totally awesome. It's unlike anything I've ever done before.
I see on their website that Segways are available to rent, as long as you've taken a tour and know what you're doing – and can fork over $2,000 if you break it! Now that's what I'm talking about – I'd spend the entire three hours zooming around at top speeds!
You know you've done something cool when you go to bed at night and feel like you're still on the thing – that's how I felt after sailing last year and that's how I always feel when I've spent the day riding rollercoasters. Last night I had the sensation of going back and forth, back and forth on a Segway – and I couldn't help but laugh at the feeling.
I loved it. Have I mentioned that already?
I notice when everyone else is getting ready, Dave is *not* wearing his helmet. And where is his fanny pack?!
Posted by: Andre | September 03, 2006 at 12:34 PM
Did you run over any war protesters during your tour?
Posted by: Axel | September 04, 2006 at 08:47 AM
I'm kind of disappointed that Dave didn't try jumping the river with his like he said he was going to. I guess that's the sort of thing you'd need a red, white, and blue helmet and cape for.
Posted by: Scott | September 05, 2006 at 11:06 AM
I drove over a puddle next to the Milwaukee River. Too bad Erin didn't snap an action photo. It was X-TREME!!!!!!!
Posted by: Dave | September 05, 2006 at 12:37 PM
This looks like so much fun. What a great way to explore the city, too, for those who may have just moved to the area or are looking to move there. Glad you enjoyed it!
Posted by: Amanda | September 05, 2006 at 04:58 PM
hahah I love touristy little gimmicky things. They make me laugh, just as this post did =)
Posted by: Christi | September 06, 2006 at 10:54 AM
Hey Erin,
Looks like you two had an awesome time. I know the feeling too because I went Segway golfing today! Check out my post over at Mirr World about it: http://mirrworld.blogspot.com/2006/09/segway-golfing.html
I have some video clips too, which really capture how fun Segways are to use.
I'll have to check out the city tour sometime soon!
Posted by: bluesphee | September 08, 2006 at 11:45 PM
I'm glad you had a fun Segway experience. More of the same for your readers who come and join us. Thanks for the excellent write up. The PR will do us good! Maybe I'll even get a raise!
Posted by: Tour guide Kaye | September 11, 2006 at 10:12 PM