Something to Think About

Just lean forward,” he says. I instantly go forward. Panic city! “OK, stand up straight.” It stops. I am standing on two wheels that roll but have no brakes. He says to lean back. I do and I roll backward. With his instructions to give the right handlebar a twist, I turn around in place. He comforts me, “No matter which way you lean or how far, you cannot fall over when the key is turned on, unless,” he adds, and I pay close attention, “you go over an extremely uneven surface such as one wheel on a curb. The machine will sense and react to subtle shifts in your balance.”

As a writer, I use a “segue” to transition from one thought to another, but inventor Dean Kamen, used the word as his inspiration for a creation, the “Segway.” They claim a Segway Personal Transporter “transforms a person into an empowered pedestrian, allowing him/her to go farther and move more quickly.”

Ah, once again I am “empowered.” It goes along with the theory, “I am Woman; I can do anything” (until such time as I can’t!).

Always on the lookout for an unusual activity, my eyes lit up when I saw “SegTours of Anchorage” in the 2007 edition of Milepost. I hadn’t taken advantage of the offered ride on what the ad called, “a gyroscopically enhanced human transporter” in New Hampshire in 2004, so I wasn’t going to let the opportunity slip by again. I was fascinated with the gyroscope as a child. But wait a minute, I certainly wasn’t interested in twirling on a string until I fell like that thing did!
Just in Time

Cathy and Ron Benton, my companions in this four-week RV adventure, and I, were fortunate enough to get in under the wire for a tour. We flew in on August 28 and picked up our RV rental the next day. Our Segway guide, Alan Weinstein, had scheduled his last seasonal tour August 30. I think he added a 5 o’clock tour just for our benefit. A prerequisite to joining a SegTour was that you be there a half-hour early for orientation and training.

Alan works out of the Remember Alaska gift shop in downtown Anchorage. He explained to us that “learning to ride a Segway is simple. There is no reason to be intimidated.” Right! He strapped us into the required helmets and we each rolled our Segways through the store and out to the sidewalk. The wheels were a little bigger, but it was very much like being a kid again and pushing the old-fashioned family lawnmower. If only that job had been this much fun!

When Alan isn’t motivating tourists into trying something new, he teaches a classroom of blind children, which explains his wonderful patience and encouraging tone. He looked at the three of us and said, “Some individuals take longer to learn than others. Who needs to be first?” I immediately raised my hand, wondering how he already knew my history. He was amazed how fast I learned and trust me, so was I!

Seeing the Sights
He actually turned me loose to practice as he instructed Cathy and Ron. They learned easily, too. Our first stop was the Town Square with its beautiful gardens and flowers. He gave us a few more pointers, especially on backing. As we continued, he showed us how to turn into the curb front and center at the lowest level. We were traveling a maximum of six mph.

He pointed out the Alaska Range, the Alaska Statehood Monument and views of the original Anchorage town site. A storm was gathering black clouds to threaten our dryness, so we didn’t see Mt. McKinley in the distance.

After he felt we were familiar enough with how the Segway worked, he keyed the mileage up to 8 mph. I thought going down the big hill toward the Alaska Railroad Terminal and the Ulu Factory would be pretty scary but with leaning forward and back to control my speed, it was really exciting. Alan took us on the boardwalk past the Bridge Salmon Bake and Grille built over Ship Creek, to the Ship Creek salmon viewing area but they apparently hadn’t read the brochure because we didn’t see any fish.

Pace Quickens
As we went back up the hill, he turned the speed up again, this time to 12 mph. I mostly didn’t have a problem with this but it turned much more quickly at that speed and since my brain was traveling at only 9 mph, I almost ran into a couple of walls. Cook Inlet Overlook was our last stop. The cloud bank, still building, obliterated the distant mountains, a great view nonetheless. Our circuitous route took us back to Town Square in short order and just in time to reach the RV without getting soaked.

I realized my feet were feeling stressed. Like anything else, if you rode a Segway more often, you would get used to the subtle maneuvering that manages your balance. It was really amazing how much territory we covered in 90 minutes. One of my first thoughts when I considered this tour, was why would I want to tour Anchorage? I had already been there a number of times. However, Alan was a different leader with new stories and it was far more fun seeing the sights on a Segway.

Cathy and Ron said later that they wondered if the SegTour would be worth the cost. I wanted them to love it for $49 a person and they did.

The Segway was invented in 1999, put on the market in 2002, and is now known throughout the world. Powered by two lithium-ion batteries, the Segway uses computer processors to mimic human equilibrium and has a range of 24 miles on a single charge. With zero emissions and an energy efficiency equivalent to 450 miles per gallon, is the Segway our “Wheels of the Future?”

Ya just have to think ahead. I’ve heard that many RVers have decided that instead of going into a nursing home when they finally get old, they’ll take around-the-world cruises for about the same price. Throw a Segway into the mix and we could really tear up those decks!

Happy Thanksgiving, God Bless, and try something new once in a while.

Autographed copies of Revised RVing Alaska and Canada ($16.95); Adventures with the Silver Gypsy ($14.95); Full-Time RVing: How to Make it Happen $14.95); In Pursuit of a Dream ($8), and Freedom Unlimited, The Fun and Facts of Full-timing ($9) are available through author Sharlene Minshall, Box 1040, Congress, AZ 85332-1040, www.full-time-rver.com or Amazon.com. Postage and handling are $4 for one book and $1 for each additional book.