Isn't that that ... thing?

Local enthusiasts use Segways to get around, and enjoy showing others how to use them

March 8, 2006

By DANE GOLDEN
ARGUS-COURIER STAFF

Let's face it, we're living in the future, and it's sort of boring. It's already the 21st century, and we don't have many of the things we were promised in those old science fiction movies. There are no flying cars, no cities in the clouds, no steak dinners in pill form, and people don't walk around in silver jumpsuits. Broken promises, all.

But then you step onto a Segway.

The Segway Human Transporter is that "thing." Most of us have seen it on TV, but might not remember the name. It defies easy description, but it's essentially a two-wheeled transportation device that looks a little like a fancy hand truck. But it isn't.

"This vehicle behaves differently than all vehicles that have preceded it," said Stewart Munson, owner of The Prop Stops Here at the Petaluma Municipal Airport. "When you ride it, the side-by-side wheel configuration requires that you navigate obstacles differently than a bicycle."

Munson owns two Segways, and loves showing people how to ride them on the walkway in front of his shop.

"The expressions on peoples' faces when they first ride this are priceless," he said.

The Segway is balanced by five gyroscopes, and reacts to the driver's shifting weight by rolling the wheels to be directly under his or her center of gravity at any given time. Munson explains how it works to his guests before they step on. If not, the user can initially be frightened by the unfamiliar motion.

"The person steps back like they've just discovered fire," Munson said. "But this vehicle is as docile as a pedestrian."

In addition, Munson said, "This can negotiate a crowd, and it offers the rider an eight-inch advantage over his standing height."

He said dogs will sometimes bark at the vehicle, perhaps not too dissimilarly than the way horses were startled by early automobiles.

"When the mind, of animals as well as human beings, sees something new, it challenges the imagination, and fear is the first response," said Munson.

The airport is probably an excellent place to showcase the Segway. Pilots have a more ready understanding of gyroscopes, as they are used in airplanes.

"But it's a novel experience, even for a pilot," said Munson.

How do you get aboard a Segway? First, turn it on. Second, grab the handlebars with two hands. Third, step on with one foot and stand straight up and step on with the other foot. That's it.

To maneuver, hold onto the handlebars and lean backward or forward; the machine adjusts to the amount you lean. If you lean forward a lot, it will go as fast as 12.5 miles per hour. If you suddenly lean back, it will stop on a dime. The left handle has left-right control. There's no brake other than your own motion.

To get off, ride up slowly to a wall, bend one knee and step off, then step off with the other knee. The Segway will remain leaning against the wall, with or without the kickstand.

Another local Segway enthusiast, Christian St. Claire, is always giving Segway riding lessons to people he meets. He's instructed numerous people how to use it, often just folks he meets while riding it around downtown Petaluma. He's helped an 87-year-old learn how to use it, as well as a blind man. He even taught astronaut Buzz Aldrin how to use the Segway during a chance meeting at a trade show.

"Nobody has fallen off so far," said St. Claire. "Nobody has gotten hurt, and we're talking hundreds of people."

St. Claire's business endeavors involve a number of unique technologies, so perhaps it's not surprising that he's an early adopter of this method of getting around town. But since he started riding the Segway more than two years ago, he's become hooked. He takes it absolutely everywhere, including on national or international plane flights.

"This machine is always in my presence," he said. "I fly with it, commercial. I take it all the way to the door of the airplane, actually, it's already checked." Then he picks it up when he gets off the plane and continues on through the new airport.

St. Claire carries a power cord wrapped around the handlebar stem, and plugs it in if he's somewhere and needs a little juice. But the battery runs for hours. He owns several of the unique machines, and uses them when traveling to various scuba diving conventions.

"You'd be amazed how much time it saves during a convention. You have to set up electricity and all the little annoyances, and the distances you have to walk are tremendous."

Although St. Claire does not consider himself disabled, he has some physical impairments that make the Segway a useful tool to have. His challenges include back problems due to his time as a paratrooper in the French military and serious heel injuries. He is also a triple bypass survivor.

Interestingly, St. Claire actually feels the Segway helps keep him in shape, because of the small but constant effort needed to maneuver the machine.

He often rides it downtown from his home near the airport. He sometimes rides it on the sidewalk, too, but he says he's courteous when doing do. He also enjoys riding it in the early morning for recreation.

"I get up in the morning and I tend to go off into the darkness, sometimes before my coffee, before my smoke. It just opens up my mind. This is a thought-provoking and life-changing machine."

St. Claire said that he thinks that the only reasons people don't try it are either because of the price (about $5,000 for a base model), and the fear of people teasing them for looking silly.

"There is a lot of ignorance about it. People just think I am a balancing artist, which I'm not. It doesn't require any thinking. It becomes automatic."

And, as Stewart Munson said, "It's the closest thing there is to levitation."

(Contact Dane Golden at dgolden@arguscourier.com)