Segs In The City

I know what you're thinking - what a badass. I'll admit, at first I was like a baby deer trying to get her balance. Very uneasy and I definitely moved cautiously. Though within minutes, like a moth to a flame, I was drawn to the motion. You would be, too. 

A few months back Will and I were chatting and I had mentioned a Groupon or Living Social deal, or something along those lines. He had said he was 'only sent the good ones' from friends. So naturally when Greenville Glides had a "Segway Tour for 2" pop up in my email, I passed it along. Jokingly of course; as if this was the best one I had seen yet. Within minutes, the idea of the tour became a gchat reality as to which one of us were going to buy the adventure of a lifetime. This was actually going to happen. A week later when the deal was sold out, selling 175 tours and Will and I not being one of them, disappointment set in. What once was a joke, turned into a "next time". One July morning while brushing my pearly whites, my phone went off with an email alert. A Living Social gem and true surprise. There she was, a Greenville Glides Segway Tour. Without any hesitation I passed it along. Sold.

For the past 2 months I have been watching what I have referred to as the "idiots" ride up and down the streets of Greenville, fully equipped with the look of fear in their eye and a helmet on their head. Most moving at a snails pace, focused on what's ahead, and showing a death grip on the handlebars; they never see me taking a picture with my iPhone. The rest - enjoying themselves so much they'd be the cover photo for the next advertisement. I would laugh (at all of them), and then continue to laugh thinking about myself on one of those baby's. After big cheesin' on a segway for 2 hours straight, I get all of it. Allow me to explain.

Like I previously mentioned, when I first got on, I was a hot mess. You see when you arrive at the place, you watch a video about all the ways you could hurt yourself or damage their $6,300 transportation unit, and then sign a waiver releasing them of any harm....plus I was literally hot. The door was open to the outdoor heat and my roommate Lauren bombarded the scene for a paparazzi photo, catching me very off guard. Could I blame her? Of course not.

Anyway, you hop on the thing and it calibrates and adjusts according to your balance. Then you literally drive it with your toes and heels. Leaning forward and backwards to help stop and go. The handlebar, as I quickly discovered, was merely for decoration and a place for your arms to rest. Will and I both took our test runs indoors and then quickly ventured out onto the streets. Within minutes we got the hang of it and were cruisin' down Main Street as if no one was staring at us. Trust me. They were. Karma is a real bitch. 

We got some good looks, a couple chuckles, and luckily no other paparazzi appearing from the bushes. Which is surprising since many of our friends laughed out loud for several minutes, simply of the thought of either of us on a segway (I'm going to go out on a limb and say that they were laughing mainly at Will...look how natural I look on that thing ;). I do believe I saw one camera, though this woman tried to be pretty sly about it. Like I said, I get it. We looked ridiculous. I'd like to think I can pull off a lot of things, but a clunky green helmet is not one of them. Maybe those with the death grip I saw were just nervous. Nervous due to judging spectators, like I once was. Our tour guide Steve did say there always tends to be one lady in the group that slows everybody else down. My fear was that that lady could be me. Thus leading to my extreme caution when first stepping onto my new wheels. Nahhh....not me. Not on a segway. Like lightning this one. Once we grabbed the brisk, top speed of 12mph you couldn't wipe the smile off my face. It was either that or listening to the man in the overalls (probably named Gandalf, pictured behind me) tell Steve about his dinner plans. That made me smile, too. 

Will and I got lucky and didn't have any other riders on our tour, so Steve got to take us more places than normal. I would highly recommend going on one of these things if you have the chance. I'd definitely do it again. The next time I see a pack of "idiots" segway-ing down the street, I'm going to wish I was one of them.

Look at us go....big cheesin'.