Buck Ward, the owner and operator of Segway of Richmond, greeted us by his soon to be opened shop on the corner of 13th and Cary in Shockoe Slip. Clay, Korey, Isabel, Mauricio, Dwayne and I introduced ourselves, but he waved us off with a smile. “Don’t ask me to repeat that back. Are we going to stand around all day or are we going to ride some Segways?”

We were all very excited as Buck led us down into a basement behind Mill Mountain Coffee. It was dark inside and smelled like cardboard and rubber. Once our eyes adjusted, we saw a dozen or more two-wheeled transports leaning against the walls.

“This is the X2,” Buck said pointing to a beefy Segway with large all-terrain tires. “This one can handle pavement, sand, dirt trails, gravel. Because it’s wider at the base, it’s a much smoother ride that the I2.” He pointed to a smaller, sleeker model. “They stay upright with gyroscopes and run on a rechargable Lithium-ion battery. You’ll get about five hours of ride time on a full charge, which translates to about 15 miles. But enough of the technical stuff, who wants to try one out first?”

We pushed Isabel forward and Buck led her to an X2. “The power is here on this detachable disc. After you power it up, hold onto the handles and place one foot up on the machine. If the light turns green, that means you’re on level ground and balanced. If the light is red, it will growl at you and let you know there’s something wrong.”

Isabel got the green light and hopped up with her other foot.  The Segway began to move slowly forward. “It’s all in the toes and ankles.” said Buck as he grabbed the handlebars to keep Isabel from speeding off into the boxes. “Pressure on the toes will send you forward, leaning back on your heels will slow you down and move you backwards. You turn by leaning left and right with the handlebars.

“When you’re ready, head down to the end of the hallway, turn around and come back.”

Isabel leaded forward and sped ahead. “Oh, God!” she exclaimed as she came within inches of hitting the back wall. She turned around and zipped back.

We each took turns practicing on the Segways. Clay got up to the full 12 miles an hour in the confined space, did a 360 with confidence and sped back, stopping just shy of Buck’s toes. “You’re a natural.” Buck said. “You’ve really never ridden one before?”

Clay shook his head. “Nope, but I do a lot of extreme sports.”

We pushed the Segways out into the warm afternoon sun and continued to practice on the cobblestone alleyway next to the Martin Agency. Clay and I began weaving in and out of the light posts, performing a graceful slalom. Isabel, Dwayne and Mauricio skillfully avoided some pedestrians and Korey crept along at a snail’s pace. “Are you all right, grandma?” asked Clay.

“I’m good. Slow and steady!” he replied.

I was amazed at how intuitive the controls felt. The subtlest shift in weight triggered speed and the slightest lean sent the machine swaying to the left or right. It really did become a natural extension of my body.

After about five minutes, Buck led us out to the sidewalks, down to Newport Cross and onto the Riverwalk. “We’ve teamed up with the Valentine Richmond History Center, Ravenchase and the Visitor Bureau at the Convention Center to coordinate rentals and historical tours.” Judging by the smiles and looks from the people we passed, I could tell that the exposure was a win-win situation.

Buck shouted a warning as we neared Brown’s Island, “Be careful on the gravel!  If you hit a deep patch it could bog down the wheels and send you over the handlebars.”

“I thought these things couldn’t tip over,” I asked him as we crunched through the gravel.

“Just like any two-wheeled vehicle, the potential for an accident is always present. The gyroscopes on these do really, really well, but they are not infallible. The biggest danger is becoming too comfortable on the Segway and not paying attention.”

Indeed, as we bounced through the grass behind Tredegar Ironworks, Clay hit a pothole and was on the ground in an instant. “I’m OK!” he shouted, jumping up and brushing the dirt off his hands. He examined a hole that had appeared in the side of his pants as Buck wheeled over to make sure he was all right. “Luckily, these new models have a cut off switch. After five feet it will realize that you aren’t on it any more and stop. The first series would keep going until it hit something or ran out of juice.”

We cut through downtown and headed over to the Capitol building to cruise around on the sloping brick pathways. I pulled up next to Buck and asked him about laws governing the use of Segways. “They are treated just like a wheelchair,” he answered. “Anywhere a person can walk, a Segway is OK.”

“At least until people start grinding on curbs and doing 360s off park benches.” I replied. I looked down at my cell phone. We’d been zipping around town for almost two hours and I commented to Dwayne that my calves were getting a little sore. 

“Just think if we’d walked all that way?” He said.

“I know. We’ve probably gone five miles.”

“I think this is one of the coolest things we’ve done so far for Brick!” said Mauricio.

Korey had his Segway parked and was sitting on the curb rubbing his feet. “My shoes are killing me. I should have changed!”

After a little break we headed back to the shop. We thanked Buck for his time and patience and helped him return the Segways to the basement.

Dwayne and Isabel hopped in Mauricio’s car to head back to the office, but I decided to walk. I was sad to have to give up the two-wheeled transport, but happy to take my time getting back to work.

Segway of Richmond
1301 East Cary St.
Richmond, Va
343.1850

WEB | http://www.segwayofrichmond.biz/

It was an awesome time until I decided to eat dirt after a little mis-hap