South China Star

Wheel deal; The US president may not be able to balance on a Segway, but tourists in Paris are flocking to try their luck on the human transporter.

By Jennifer Joan Lee.

South China Morning Post
August 17, 2004

IT'S SUPPOSED to be almost impossible to fall off a Segway. OK, so George W. Bush famously tumbled off one in Texas last year. But for everyone else, the Segway is supposed to be virtually foolproof. The newfangled "human transporter" may look like an electric chariot or a jumped-up pogo stick on wheels, but its state-of-the-art gyroscopes, tilt sensors, high-speed microprocessors and powerful electric motors are engineered to keep the user upright and balanced.

Still, Americans are a litigious lot, and since they form the bulk of the customers of City Segway Tours - the Paris-based operator that offers guided Segway expeditions in Paris (and now Nice, New Orleans and Chicago) - the company's Texan owners are taking no chances. Before I can even strap on my safety helmet (yes, we all have to wear one), I have to sign a {euro} 400 (HK$3,800) damage waiver, as well as a document certifying that I'm in "sound medical condition capable of participating in the ride without risk to others or to myself".

"Some people can be very irresponsible on their Segways," says City Segway Tours co-owner, Kelly Mebane, when I ask whether all those precautions might not be a little over the top. "But we haven't had any serious injuries - just a few cuts and scrapes."

Once the paperwork is complete, the groundwork begins. All users have to undergo a half-hour orientation before they can roll into the notoriously hazardous traffic of Paris. In a pedestrian-free, concrete courtyard behind the tour operator's office, we're drilled on the basics: how to turn on the Segway, how to get on and off (if the machine isn't in its correct, upright position, it "growls" cantankerously when you step on it, how to move forwards and backwards, stop and turn, and finally, how to negotiate those inconvenient gutters.

Joining me on the night tour of the City of Light are five other adventurers: Karol, an airline pilot on a 48-hour stopover, Dan and Lori, a couple celebrating their eighth wedding anniversary, and Lori's mother
and sister. Except for me, everyone's American, including our instructor and tour guide, Aaron Rodgers, a 24-year-old brimming with chummy, slap-on-the-back enthusiasm. "All right, guys," he calls out cheerfully. "Let's go over the moves one last time: lean forward to go forward, lean back to go backward, straighten up to stop, and if you want to stop suddenly? Stick out your butt! That's your emergency brake."

Several minutes later, barring a few wobbly starts, we begin to feel more at ease. Like a motorised mimic, the Segway responds to my body's slightest shift with graceful and uncanny intuition. Soon, I have only to think about moving forward to make it advance. I wonder how Bush could have fallen off.

The Segway is the brainchild of Dean Kamen, an American inventor who develops efficient, zero-emission transport devices. According to the company's website, Kamen was first inspired to create the Segway after seeing a man in a wheelchair struggle to get over a kerb. That led him to create an all-terrain, self-balancing device for the physically handicapped, which, in turn, led him to wonder what the same technology could do for people who can walk. A few years and a few prototypes later, the Segway Human Transporter (HT) was born.

Although it's been available to the public since November 2002, the Segway - hyped as a revolution that would forever change our lives - has yet to take off. It can reach speeds of up to 20km/h, but commuters, perhaps understandably, have been slow to take on this form of transport. It's not illegal to own a Segway in Hong Kong, for example, but you risk a fine of more than $8,000 if you're caught riding on the roads or footpaths. Bangkok, where one independent operator offers Segway sightseeing tours,
is one of the few Asian cities to embrace it.

True, Segways were recalled by the US Consumer Product Safety Commission shortly after their release: some people had fallen off when the batteries ran low and the scooter could no longer stay upright. But the company has since come out with new software that warns users when the battery needs recharging.

Priced at US$5,000, the Segway isn't cheap, either. It's also heavy and unwieldy. The device - with its five powerful gyroscopes and 34kg battery - may be a marvel of "self-balancing technology" while in motion, but once stationary it can't stand up on its own. The only way to "park" it is to lean it against a wall. Perhaps the biggest disincentive, however, is the attention it attracts. If you want to ride one, be prepared to be stared at.

We certainly are. As we pause in front of the Eiffel Tower, our first stop on the tour, several locals picnicking on the grass look us over with a mixture of curiosity and contempt. "What ridiculous contraption are those lazy Americans using now?" they appear to be thinking. As we balance on our Segways, helmeted and conspicuous, Rodgers the tour guide gives us an amusingly condensed history of the Eiffel Tower, constructed in 1889 for the Universal Exhibition by Gustave-Alexandre Eiffel, a French engineer.

"Did you know when it was first built, athletes would go to the top and jump off to see if they could land in the Seine?" he says. "Of course they all died."

Several "fun facts" later, we turn our backs on the 7,000-tonne tower - and on our audience. By twisting the handlebar of the Segway (as though engaging the throttle on a motorbike) we smoothlypivot 180 degrees to face the Ecole Militaire, a former military school attended by Napoleon Bonaparte.

Gesturing at the bronze statues in the grounds of the building, Rodgers regales us with insights such as: "The kings and queens of France did all kinds of ridiculous stuff, like build statues of themselves." And: "Louis XVI had someone wipe his butt after he went to the toilet. He had a royal butt wiper."

When his knowledge of the Ecole Militaire is exhausted, Rodgers proceeds to lead us to other famous monuments, including: the Hotel des Invalides, containing the tomb of Napoleon ("he asked to be buried in six caskets so he'd look taller"); the Louvre, where we take a 10-minute break; and the Place de la Concorde and the Arc de Triomphe. We take in many of the city's top attractions, but during the four-hour circuit we've also turned into one of them.

Although some Parisians have become inured to the sight of helmeted tourists on Segways, the machines are intriguing to the thousands of visitors who stream through the city each day. A family of camera-toting tourists stands by the Hotel des Invalides, staring open-mouthed as we pass, their attention riveted on our Segways, instead of the magnificent gilt-domed structure behind them. Farther on, a group of Chinese passengers inside a tour bus scrambles to a window to gape, giggle and take photos.

As if American tourists, with their loud speech, snow-white sneakers and colourful backpacks, aren't conspicuous enough, thanks to the Segway they've become even more obvious. As we sweep down the rue de Rivoli, a shopowner standing outside his cafe can't help but shout: "What, you can't walk?"

Well, yes, but it's certainly faster to cover the many attractions of Paris on two wheels. For Karol, my fellow traveller who has only two days to spare, the Segway tour is an efficient introduction to the city.

City Segway Tours offers day and night excursions for {euro}70 a person. It also gives private and corporate tours that can include individually tailored routes, dinners or parties. Co-owner Mebane says demand has been overwhelming.

By the time we begin the long return trip back to base near the Eiffel Tower, the numbness is setting in. My legs and feet tingle with fatigue. It isn't easy to keep them still while standing for four consecutive hours. Here, Rodgers comes to the rescue with an ignition key, which, when used to start the Segway, allows it to move at up to 14km/h. (There's also a red key that takes it to the maximum 20km/h, but it's not for the uninitiated.

So, our group of six coasts back to the Eiffel Tower at turbo speed, in time to see the tower illuminated against the darkened sky. We pause for a final photo then confidently glide back to the tour office. We've finally mastered the machines and now it's time to turn them in. Although I'm relieved to step off the Segway, I'm also glad I experienced it - there's a certain thrill in exploring a historic city 21st-century style.

For more information and bookings, go to www.citysegwaytours.com, e-mail paris@citysegwaytours.com or call (33 01) 5658 1054.

(c) 2004 South China Morning Post Publishers Limited, Hong Kong. All rights reserved.