Have Segway, Will Travel
When trying to figure out what to do in Chicago last month, I was overwhelmed by the options, so I left my fate in the 
hands of other travelers: I decided that whatever the No. 1 attraction was in Chicago on TripAdvisor, I’d do it.
That turned out to be a Segway tour from City Segway Tours. While this probably isn’t what I would’ve chosen on my own, I’d never been on a Segway, so it was the perfect opportunity to try something new. Plus, I was committed — and even though I’d only told myself about this plan, I always keep promises.
It didn’t start well (I got lost) — but even though I was about 45 minutes late when I finally arrived, the kind folks at City Segway Tours gave me a quick crash course and took me on a shortcut to meet up with my group. (The orientation normally last 30 minutes, so you’ll have plenty of time to get up to speed if you, unlike me, arrive on time.) Despite my ineptitude at riding a bicycle (I’m still nursing a toe injury from seven weeks ago after losing control of an old-fashioned bike), I found the Segway to be pretty intuitive. You lean forward to go, shift your body weight to either side to turn, and stand up straight to stop. It’s pretty simple. After a few minutes, I felt totally comfortable on the contraption and caught up with my group quickly.
The three-hour tour ($70) included whizzing by the Field Museum, Adler Planetarium, Grant Park, Shedd Aquarium, and Soldier Field. My favorite part was cruising along a bike path through a field of wildflowers with the water on one side and the city’s skyscrapers on the other. Even though it’s right in the heart of things, it was peaceful out there.
However, everything didn’t go completely smoothly — in fact, over half of our group sustained some kind of injury from falling (with a little luck and finger-crossing, I was not one of them). Here’s what I learned about having a fun and crash-free ride:
1. Don’t lock your knees. I caught myself doing this at the beginning and tried to correct it, but I still had some pain in the back of my legs that day and the next.
2. Give yourself plenty of room to maneuver. Segways don’t stop on a dime, and one person in our group crashed into another, taking them both out, because some riders were bunched too close together.
3. Take it easy going up sidewalk ramps. One girl’s Segway (and her) tipped over trying to get up a sidewalk. It does throw you off a bit going up these bumps, but keeping the pace a bit slow (but fast enough to make it up the incline) seemed to work out.
4. Stay hydrated. That same girl, bless her heart, later fainted on our journey. Bring along water and/or a sports drink, especially in warm weather. Just because you’re not walking doesn’t mean you’re not exerting any energy.
5. Go at your own pace. When the Segway goes fast enough, it locks up, pushing the bar against your chest. This is normal but definitely took some getting used to — and if I hadn’t been warned about it, I probably would’ve panicked. I took it slow until I was comfortable with the sensation.
I understand the number of spills we had isn’t common, but after seeing enough people wipe out, I wouldn’t recommend this to anyone who would suffer a real hardship from falling (pregnant women are already not allowed to ride). Still, I’d definitely recommend it as a fun way to cover a lot of ground in a short amount of time and learn about the city.
