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Segways add thrills to San Francisco sights
If walking or driving the streets of San Francisco is not
quite enough adventure for you, try joining the growing
number of people who are seeing Bay area sights while
balancing on board a Segway, that two-wheeled electric
vehicle that was once hailed as the future of all personal
travel. Not only will you see tourist landmarks, but you’ll
learn a new skill and face just enough of a challenge to
keep you, well…on your toes.

The Segway - formerly called the IT when it was first
unveiled in 2001 by inventor Dean Kamen - was the object of
considerable media speculation as people no less prescient
than Apple’s Steve Jobs suggested the new invention would
be as fundamentally life-changing as the PC. When it was
finally unveiled, the contraption actually seemed a bit odd
looking - it resembles in some ways an old two-wheel push
lawnmower, except this device allows you to step right onto
it. What makes it work are five virtual gyroscopes that
sense what way you are leaning and then “tell” the wheels
to turn in the direction and speed you want to go.

The San Francisco and Sausalito Electric Tour Company
offers two-hour tours to various tourist sights leaving
from their Fisherman’s Wharf location. We’d seen the
single-file lines of Segway riders not only in San
Francisco but in other California cities and decided we
just had to give this kind of sight-seeing a whirl.

Understand you don’t just show up, hop on a Segway and head
out for the nearest attractions. Before you fly solo, there
is 30 to 45 minutes of instruction, including a brief
check-out to make sure you really do know how to go
forward, turn and, most importantly, stop. The good news is
your training time is not deducted from your tour time.

We’d heard some people compare riding a Segway with riding
a bike, and this comparison does make some sense. It’s not
that it’s difficult to ride a Segway; it’s just that it’s a
different feeling that takes a little getting used to.
Riders are taught how to power up the Segway, how to read
the display lights to make sure the vehicle is in balance,
and then how to step on board, one foot at a time. From
that starting point, we learned how to lean forward
slightly to go forward and lean back to bring the Segway to
a stop. Then it was lean left or right on the handlebars to
turn - which, by the way, the Segway does on a dime.

Most people in our class of 20 were picking all of this up
quickly, and soon there we were, with our helmets and very
unfashionable yellow safety vests, following our instructor
in a single-file line out onto the street like so many baby
ducks following their mother. Soon we were off the road in
Aquatic Park where we stopped on an open, wide concrete
pathway to practice our maneuvering. After a few minutes of
that, it was time for graduation — “Momma Duck” (aka
Carla Plante) told us we now could change our speed
governors from five miles per hour to 10, which was not too
far from the Segway’s top speed of 12.5 miles per hour.

The difference in speed was almost breathtaking. Okay, 10
miles per hour doesn’t sound very fast, and of course it
isn’t - but there was something about being on that Segway
that made it seem like it was just as fast as we wanted to
go. At the higher speed we could lean our whole bodies into
our turns and actually feel some gravitational force as we
spun our Segways around in different directions. A few
riders seemed almost giddy as they finally gained a
comfortable balance on these unusual machines. It was
starting to become fun, and we would not need diet pill reviews at the end of the trip.

Soon, our group of about eight riders was traveling
single-file not only along paths and walkways, but on major
roadways with real cars and trucks. Carla carefully led the
way through all kinds of traffic, up and down hills and to
several famous San Francisco waterfront locations. From
Aquatic Park we rode to Marina Green, then over to the
Palace of Fine Arts and the Exploratorium. Our route back
took us through the Marina District. There were several
opportunities to stop for picture-taking - since taking
photos from your Segway is strictly prohibited - as well as
a longer rest stop at the Exploratorium.

The sights and views in this part of San Francisco are
great, but if you’re like us, you’ll be focusing as much on
mastering the Segway as viewing the scenery. But it’s an
experience we won’t soon forget, and will no doubt want to
repeat.

More San Francisco fun

The Segway tours begin and end in the Fisherman’s Wharf
area so, naturally, we spent a few hours down on the Wharf
before and after our tour. First it was a tour of the
Aquarium of the Bay, just down the waterfront at Pier 39,
which should be a must-visit for anyone with children
visiting Fisherman’s Wharf. The aquarium features 20,000
marine animals, focusing on species that are all found in
the San Francisco Bay. These include sevengill sharks, bat
rays, various bottom fish, sea stars and many more colorful
and unique fish. Especially fun is the walk-through tunnel
at the aquarium that lets you walk right through a huge
tank filled with many species of marine life. Huge sharks
and sting rays glide right past you and you can watch
aquarium divers feed the fish.

Closer to lunch time we browsed the many fresh fish vendors
and sidewalk restaurants at Fisherman’s Wharf offering just
about any kind of seafood you want. Visitors often get a
fresh bowl of chowder or crab sandwich and eat it on the
run, avoiding the higher cost of sitting down at one of the
Wharf seafood restaurants. We chose a sit-down restaurant
right on the Wharf, Sabella and LaTorre, where we feasted
on clam chowder in a fresh-baked bread bowl. The prices
were reasonable considering the location.

Part of the fun down at the Wharf is watching the boats -
the ferries, the tour boats, the fishing trawlers and of
course the wildlife that comes right up to the wharf in the
form of seals, sea lions, pelicans and other birds of the
sea. For us, it’s the atmosphere down at the Wharf that
keeps us coming back. The sights, sounds and smells of a
busy waterfront are always worth spending a couple of lazy
hours.

From Fisherman’s Wharf we drove about a mile and half
downtown to our hotel, the Palace Hotel, where we checked
in and did a little bit of late-afternoon shopping at the
many fine shops located in the area. If you’re looking for
a luxurious, yet historical place to stay, the Palace is a
great choice. Originally built in 1875 to celebrate the
West Coast boom, the Palace is one of the city’s landmarks
and located near such well-known San Francisco attractions
as Union Square and Chinatown. The Garden Court is the
hotel’s main dining room and as ornate as the First Class
Dining Room depicted in the movie Titanic.

The Palace also is known as a place where the city’s movers
and shakers meet to nail down business deals or be seen in
the right company. Esquire Magazine named the hotel’s Pied
Piper Bar one of the top seven bars in the world. The
drinks are pricey, but then someone told us the painting in
the bar is worth $5 million so we’re guessing they have to
make that up someplace.

AT A GLANCE

WHERE: The San Francisco and Sausalito Electric Tour
Company offers Segway rides in both San Francisco and
Sausalito.

WHAT: The Segway is a unique invention that allows you to
travel almost without effort on any kind of path, sidewalk
or roadway.

WHEN: Summer is the prime time for Segway riding in San
Francisco, although the tours are offered year-round. Just
be sure to dress in layers and be prepared for cold
weather. Even on sunny days, the winds from the bay can
make your tour rather chilly if you’re not prepared.

WHY: Segways may look a little odd but everyone we’ve
talked to who has experienced Segway riding has raved about
how much fun they had.

HOW: For more information on touring the Bay area by
Segway, phone 415-474-3130 or visit
www.electrictourcompany.com. A two-hour tour is $70. For
more information on the Palace Hotel, phone 415-512-1111 or
visit www.starwoodhotels.com.

For more information on travel in California, please visit
www.californiaweekend.com.

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Cary Ordway is a syndicated travel writer specializing in
California and the Pacific Northwest. He maintains two
websites, http://www.californiaweekend.com and
http://www.northwesttraveladvisor.com