SegAway Columbus

Judy, Pix, Dan, and I arrived at the Columbus Convention Center around 9:30 on Sunday morning. We were excited about this new adventure in our lives. It was a glorious morning with sunny skies and temperatures in the 70's.


We found the SegAway office open. The owner, David Weller, was so enthusiastic and friendly. He made us feel comfortable and quickly prepared us for our trip. Please visit David's website at http://www.segawaytoursofcolumbus.com/

All riders donned helmets with headsets attached so that we could clearly hear the commentary presented by our guide.


We walked to the "launch pad" in front of the Convention Center. Our group was introduced to our personal transport devices - the Segway i2 which are powered by lithium-ion batteries and can travel 16-24 miles on a single charge.

The rider can cruise up to 12.5 miles per hour. Our Segways were set on "turtle" mode with the maximum speed 4 1/2 miles per hour. Segaway owner David will not reveal how to bypass turtle mode. Bless him for that! 4 miles per hour was a perfect, comfortable speed that provided control for the novice rider.

Our tour guide was Jim Ervin. We can not say enough good things about this lad. He is an airline flight attendant and, on his nonflying days, helps David with the Segaway tours. Judy had some apprehension about her ability to ride. Jim, with his caring and calm demeanor, showed Judy that she can indeed "fly with eagles".

Jim explained the procedures that riders must follow. He explained techniques for mounting and controlling the Segway. The Lean Steer technology allows the rider to simply lean the handlebar in the direction he/she wants to turn which makes for a truly intuitive rider experience. In our practice session, we learned to turn, control our speed, and stop. Besides our group of 4, two sisters joined us. Tour maximum is 6 riders.



The tour was 2 hours in length and we traveled approximately 4 miles. We explored miles of peaceful parkland along the Scioto River, the thriving Short North arts district, the vibrant Arena District and historic downtown.

I am so proud of Judy. She really took to the Segway and we saw areas we would have never seen by foot.


Tomorrow - the tour.