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The Segway Man

This evening as I was walking home, I came across a guy wandering around on a Segway Human Transporter (AKA goofy scooter thing). He didn’t look like the stereotypically nerdy Segway owner, he just looked like an ordinary guy out for a stroll.

We were both waiting at the corner for the light to change, so I leaned over and said, “Hey, nice scooter.”

All he did was nod and say, “Yep,” like he wasn’t really up for a conversation. Maybe he was just a little self-conscious. I know I would be if I was riding on a Segway. In spite of the cool technology behind them, those things really are goofy.

Nevertheless, I still wanted to talk to the Segway man, since I’d never actually seen a Segway in-person, so I asked, “How fast does that thing go?”

I was expecting him to say something in the twenty mile-per-hour range (those Segways are pretty hefty) but he said, “about 12 miles an hour.” I was a little disappointed until I realized that was pretty darn quick.

I was going to ask something else, but then the light changed and the Segway Man scooted on thwn the sidewalk. He stopped by some homeless people, and watched them for a few seconds, but then he took off again around the corner.

Where else in the world can a guy just go out for an evening stroll on their goofy ‘lectric scooter? In New York you swear you’ve seen it all, and then along comes a guy on a Segway.