Fat Tire Bike Tours--and Segway Tours
by Christine Lepisto, Berlin on 09.24.05
Summer's winding down and you're looking back on fond memories of great vacation adventures. But you can't rest on your laurels. You've set a standard to be beaten in your next get-away, and admit it: you are a bit envious of that lot on their Segways under the Eiffel Tower. So jot this one in your grey matter databank for the next time your travels take you to Paris, Vienna, Budapest, Atlanta, Chicago or Washington D.C. And hopefully you can let the good times roll in a restored New Orleans soon.
The City Segway Tours are an extension of an already successful recipe used by Fat Tire Bike Tours (formerly Mike's Bike Tours in some cases). Enhancing the native cultural and historical interest of the cities toured is the knowleadgeable team of guides, some of whom have been dishing the local grist for many seasons. The company is American owned and operated, so you can rely on a good English tour, and many of the guides are multi-lingual so other languages can often be accomodated. And if the company philosophy follows the practices in Berlin (where only the fat tire bikes are available so far), associated services may range from a cup of hot tea after the ride to internet access and laundry facilities.
Forget that...
The best way to see Paris is on a pair of inline skates (just watch out for the dog sh!t
Riding a Segway is accomplishing the same thing as walking only consuming electricity while doing it. They are no faster, no more mobile, provide no shelter, and certainly not cheaper. If you want a pedestrian tour of the city, walk. What is the point of a Segway?
'Segway' and 'Envious' have never even come close to each other in my lexicon. Maybe 'Goofy', 'Missing the Point' or 'Misguided' come closer. Granted at least it's not a car, but I'd much rather ride my bike.
The fat tire bike tours are well worth the low price. I took the Berlin and the Paris tours and was pleased that they were gearedtowards young Americans. An added bonus was that you can rent the bikes and will know the city better after the tour so you have more fun in the following days as well.
For something like this, Segways are not appropriate. Bike or walking tours are better for the environment and the people riding them. Plus the tour company could buy ten good bicycles for the price of a single Segway.
I've had two engineers tell me that Segways are actually less energy efficient than an electric bike, because the bike isn't using any energy just keeping you upright.
while i agree-- would be better to walk, bike or rollablade.... anything than cruise at 12km on a grossly overpriced toy. But anyone who thinks dean kamed made the segway to be this lame, think again... when these babies have fuel cells, the're will be Police and Military off-road Segways that can do 45km, and i wouldn't be surprised if they have plans for levitating segways.... Segway will get the last laugh...
I was on my old really small bike and i was peddaling like f**k and we were