Segway tours of San Francisco

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 lawn mower, 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.

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. Your training time is not deducted from your tour time.

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 werefollowing 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. Our leader 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. It was starting to become fun.

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.

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 along Wharf

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.

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. We chose a sit-down restaurant, Sabella and LaTorre, where we feasted on clam chowder in a fresh-baked bread bowl. The prices were reasonable considering the location.

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, the Palace is one of the city’s landmarks.

The Garden Court is the hotel’s main dining room and as ornate as the First Class Dining Room depicted in the movie “Titanic.”

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.

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