I got to try one! Scottsdale Fashion Square has one of like 4 Segway Stores in the whole country, so I headed down for a test drive.

The paper said there were huge lines last week, but I got there just before 6:00, so the store was barren. It also helped that they’d started up a $5 fee per test drive, since so few of their visitors were seriously considering a purchase. They made me don a silly biker’s helmet, gave a 10-second explanation, and I was off and rolling.

I’d been expecting something a little more supernatural - like rocket skates that magically knew where I wanted to go, and an obstacle course to take them through. What I got was a 10-foot-square roped off area and a scooter that kinda lurched forward rather than gliding. It was still interesting, though. Leaning back and forth to move was totally natural; I actually had more trouble with the steering knob. Doing 360s in place was a no-brainer.

When they get down to $1000, and there’s a way to mod them so they can do fifty miles an hour and do ollies, I’ll be buying one. Until then, I think it will just remain an expensive curiosity.