Stuart Russell, owner of Segway of Tucson, leads the way across the Rattlesnake pedestrian bridge over Broadway during Segway's Shake, Rattle and Roll tour.

Photos by Benjie Sanders / arizona daily star

More Photos (2):

Other articles by Rosalie Robles Crowe:

Their 'must serve' saladPassion for service drives Sabino gradSo easy kids can do itComforting cuisineThe Scordato way to run a restaurant legacyFantastic frijolesElegant and affordableComing Sunday: Guide to Tucson's fall programs for kids San Juan's Day Pungent local produce

Engineering
SEARLES VALLEY MINERALS
PROCESS ENGINEER General
Border States Electric
Warehouse Associates Driver/Transportation
DRIVERS General
Dismas Charities
Security Monitor Mechanical
Pioneer Landscaping
Diesel Fleet Mechanics Administrative & Professional
ADMIN ASST
JEWISH FEDERATION OF SO AZ General
Wasatch Property Management
Maintenance Tech

Forward on your toes and back on your heels.

That's it. That's the main thing to remember when you want to Segway — or segue, make a smooth transition from one place to another.

Three couples — Mary and Bob Schiller of Plymouth, Minn.; Maureen and Ken Pysick of Pequot Lakes, Minn.; and Marlena and John Schierholtz of Sunnyvale, Calif. — learned the toe/heel motion used to propel a Segway PT (personal transporter) last month when they took the Shake, Rattle and Roll tour offered by Segway of Tucson.

The six, who have been traveling through the West in their motor homes, had been visiting points of interest around town, when Mary Schiller spotted a brochure advertising the Segway tours.

That's how they found themselves learning to balance, move forward, turn, pivot and stop while standing on the platform of the Segway PT.

A Segway, once described by inventor Dean Kamen as "the world's first self-balancing human transporter," is a two-wheel, self-balancing, electric transportation device. It allows users to move smoothly and seemingly without effort from one place to another.

Outfitted with safety helmets, the six listened to Segway of Tucson tour director Scott Ingersoll explain how the machines work.

They mimic a person's ability to keep from falling on his face when leaning too far forward or backward. In such a case, the brain causes you to take a step in the required direction and stop the fall.

That's what happens on the Segway, Ingersoll explained.

Sensors in the platform — in the toe and heel areas — detect the rider's body position, and the wheels move.

Hence the admonition — "Forward on your toes and back on your heels."

All it takes is a subtle shifting of weight — to the ball of your feet to start moving forward; back on your heels to slow down or come to a stop.

And if you have to stop quickly, a squat will do the trick.

A rotational control on the left handlebar causes the Segway to move left or right or even pivot in place.

So, with all this in mind and a half-hour of practice, it was time to begin the tour.

Heading east, the group explored the Pie Allen, West University and Iron Horse districts. They looped through the UA campus, stopping for a water break at the Women's Memorial and continuing on around Old Main, past the College of Agriculture and the moving southwest toward the Rattlesnake pedestrian bridge across Broadway — the "rattle" part of the tour.

The two-hour tour ended back at Segway of Tucson's office at 529 N. Fourth Ave., behind Delectables Restaurant and Catering.

The consensus?

"We loved it," Mary Schiller said.

"It took a little getting used to, but once you got it, it wasn't hard," she said.

Bob Schiller was ready to try Segway's off-road model "and take it out in rougher areas."

John Schierholtz also was enthusiastic about riding the Segway, but especially because it allows a closer look at some of Tucson's historic homes.

After the group members turned in their helmets and collected belongings left at the office, they were ready for the "shake" part of their Shake, Rattle and Roll tour — an old-fashioned milkshake from Delectables.