On our last day in Newport, D and I only had two things planned. The first thing was to pick up our ornaments from Thames Glass, but we decided to do that on our way out of town. The other thing was to drive the Ocean Drive. But, we weren't going to do it in a car or on a bicycle.
We wanted to do it on Segways.
So, that's what we did! I went to the Segway of Newport website and read about the different tours that they offered, and decided that we should do the Ocean Drive tour, which also includes riding down Bellevue Avenue, by all the mansions.
When we got to the Segway of Newport location on Thames Street, we had to sign a release waiver, and then they set us up with a Segway. They taught us how to drive, simply by putting pressure on your toes to go forward, and on your heels to slow, stop, and reverse. Turning was done by leaning slightly to the side that you want to turn to, pulling the handlebars with you gently.
The Segways can only go a maximum of 12 MPH, and they strongly advised us to try to not go that fast, although the vehicles will automatically slow you down, and push into your body with the handlebars for more support if you do end up going that fast.
After being taught how to use them, we put on our rain ponchos, yep, it rained again, and got out on the road, following our tour leader and a few other people in our tour group. We ended up going a little more than 13 miles in an hour and a half, stopping every once in a while to give our feet a break - standing that long is tough when your feet are stuck in one position. And we did get the opportunity to take in the sights around us, like the Newport Yacht Club, the Newport Country Club, the extravagant houses on the Ocean Drive, and the mansions on Bellevue Ave.
And we may have broken the rules a bit by hanging back and trying our hardest to go that 12 MPH....
Oh, and we were definitely texting and taking pictures while driving. Shhhhhhh!
D and I had an absolute blast on this tour. We actually keep talking about it over and over, and how much fun it would be to do it again.
Unfortunately, after visiting the Segway of Newport website to link it to this post, it seems as if they have closed. Not sure why, nor had I heard of them closing, but apparently it just wasn't working out for them. Too bad, too, because we were really looking forward to taking another tour.
I guess this just means that we'll have to visit another one of the cities that offers Segway tours, like San Francisco, or Paris, or Berlin!
Have you ever ridden a Segway? What did you think? Did it make you want to buy one? I really want one now!
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