Wes Wehking may just be the loneliest man in Asheville.
At least that’s how he feels every time he hops on his Segway Personal Transporter. “Unless there’s some phantom owner out there I haven’t met, I guess I’m Asheville’s sole Segway rider,” he says.
While he may be alone right now, Wehking, who runs Asheville’s Moving Sidewalk Tours and was instrumental in creating the Segway program at the North Carolina Arboretum, is an unabashed advocate of the Segway, a two-wheeled, self-balancing electric scooter. “It’s a means of saving gas and having fun while getting around town. It’s so much more fun than a car. It’s great to have a little green machine that’s quiet,” he says.
The Segway was introduced in 2001, the brainchild of inventor Dean Kamen who, in a Time magazine interview, predicted that the device was destined to “be to the car what the car was to the horse and buggy.”
Employing sophisticated computers running proprietary software, tilt sensors, gyroscopes and servo motors, the Segway continuously monitors a person’s balance and instantly responds to body movements. A rider leans forward to go forward, back to go backward, turns using a “lean steer” handlebar and stops by standing upright.
A little disconcerting when you first stand on it, a Segway isn’t all that hard to ride. “It’s fairly easy,” says Wehking. “If you learn to relax, it’s really very simple. It took me about ten minutes. The hardest part is letting yourself go. If people think too much or they’re nervous, they’ll tend to hold the handlebar too tight or be too tense. As soon as they relax, it becomes easier.
“In the beginning, I was really cautious. As soon as I relaxed and had been on it for a while, it became second nature. It took a good couple of days just riding around. The fact that you have a self-balancing machine under your feet like a magic carpet—that can be a little startling. Just be sure to wear a helmet and take your time. There’s no rush.”
Although the Segway has yet to live up to all its hype, it’s a fascinating machine and has earned a place in situations where its special capabilities can be best exploited—transportation for police departments, military bases, warehouses, campus security, airport personnel and guided tours.
That hasn’t stopped Wehking from utilizing a Segway as an alternate form of personal transportation, the use originally envisioned by its inventor. “I live in Kenilworth, only a few miles from downtown. If I have to go to the bank, I’ll take the Segway. If I’m going for coffee or want to meet someone downtown for lunch, I’ll take the Segway. If it’s someplace close to town and it’s not too frigid, I’ll take the Segway,” he says.
Wehking’s so confident in the Segway as a means of transportation that he sold his car last June to see how long he could go without one. It was in the middle of the gas crisis where the Segway proved its mettle. “In a place like Asheville, you can get just about anywhere on a Segway or bike. It worked out really well, especially when the gas prices went up.”
His experiment lasted about three months. It was cut short by the impending cold weather and the Segway’s inherent limitations: range and speed. “I had to make timing adjustments because the Segway only goes about 12-1/2 miles an hour and I had to keep to sidewalks. It will go about 24 miles on a charge, depending on the terrain. It takes about six or seven hours to fully recharge. If I had to go someplace beyond the Segway’s capabilities, I would have to ask for a ride. So I bought a car. There were trips to places like West Asheville—it was just convenient to have an automobile.”
Even so, Wehking, who’s been riding a Segway for 3-1/2 years, still uses one most of the time in warm weather, especially for running errands and just getting around town.
He adds that the Segway is the only way to go in his tour business. “When I started, I took it to City Hall to show people how safe it is. Had them get on and try it. Everyone loved it. You can cover a lot of ground in less time. I can’t get people off it at the end of a tour.”
Wehking has found that, even with all its advantages, the Segway has its detractors, especially in a city with an enlightened population and a focus on the outdoors and exercise. “I’ll hear, ‘Why aren’t you exercising?’ I’ll just grin and say ‘Have a nice day.’ I find humor in the negativity. A lot of people in their cars will say you should be walking. And I’m thinking ‘you’re in a car, what are you doing?’ You always have the option of exercising. And, let’s be real—everybody drives a car to the gym.”
Call 828-776-TOUR (8687) for information on Moving Sidewalk Tours in Asheville.
