Segway and Me

So Jan wanted to take the Segway tour of Angel Island. I had been curious about the device and was game to give it a try. We got instructions, were guided aboard our devices, and were told to tool around this paved area to get used to them for a bit.

They are electrically powered, and you get them to go forward, stop, or go backward by shifting your body weight from your toes to your heels. You need fairly decent balance to get off and on and navigate turns, especially on slopes. But I was doing OK, and even having some fun until my feet started to ache.

I have extremely flat feet, and have worn heavy-duty custom orthotics for years. But they (feet and orthotics) weren't up to the challenge of standing fixed in one position and shifting my weight as required. My pain steadily increased, and toward the top of a steep incline I began to wonder if spending the next hour and a half in that kind of pain might cause me medical problems of some sort. And, bingo, a panic attack. Fortunately fairly mild, but the tingling in my face suggested that hyperventilation and light-headedness were not far off.

So I dismounted and sat down, and the nice guide told us that this would be a good place to leave the Segways with him, before we reached narrow trails where my discomfort could create real safety problems, and he would try to get our money back.

I was very disappointed and hard put to avoid beating myself up, thinking I would have had less pain if I were in better shape, and that I could have avoided triggering the panic attack. But we went on afoot, and had a picnic lunch on a bench overlooking Tiburon, Belvedere, and Mount Tamalpais, and made it partway around the island to a vista point with a great view of the City, the Bay Bridge, and fog advancing upon us through the Golden Gate.

Our curiousity about the Segways and Angel Island was appeased, and we had a fairly decent time. And my first goal on reaching the City was a pedicure and a lengthy foot massage.