Thursday, July 26, 2007

Segway Reaction of the Day!


As I zoomed down S Street, a couple of guys in a pickup truck called out to me at a stop sign.

"Hey man, how fast does that thing go?" the passenger asked.
"13 mph," I said, rounding up a bit. "Pretty fast for the sidewalk!"
"Yeah, you were moving," said the driver.
I smiled. "I beat the bus every time!"

I nodded my respects at them, and took off.

7 comments:

Di said...

Yeah! I noticed you said 13 mph yesterday to your neighbors :)

Matt said...

Sometimes it goes over 13! Today I was at 12.7 and I routinely have peaks of 13.1 or 13.2. Sometimes even over 13.5!

Why don't you tell everyone how cool I looked, zooming up the sidewalk completely HANDS-FREE.

Di said...

You did look very cool. And the more I read your SRD's, the more I am struck by the general un-originality of people. It makes me never want to talk to anyone I see on a Segway because I will just be another random person asking the same freaking question! But you are actually really good about answering the same questions in a very polite and witty way. That's a good trait.

Matt said...

The three most common questions, by far, are:

1. How fast?
2. How far?
3. How much?

Usually in that order.

The good part about getting the same questions all the time is that I can try out different responses to see which elicit the best reaction!

Matt said...

By the way, perhaps now that you understand the monotony of the standard questions, do you understand why I was so intrigued by the attractive 17-year-old who asked me HOW IT WORKS, and then begged me to try it, and got the hang of it instantly. Damn kids!

Di said...

My three questions are:

1. Have you ever fallen off?
2. Do chicks dig it?
3. Have you run over any small animals?

Matt said...

1. You know I've fallen off. While I was first learning to use it, I had a few episodes where I was going too fast on cracked pavement, and had to eject. No biggie. But then at mile 85, I WIPED OUT going up a wheelchair cut out too fast at top speed. After much deliberation, I have determined that the loss of balance was due to my placing too much weight on one foot while turning in the opposite direction. I have since corrected my gliding style, and I have not fallen off since. (I am now at 282 miles.)

2. Some chicks dig it. I know this because they stare at me with looks of pure awe and admiration. Others think it's dorky, and laugh at me. The negative reactions occur almost entirely on Friday and Saturday night in a trendy area such as Georgetown, and only when the girls are in a gaggle. Drunken people laugh and make annoying comments far more often than do sober people.

3. I have likely run over several bugs, but didn't feel it. To my knowledge, I have never run over a small animal -- although I do tend to freak out dogs while I'm on the Segway.