By Shea Northcut
Karen Novack, Capital Segway tour guide, instructs Deb Baker, 45, of Tipp City, Ohio, about how to ride a Segway. SHFWphoto by Shea Northcut
WASHINGTON – From the White House to the steps of the Capitol all the way to the Lincoln Memorial, tourists can see Washington in an unconventional way – on the wheels of a Segway.
D.C. attracts more than 16 million tourists a year, and about 500 each week cover 6.5 miles of the capital’s streets and sidewalks in two hours on a Segway.
Karen Novack has been a guide for four years at Capital Segway, one of several companies that offer Segway tours here.
She arrives 30 minutes before each of her tours, usually one or two per day. Prepping the Segways is one of her main tasks, making sure their batteries are charged and the two tires are full.
Novack, 29, said she originally wanted to do a walking or biking tour for better exercise. But once she stepped on the machine, she decided it was too much fun to pass up.
“D.C. is a really big city, and the Metro can’t take you all the places you want to go,” Novack said. “This is a great way to see everything in a short amount of time, and it adds adventure to your normal tour.”
Karen Novack talks in front of the White House using a microphone. Tourists use headphones to hear her while riding on a Segway. SHFWphoto by Shea Northcut
The machines were introduced to the public in 2001 and are used by police departments, at military bases and for those with handicaps. They use gyroscope technology, meaning riders shift their weight to move the machine and balance.
Riders lean forward to speed up and backward to back up. With a slight tilt to the left or right, riders can turn around to see over their shoulders. Segways weigh 105 pounds. The batteries last six hours, and the machine can travel up to 24 miles on one charge.
Deb Baker, 45, an information technology technician, and her daughter, Michelle Baker, 20, a college student, of Tipp City, Ohio, came to visit a friend, but wanted to see the city. They agreed it was well worth the $65 fare ($70 on weekends) just to ride a Segway. The hardest part at first was finding their balance, they said.
“Once you catch your balance, it seems natural to ride,” Deb Baker said. “It was fun, and I would do this again in any city I visit.”
Traveling in the street or on the sidewalk at up to 12.5 mph, tourists at least 16 years old can see more than 20 popular sites, including the White House, Smithsonian museums and the Washington Monument. Novack said with only eight people per tour, she uses her main passion of acting to keep things exciting and interesting.
Segway tour groups see more than 20 popular sites including the Washington Monument and the Jefferson Memorial. Of all tourists visiting Washington in 2008, 44 percent took a tour or went sightseeing. SHFWphoto by Shea Northcut
“You can’t just recite the facts, or they’re going to get bored or zip away,” she said. “You definitely have to cater the tour to who is on it … some people want to just ride them and go fast, and others want to see everything.”
Although she doesn’t use a script as she does for acting, Novack said each guide trains for a month to learn the ropes. This includes memorizing the tour route and city history, shadowing other guides and knowing the proper timing of a tour.
After becoming comfortable with the route, she said she is able to include her own monologues.
One of them includes how “the first elevator in the Washington Monument was steam powered and considered somewhat dangerous, so men only were allowed to ride in it … women and the children, for safety, would walk the 897 steps to the top.”
Although temperatures can top 100 degrees in the summer and drop below freezing in the winter, Novack said the job is well worth it.
She uses multiple modes of transportation – commuting to her job by car and biking around town. She likes her car best but has become fond of the Segway.
“I never saw myself doing this 10 years ago,” Novack said. “I don’t know what the next stage holds, but I might have to purchase a Segway if I’m not giving tours.”
Filed under: Scripps Howard Foundation-DC Tagged: | Capital Segway, Segways, tourists, tours, transportation, Washington D.C.
