Take a Segway Tour for a memorable adventure

“WE’RE NOT just selling tours, we’re selling entertainment,” says Dennis Wanless, who brought Segway Tours to Milwaukee this year. “We want our guests to have an adventure they’ll always remember.”

The long-time Milwaukee businessman watched development of the Segway personal transportation systems from the start five years ago and spared no expense in creating his Segway Milwaukee Tour Center at the P.H. Dye House, 307 E. Buffalo St. in the Historic Third Ward.

While Segway tours are now operating in many major U.S. cities, few offer all the features of Milwaukee’s. Visitors are greeted at a first-floor tour center, complete with coffee, smoothies, snacks and a newsstand. If they are taking one of two tours or “flights” daily (10 a.m. and 1 p.m.), they receive a packet describing the program, just as if they were checking into an upscale hotel.

When tour time comes, they are taken to the second floor where Wanless has developed a Terrain Center to familiarize customers with the machines and the way they operate in varied situations. Tour guides use wooden ramps to simulate situations that might occur and watch as each rider puts the Segway through its paces.

“Everybody assumes they must balance the Segway, but its five gyros actually balance you, “ Wanless explains. Lean forward and the Segway moves forward and the gyros automatically balance machine and rider when conditions change. Although the quiet, battery-powered Segways can travel up to 20 miles an hour, tour units are set for no more than five.

By the time the Segway tours depart, riders are ready to handle the adventure, but Wanless isn’t through training. “First we go first through the Historic Third Ward, not only to show them what the area offers, but also to take advantage of the less crowded intersections.”

The scheduled tours last two hours, with guides carefully monitoring intersection until the group reaches the lakefront. Special guided tours also are available and Wanless expects them to develop as corporate and leisure travelers recognize the quality of the experience.

Segway Tours cost $70 per person. Tours can accommodate up to eight. Riders must be at least 12 years old, four feet tall and weigh no less than 100 pounds or more than 260.

For more information, contact Segway Milwaukee at 414-727-6900 or visit www.segwayofmilwaukee.com. With the popularity of the tours rising rapidly, reservations are encouraged.

Or skydive, hike, balloon or go fish!

THERE ARE plenty of adventures in the Milwaukee area for those who like to put an adreneline rush into their vacations. Here are just a few possibilities, all within 45 minutes of the heart of downtown Milwaukee.

• Skydiving– It’s not for the feint of heart, but tandem dives with a trained instructor provide a comfort level along with a thrill. Try the Sky Knights Sports Parachute Club in East Troy, just 30 minutes southwest of Milwaukee off I-43. Call 800-382-4883 or visit www.skydivemilwaukee.com.

• Hot air ballooning – Call Nick White at Flying in Harmony to be added to the waiting list. He’s a commercial pilot a 28-year veteran hot-air balloon pilot. 414-975-7530 or visit www.flyinginharmony.com.

• Hiking – Trails abound in Southeastern Wisconsin, especially in the Kettle Moraine area west of the city. Perhaps the closest and most-accessible area is the Lapham Peak area 15 miles west of Milwaukee, just south of Delafield off I-94 west.

• Fishing on Lake Michigan – This adventure can produce several meals. Charters are available in Milwaukee, Racine and Port Washington for full-day or half-day trips in search of native Lake trout or imported Coho and King salmon. Many charter captains have a large return audience, so your best bet is to look for newer captains like Chad Biersach of C&D Charters in Port Washington just north of Milwaukee. 414-840-1429 or www.cdcharters.com

• Lighter fare – Rent a paddleboat or Hydro-bike from Juneau Park Paddleboats and paddle around the lagoon just north of the Art Museum 414-217-7235. Or see Riverwalk Boat Tours in Pere Marquette Park on the west bank of the Milwaukee River between State and Kilbourn to book a two-person paddleboat or a 10-person, self-driven pontoon boat. 414-283-9999, www.riverwalkboats.com.

• Tennis anyone? Courts are available in public parks throughout the Milwaukee area. The two sets of courts most accessible to downtown are in McKinley Park along the lakefront (residents even scrape off the snow to play in the winter), and a few miles north in Lake Park near the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.