June 2012
Segway Event!
Karishma's third blog post describes a recent Associate Segway event.
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All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy or Jill a dull girl! So, the KTP at QUB Office organised an event for all their Jack(s), Jill(s) and Snow White(s). Live from the event, I can report that Jack did not fall down any hills and Snow White did not get lost in any forest!
A Friday afternoon was booked for the Associate’s Segway event. A Segway is a wonderful machine with self-balancing features, big wheels and is battery operated. Segway-NI is the only company in Northern Ireland which organises fun events on these machines. The location of this two hour activity could not have been better than Craigvon Lakes. Drizzle and chilly winds did not lower the spirit of the participants: a fully engaged and fun-filled two hours passed in the blink of an eye.
All of us were new to Segway machines. The instructor helped everyone get started and then gave one to one hands-on experience on the Segway machine. After a slight bumpy and jerky start, the machine was so easy to handle and within a few seconds none of us felt that this was our first time. Just through body tilts we could move left, right, front and back. Easy……….
The event was well organised. We had sessions including those designed to test skill and speed. These gave us a chance to move on the machine, tilt it, turn accurately and run faster. The sessions also built confidence in each of us that we can ride the Segway on the bumpy, rocky, muddy, mushy and challenging off-road session.
During the off-road section we travelled on a narrow path between the woods and on the edge of the beautiful lake. The path had rocks and we had to carefully avoid them and keep on moving. One following the other, it was a mini adventure.
Blog entries are incomplete without stating the Learning of the Day. So a lesson which I can draw out from this experience is, the more you practise, the better is the actual play. We all are always pulled by the excitement of doing the actual act without much practise; it’s a normal human tendency to rush. But it is good practice that ensures that the actual act, be it off-road session on a Segway or a mathematics exam, is a success. The speed and skill practice sessions ensured we could handle the actual rocks and bumps with confidence and enjoy them with security.
Well, this entry would be incomplete if I didn’t mention that the speed and skills round were timed and the fastest three were rewarded at the end. Although I wasn’t one of these three, what I won was a wonderful day out with my fellow KTP Associates.
