I’ve been commuting to work on my Segway for almost two years now. The commute is just under 16 miles each way, making a total of 32 miles a day on the days I glide. For the first 18 months of owning my Segway, I commuted two to three times a week. For the last five months, I’ve backed off a little and now commute one to two times a week.

In the morning, I leave my home at 4:30 a.m. to get to work at 6:30 a.m. That two-hour glide includes a 30-minute stop for breakfast at one of a couple places that are open that early.

The morning glide is my favorite. I enjoy the cold air, the darkness, and the quiet. There is far less traffic and no pedestrians to be concerned with. It gives me time to think about life in general and what may be coming up in the day ahead.

When I arrive at my workplace, I glide into my office and plug in the Segway. The 16-mile glide uses up most of the battery, so to get home it needs to be plugged in all day. After nine hours of charging, my Segway’s ready to go home.

In the afternoon, I leave work at 3:30 p.m. to get home by 5 p.m. There’s no stopping for food on the way home. I’ve had to push my Segway home twice. Both times it was for less than a mile. Both times it was my fault for using the Segway too much at lunch or for giving too many demonstration rides to curious fellow workers.

I use my Segway for other purposes, too. My wife and I travel about two weekends a month and usually take the Segways with us. We park our car at the hotel or timeshare and never use it again until we leave. We use the Segways to do all our sightseeing, shopping and exploring. I always ask permission to bring the Segways into the room for charging. We have pushed them through some very expensive hotels and resorts, including the St. Regis in Dana Point, California. The staff usually asks that we not ride the Segways inside the building.

I’ve had many unusual sightings while on my commutes. Most are not what people would expect to see in the middle of Orange County’s heavily populated cities.

I have run into a family of raccoons, and have come close to running into a skunk. I have scared a coyote silly because he didn’t hear me approaching him; he had a rabbit in his mouth and wasn’t about to give it up. I’ve also turned a corner to find a bobcat stalking a rabbit. He didn’t hear me approach and didn’t panic when he saw me either. I was about 12 to 15 feet away from him after I stopped. The bobcat didn’t want to take his eyes off the rabbit, but didn’t want to take them off me either. I only wish I had my camera. The standoff lasted about 10 minutes and then he walked away. Lucky rabbit ...

There is definitely a different view of life when you travel at 12 mph. Some things are really nice and some things you wouldn’t expect, like those I’ve mentioned. They are the substance behind great stories to tell people who don’t see these unusual occurrences. The problem is that there is also a lot of negative that you wouldn’t expect either.

I have been hit by a car. Many motorists don’t stop at red lights when turning right, and also don’t look to their right when turning right. This is what caused my accident.

I have had objects thrown at me from passing cars. This is “assault” and an arrest could follow. Unfortunately, there is never time to get a license plate when the car is speeding off.

I have also been harassed by the police. And yes, I mean harassed not just questioned.

I am cussed out by motorists a few times a day. Usually I am called “lazy” by the person driving by in an SUV. The drivers don’t see the humor of them sitting in their gas-guzzler calling me lazy. If they think they’re lazy for sitting in their car, then I guess I could agree—but if they aren’t being lazy, then neither am I. The alternative is to use my car. Then I would be burning their gas, contributing to their traffic problem and, to top it off, I would be taking their parking space.

I was not a “Green” person when I bought my first Segway. I wasn’t bad, but I didn’t think about it … at all. Now I see the tons of trash that people throw out of their cars. I especially see all the broken glass because I have inflated tires so I have to watch for it. I see the thousands of gallons of water that are wasted by sprinklers not being adjusted correctly. I’ve had my fair share of early-morning showers from sprinklers that are watering the sidewalks and the streets.

So the Segway commute has its ups and downs. All in all, I like gliding and will continue my long commute as long as I can or as long as my batteries hold out.

I’m Greg Ulrich, from Mission Viejo, California, and that’s why I glide.