The Villages - September 2019 - 30

QUIRKY CLUBS
would ever experience on any sort of ride,"
McGinness said. "We put down 2x4s to
simulate roots and they ride over top of
that and we have pretty steep hills that
they go up and down - we have all sorts
of various activities that they do."
Twice a year, the club holds a "Segway
Experience" event at SeaBreeze Recreation
Center, where anyone can purchase tickets
and try a Segway for themselves. Similar
to the boot camps, experienced members
teach new users how to operate the vehicles and navigate through all types of
terrain. After the training session, the new
Segway riders take a 30-minute guided
ride through the Village of Duval.
"What the (Segway Experience) does is
give people the opportunity to see whether
the Segway is something they enjoy doing,"
Redding said. "Or they might ride it and say,
'You know, this isn't what I thought it was, I
don't want to ride it.' Or you get people like
Bruce and me who say, 'This is so much fun,
we're going to become part of the club and
participate in these monthly outings.'"
The money the club raises from the Segway Experience events goes directly to their fund to purchase Segways for mobility-impaired veterans. In Redding's tenure as president, the club has been able to purchase six
Segways for veterans, and both Redding and McGinness
say it is an extremely gratifying experience to be able to

The Segway Riders Club of The Villages
Meets: Third Wednesday of each month at 10 a.m.
Where: SeaBreeze Recreation Center
More Info: Visit the club's website at srctv.org
Segway Experience: Nov. 11 from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. at
SeaBreeze Recreation Center. Tickets are $30 and can
be purchased at any of The Villages Box Offices.
Club rides: The club offers multiple rides a month.
Check the schedule on the club's website for more
information. All potential riders will need to sign up
for a boot camp session before attending a ride. Check
with the club for more info on the boot camps.

SEPTEMBER 2019

help those veterans regain their mobility.
The club also participates in parades around Central
Florida, and McGinness leads what the club calls the
"Award-Winning Diabolical Elite Precision Drill Team,"
a division of the club that not only rides in parades, but
also performs synchronized maneuvers.
The team recently performed at a parade in
Fruitland Park, and among 30 other groups
in the parade, the team was awarded the "Best
Performance Group" trophy - hence the "AwardWinning" moniker in the group's title.
"We didn't know there even was a contest,"
McGinness said, laughing. "Four days later I
got an email from the head of the parade committee that we had won first place and we could
come pick up our trophy. So that was a nice
little thing."
The Segway Riders Club of The Villages knows
where all the fun places are around Central
Florida, and they know the best way to enjoy
them - at a leisurely pace atop a Segway, taking
in all the sights and sounds the Sunshine State
has to offer.

http://www.srctv.org

The Villages - September 2019

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