When Buck Ward first saw a Segway, he knew he had to get one.

"My first reaction was 'I want to get on it.' My second reaction was 'I have to have one,'" Ward said.

Shortly after his first ride, Ward handed over his credit card. He was officially one of "those guys" who rides a Segway.

"The first one I ever rode was in D.C. and the D.C. dealer will tell you the first day I rode one, I didn't buy one. I bought five."

Now he is taking his love of the quasi-futuristic personal transporter to the next level. In May, Ward will open the doors to Segway of Richmond, Richmond's first and only Segway dealership, which is located in Shockoe Slip at 1301 E. Cary St.

For those not sure exactly what a Segway is, it's a two-wheeled, self-balancing electric powered transportation device. It was invented by robotics innovator Dean Kamen and officially unveiled in December 2001 with much fanfare and national media attention. The current models have a top speed of 12.5 miles per hour and a range of approximately 25 miles on a single six- to eight-hour charge.

If you have never ridden one, the Segway is fairly easy to operate, even if you are balance-challenged. Once you step on board, you simply lean forward to go forward or lean back to slow down, stop or move backward. To turn, you lean either left or right. (On a personal note, Richmond.com rented one for a few days and it is pretty neat and a lot of fun.)

Though you may not have seen many Segways in use in Richmond so far, you may have seen them zipping around in other major U.S. cities. Ward hopes to change that.

"It is an incredibly fun experience unlike anything else," he said. "It is not a golf cart. It is not a bicycle. ... It's just fun smart transportation."

Even before the Segway came out in 2001, Ward's interest in robotics was strong. For the past few decades, he has worked in robot development with automated floor cleaning and security systems as well as interactive kiosks. Then last fall, Ward said he literally stumbled across the Segway.

"The more I looked at the personal transporter, the more I got interested in it," he said. "In a lot of the places that we are selling into like commercial warehouses and distribution centers, a Segway PT would really make a lot of sense."

Since opening his dealership, Ward has already sold quite a few units in the Richmond area. One of his first customers was security company Wackenhut, which uses five units to patrol the grounds at Philip Morris.

"They have found that not only are they more productive, but their customers really like them," he said. "They know that they are also more productive because they can go more places and see more places without the fatigue factor that they would otherwise have walking around."