This is me riding a "hoverboard" (as we're calling it even though it doesn't actually hover). In heels. And guess what? It was way harder than I thought.
About 10 minutes before he snapped this photo, my colleague Sean Hollister (aka Hoverboard Wiz) took me and the wheeled gadget to CNET's basement level, where I kicked off my 2.5-inch shoes to master the basics of mounting, dismounting and moving around without going splat.
In general, it took some ankle and ab work to keep still when I wanted, and to control my speed and direction when gliding or spinning around. Like most movement, you think about what it is you want to do, and your body makes it happen.
When I got cocky enough to zip my 2.5-inch heeled shoes back on, I noticed an immediate difference. The balancing act was immediately harder, my weight weirdly and uncomfortably spread out in either my heel and my toe -- rather than my whole foot. I was slower, shakier, and my body had to work harder to go where I wanted.
It makes sense when you think about it: I went from a whole foot for weight shifting to just two points for weight shifting.
Well, the balls of my feet and heels still feel smooshed from the 20-minute ride around the office, but it was worth it for the fun of spinning in circles and zig-zagging backwards. Next lesson: Taking the thing outdoors.
But maybe this time in flats.