I have to admit I didn’t think those high-tech Segway Human Transporter devices, unveiled to great international fanfare about three years ago, would be rolling across the border into Maine anytime soon.

It’s not that the average Mainer wouldn’t be as intrigued as anyone else by such a radical new form of two-wheeled, battery-powered transportation, which operates on an array of gyroscopes and microprocessors so stable and intuitive that its rider feels as if the gizmo is wired right into his central nervous system.

The 65-pound machine reportedly is so finely attuned to the subtlest of body movements, in fact, that losing your balance and falling off is said to be nearly impossible – except in the case of President Bush, that is, who managed to topple from one of the scooterlike devices on national TV.

If I remember correctly, though, he did fall to the right.

Since the majority of Mainers tend to be a practical, no-nonsense lot, however, I figured they might view the Segway as a fascinating though unsuitable contraption with which to traverse a largely rural state where the roads are often lumpy and pitted and smooth sidewalks are in short supply.

Yet the Segway does appear to be slowly making inroads here, despite its lack of snow tires. A woman from Yarmouth has begun offering guided Segway tours of Portland’s Eastern Promenade, in the hopes that people will be so taken by the novel form of transportation that they might even decide to buy machines for themselves.

Reading that there was a small fleet of these cool things scooting around the state’s largest city didn’t surprise me much, Portland being the trendsetter that it is. But learning that the state’s only Segway dealer outside of the two in southern Maine just happened to be in Machias, of all places, really piqued my curiosity.

“We have one here on display, and it’s been very popular,” said Ron Mahar, a sales rep for Blueberry Ford, who holds the distinction of being the Down East region’s first official Segway trainer. “It certainly does turn heads.”

Mahar said Blueberry Ford got into the Segway business about eight months ago because of its association with a New Hampshire auto dealership that distributes the nifty two-wheelers in the Northeast. Because Segway sales are handled through the regional office in Concord, N.H., Mahar can’t be certain how many people have decided to buy Segways after taking the Blueberry Ford demo for a test drive. So far, he said, most of the sales interest has come from out-of-state people who own summer homes in the area and have the $4,500 to buy a machine.

“But it’s been a great conversation piece for everybody around here,” Mahar said. “I’ve shown it dozens and dozens of times to people, and everyone is fascinated by it. Lots of the locals will come in and say, ‘Oh, that’s a Segway! I’ve heard about those things.’ So I’ll hop on it and take it for a little jaunt down the street.”

Anyone who wants to road test the Segway must first put on a helmet and, after some instruction, gets to zip around the showroom floor to get the feel of the thing.

“They can ride it in our parking lot, too, which is half gravel,” he said. “But it does well on gravel. We don’t have too many sidewalks around here, but it’s getting better.”

The first time Mahar rode the machine down Dublin Street to Tom’s convenience store for a hamburger, the strange sight caused quite a buzz around town.

“It was just incredible,” he recalled with a laugh. “I was more cautious about not getting run over by the people watching me than I was about the ride. I can drive to Tom’s in a new $49,000 pickup and not get half the response I get with the Segway. Riding it creates some excitement. It’s like having a new girlfriend; everybody in town wants to know who she is.”

Mahar said he has big plans to promote the wonders of the innovative technology in the region. He intends to pitch the Segway to the local colleges, hospitals and mills as a unique way to move lots of people efficiently, cleanly and quietly.

“I really do believe they’ll catch on here in Maine,” said Mahar, who will show off the Segway in the International Festival’s parade in Calais early next month. “People are always wanting new and interesting things, and this is just another one of them. I can foresee a time when they’ll be popping up all over the state. It certainly has great appeal for a lot of people. It’s not quite a UFO, but it gets the same kind of looks.”