Mark Donaldson is one of the first owners of a Segway Human Transporter, the upright, two-wheeled scooter that balances with internal gyroscopes. Dean Kamen invented it and Internet hype made it famous.

Donaldson is an upstanding citizen of San Francisco. He's an upwardly mobile professional and works in the financial district in the city's downtown. He depends on his new Segway to get to and from work every day. He paid about $5,000 for the thing, after ordering it on Amazon.com.

The only problem for Donaldson is he has to ride his Segway in a city that just banned the scooter from its sidewalks late in 2002. "Tech Live" caught up with him during his first week commuting to work and found that it's not always so easy to stay in the bike lanes and on the streets.

Admitted sidewalk surfer

"Sometimes I wish this thing would go a little bit faster," Donaldson says as he leans forward on his way to work, having forsaken other means of transportation for a green alternative. "It's a lot more fun, that's for sure. It's probably a little bit slower than a bike but it's faster than a bus."

In his first week on the scooter, Donaldson rides both the roads and the sidewalks, even though that became officially illegal as of January 20.

"As soon as I see a car, I just duck up along the sidewalk and kind of zoom along there. Maybe look back and see there's no cars, then duck back onto the street," he explains.

So far, he's had good luck on the sidewalk as a "conscientious objector" to city laws. He hasn't received a single ticket, yet.

"I have run into several police who mostly just smile," he says. "If I'm on the sidewalk, I try to be respectful."

Donaldson says he feels vulnerable on the street. "Cars coming up behind me, there's just a lot of trust there that they're going to zoom around," he says. "You're pretty much wide open. It's flesh and blood out there."

Celebrity in city used to oddities

Making his way among taxis, cars, and buses, Donaldson is a bit of an oddity in downtown San Francisco. He waits patiently for a walk signal -- when he won't be walking. And he fields questions from passersby -- a lot of questions.

"Does it have a speed limit and everything?" one man asks as he leans over to peer at the handlebars.

When he comes across a cable car stopped in the middle of the street, the brakeman jumps off and asks, "What is that thing? A unicycle?" Donaldson does a 360-degree turn in place to show off the maneuverability of his Segway.

The scooter zips up San Francisco's famous hills without any problems. "I'm trying to decide which is cooler," Donaldson says, "going up or down."

He does have to keep his eye out for cable car tracks and slick spots on the road, saying he knows Segway isn't a magic carpet and that he could fall off. It doesn't appear that he could, as he zips in and out of traffic, and dodges people and parked cars.

"It's like riding a bike," he says. "It takes a little while. And then you have that dangerous period when you think you're good. Maybe I'm in that period. Maybe I just think I'm good."

One day, perhaps, the sight of Donaldson rolling along on his Segway won't be such an oddity. But in the meantime, he seems to be happy to show off his scooter.

"Well, you kind of have a little bit of a celebrity status at the moment, which will hopefully go away as more people get them," he says. "I mean, it's a lot of fun for sure."