GET params not passed when using URI ROUTE class

[eluser]Future Webs[/eluser]
Im using the latest DEV version of codeigniter and attempting to create SEO urls with the URI routing class but it seems that my GET params are being ignored and not sure which direction to go in.

I already use GET params across the rest of the site without any problems and have query_strings enabled.

Here is an example of a route im trying to use.

Code:

$route['controller/nice-seo-url-([a-z]+)-with-keywords']  = 'controller/index/?key=$1&var1=that&var2=this';

The result is that I land on the correct index page for the controller but the GET params are not passed.

Ive tried to log the input->get() output and can see that the get is empty.

Am i missing something or is the URI class just not built to do what im trying to do.

Thanks in advance and if im not describing this well let me know.