Best part about riding (wholesome) 🔥

[chrisjunlee]

I got into this by watching a couple of videos, and thought it would be fun to learn - I wasn't initially impressed or thought it looked cool. In fact, I was embarrassed how dorky I thought I looked - but I'm comfortable being a dork 😎.

So it was a shocker at the amount of "OMG THAT IS AWESOME" comments I got and complete strangers coming up to fist bump me.

But the best part?

The best part is being the spark to ignite the fire. Being that first positive emotional moment burned into someone's mind, that they repeat over and over again, until those thoughts become an action that starts their own journey into this wonderful world. 

pic: conversation with coworker

[leadfeathers]

There really is something magical to these; I can't put my finger on it.  When I finally figured out how to ride, I felt exhilaration that I haven't felt since I was a little kid.  Nothing else I've done in my life has had this much of an effect on me as an adult.  It's quite amazing.

Kudos for showing another person the way

[meepmeepmayer]

2 minutes ago, leadfeathers said:

There really is something magical to these; I can't put my finger on it.

Here's my theory:

Any other vehicle moves you. You use some more or less disconnected input, then it moves, and drags your body with it (so to speak). Car, bike, scooter, eboard, you name it. Self-balancing vehicles are the other way round: you move, and the vehicle follows you. It has no choice but to do that, and it couldn't move without your input.

That might be what is so enjoyable about EUCs. The vehicle is an extension of your body, not your body an extension of the vehicle. Mind-control, in a way.

The only other thing (besides self-balancers) I know of that does the same is a hang glider. Works by the exact same principle: you shift your weight to the front, back, left, or right, and it has no choice but to follow you. There's sometimes a string to stiffen or soften the wing (like choosing a ride mode on EUCs) but that is all. Super simple.

[leadfeathers]

Very well said, you pretty much nailed it.  I don't think I've ever experienced a vehicle that responds so naturally as an extension of your body like the EUC.

[travsformation]

I agree, @meepmeepmayer, the closest analogy I can think of is skiing, just sliding down the mountainside effortlessly, leaning to turn and having the skis follow you--at times it can feel like a form of "active meditation". Except they're not self propelled, which makes EUCs a very unique experience, in that (aside from being able to go uphill too and not have to take a chair lift 😂) your input isn't only right and left but also forward and backwards, boosting that sense of "an extension of your body" even more. And MAN is it addictive 😁😂

Sometimes I love stretching out my arms to my sides (Dicaprio in Titanic style, but better because there are no icebergs in my area 😂) and leaning forward, feeling how the wheel not only catches me (you can't lean forward like that standing on the ground), but also how it responds to my input and accelerates (like you said, once the dynamic is fully internalised and second nature, it feels more like mind control than mechanical/physical). I won't elaborate any more, this is starting to sound like written EUC soft porn 😂😂😂

Once you EUC, there's no turning back 😁

 

Edited July 30, 2019 by travsformation