How it started, and where it is taking me ...

[Scottie]

A Great Day on the MSP and the 16X

The temperature was perfect for me at about 60 to 63F (15 to 16C). There was a nice mix of sun and clouds, with a nice breeze. The MSP was fully charged, so the horse on steroids (MSP) and I headed out not caring where we went. Some new roads in an unexplored neighborhood where on the menu. A bunch of little kids were out riding there kick scooters and bicycles were amazed by an old guy defying gravity on one wheel as he rolled by. Later a couple of young ladies pushing baby carriages on the park trail saw the same old guy defying gravity on one wheel. One of them shouted in an excited voice, "Hey, that has got to be fun, WOW!". Another gentlemen gave a friendly horn honk with wave as he drove by in the opposite direction. This is one of the nice things about EUC riding, getting positive reactions from the public. It is still new around here and most people have not seen such a thing, so the nicer people share their amazement. Most dogs, on the other hand, seem to get highly agitated. I don't remember such agitation while riding by on a bicycle. Maybe I'm more alert to things on an EUC.

I had some good success with the off-roading today. The grass areas have the usual hidden bumpiness, but I was able to maintain some good steadiness on the MSP today; the same with the gravel. I am going to keep giving myself doses of this. The hidden bumps are good for the reflexes.

Later in the day, after completing some chores, the Tasmanian Devil (16X) came out and we had a fun 30 minute session on the driveway and street in front of the house. I love going back to the 16X often for quick fun cutting and zooming around. Today on the 16X, I could tell how much my legs have firmed up because I was back in my training ground where I was having such a hard time a few months ago and remembering all the difficulty just doing anything. Leg firmness had a lot to do with that. Back then the 16X felt wobbly and uncontrollable. Now the legs are strong and steady enough to be in charge of all the little motions. EUC riding is a great workout.      

[Scottie]

Another Great Riding Day With One Exception

Today was another fine day for riding after it stopped raining. It was windy and gusty, another good reflex education. It started with the 16X as a warmup in front of the house.

Then the MSP was taken on tour of the local park and part of the town. As I approached an intersection, a house blocked the view of a car was coming from my right. It was no big deal. I was going slow and the car was also. The problem was that I had a couple of choices to make very quickly, stop or turn right and proceed on my way. I usually don't care where I go when I ride, as I just wander around like a butterfly, seeing what there is to see. So I chose to go right and avoid dealing with the car. The problem was a bit of loose gravel where I made the 90 degree turn. The gravel took all of my game from me and I went down. It was a routine fall, like when learning to ride (not a scratch), and as I was going down I was thinking "save the wheel"! So, what was the worst part of all this? You guessed it! The lady in the car saw me go down. 

I wiped off all the road rash grit from the wheel when I got home to get rid of the evidence. It will get more battle scars, no doubt. I just figured a clean wheel would be a fresh start and reset my brain to help me forget that a lady saw me fall.     

Edited May 8, 2020 by Scottie

[Unventor]

1 hour ago, Scottie said:

You guessed it! The lady in the car saw me go down. 

 

1 hour ago, Scottie said:

I just figured a clean wheel would be a fresh start and reset my brain to help me forget that a lady saw me fall.     

But you left out how her face expression looked like....and if she was/is good looking 😋.

So now I  am left with these choices 😉🤩🤯🤣🤬🤥🧜‍♀️💝💔....

I am glad you are okey after all

So now I can't sleep. Still trying to pick a smile that fits...

[Scottie]

8 minutes ago, Unventor said:

So now I  am left with these choices 😉🤩🤯🤣🤬🤥🧜‍♀️💝💔....

I am glad you are okey after all

So now I can't sleep. Still trying to pick a smile that fits...

I think this was here face   And this was mine

Yes, I'm fine. Falling is one of my specialties. I am really good at falling.

[Scottie]

The 18XL and Fateful Encounter 2.0

Today we have two rain fronts passing through, but I was able to get two nice rides in today on the 18XL in between rain showers, with the intention to get the 200 km needed to unlock the speed restriction. The 1st ride was at sunrise and it was a bit cool-ish, about 55 F (what's that ... 13 - 14 C). It has been about 3 weeks since the last 18XL ride. The flat comfortable pedals felt nice to come back to. This ride was cut short because of the rain moving in, so I read the forum for a while.

A couple hours later the 18XL was out and about again. It warmed up to about 70 F with sunshine. This time I was lucky enough to see my fellow local rider again on the park trail. I mentioned him earlier in the thread. We spoke and rode a bit up, and this time we exchanged phone numbers. So now there is an EUC gang of two here. Watch out! We are going to ride around and open doors for old ladies, pick up trash that we see, stop and chat it up with the police to see how the local Corona attitude is, and more.

OFF TOPIC WARNING: Today there are a lot of cars in the work place parking lots. Looks like we are going for herd immunity .... Hmmmm!

The 18XL made the needed mileage, (er ... kilometerage?) and so it is now set free from bondage. And it is now getting a charge to 100% as per @Mike Sacristan recent video ... so the wheel can live. The last two charges were at 90%.  I'm comfortable enough on it that I was up against the 20 km/h beeps often and I am glad to see them go away. I'm still not a speedster. My favorite cruising speed is 15 - 17 mph (24 - 27 km/h). At 20 mph (32 km/h), I feel like I am seriously going places. I can physically easily ride faster than that, but the mental comfort is not there. I don't heal up as fast as back in the day; even though I am really good at falling. That wasn't a coherent sentence, but you my drift.

It is raining again, so I wrote this for you. That's another few minutes of your life I've wasted ... (to borrow a line from Hsiang). Sorry!

 

[Mike Sacristan]

Same! Sucky rain here. Monika took the MSX and went shopping. I did not go with her as I don't want to ride the 16X in rain if I know that it is raining.
But I did get a nice 65km evening cruise in with my friend Daniel. And the sun was out until 9PM and +6C.

Congrats on now becoming a gang! Riding with a friend is fun and can also be very inspiring and educational.

90/90/100! Perfect!

You are very wise for having speed alarms on and progressing at your own pace with getting comfortable at speed. It is not a race. You can just move the alarm up to 25 kmh... until that beeps to often.. and so on and so on. It took me 6 months before I was comfortable at 45 kmh. Other riders get there after 2 weeks.

Believe me we have plenty of minutes of spare! Especially for posts like this. I enjoy reading your adventures. 

[Scottie]

MSP, Monster and Planned Encounter 1.0

Today I met up with the other member of the gang of two. This was the 1st time either of us went riding with another EUC guy. We each had the longest ride of our EUC 'rider-hood' or 'ridership' today (I think those are made up words). It was about three hours, and I usually do two hours. We stopped at the local doughnut shop. I had a couple with chocolate milk and he had a coffee. For some strange reason we felt like Duf!

A crazy thing we did was try to ride on the foot deep tires shreds that cover the elementary school playground. We succeeded a little, maybe 75 yards/meters of honest wheel time. That felt very spongy and slippery at the same time. No injuries to people or wheels to report, just a couple of old guys out trying to do something! Then we rode to the high school where we just missed my son-in-law who works there, but he managed to catch us on Candid Camera as we were leaving. There is more to read under the picture.

The discussion turned toward the possible Mini-Monster, which he is very interested in. What motor? Battery size? Suspension? And he has an order in for the Russian Power Pads for his full size Monster. He is also working on getting used to his new helmet mirror.

I tested the MSP by shooting up a grass covered mound that was about 6 to 8 feet tall. It was probably a 30 degree incline (not measured, just estimated). I had about a 10 mph running start and it made it up with no fuss, which is why I wanted it ... to haul my heavy whatever up such things. The grass riding is getting to be almost routine now. I think a lot of it is the ground is drying and firming up under the grass. A month or so ago the ground was wet, soft, and slippery under the grass. Maybe I'm getting a little better at it also. 

[Scottie]

The Little Things

I am right at 5 months since day 1 on the 16X. I mentioned earlier in my little EUC odyssey that lots of things were getting easier without really working at it specifically. In the 1st month or two, I could not even scratch my nose without nearly crashing. And now, while riding I can give myself a face massage if I want to. But I don't often need a face massage when riding, just occasionally!

At first it was very hard to just turn my head past 10 degrees to look for cars without loosing balance (not that I was near traffic at this point ... just trying to look). Just this morning I noticed that I turned my head almost all the way backwards to look for traffic, not like in the horror movie The Exorcist, but just generally turning everything a little from the feet up to have a quick look, without the wheel itself turning. It maintained course.  

A week ago, I was able to pull the phone out of my pocket and answer a call without even thinking about it; only did this because I was in an empty parking lot riding slowly.

Speaking of speed, today I took an early morning ride well before rush hour to enjoy quiet streets for easier street crossings. I'm a sidewalk rider for the most part. I only get in the street in very quiet neighborhoods. Anyway, I am riding an isolated sidewalk along the local shopping district, the wind was calm, and the steroid horse that can read my mind (MSP) was reading my mind. It was one of those times when you feel everything clicking perfectly, so I felt a little crazy (for me) and pushed it up close to @Marty Backe cruising speed for a couple miles, maybe 18 - 19 mph (29 - 30 kmh). It was a nice feeling gliding along like that because all the conditions (my conditions) were met, and all was well with the world.

It is still early in the day, the MSP is charging, I'm on my weekend, and the sun is coming out (which we haven't seen for several days). You can guess what happens next! 

[Marty Backe]

44 minutes ago, Scottie said:

The Little Things

I am right at 5 months since day 1 on the 16X. I mentioned earlier in my little EUC odyssey that lots of things were getting easier without really working at it specifically. In the 1st month or two, I could not even scratch my nose without nearly crashing. And now, while riding I can give myself a face massage if I want to. But I don't often need a face massage when riding, just occasionally!

At first it was very hard to just turn my head past 10 degrees to look for cars without loosing balance (not that I was near traffic at this point ... just trying to look). Just this morning I noticed that I turned my head almost all the way backwards to look for traffic, not like in the horror movie The Exorcist, but just generally turning everything a little from the feet up to have a quick look, without the wheel itself turning. It maintained course.  

A week ago, I was able to pull the phone out of my pocket and answer a call without even thinking about it; only did this because I was in an empty parking lot riding slowly.

Speaking of speed, today I took an early morning ride well before rush hour to enjoy quiet streets for easier street crossings. I'm a sidewalk rider for the most part. I only get in the street in very quiet neighborhoods. Anyway, I am riding an isolated sidewalk along the local shopping district, the wind was calm, and the steroid horse that can read my mind (MSP) was reading my mind. It was one of those times when you feel everything clicking perfectly, so I felt a little crazy (for me) and pushed it up close to @Marty Backe cruising speed for a couple miles, maybe 18 - 19 mph (29 - 30 kmh). It was a nice feeling gliding along like that because all the conditions (my conditions) were met, and all was well with the world.

It is still early in the day, the MSP is charging, I'm on my weekend, and the sun is coming out (which we haven't seen for several days). You can guess what happens next! 

And you've built up a nice collection of wheels in such a short period 

[Scottie]

The 16X Back at the Training Grounds

Its raining again, so I'm forced to type and rather than ride.

Yesterday the 16X was back at the local park where I first got some good wheel time. I'm sure everybody remembers where that was. There are plants and birds and hills and trees and rocks and things, just like the song. This is a great area nearby with lots of neat EUC training areas with little or no cars around. There are paved parking areas, grass hills and paved paths and hills, gravel drives, basketball and tennis courts, lots of park benches and picnic tables to rest on. Last February, I first rolled successfully for more than 5 feet on the basketball court and remember that 1st spark of the magical feeling of EUC riding! I was riding! But the wheel was taking me where it wanted and all I could do was maybe suggest that we go right or left!  

I decided that yesterday was going to be mostly grass fields and grass hill climbing. I quickly tried a steep grass hill and thought I needed to accelerate up it strongly. All I did was over-lean and fall off the front. I then just let the 16X take me up the steep grass hills at the speed it wanted without trying to force it so much, and up it went. I am really starting to get a sense of the power of the thing. It hauled my heavy carcass up the steep sections without trying. It reminded me of the video where @Mike Sacristan told Monika, "you take the elevator (meaning the 16X) while I'm back here on my toes on the MSX" as they were climbing a steep trail in the woods.

Next, the 16X was rolling over the gravel drives and grassy fields that had me so full of anxiety just a few months ago. I was able to go back then, but only very slowly and nervously. It was twitchy, crazy riding. But now, with the EUC muscles in better shape and more firmly in control of the wheel, it was an easy thing to roll across the fields. It was a great feeling, almost as great as that 1st spark of real movement felt on the basketball court. I am feeling even more wheel freedom.

I dropped the wheel 3 times yesterday during all this. One was a righteous drop ... the steep hill. The second was from doing something stupid. The third from doing something crazy. All were low speed and no biggie. Of the three drops, two drops were caused by me feeling cocky and over extending myself, which is basically the mindset we have to be in to even try to learn these things. Otherwise, would we even put a foot on a pedal? The stupid drop is too embarrassing to go into. I will just have to try and forgive myself for that one. The 16X is a tough little devil and brushes off the drops.  

[Unventor]

Well it is about testing boundaries, preferable at lower speeds so you don't get too much bruised when things don't pan out. 

I think you will see @Mike Sacristan talking about this too (in many of his videos), going just on the comfort zone and a tiny bit beyond. 

The KS16X is like an ugly dog with a great personality. It is a fun wheel to ride, and it does many thing really superb, but speed and weatherproofing isn't where it is in front of the line trademark given to it. True later batched might be better weatherproofed, but this should have been though of at the start of the design, and KS didn't do that.  

Right now I am waiting to get my KS16X doggy back home, still waiting for new control board (last I heard it was stuck in customer handling, 1 week ago). On the other hand I gave the dealer opportunity to service at low priority as I have other wheels to ride. So if he had customer with only one wheel waiting I asked him to help them out faster. 

There might be a day when I am in a bad situation and need a flexible hand. Karma has a habit to come back at you.

[Scottie]

@Unventor Sorry about your 16X bulldog. Do you remember the situation when the board failed? Were you really grinding it uphill? Were you accelerating hard? Was it water problem? What do I need to watch out for? @Mike Sacristan has ridden his hard for a record distance without that kind of trouble. 

I see you have ridden the 18L a lot. Is that your favorite? While you wait for the 16X, which wheel do you ride in its place? I've seen good reviews on the V10f ... described as buttery smooth. How often, and what kind riding do you use that for? I know you are counting the days until the V11 arrives!

This might be an interesting thread all by itself. There are a good number of riders with multiple wheels on the forum. It might be interesting to discuss why and when someone grabs one wheel over another. For me, I'm still in a honeymoon phase with the MSP, but still enjoy the others. The Monster still has the most distance on it. But I always seem to circle back to the 16X, like I don't want to stray too far from it! After the MSP honeymoon, I'm wondering which wheel will I take and when.   

Yes, I understand. We do need to take good care of our Karma.

Edited June 4, 2020 by Scottie

[Scottie]

MSP Pedals

After much internal debate, I filed down the MSP pedals to closely match the Monster, maybe just a tad lower. The MSP pedals were fine for a short ride, but tiresome for longer rides.

I've been taking the 18XL for my longer early morning rides lately. I like to be riding just before the crack of dawn when it is cooler and much less automobile traffic. On these rides it occurred to me that I don't think about my feet because they are fairly comfortable. So this propelled me into filing down the MSP pedals to make it more 18XL-ish. I thought if the MSP ergonomics suited me better for longer rides I would enjoy it more.

The process took about 2 hours of honest and careful work with a file. It took about 20 minutes of filing per pedal, starting with a coarse file and finishing with a smoother file. There where multiple breaks to temporarily fit the pedal on the wheel to check progress. The 1st pedal went faster because I just had to take it down to a comfortable angle. The 2nd one was a little more work because it had to match the 1st one, which required sneaking up on it with more fit checks.

1st ride impression: My foot position on the pedal closely matches the Monster. Before I would have to point toes inward to mitigate the steeper angle. It feels like the love-child of the 16X and the Monster. I thought I would lose maneuverability, but I gained some instead. In a turn my outside ankle does not have flex so much since it is starting at a more neutral angle when riding straight. This thing can now give the 16X a run for its money when it come to a slow tight turn. And it is almost Monster stable when moving faster.

Later today is a longer ride. Keeping fingers crossed. 

 

[Scottie]

Two long rides on the lowered pedals prove it was worth it. The pedals felt basically flat, even though there is still a moderate angle. I did not have any feet concerns. The feel of the wheel changed a bit. After some mileage, the body adapted to a "new normal" {I don't know if I like that phrase. It sounds a bit like resignation or giving up ... something an EUC rider doesn't do! I don't know. I'm just rambling }. There are more foot positions possible now. 

[Scottie]

What Now? What Next?

It has been 6 months since this old dude started on this new adventure/addiction. It could not have come along at a better time. Like many of you guys, focusing a bit on riding has helped me maintain some sanity and perspective through the Corona business. I used to like to stop for a hamburger and what-not, but that has been on hold for a while. Bicycle riding has taken on a renewal of interest for lots of people. But for me, this old dog was able to learn a brand new trick that looks like something straight from the Jetsons cartoon and is getting to be in pretty good physical shape because of it. Might have added 5 years of quality life to my old age.

Like many, I have used forums to help with my profession. But this is the 1st forum I have participated in for something fun and it has been quite educational and entertaining, along with the YouTube videos. I feel like part of a secret society that has passed through the gauntlet of learning something most people will never learn, which sort of puts us in something of a unique group. It must look like a circus act to most people when they see someone glide by magically on one wheel with all kinds of pretty lights flashing! The last time this happened for me was 40 years ago when I learned to fly airplanes. 

Now that I'm not a "horrible newbie" (just an average newbie) anymore, I feel competent enough to explore new places and trails. That is something that is adding to the overall satisfaction and often ... joy of living. All this has reinvigorated my spirit and added back that zest for life .... something that has really taken a beating while being part of the work-a-day world for so long. Now all my good mental energy is pointed toward my next ride. I have always had that 18 year old guy inside me throughout my life, and this is one of those things that lets him step out and take charge.   

[Scottie]

Young Cat - Old Cat

As I was cruising the MSP along the trail, I spotted what looked like another EUC rider off in the distance and coming my way. As he approached I could see that he was on one wheel, but in the old fashioned way. It was a young dude about 20 years old on a shorter Giraffe Unicycle (the models that that have a chain between the pedal crank and wheel). It was about the size of the one this six year old girl is riding, maybe one size taller. As we passed each other we gave the friendly salute and kept on our way like guys do.

I was riding along somewhat masterfully for an old guy that just got on one of these 6 months ago, but I still felt unworthy because the young dude was rock solid fore and aft, and side to side, as he pedaled along at a good clip like he had been on that thing for a decade.

When I reflect on this ... here was a young cat paying respect to the wheel old school {old fashioned way} while the old cat was honoring the wheel new school! What a strange role reversal. With young cats like this rolling around; there is hope for the world.

 

[Unventor]

On 6/4/2020 at 12:18 PM, Scottie said:

@Unventor Sorry about your 16X bulldog. Do you remember the situation when the board failed? Were you really grinding it uphill? Were you accelerating hard? Was it water problem? What do I need to watch out for?

Sorry for the late answer. I have had my focus elsewhere. 

Since I didn't open my wheel I am not 100% sure why this happen. But many 1st batch owners had to get a control board exchanged. I just think it came into a design layout flaw. It has been addressed in updates to the layout so hopefully it is fine now.

About that V11. Yes I am currently tiptoeing around as the wait gets shorter it get harder too. As I understand it none has shipped out yet. But this should happen next week. Expected travel time to me is a week or do. 

The weather is really poorly right now. Storms and rain so I decided to pass time reading up on the forum. And that is why I recalled I have missed out on you great thread here.

[Scottie]

Miles ... Kilometers

Since I am at six months of riding, I thought it might be time for a mileage (? kilometerage ? ) check. Metric guys ... what is the proper term here??

Numbers can do funny things. The mileage is in reverse order from time of delivery, which must be my fault for not riding correctly.  And the mile total ... 1234 ... funny / odd.

MSP        393 miles ... 632 kilometers   4th wheel

18XL       293 miles ... 472 kilometers   3rd wheel

Monster  283 miles ... 455 kilometers   2nd wheel

16X         265 mile   ... 426 kilometers   1st wheel

Total   1234 miles ... 1985 kilometers           

Well, the MSP honeymoon should be over now, so it must have turned into a favorite somehow. Or maybe I misjudged how long the honeymoon should last! It feels like a faster, stable 16X.

The 18XL is like the girlfriend on-the-side (shame on me for thinking like that ). This is still my crack of dawn early morning wheel because of the pretty lights viewable from all angles keeping me safer.

The Monster is there just for when its time for an interesting wheel. I rode that a lot when it arrived. But after the 18XL and MSP riding, it is a strange one to come back to. But it is still entertaining. Still love it ... strange love. Anyone had any of that?

The 16X comes out to play often. It is the wheel that I grab after coming home from work to help blow the stink off. I just carve, weave, do figure 8's and have a blast in front of the house for 20 minutes or so, playing like a kid until I feel human again.

At six months of riding, I am a torque lover. I've discovered that the slower wheels are all fine by me, provided they are somewhat strong. If I was going to be a speedster, I should have been one by now ... I guess, or at least have had some speed urges, but it did not happen (well maybe once or twice but I got over it). I feel like I am getting where I need to be at 17 to 20 mph (27 to 32 kph). That allows me to drool all over the V11, which is being described as the street suspension wheel. That works. The bigger battery allows for some good cruising. The S18 seems to be mainly for the off-road riders. And I will leave room to be wrong about that! I'm sure both wheels will do well for their purposes.

I find that I get surprised by going off a small ledge of an uneven surface ... a drop off (they easily hide from view) and I find them jarring. Going up that same bump does not feel as bad to me, and I can see them. So if you see a V11 with any drool on it.... (I was going to make a Corona joke here, but thought better of it in case someone out there would be offended. There are lots of Covid19 songs on YouTube though. So we need to keep a sense of humor through all this, if at all possible ... deepest apologies to anyone personally affected).

The Veteran is interesting, but not for me. I will be watching for any other models they dream up though.

 

[meepmeepmayer]

@Scottie The mten3 exists, just in case you needed that info And the V11 looks to be a great wheel so go for it!

[Scottie]

18 minutes ago, meepmeepmayer said:

@Scottie The mten3 exists, just in case you needed that info And the V11 looks to be a great wheel so go for it!

Funny you should mention that. I've also been thinking the mten3 would be a good one to have in the trunk of the car at all times. You know; for emergencies and such.

I'm not too much of an early adopter. I am holding back on the V11 until we see how well it does. I know, somebody has to test it. But there are people for that. And at the same time, I think it will be fine. Sometimes I wish I did not see both sides of a story. It just complicates things for me. 

[Scottie]

Inspirations, Observations, and Wonders

Early this morning I watched a couple of @Mike Sacristan videos about the new power pads being enjoyed on Mike's Nik+ and Monika's MSP. Then I watched Chooch defying gravity on the S18. That guy gets some incredible air under the wheel! So then I'm all inspired for a ride myself; juiced up more than usual. The weather was particularly nice and this addict had to go out and get a fix or a hit for myself (that's talk from the 60's and 70's man).

I usually gear up as a habit from the training days, because a spill or fall was always a distinct possibility and reality for a while in the early months of riding. Nowadays I am rock steady (almost all the time) because the body and legs and feet have learned whats going on and take care of things automatically fairly well now. The nice weather made me want to enjoy, so I went for a nice easy ride without the gear, not much faster than the young me could run back in the day. It was quite a freeing feeling ... just like gliding along on an EUC ... but a little more so! I forced myself to remember to keep the speed down. If something happened, I could basically step off, like most of my crashes have been. It was a fine and a sublime feeling; felt like I could ride a little better being unencumbered. But I would not feel good without the gear for my normal 18 - 20 mph riding.

Today was a high public comment day since I was just plodding around the park with lots of people out enjoying the day. A little girl bicycling with her family said, "Hey, that cool! I've seen it before". A middle aged fellow called me over while he was fishing in the stream. He played twenty questions about what that crazy thing under me was. An old lady approaching on the trail said, "That's the way to travel"! Three young adult males playing catch with a Frisbee said something like, "That's cool as hell"! Usually I'm traveling along somewhere away from people, so not so much attention. But today I had to put up with being a Rock Star. We've all had that, or will have it. Such is the life of an EUC rider.

While riding around slowly today to moderate the laws of physics while enjoying the gear free feeling, I had that recurring thought. I've often wondered what the feeling of riding was like for other people, mostly in the physics and mechanical aspect. What if I was younger, taller and a bit heavier? Would the wheel feel more like an under powered toy or would it be about the same? The same question glides through the brain about being smaller and lighter. How would the wheel feel then? ... like I was riding some powerful horse that handles me effortlessly? What would it be like to be Chooch effortlessly flying through the air because gravity doesn't notice me as much?! While riding, my thoughts are always telling me "Energy = Mass X Velocity Squared", meaning I would be a big splat on the ground if I didn't do my retired football player roll, while the lighter guys can just brush the dust off and go again. I have to think way back to being a young teenager to remember that feeling of jumping off the roof of the house and stuff! What if I had an EUC back in that day? WOW!     

 

[Scottie]

The Experiment

Yesterday I got to thinking about a thread that is a few months old called ... experiment. It reminded me of the slow tractor races that farmers like to do at the county fairs around the country. I've been pretty good at slow riding the past few months since slow plays right into my wheelhouse. Maybe I'm the best zombie rider around. Anyway it seemed like time to practice this and push the envelope in the slow direction to the extreme, just like suggested in the experiment. So the 16X was the wheel for this due to its instant response and torque.

       Related thought: The Mten3 is really starting to look interesting for this and other low speed and lightweight practicalities. Maybe someday soon.

I spent about thirty minutes doing this with just a few short breaks of mild speed to relax; then back to the work of creeping along as slow as possible like the tractors. While doing the creep riding, it was also a perfect time to try some stop-n-go, which they also talked about in the experiment. I managed to stay stopped several times for a full second and go again. Once I got lucky for a full two second stop, then go again.  And like @svenomous below, I threw in some mild backwards attempts and met with the same result. And like him, this is going to be my new area of practice. This practice session also gave lots of mounting practice. I felt some good improvement there. I've been mounting successfully every time for a few months now, but it is not always pretty. They were always functional mounts but can be much improved. Maybe some one leg riding practice/attempts after a few more weeks will bring up the mount quality. The YouTube guys make mounting look so easy and natural, like it is just the first step off for a stroll. I have the easy part down now; the natural part is still pending! As I'm typing this last sentence, the Speedy Feet guy is teasing me with his one leg riding skills on the YouTube video playing on the TV. Okay, I'll call that 'motivation' instead! He seems like a great fellow, or chap as they say. He did not mean to tease me!   

On 5/7/2020 at 2:01 AM, svenomous said:

Btw yesterday, for the first time, I felt ready to give going backward a try. I committed myself mentally, slowed to a stop as if to dismount, and maintained the lean to start moving backward. Worked on the first attempt, but after a foot I was panicking because I wasn't used to it, and couldn't see well behind me, and whatever other excuses I could think of, so I quickly dismounted.  Did it a few more times, but it was getting dark, so that fun ended. Super-slow riding and backward riding are next on my training schedule, once I have the wheel working again!

[Scottie]

The Experiment 2.0

As the title suggests, it was another session of racing with an ant and losing ~ trying to lose ~, as @ShanesPlanet said. It was going along pretty good ... I mean slow ... today as I was doing a multiple stop-n-go maneuvers. *I don't remember dropping a wheel for about 8 weeks so I took the cover off the 16X a couple weeks ago to enjoy the light show.*  During one of the stops, I lost balance and had to step off the wheel to the right while the wheel fell to the left. Aaaargh! That "hurt my soul", @Mike Sacristan quote! My wheel was not wearing it's protection! All I could do was apologize to the 16X as I massaged it's scuff. It forgave me and we did some more ant racing.

A did a couple of lucky 1 foot pendulums. I can feel them wanting to start busting out. Maybe before it gets cold, it could happen. That will be the next level of EUC freedom for me. Reliable mounting was the 1st level.

Side Story: A few weeks ago my knees were bothering me and I still had to do some grass trimming along the street in front of my house. The driveway to the street is moderately long and I was not looking forward to it. I picked up the 2 meter long battery powered weed eater and looked in the direction of the 16X. Well you know what happens next. And no, I did not fall. I was pretty handy with the 16X and confidence was high. I rode down the driveway with that long weed eater just like I could walk back-in-the-day. My balance and control is so much improved from when I could not ride and scratch my nose. It saved me a lot of extra steps and made the job a little fun.

Another Side Story: I met another fairly local EUC rider here on the Forum. We scheduled a ride. I invited the other fellow EUC rider I met earlier, and all three of us rode the trails of northern Indianapolis with lots of interesting places to go. I felt like I was in one of Mike's videos riding around Stockholm. Anyway, it was great ... until the other guys rode me into the ground. We went 38 plus miles (about 62 kilometers). I was really, really, really done after that. I'm older than dirt, and my local rider wing-man is older than me and he was like a kid having fun. Well, at least I made it. Crazy thing is, I think I want to do it again, but maybe not quite so far.     

Edited August 12, 2020 by Scottie

[.....]

On 7/4/2020 at 6:43 PM, Scottie said:

Funny you should mention that. I've also been thinking the mten3 would be a good one to have in the trunk of the car at all times. You know; for emergencies and such.

When you drive old cars like I do with over 350,000 miles on them and no cell phone, the ole euc in the seat could be a good strategy. I feel much better about it when I have my 10 mile or 30 mile euc with me. Of course, I don't inhabit populated areas, so the risk of theft is low. Screw it, you need no excuses, you NEED an mten. You have all those wheels with low miles on every last one. You get an mten and youll have an excuse for its low miles... its an ant racing, doughnut carving, listen to the world around you wheel. SHAME on you for not having one!

[Scottie]

1 hour ago, ShanesPlanet said:

its an ant racing, doughnut carving, listen to the world around you wheel.

An ant racing wheel! What have I been waiting for? I've got to get that order in.