Shady Tools Posted May 19, 2015 Posted May 19, 2015 Yesterday my charger arrived & worked. I put my wheel on charge at about 9am & it was ready just after 1pm. I spent about 15 minutes in the back garden going from my back gate to the shed. This involves two slight turns & a drop off the grass onto the path. I then wedged the side gate open & extended my route to the end of my front path: I then had to go out to a staff night out with my work. I got back around 1am & decided to use the quiet roads to get some more practice in (bad idea after drinking). All in all I fell off around 7 or 8 times in the hour I was out. These were mainly due to scraping the pedals as I tried a particularly tight corner, catching the pedals on kerbs & generally just psyching myself out - imagining crashing & then crashing. At a couple of points I actually managed to reach what sounded like the 4 beep warning: I crashed & rolled just at the end of this video. All in all I'm quite happy with my progress as this is my first experience on any unicycle. I have grazed shins, scratched elbows, a broken watch strap, a bruised hip, a slice on my right palm & what feels like a cracked/broken rib. I also snapped my potentiometer off which has annoyed me. I am definitely investing in some padding for my wheel (a little late now), wrist guards, elbow pads & rib protectors.
esaj Posted May 19, 2015 Posted May 19, 2015 Umm, let me get this straight, in case I misunderstood something:-You got the fastest, most powerful EUC out there as your first wheel ever-You practiced for 15 minutes and then went out to drink-You then decide to take it out for a ride in the middle of the night, intoxicated and without any protective gearBroken rib? I'd say you're lucky to still be alive! The protective gear might not be a bad idea from here onwards...
^tom^ Posted May 19, 2015 Posted May 19, 2015 Umm, let me get this straight, in case I misunderstood something:-You got the fastest, most powerful EUC out there as your first wheel ever-You practiced for 15 minutes and then went out to drink-You then decide to take it out for a ride in the middle of the night, intoxicated and without any protective gearBroken rib? I'd say you're lucky to still be alive! The protective gear might not be a bad idea from here onwards... 100 point for this answer!Nobody can shorten his time to learn......so this sounds like the hard way!Glad you still alive and with us mister Shady Tools.
Shady Tools Posted May 19, 2015 Author Posted May 19, 2015 That's about the size of it lol. I managed to get to work & back on it today though. Didn't have any falls but had to jump off & catch it a couple of times though.
^tom^ Posted May 19, 2015 Posted May 19, 2015 Why you not take the time it needs!If you go on a street it is very dangerous for a beginner!And the first place you started to get used to it, I also would not recommend to beginn with!It is not even and not a lot of space (narrow is not bad but not like this surface), also no a handle or a wall etc..So make sure you are a happy driver tomorrow too!!!
Shady Tools Posted May 19, 2015 Author Posted May 19, 2015 I am going to be much more careful from now on. The pain in my rib is going to remind me to, for the next week or so lol.I guess this pain is what you get for trying to be a @vee73 on your first day :-/
Gimlet Posted May 19, 2015 Posted May 19, 2015 But Shady, have you seen the protective clothing that vee73 wears?He comes off a lot and props to him for not editing the crashes out of his videos. I'm sure that as a matter of pride many of would edit heavily before going public.But with his full face helmet and motocross protective gear he can afford to take risks with relatively minor consequences.
Shady Tools Posted May 19, 2015 Author Posted May 19, 2015 Yeah, if I ever decide to try extreme riding I will be wrapping up safe. I realise now thatI'm going to have to get protection for everyday riding too.
Gimlet Posted May 19, 2015 Posted May 19, 2015 It depends entirely on your mindset at the time. The majority of the time I use nothing but I do have and use a helmet, wrist guards, elbow pads, knee pads, motox padded shorts and padded shirt.Most often used is an old pair of Dynastar leather ski gloves that I've had for over a decade.
Shady Tools Posted May 19, 2015 Author Posted May 19, 2015 If I had remembered to wear my anti-slash leather gloves, I probably would have been a little better off. It's mainly my ribs & elbows that are hurting. If I could get a little more accustomed to turning then I could probably go without protection. I will have to get over to a park & practice until I'm (rightly) confident.
Gimlet Posted May 19, 2015 Posted May 19, 2015 Anti slash gloves? Does that mean you cant undoes your fly to take a leak with them on? lol
Shady Tools Posted May 19, 2015 Author Posted May 19, 2015 ROFLThey are supposed to be resistant to knife attacks. I bought them while I was doing security & we had a cold winter.
Kroy Posted May 19, 2015 Posted May 19, 2015 So they're not the black gloves that Axl Rose wears then?!
EUC Extreme Posted May 20, 2015 Posted May 20, 2015 Do not do as I do, do all to a better, safer and nicer
Shady Tools Posted May 20, 2015 Author Posted May 20, 2015 Do not do as I do, do all to a better, safer and nicer I will practice safely & order safety equipment. Then I will go extreme :-)
EUC Extreme Posted May 20, 2015 Posted May 20, 2015 Even though I have good guards, I have nevertheless received several minor injuries here and there.But if you practice extreme, you have to get used to the pain. After all, the pain is not even dangerous.At this very moment I have ...- Cracked and swollen toe in spite of safety shoes.- The second leg of the toe swollen.- Swollen heel- Shoulder sore so that it does not swarf can not sleep.- Little finger dislocated left a few months ago, and badly swollen and moving even more.- The legs bruised.Much has dents that are already improved, but a lot of them are still available.Most of these come in a few months ago.They heal slowly because often get attacks despite the good equipment.But, as already intimated, extreme sports pain to forget, or allowed to interfere with life.Despite all the nice thing is, and as long as you go with a smile can. I have experienced in my life so violent pains in the years around the clock, that such a small feel any pain.But please keep these words in mind when you begin to play tricks. Edit:Yet a moment ago, I had the entire hip and leg up to the knee in black. It's got two very severe blow on the same day.The second time, I already got a decent auction the time of impact. It took the hurt and slowed down for a while top speed. But not for long.
Shady Tools Posted May 20, 2015 Author Posted May 20, 2015 Good advice. I won't be trying high speeds off-road until I can stay on the wheel & jump over small objects. I have managed to get myself to about 85kg (from about 96) in the last couple of months so I can squeeze a bit more speed & range out of it.I will keep practicing :-)
esaj Posted May 20, 2015 Posted May 20, 2015 I nominate you the greatest Darwin Award Candidate of 2015 (so far) In case you don't know what a Darwin Award is:"The Darwin Awards are a tongue-in-cheek honor, originating in Usenet newsgroup discussions circa 1985. They recognize individuals who have supposedly contributed to human evolution by selecting themselves out of the gene pool via death or sterilization by their own actions. The criterion for the awards states, "In the spirit of Charles Darwin, the Darwin Awards commemorate individuals who protect our gene pool by making the ultimate sacrifice of their own lives. Darwin Award winners eliminate themselves in an extraordinarily idiotic manner, thereby improving our species' chances of long-term survival." Just kidding On a more serious note, riding intoxicated will probably give a VERY bad publicity and media attention to EUC riding in general. Not to mention that you're so much more likely to hurt yourself (or even others). Please don't do it.As for protective gear, I still ride with full-face helmet, full pad-set and just got back from getting my wrist guards from mail (yeah, been driving without wrist protection this far). I haven't fallen since the 3rd day crash, and while I've become very confident with my riding skills, you never know what's going to happen, so I still keep using it all. Even though my generic wheel probably doesn't go past 15km/h.
SerpentineGX Posted May 20, 2015 Posted May 20, 2015 Glad you got your wheel up and running. You picked up on riding quick. Be careful on that thing, it's a monster of a wheel. I tried riding home after a good session of pub hopping. I was too "wobbly" so I just shut it off and got a ride from a friend. That kind of playing around is probably better suited in a big grassy football/soccer field where you would least likely hurt yourself or others, but I still would rather just hit the off button. The things we do with liquid courage. lol But all the same, I'm glad you're alright, minus some bumps and scrapes.
Shady Tools Posted May 20, 2015 Author Posted May 20, 2015 Feeling very pleased with myself. Just went a good mile or so (carefully) & didn't come off my new toy once. I even managed it down The steepest local hill I can think of, which has a very narrow path (using the torch on my phone) without coming off.The wheel had a few wobbles but I used the lack of friction to readjust my feet. Over the grass I could feel all the bumps much more. Maybe I should let the tyres down a bit when I go off-road?Great fun either way & I still averaged faster than walking speed :-D On a side note, I did learn not to turn the wheel off while you're still standing on it at the front door but curiosity got the better of me :--)
Shady Tools Posted May 21, 2015 Author Posted May 21, 2015 You're right about the bad publicity though. I would be mortified if I was the reason they got banned. That's why I'm sticking to back roads & trying to just ride late at night. I have the day off tomorrow so should get some proper practice in.
sickswan Posted June 4, 2015 Posted June 4, 2015 Shady you hero haha sounds like something I'd do after a few haha not a good idea but seems alright at the time any way how you getting on with the gotway any vids to share yet
Shady Tools Posted June 5, 2015 Author Posted June 5, 2015 I have made a couple of videos but nothing too interesting. They are on my YouTube channel from about 2 weeks ago.The first of the videos below was from my first night out on it. Already after crashing a few times. I crashed right at the end of making the video but must have pressed the stop button as I fell. The second was from the other day. My first trip that was over 1 mile lol. I did just under 5 miles in 33 minutes, was taking my time & only fell off twice :-)This was a bridge that I have been looking forward to attempting & I made it first try :-)No matter my injuries, it's still better than walking.Getting Accustomed to my Birthday Pressie
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