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6 km's

Started by Brian MacKenzie · · Last activity · 13 posts · 532 views

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rec.sport.unicycling
Published
11 August 2005
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11 August 2005
Original author
Brian MacKenzie
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  1. Now the farthest I've ridden a giraffe.

    With a few PD's. The ride is along the river, and I discovered
    something very creepy while riding. If you are on a girraffe, you are
    ready to fall over the side of the railing very easily, should you fall
    to the side. Especially how you never really have control in a 'tip
    over' I find you always have to wait it out to see what
    happens....keeping 'don't twist ankle' at the top of your 'things to do
    list'

    But on top of that, keeping in mind the same kind of awkward fall, you
    would 'most likey' still fall over if you were 3 feet away. (so riding
    a 6 ft wide bridge down the centre has 'skinny' qualities to it.

    This also allowed nice periods to get off, and practice freemounting
    again on the other side, I'm probably at 70% success with that.

    Anyone using a velo on their giraffes?

    Riding up/down steep hills on a giraffe is quite a different feeling.

    --
    Brian MacKenzie - Infection is your finest flower

    'TRAINING WHEEL NOT REQUIRED DVD - NOW AVAILABLE!'
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    'ps. just watched TWNR, the UW36 on the stairs broke my brain' - markf

    'Unicycle Product Reviews'
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  2. You rode 3.7 miles (based on the current exchange rate of Canadian KMs).
    I had to convert before I could decide whether to be impressed.

    --
    uni57 - David C. Lowell

    dave lowell (uni57)
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  3. uni57 said:

    *whether to be impressed. *

    Not yet

    --
    Brian MacKenzie - Infection is your finest flower

    'TRAINING WHEEL NOT REQUIRED DVD - NOW AVAILABLE!'
    (HTTP://WWW.LBMMULTIMEDIA.COM)

    'ps. just watched TWNR, the UW36 on the stairs broke my brain' - markf

    'Unicycle Product Reviews'
    (http://londonunicyclingclub.ca/unicycleReviews.aspx)
    *122* reviews on *79* products, never make an uninformed purchase again!

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  4. Brian MacKenzie said:

    *Not yet *


    A little-ish.

    If you're not impressed, then I won't be either. But if it's a big
    accomplishment for you, then I will be duly impressed and congratulatory
    (and happy for you). Everything is relative to the rider, because we
    all have different strengths and weaknesses and different rates of
    learning. You are one of the few masters of extreme Coker riding, but I
    guess you are new to giraffes? (I don't read much here lately, so I
    probably missed a few posts)

    Keep posting about your giraffe experiences. I don't recall people
    talking much about giraffes (we get "trip reports" mostly about
    Coker/700c distance riding and MUni).

    --
    uni57 - David C. Lowell

    dave lowell (uni57)
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  5. The most I've ridden is a mile one-way to our little local store. It
    also involves crossing a rather scary (on a giraffe) bridge over the
    river, were you have to ride along these little 3 foot wide raised
    things on the sides, they're elavated about 10 inches*. Its scary.

    * I dont know what to call it. Little ramps on either side for cars to
    drive over.

    --
    forrestunifreak - The buck stops here.

    warning: the above statement is usually not intended to offend anyone.

    it has been known to the state of california to cause warts, toe jam,
    ring-around-the-collar, compulsive twitching, and in some severe cases,
    ' diaper rash.' (http://tinyurl.com/ct5lp)
    it may contain logic, poltical incorrectyness, pshycological nudity, and
    traces of peanuts.

    Team YAMS member.....
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  6. Well, thank you sir.

    I won't really be impressed until I hit you in the face with a water
    cannon though.

    --
    Brian MacKenzie - Infection is your finest flower

    'TRAINING WHEEL NOT REQUIRED DVD - NOW AVAILABLE!'
    (HTTP://WWW.LBMMULTIMEDIA.COM)

    'ps. just watched TWNR, the UW36 on the stairs broke my brain' - markf

    'Unicycle Product Reviews'
    (http://londonunicyclingclub.ca/unicycleReviews.aspx)
    *122* reviews on *79* products, never make an uninformed purchase again!

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  7. that's pretty far, for a giraffe...I've only borrowed my friend's
    giraffe to ride to school, which is about a mile from here, and that was
    hard. nice job

    --
    James_Potter - betcha can't stick it!
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  8. the annoying part is the chain driven feeling...feels very rough, non
    fluid like

    --
    Brian MacKenzie - Infection is your finest flower

    'TRAINING WHEEL NOT REQUIRED DVD - NOW AVAILABLE!'
    (HTTP://WWW.LBMMULTIMEDIA.COM)

    'ps. just watched TWNR, the UW36 on the stairs broke my brain' - markf

    'Unicycle Product Reviews'
    (http://londonunicyclingclub.ca/unicycleReviews.aspx)
    *122* reviews on *79* products, never make an uninformed purchase again!

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  9. I have ridden my giraffe off-road.. and onto a gravel-paved walking
    trail. The round trip comprises about 7km, down my street, across the
    freeway, through a subdivision and down a short (but really really
    hilly!) path to the lake. I've got a pretty good success rate with
    mounting (5' torker TX), and I converted the seat to be an airseat,
    which developed a bit of a leak I'm afraid.

    It was definitely a good ride though - the trail is well-used, but still
    has an amazing woodsy feel even though it's right in the middle of the
    city. Joggers also use it a lot - and when you're nine feet tall, they
    usually stare as they pass by!

    Surprisingly, low-hanging branches weren't much of a problem. Hills
    which required me to pull on my seat to stay on were, however.

    All in all, it was a good ride, and left me feeling satisfied and a bit
    winded by the end of it. I am definitely a fan of giraffe-distance
    riding. I'm very tempted by a cheap (20$) bike at the thrift store with
    a 46-tooth chainring. The cotterless cranks would fit right on the
    giraffe, and with a bit of chain adjustment, I'd have a pretty mean one
    wheeled goin' machine.

    let's hear it for the really tall crew 😄

    --
    flyer - Level 5 Unicyclist
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  10. flyer said:

    *I'm very tempted by a cheap (20$) bike at the thrift store with a
    46-tooth chainring. *

    Bike cranks are usully 175mm, is that the length you are thinking of
    getting?

    edit: You've got me really anxious.

    I'm now going to re-lace this giraffe hub into a 24" muni wheel...just
    in case

    --
    Brian MacKenzie - Infection is your finest flower

    'TRAINING WHEEL NOT REQUIRED DVD - NOW AVAILABLE!'
    (HTTP://WWW.LBMMULTIMEDIA.COM)

    'ps. just watched TWNR, the UW36 on the stairs broke my brain' - markf

    'Unicycle Product Reviews'
    (http://londonunicyclingclub.ca/unicycleReviews.aspx)
    *122* reviews on *79* products, never make an uninformed purchase again!

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  11. My giraffe distance record is 50 miles/75km, shared with Bradley
    Bradley. We did this in the March of Dimes SuperRide in 1980 at
    Detroit's Belle Isle. I say 50/75 because they listed the ride as 75km,
    but I think they had recently made the switch from miles (to get more
    sponsorship dollars) but I don't know if they actually changed the
    length of the route. Everybody called it 50 miles.

    We were on Schwinn Giraffes with 48:28 gear ratios. We were the first to
    start and the last to finish. And boy did our crotches hurt before they
    got numb! This was followed by painful urination. Oh the things you'll
    do when you're 18! After that we agreed not to do such a long ride again
    until we had big wheels...

    The geared-up Schwinns were kind of hard to ride, and very hard to
    freemount. Speed was good, but you were still on a little 20" wheel and
    6' above the ground!

    --
    johnfoss - More Moab Fun

    John Foss, the Uni-Cyclone
    "jfoss" at "unicycling.com" -- www.unicycling.com

    "Read the rules!" -- 'IUF Rulebook'
    (http://www.unicycling.org/iuf/rulebook/) -- 'USA Rulebook'
    (http://www.unicycling.org/usa/competition/)
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  12. Besides the bridges with low railings, another interesting obstacle is
    low overhead pedestrian bridges that the bike trail passes under. There
    is a low pedestrian bridge over a local Seattle bike path. The first
    time you come to it on a 6-foot giraffe you wonder if you can duck low
    enough to make it under. Then when you do duck low enough to make it
    under you realize that it would be very bad to have a UPD right then.
    It is possible to make it under that bridge on a 6-foot giraffe but I
    don't think I would try it if I had a Camelbak on my back unless I saw
    Greg Harper do it first while wearing a Camelbak.

    --
    john_childs - Guinness Mojo

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  13. Besides the bridges with low railings, another interesting obstacle is
    low overhead pedestrian bridges that the bike trail passes under. There
    is a low pedestrian bridge over a local Seattle bike path. The first
    time you come to it on a 6-foot giraffe you wonder if you can duck low
    enough to make it under. Then when you do duck low enough to make it
    under you realize that it would be very bad to have a UPD right then.
    It is possible to make it under that bridge on a 6-foot giraffe but I
    don't think I would try it if I had a Camelbak on my back unless I saw
    Greg Harper do it first while wearing a Camelbak.

    --
    john_childs - Guinness Mojo

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