rec.sport.unicycling · Public discussion

First coker crash

Started by cathwood · · Last activity · 20 posts · 283 views

This thread is locked and is currently read-only.

Thread navigation

Jump through the discussion

Go to the original post, the replies on this page, or the latest preserved contribution.

Thread details

What we know about this thread

Original section
rec.sport.unicycling
Published
19 November 2006
Last activity
20 November 2006
Original author
cathwood
Posts
20
Discussion status
Public discussion
Total views
283
Views / 30 days
0

The navigation and discussion metadata provide context. Posts remain in their original chronological order.

Showing posts 1–20 of 20
Posts remain in their original chronological order.

Text size
  1. I had my first coker crash today.

    Here's the story:

    I have recently learnt to freemount and had freemounted but landed with
    my foot in an uncomfortable position. I have learned to move my foot by
    wriggling it on the pedal pins. However, it seems that if the edge of
    my foot is at the edge of the pedal then either due to the pattern on
    the shoe or the pins being bigger on the edge, I find it difficult to
    move my foot from this position. And I find it really annoying.

    Anyway, there I was riding along with my foot at the edge of the pedal
    and feeling uncomfortable because I wanted to move my foot outwards a
    bit. I tried to ignore the feeling and then I tried to move my foot. I
    fiddled around for a while then one moment I was fiddling with my foot
    and the next minute I was on the floor. No warning. No feeling of
    falling off and so having time to 'land' in some way. No. One minute I
    was riding, the next minute I was on the floor.

    Luckily I had just ridden round the corner from some little girls who
    had admiringly asked how I did it and I had told them that you
    practice. Luckily too no one had seen me because there is nothing I
    hate more than being asked if I'm OK when I've hurt myself. My sense of
    shame is stronger than my sense of self-preservation so I would
    probably say that I was OK even if my arm was hanging off.

    Even luckier still, I hadn't really hurt myself. I banged and scraped
    my elbow but it wasn't enough to make me shorten my ride and I even
    went the long way home because it was such a nice day.

    My elbow is just sore enough to make me think about wearing elbow pads
    when riding, especially if I was only in a t shirt. But perhaps not.
    Anyway it was not the slow decent that I always thought that falling
    off the coker would be.

    --
    cathwood

    Cathy
    ------------------------------------------------------------------------
    cathwood's Profile: http://www.unicyclist.com/profile/9425
    View this thread: http://www.unicyclist.com/thread/55000

  2. as long as you didnt get hurt.

    well with any luck it wont be the first of many.

    what pedals are you using?

    --
    iridemymuni

    munipsycho said:

    Just a bit of advice: never vomit while wearing a full-face helmet.

    irvinegr said:

    haha i just thaught it was funny the title is "3th movie"

    pixystix6 said:

    oo give him and intising lap dance while he rubs pasteries all over you

    kapoute said:

    It just depend if you are gay or not...

    'Bike Coalition!!' (www.bikecoalition.com)
    ------------------------------------------------------------------------
    iridemymuni's Profile: http://www.unicyclist.com/profile/11900
    View this thread: http://www.unicyclist.com/thread/55000

  3. ya that's happened to me. I was trying to get my foot into place and
    (call me stupid) I was hopping while doing this and my foot hit the
    back part of the pedal and it came back and put some rakeage into my
    shins. I ended up having to pull the pedal out of my shin.

    --
    gordito8me
    ------------------------------------------------------------------------
    gordito8me's Profile: http://www.unicyclist.com/profile/13641
    View this thread: http://www.unicyclist.com/thread/55000

  4. cathwood said:

    I had my first coker crash today.

    Here's the story:

    I have recently learnt to freemount and had freemounted but landed with
    my foot in an uncomfortable position. I have learned to move my foot by
    wriggling it on the pedal pins. However, it seems that if the edge of
    my foot is at the edge of the pedal then either due to the pattern on
    the shoe or the pins being bigger on the edge, I find it difficult to
    move my foot from this position. And I find it really annoying.

    Anyway, there I was riding along with my foot at the edge of the pedal
    and feeling uncomfortable because I wanted to move my foot outwards a
    bit. I tried to ignore the feeling and then I tried to move my foot. I
    fiddled around for a while then one moment I was fiddling with my foot
    and the next minute I was on the floor. No warning. No feeling of
    falling off and so having time to 'land' in some way. No. One minute I
    was riding, the next minute I was on the floor.
    ....................

    My elbow is just sore enough to make me think about wearing elbow pads
    when riding, especially if I was only in a t shirt. But perhaps not.
    Anyway it was not the slow decent that I always thought that falling
    off the coker would be.

    A few weeks back I has a very similar fall on the 29-er.

    Just riding, not doing anything tricky, my left (non-mounting) foot
    felt slightly off- I recall adjusting it, then the next thing I'm
    -slammed- into the ground- it made a hell of a 'slapping' sound and
    pretty much the whole pedestrianised bit I was on turned to look 🙂

    Normally, the very few UPDs I have are easy to walk out of, the even
    fewer that I had up on the ground are usually decent landings.

    I think with this, one of my feet somehow got tangled in the cranks-
    possibly the uni was going backwards at this time and this lead to the
    'slamming' effect.

    Although the injury was slight (skinned elbow) I felt that it could
    have been a lot worse ie broken elbow if I'd been less lucky.

    I've not ridden the 29-er since and have stuck to the 24x3- i will
    doubtless go back to the 29-er, but only when I've developed a stategy
    to mitigate against that kind of rare, but random, UPD.

    It did occur to me to start wearing elbow pads, but, though I'm totally
    happy to use helmet and wrist guards, I find elbow pads for just (non
    trick) riding to be undesirable in terms of both comfort and looks.

    I have become very much more aware when making foot adjustments on the
    pedals- I've had other strange UPDs when doing this. I feel it's more
    of a danger when it's my non-mounting foot as, due to the fact that, as
    it goes on first it's generally well-placed and rarley need adjustment
    whereas my right foot gets more practice as it often needs adjustment
    immediately after mounting.

    As a circus skills/arts/crafts tutor, I'm always very wary of things
    that can damage wrists/elbows, so I did take this particular fall very
    seriously.

    --
    onewheeldave

    "You can't outrun Death forever.
    But you can make the [censored] work for it."

    --MAJOR KORGO KORGAR,
    "Last of The Lancers"
    AFC 32
    ------------------------------------------------------------------------
    onewheeldave's Profile: http://www.unicyclist.com/profile/874
    View this thread: http://www.unicyclist.com/thread/55000

  5. By all means wear the elbow pads! Very few things are more painful that
    an elbow injury and it's so easily prevented. I always wear wrist and
    elbow protection with my Coker. When it's cold out and I'm wearing
    workout pants the kneepads just won't stay put. So if I'm wearing
    shorts I also have on the kneepads. You never think about them until
    until the exposed nerve endings are screaming "Why! Why! WHY!" and you
    can only say "I dunno?" 🙄

    --
    Trapper
    ------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Trapper's Profile: http://www.unicyclist.com/profile/10341
    View this thread: http://www.unicyclist.com/thread/55000

  6. I long ago came to the realisation that if I UPD'd on the coker that I
    was going to hurt myself - otherwise I would never have ridden any
    faster than very slowly. I'm resistant to wearing elbow pads because I
    neither like the restricted feeling that they give nor do I like the
    time taken to get ready for a ride. It takes enough time already to get
    the cycle shorts on, the camelpak ready, sort out my wrist guards
    (which I landed on - probably would have had a broken wrist otherwise -
    I always wear wrist guards), my helmet, mp3 player and mobile phone.
    Since I have only had this kind of UPD on the coker once in the 6
    months that I've had it and that my ears are the most important part of
    my job, elbows don't come into it, I'm willing to risk it elbow padless
    unless it happens again.

    I was happy that I wasn't too afraid to get back on - freemounting as
    well, although I wasn't very enthusiastic about moving my foot on the
    pedal on the way home.

    --
    cathwood

    Cathy
    ------------------------------------------------------------------------
    cathwood's Profile: http://www.unicyclist.com/profile/9425
    View this thread: http://www.unicyclist.com/thread/55000

  7. gordito8me said:

    ya that's happened to me. I was trying to get my foot into place and
    (call me stupid) I was hopping while doing this and my foot hit the
    back part of the pedal and it came back and put some rakeage into my
    shins. I ended up having to pull the pedal out of my shin.

    That sounds VERY PAINFUL.

    --
    maximus unius

    Quoted message said:

    Originally Posted by *Beener*
    Is ISIS, ISIS, is ISIS not ISIS, is KOXX ISIS really ISIS, is Kris Holm
    ISIS more ISIS than KOXX ISIS, ISISISISISIS!


    ------------------------------------------------------------------------
    maximus unius's Profile: http://www.unicyclist.com/profile/13699
    View this thread: http://www.unicyclist.com/thread/55000

  8. maximus unius said:

    That sounds VERY PAINFUL.

    It absolutely does. Much more painful than a banged elbow.

    --
    cathwood

    Cathy
    ------------------------------------------------------------------------
    cathwood's Profile: http://www.unicyclist.com/profile/9425
    View this thread: http://www.unicyclist.com/thread/55000

  9. i had to do that once too, remove the pedal off the shin.. the day i had
    just fitted my brand new wellgo pedals, went with my trial biker
    friends and we found a nice drop, about 0.8m or sommit (i didnt have a
    trials uni at the time), and i jumped, and fell and the wheel came
    right back into my shins (at the time no 661s) and straight into the
    back of my leg... damn the back of legs are soft, the pins went through
    and i ahd to physicslaly remove them... i still haev the marks of the
    pins in the back of my leg... 4 of them went into my shin....

    funnily enough on the moment it wasnt that bad, but afterwards it was
    pissing pretty baddly and started being quite painfull...

    anyways sorry to hear your coker fall, doesnt sound nice... if i ever
    get enough money to get a distance uni, i think i'd go for the 29"....
    36" looks kinda scary. lol

    --
    brendan
    ------------------------------------------------------------------------
    brendan's Profile: http://www.unicyclist.com/profile/13680
    View this thread: http://www.unicyclist.com/thread/55000

  10. Ow! Sorry to hear about your unfortunate fall Cathy, happens to
    'everyone' (

    ) at some
    point... Glad to hear you're ok tho, and it hasn't shaken you too
    badly. I wear wrist, knee and head protection when cokering, but then
    I've still got many miles to cover before I can consider myself as
    competent on mine.

    Loose.

    --
    Loosemoose

    Vice President - Southampton University Circus Society

    "Come on you target for far away laughter,
    come on you stranger, you legend, you martyr, and shine..." - Pink
    Floyd
    ------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Loosemoose's Profile: http://www.unicyclist.com/profile/6326
    View this thread: http://www.unicyclist.com/thread/55000

  11. Since building my 29er, I've been really surprised when I fall too. You
    mentioned that the fall was completely sudden, no moment of
    realization, no time to react, and this has been my experience too.

    I was riding to class, and right in the middle of the plaza (luckily I
    was late to class, so there weren't many people out) I was riding at
    like 11mph, and all of a sudden I was skidding on the ground. I usually
    wear wrist protection, but I hadn't that day, cause I was just going to
    class. I got big bruises on my wrists, and a bunch of "are you ok?"s.

    I figure now what causes these most of the time (I don't know what
    causes my falls right after they happen) is I'm used to road biking,
    where my feet are clipped in, so I tend to want to "pull up" on the
    pedals. This doesn't work on pinned pedals, though, so sometimes if I'm
    pedaling fast enough, my foot lifts off the pedal breifly, and the
    pedal spins under my foot. My foot then misses, and I upd.

    --
    onelesscar

    "It's f*$%^*g raining!"
    "Well, is it f*$%^*g or is it raining?"

    "That car was -melting-????"
    ------------------------------------------------------------------------
    onelesscar's Profile: http://www.unicyclist.com/profile/11127
    View this thread: http://www.unicyclist.com/thread/55000

  12. Welcome to the club Cathy!

    I got my new nimbus framed coker (almost exactly like yours I believe)
    about two weeks ago and had my first big wipeout in months while riding
    it back from work last Friday night.

    Riding in the dark on a poorly lit, bumpy cycle path with only LED
    lights, after a couple of pints in the pub is more difficult than it
    sounds 🙄 Luckily I managed to roll as I hit the ground and
    only got a few scuffs on my wrist guards and a slightly grazed knee.

    I always wear wrist guards and helmet on the Coker but find knee and
    elbow pads uncomfortable for road riding. I know I'll get a grazed knee
    every now and then but it's not so often that it worries me.

    Having said that I was very glad to be wearing pads at the end of the
    Unicon marathon as I dismounted in spectacular fashion at the finish
    and ended up sliding on my knees while the Coker almost took out a
    couple of spectators :eek:

    Paul

    --
    paul royle
    ------------------------------------------------------------------------
    paul royle's Profile: http://www.unicyclist.com/profile/5572
    View this thread: http://www.unicyclist.com/thread/55000

  13. delighted to hear you got straight back on, and are ok. If you'd gone
    back home it could've been a huge dent in your confidence.

    --
    mikepenton

    Uni - The Unicycle Magazine
    'www.unicyclemagazine.com' (http://www.unicyclemagazine.com)
    ------------------------------------------------------------------------
    mikepenton's Profile: http://www.unicyclist.com/profile/7090
    View this thread: http://www.unicyclist.com/thread/55000

  14. Hey Cathy, glad you survived relatively unscathed, but judging by the
    number of times I fall off (perhaps not a fair comparison 😉 ) you have
    done exceptionally well to last this long without a coker-tumble or
    several. I usually know when I am about to fall and manage to either
    run out or adopt the rag-doll fall all over the road position if
    travelling too fast to run out. Only occasionally do I fall flat on my
    ar5e without realising it was about to happen, but all one can do is
    laugh it off - "Pick yourself up, Dust yourself off, And start all over
    again ..." (luckily you can't hear my dreadful singing voice in this
    medium 😉 )

    Richard (Loose), that was a great vid clip; "Here they come - Ooooohhh
    !"

    Blue skies
    Chris

    --
    munidobs

    Always look on the bright side of life ...
    ------------------------------------------------------------------------
    munidobs's Profile: http://www.unicyclist.com/profile/8790
    View this thread: http://www.unicyclist.com/thread/55000

  15. cathwood said:

    I had my first coker crash today....One minute I was riding, the next
    minute I was on the floor.

    I had a similar speed-of-light crash once on my 29er, but have also
    crashed pretty bad on my 36er. Like you, both of these, my two worst
    crashes, are from foot/pedal loss of contact or foot shifting attempts.
    For that matter, 9 out 10 of my crashes are foot-coming-off-the-pedal
    issues.

    Glad you're OK.

    --
    steveyo

    steveyo

    ...like having your own personal rollercoaster...
    ------------------------------------------------------------------------
    steveyo's Profile: http://www.unicyclist.com/profile/7228
    View this thread: http://www.unicyclist.com/thread/55000

  16. munidobs said:

    Hey Cathy, glad you survived relatively unscathed, but judging by the
    number of times I fall off (perhaps not a fair comparison 😉 ) you have
    done exceptionally well to last this long without a coker-tumble or
    several. I usually know when I am about to fall and manage to either
    run out or adopt the rag-doll fall all over the road position if
    travelling too fast to run out. Only occasionally do I fall flat on my
    ar5e without realising it was about to happen, but all one can do is
    laugh it off - "Pick yourself up, Dust yourself off, And start all over
    again ..." (luckily you can't hear my dreadful singing voice in this
    medium 😉 )

    Richard (Loose), that was a great vid clip; "Here they come - Ooooohhh
    !"

    Blue skies
    Chris

    Well I have had UPDs before but have landed on my feet so I haven't
    counted them as crashing. One particularly memorable one was when it
    was really windy (I hadn't realised how windy until I reached an
    exposed part of the road). There was a cross wind and a gust blew the
    unicyle sideways right from underneath me. I ended up standing on the
    pavement and the coker was blown into the adgacent field.

    That time I felt it probably wasn't a good idea to continue, so I went
    home.

    --
    cathwood

    Cathy
    ------------------------------------------------------------------------
    cathwood's Profile: http://www.unicyclist.com/profile/9425
    View this thread: http://www.unicyclist.com/thread/55000

  17. cathwood said:

    No warning. No feeling of falling off and so having time to 'land' in
    some way. No. One minute I was riding, the next minute I was on the
    floor.

    Isn't it amazing how learning to unicycle teaches how to teleport that
    way?😎 I've done it a time or two, also.

    cathwood said:

    That time I felt it probably wasn't a good idea to continue, so I went
    home.

    I hope you got the Coker out of the field first. 😉 🙄

    --
    brian.slater

    Brian C. Slater
    AKA: Snoopy

    Ok, I am now officially in my normal state of -advanced- confusion.
    Don't try to confuse me, it won't make any difference. If you try not
    to confuse me, that will confuse me.

    "To not decide is to decide" - undecided
    ------------------------------------------------------------------------
    brian.slater's Profile: http://www.unicyclist.com/profile/3902
    View this thread: http://www.unicyclist.com/thread/55000

  18. cathwood said:

    My sense of shame is stronger than my sense of self-preservation so I
    would probably say that I was OK even if my arm was hanging off.

    Reminds me of that scene with the cyclist in one of the National
    Lampoons films 🙂

    Glad you weren't injured much.

    I haven't fallen off my coker yet... still too chicken to ride faster
    than about 15mph. I have visions of being mown down by the heavy
    steam-rollering wheel as I skid along the gravel on my face :eek:
    It's nice to be able to cruise easily at muni sprint speeds though (12
    or 13mph ish).

    I nearly always wear elbow pads because of the pointy rocks around here
    - I've got boney elbows and really don't fancy an injury like what
    happened to Dogbowl. They aren't very comfortable though, especially
    on a hot day. If I'm racing I often won't wear them because of the
    heat (certainly if it's not a stoney course). I think I'm a bit
    paranoid on a unicycle though and tend to pad-up more than most people
    - although I quite happily ride my bike to work at 50mph wearing no
    safety kit at all apart from a helmet (and I've only just got into the
    habit of wearing that on the road - never used to).

    Keep safe - but don't worry too much 🙂

    Rob

    --
    rob.northcott

    'Dartmoor Muni Weekend'
    (http://www.unicyclist.com/forums/showthread.php?t=46116) - Last
    weekend in May 2006
    Same again next year anyone? It'll be dry, I promise.
    ------------------------------------------------------------------------
    rob.northcott's Profile: http://www.unicyclist.com/profile/7436
    View this thread: http://www.unicyclist.com/thread/55000

  19. Glad you're OK.

    But Coker crashes can be interesting... I certainly have experience of
    the sudden unexpected dismounts where you're on the floor in a
    heartbeat...

    I've found that that this don't happen so much these days. I think
    with lots of riding it's possible to sense sudden UPDs earlier (and
    sometimes avoid them). Last time one happened to me on the Coker, I
    was going very fast (maybe 16 or 17 mph, not really sure) on a slight
    downhill slope. I had enough time to decide that there was no way I'd
    be able to run out, but wasn't really quick thinking enough to roll.
    It hurt and I scraped up my arm badly - shame I didn't have elbow
    pads...

    The coker generally feels quite safe and stable these days, but it's
    worth bearing in mind what can happen and leaving lots of margin for
    error!

    --
    mark williamson

    Dave: Just a question. What use is a unicyle with no seat? And no
    pedals!
    Mark: To answer a question with a question: What use is a skateboard?
    Dave: Skateboards have wheels.
    Mark: My wheel has a wheel!
    ------------------------------------------------------------------------
    mark williamson's Profile: http://www.unicyclist.com/profile/11301
    View this thread: http://www.unicyclist.com/thread/55000

  20. Well, I'm still anticipating the arrival of my new Nimbus 36 (should be
    tomorrow or the next day) and this thread is very though provoking. I'm
    not looking forward to my first crash though I know it's inevitable. I
    was on a nice long ride on my 29er last night and got to thinking about
    just how comfortable I've become on it and how long it's been since
    I've really injured myself in a UPD. It's been a full year since I had
    a crash that required medical attention (badly sprained ankle) and I've
    gotten quite good at anticipating any falls. I feel a bit cocky and
    have that attitude that I can step-off/run-out of anything. In a way
    that's good. Confidence is a wonderful thing and being too timid can
    be detrimental to ones riding but one of these days the unicycling gods
    are going to come along and slap me back down to earth. I'm very glad
    to hear, Cathy, that you weren't seriously injured 🙂 .

    --
    underdog

    'I tell you, we are here on Earth to fart around, and don't let anybody
    tell you different' - Kurt Vonnegut
    ------------------------------------------------------------------------
    underdog's Profile: http://www.unicyclist.com/profile/6197
    View this thread: http://www.unicyclist.com/thread/55000

Active in the last 60 minutes

Active in this thread

0 users · 0 guests ·0 bots ·0 total

No signed-in users are active right now.

No known search crawlers active right now.