My bicyclist friend AJ and I rode about 11 miles tonight. Short and
sweet! I just thought I'd jot down a few random things I found
amusing.
The ride was entertaining for a number of reasons:
* My first decent length of offroad (only lumpy bridgepaths, so XC not
technical) on the 36" wheel. It was fast, and not too difficult, very
pleased with it - I expected that it would be good as an XC machine and
I wan't disappointed. On the dry earth the slick 36" tyre (the Qu-Ax /
Wheel TA model) gripped well and rolled easily.
* I discovered that my right thigh obscures my light on every pedal
downstroke, which in turn made it much more entertaining trying to
remember what lumps I was about to encounter in the trail, several
times a second. I really need a handlebar mount to get the light out
of the way, plus a headlight would be *really* useful - it was awkward
having to turn the uni to see what was off the side of the trail / read
signs.
* I rode over a motorway bridge with a really low fence. Usually the
pedestrian motorway bridges have high fences you can't possibly fall
over on a unicycle, this one was about 4ft high so it's not like I was
*likely* to go over it in a UPD but it was not very comforting either.
I judged it to be safe and rode carefully over, but afterwards the idea
of landing in the path of some car freaked me out a bit so I don't
think I'd do it again!
* After surviving all of the above successfully I fell off for no good
reason whilst riding through town (I was just approsaching a steep
humpback bridge and not really concentrating, but still I've done that
bridge many times before). This involved bouncing hard on the saddle
twice as the unicycle fell one direction, caught, then fell another
direction: this bouncing *really* hurt! Also somehow it seems much
easier to get pedal bites on the 36" than the 29" - presumably
something to do with slightly different dimensions, coupled with there
being further to fall, and more wheel in the way. I now have a five
inch gash on my calf (thankfully not deep), and a little Z shaped cut
which looks cool in a harry potter kind of way - I'm hoping that one
scars ;-)
I got through about a litre of water from my hydration pack and a
decent selection of chocolates. It was a really good ride, and a great
way to work off some of the stresses of the day (and hopefully exercise
off enough caffeine to be able to sleep :-) During most of the ride we
weren't sure where we were - next time we'll plan a route or at least
take a compass!
Edit: the route we took is here -
http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=331071 Gmap pedometer is a great
resource for plotting out routes, calculating distance, etc.
--
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!
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