Ready for giraffe riding?

i have been teaching one of my friends to uni and i think they are ready
to ride a giraffe when they can freemount on a regular uni and ride
nonstop. also, it is up to them if they are ready to ride a giraffe

--
vuniw

ehh i didnt make this up but it takes twice the man (or woman) to ride
half the bike and im sure everybody agrees

unicycle isnt a hobby, its a life style
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If they feel confident enough in their ability that they are willing to
attempt riding a unicycle with the seat 5 or 6 feet in the air, and
they recognize the consequences of failing to be able to, they are
ready to ride a giraffe.

Have them sign a waiver too, if that would make you/their parents feel
better.

--
burjzyntski

It's no good being Polish unless you prove it once a day.

\"every silver lining has a touch of gray.\"
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my first experience with a giraffe wasnt that good..
i fall off on the wheel and broked the rim...

this event caused to me a trauma and i cant ride a giraffe since it..

--
picado

###unicycle for JAH RASTAFARI###

One wheel in brazil
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I think a waver is smart. It shows that you've told them of the hazards
of the sport. It might include some verbage on the necessities of
helmets, wrist guards, etc... "Participate at your own risk." MUC even
had parents of minors sign the sheet.

I think I read in these forums a long while ago that some clubs require
at least a level 3 proficiency before riding club giraffes. IMHO, other
good advice is to start by having the new giraffe jocky jump from a
static ladder a time or two in order to become accustomed to the
impact. Spend some time discribing and practicing the dismount. Riding
a giraffe isn't all that hard. But from up there, the ground is
surprisingly hard.

Take it from someone who knows: HAVE PLENTY OF ROOM FOR THE WHEEL
DURING THE DISMOUNT. IF IT HITS SOMETHING BEHIND YOU WHILE YOU DESCEND
(a curb for instance), IT CAN PERMANENTLY AFFECT YOUR SITTING POSTURE
FOR THE WORSE.

--
Memphis Mud
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You should have some guidlines to ensure complete safety on the girrafe
in my opinion...The person must demonstrate complete conrtol of a
ground level uni before steping up.

I think you should have some rules. These rules will not only ensure
safety but will also encourage learing of the different skills needed.

1. Mount and ride unassisted for an indefinate time period
2. Turn left and right smoothly and with control
3. Ride backward unassisted for an indefinate time period
4. Idle with both the left and right foot down for at least 25 rocks
5. Stop on a dime in complete control.

Once they can do these on a ground level uni it will prove that they
are in complete control of their wheel and then they will be ready for
the Giraffe.

--
trials_uni

TRIALS 4 LIFE !
'Check Out The Newbie Guide' (http://tinyurl.com/99yez)

Radical Reed said:

I have to herd the polor bears, while harvesting pot. Then I sit down on
my couch made of softwood lumber with a glass of maple syrup and watch
a hockey game or a gay marrige.

*Caution-I may have no idea what im talking about*
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I've seen the Level 3 suggestion a couple of times.
Other suggestions I have seen before included being able to idle and
being able to ride backwards.
These all make sense to me and I would suggest including them in
whatever list of requirements you eventually settle on.

At worst, it's a nice incentive for the riders to get those very handy,
yet very pesky to learn, skills under controll really quickly.

EDIT: Seems myself and trials_uni are thinking along the same lines.

--
GILD

'three short gs and a long e-flat™'
(http://w3.rz-berlin.mpg.de/cmp/beethoven_sym5_1.wav) - 'world jump
day' (http://www.worldjumpday.org/)
'if i'm murdered, don't execute my killer.'
(http://www.inthesetimes.com/site/main/article/1539/)
'harper' (http://tinyurl.com/c9epx)
'NAMASTE!' (http://tinyurl.com/4qcxw)
'Dave' (http://www.lyricsdir.com/d/deep-purple/child-in-time.php)
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I agree that idling and riding backwards should come before riding a
club giraffe. If there is an assumption that the club is
learning-based, these are core skills a new rider should be working
toward in any case.

Being in a giraffe without idling or backwards skills will lead to more
unplanned dismounts that aren't necessary, and increase the chances of
rider or equipment damage.

If they bring their own giraffe that's another story, but it's up to
you (the club) on who rides yours.

--
johnfoss

John Foss
"jfoss" at "unicycling.com" -- www.unicycling.com
-----------------------------------------------

"The worst thing you can do on a unicycle when you land is stop dead."
-- Kris Holm, world's expert on high-consequence unicycling
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when i learned to ride my giraffe i couldnt ride backwards on my trials,
but i could on my giraffe

--
dale_dale

biggest set/gap = 4 set
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I just "learned" to ride a giraffe. It was a really old and bad one,
but it wasn't really that hard. It only took about 10 minutes before I
was pretty comfortable.
I only fell a few times but no injuries whatsoever.

My friend also tried briefly and all he can do is freemount and ride.

--
andrewfif

Kris Holm quoted me, therefore I'm awesome.🙂
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May seem obvious but it hasn't been mentioned here. Before allowing
someone to ride a giraffe, even before allowing someone to ride a
giraffe holding onto two people's hands... it is a very good idea to
teach them how to dismount a giraffe first.

I taught someone how to ride a giraffe once. At my juggling club we
have a stage that is the exact same height at the pedals on my six
footer, so I first told him to stand on the very edge of the stage and
jump off a couple of times.

Then I planned a "pole vault" kind manœuvre, where he would sit on
the giraffe facing away from the stage and then I would slowly,
deliberately (and warning him what I was about to do; "be prepared to
take your feet off the pedals as well"😉 make the giraffe start to lean
forwards with the wheel staying put, so he knew exactly what an
increasing-tilt-to-dismount felt like and how to deal with it.

--
gkmac

"It's a marvellous thing to see, someone in full flight on the
unicycle." - Stuart Maconie, Radio 2
"Oh no! Both my toes have gone numb!" - Joe Hodges
"You also met me gk! I was the one eating the sandwich!" - Adam Gayne
"Act your tyre pressure, not your age." - rob.northcott
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Its easier to ride a giraffe than a normal unicycle... its just getting
on thats the hard part...i say if they can freemount a normal uni and
ride with control they are ready for the giraffe...

--
irvinegr

Check out my SWEET movies!!! http://tinyurl.com/cr7fu
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