How not to dismount a 10 foot giraffe!

[Panotaker]

Okay, so you think you want to ride a 10 foot giraffe unicycle, but you don't know what it would feel like to dismount from that height? Well after watching my dismount from my helmet cam, your going to get a pretty good idea. Riding a 10 foot giraffe is not the smartest thing I have ever done, but at 53 years old, I figured it's now or never. Before I started, I knew my old legs only had one good dismount in them from that height. So I was only going to ride it once, get it on video, and be done and move on to something else.

My one mistake was riding muni for 3 hours right before getting on the 10 footer. My legs where already wore out from riding muni. My friend Tobias just got a 10 foot giraffe and wanted to try it out. I used to ride a 6 footer all the time in my younger days, about 25 years ago. I borrowed a 5 footer from another friend of mine so we could warm up with it before getting on the 10 footer. I only rode that 5 footer around 20 feet and was ready to get on that big one.

Riding the 10 footer was pretty easy. Letting go of the support was tough. It's kind of like jumping out of an airplane. You don't really want to do it, but you eventually do. I knew the dismount was going to be tough, since my legs where so tired, so I rode it towards the grass and jumped off and landed on the grass. The dismount almost killed me as you will see in the video. You can see the video here:

YouTube - Ralph's 10 foot unicycle ride!

I don;t really know how to post youtube videos, so I hope it works. Stick around for the credits.

Ralph

[Peripatet]

Yikes!

I would have aimed a bit left and grabbed for that other light pole, then shimmied my way down.

Or maybe have someone grab the uni and jump off into a swimming pool.

[unicyclingisfun]

Thats funny

[Super G]

Panotaker: I got tears in my eyes from laughing so hard at that. Thanks for posting the video!

Of course its only funny because you posted it yourself.

[nimblelight]

Just make your legs all springy and you'll be OK.

I just went out and jumped off a fence to simulate the 7-8 foot drop.

No injuries sustained.

The Darwin awards? You need 10 years more training if you're going to make it into those.

[anton005]

you just made my day!

[UNIbike]

i once was riding a 8 foot giraffe and dismounted sideways accidentally and nearly went into a pole

normally you would slide the wheel on front of you but the wheel doesn't slide side ways

[UniBrier]

Seven years ago I got access to a similar uni, the seat was 9 1/2 feet off the ground. First time out I planned dismounted onto grass with no issues. Second time out I rode about a mile around a track, and dismounted at a fence with no problems. Third time out I had a UPD and didn't time the landing right; my legs were still straight when I hit the ground and I broke my left heel and severly bruised my right foot. On crutches for 10 weeks!

Originally Posted by nimblelight

I just went out and jumped off a fence to simulate the 7-8 foot drop.

No injuries sustained.

I jumped from height before riding too, the difference between a planned jump and UPD is huge on the landing. Did you lower your body before you jumped? That decreases the distance. Try jumping up from 6+ feet, then doing a safe landing onto concrete or asphalt.

Tall uni's are for the younger crowd.

By the way, that uni is still for sale for the right price...

[semach.the.monkey]

Last night I found out how not to dismount from a 5 foot giraffe. Apparently, the secret is not to drink a few strong pints of beer first, as this increases gravity quite significantly and risks leaving you in the middle of the road bloody and bruised.

Still, I wasn't in a state to drive home, and even with injuries, it was still quicker than walking

STM

[nimblelight]

Originally Posted by UniBrier

I jumped from height before riding too, the difference between a planned jump and UPD is huge on the landing.

Well, duh, you don't want to UPD from up there, but I got the impression that Panotaker had planned beforehand that he would jump off when he got to the grass.

I wouldn't want to jump from that height while holding a camera, either. I absorb a small ( but somewhat helpful ) part of the impact with my hands, mostly for balance, since if you lean forward as you hit the ground you can spread the force of impact out over a slightly longer period of time.

[krjames]

Originally Posted by Super G

Panotaker: I got tears in my eyes from laughing so hard at that. Thanks for posting the video!

Of course its only funny because you posted it yourself.

+1 from me

Hope you are feeling better soon Panotaker

[MikaelHebert]

hahahahah, how the f1ck are we suposed to dismount on this??