New Female rider at age 57

[Alucard]

Hi krjames

I dusted my 24'' muni off this week and had a ride around the Great Orme in Llandudno. That took some getting used to My uni shoes are threadbare so I am trying out a new pair. On the shoes I have got now, the tread is meant for icy conditions and they really stick in between the pins on the pedals so it's a bit tricky getting my feet up and away.
Does anybody who owns five-ten shoes ride with pins in their pedals?
It was fun though though and after an hour I was attempting little bumps 'n' stuff. And being a 24'' I didn't have as far to fall off, and getting back on is a breeze

I'll put some piccies in ''pics.......latest ride'' thread.

Keep up the good work guys.

[mbalmer]

Originally Posted by Alucard

Hi krjames

On the shoes I have got now, the tread is meant for icy conditions and they really stick in between the pins on the pedals so it's a bit tricky getting my feet up and away.
Does anybody who owns five-ten shoes ride with pins in their pedals?

I use 5.10s with pins. I only have a difficult time moving my foot to a comfortable position when climbing. On flat or easy stuff, I can get my foot where I want it (though it takes a lot of concentration). I would rather have my feet more stuck to the pedal than not. You can always remove some of the pins. I did that when my Schlumpf was new. I needed to be able to move my feet to shift.

[Alucard]

Thanks for replying mbalmer
I too love my feet glued to my pedals

Two more questions......
How do the soles of the shoes cope with the pins. Are they pretty robust or do they wear out quickly. I'm looking to buy a pair of Five Tens but I've never spent £80 on a pair of trainers I'd want them to last at least 3 years.

and finally......
Are Five Tens compatible with KH knee armour or are the shoes too high up at the ankles that they get in the way of the ankle part of the armour ?

cheers,
Elaine

[mbalmer]

Originally Posted by Alucard

Thanks for replying mbalmer
I too love my feet glued to my pedals

Two more questions......
How do the soles of the shoes cope with the pins. Are they pretty robust or do they wear out quickly. I'm looking to buy a pair of Five Tens but I've never spent £80 on a pair of trainers I'd want them to last at least 3 years.

and finally......
Are Five Tens compatible with KH knee armour or are the shoes too high up at the ankles that they get in the way of the ankle part of the armour ?

cheers,
Elaine

I have no problem using the 5.10 impacts with the KH leg armor. The soles of my first pair are still good. I replaced my shoes with an identical pair because the area around the ankle wore out and hurt my ankles. I'm going to try to patch them up and use them in wet weather. They lasted two years for me. I am not that hard on my equipment though.

[jojoxie]

Originally Posted by Alucard

Two more questions......
How do the soles of the shoes cope with the pins. Are they pretty robust or do they wear out quickly. I'm looking to buy a pair of Five Tens but I've never spent £80 on a pair of trainers I'd want them to last at least 3 years.

Elaine

Hi Elaine......I love my 5-10 Barons but my first pair only lasted one year (that did include learning to idle!). The soles are not by any stretch of the imagination robust... nevertheless I liked them enough to buy a second pair... Three weeks ago I gave the old pair to our five month old dog.... so far she has been unable to destroy the uppers

Great to see this thread up and running again...have fun doodies

[Alucard]

Thanks for the replies guys.

Looks like I'll be buying some impacts or Sam Hills in the next few weeks.

jojoxie.........how's it going with your 36"?

I had a go on my 24" muni last week. Over the lumps and bumps on the Gt. Orme in Llandudno, it was fun. Lots of walking involved, but I feel as is I've progressed a little further. I went over and over a perticular spot untill I mastered it.



I'll make up some video ( ''oh no!'' I hear you shout....'' not more video's'' )

[jojoxie]

Originally Posted by Alucard

jojoxie.........how's it going with your 36"?

I love riding it, once rolling it almost rides itself. Mounting is the 'horse of another colour'. The first time I rode the 36 it took me nearly half an hour to mount And I don't think I'm all that faster on the 36 than the 29. The real trouble is when I do get time for a ride I'm too lazy to practice mounting so just take the easy option of taking the 29 for a cruise.

Looking forward to the new vid Alucard. Did you get to ride the lights?

Have fun and enjoy those new shoes.
Joseph.

[Alucard]

Hi jojoxie

Hee, hee, I know what you mean about being lazy. I find it so much easier to just get on and pedal off into the sunset. I am less motivated to stay put and learn freemounting, idling, etc. Our little house is built on a slope and there is no space to practice. I am not confident enough to ride the uni from the front door yet as the road is dangerous, so to ride anywhere I put my uni in the car and usually go down to the prom in Prestatyn. Once there it is waaay too easy to just ride the prom to Rhyl. Couldn't stay in the car park and practice stuff, too many people to laugh at me

Funny, but when I dream about uni's I can jump up kerbs, hop, AND idle

Yes, I did ride the lights

It was so much fun
I've done a little video, I won't put it in '' pics of .......ride'' as there is a lot of non uni stuff.

We ( OH and myself) went to Blackpool and the weather was really good. We strolled along the prom and came across our first unicyclist, Earle (He has a 26” Oracle AND Sam Browns ) We had a chinwag and I had a sit on his uni, but my legs didn't reach the pedals otherwise I'd I have been GONE, off into the sunset AGAIN !

We wandered back to our car which was parked about half a mile from 'start line' at Starr Gate Tram Station. Had a drink and then got upon our steeds and headed to the start. We met up with other unicyclists and a group from Blackpool Circus School. Ooh, it was exiting, meeting up with other unicyclists and seeing other uni's, and what a great friendly bunch they all are.
We had another chat, some of them I had been chatting to on Facebook so it was good as well to put faces to names.
Then we all gathered at the start , just after 7 pm, had a photo shoot and off we went. There were 23 unicyclists there, and 15,00 b*kes!
The plan was to stay together as best we could, but I couldn't for the life of me freemount so I was behind straightaway . But never mind, I was hopefull I'd make up time, there were some brave souls in the group on 20“s
So, we rode through the lights, lots off people. i've never ridden in a group like that before and was very weary about coming off and not being able to get back on again. We were on the main road, the road was closed to cars from 6.30 till 10.30 so no worries there
Pedestrians still had to cross the road though, luckily I had Chris's shoulder to hold onto when we did have to stop. It was a long job trying to freemount in a sea of cyclists !
At the halfway point (about 6 miles) we turned off on a roundabout and headed back. That's when we met up with the other unicyclists. They had stopped for chips! LOL Had another chinwag and headed home. The lights were looking good now it had gone dark and it was just super. There was a lovely atmosphere, everyone was enjoying themselves.
I caught up with Earle a bit later and we did a few miles together. We fell off a few times, then we lost contact and we carried on to the finish. I did a spectacular upd when my wheel went into a dip that I just didn't see. I think I now hold the world record long jump from a 26”...........I must have cleared about 5ft
Then on to the finish, it was gone 10 pm now and it was much quieter, we had the road to ourselves so it was quite relaxing. Got to the end at half ten, but wanted to carry on...........

Chippy tea and home..........

Elaine
I'll put the link up to YouTube

[Alucard]

Hi, Here it is.

Bit of background for those that don't know about 'Ride the Lights'

Blackpool, in England is a seaside resort, famous for it's Tower, funfair and illuminations. The Illuminations stretch for nearly 6 miles along it's promanade and is made up of over 1,00,00 lamps.
At the end of August each year the illuminations are switched on and shine for 6 weeks. About 5 million people come and visit during this time so it is a good boost to tourism in the area. A typical family day out would be to head off to Blackpool for the day, with a picnic. Do the shops (to buy your rock), wander along the prom, (3 piers) picnic on the beach, head off to the funfair. Then drive through the lights, chippy supper and home.
It's a tradition that's been going for 100 years

Alucard

Blackpol Ride the Lights 2012 - YouTube

[krjames]

Hi Elaine,
nice video, you must have spent some time putting that together?
I'm impressed with your 12 mile ride! That's as far as I have ridden, and haven't done it since the beginning of the year.

"....go down to the prom in Prestatyn. Once there it is waaay too easy to just ride the prom to Rhyl. Couldn't stay in the car park and practice stuff, too many people to laugh at me

Funny, but when I dream about uni's I can jump up kerbs, hop, AND idle

The plan was to stay together as best we could, but I couldn't for the life of me freemount so I was behind straightaway ."

I think everybody understands that . Just do your practicing down the other end of the prom

I haven't even started to try hopping UP things. Hardly ever try hopping anyway. It's definitely a must have skill for muni, not that I will ever ride tracks that need hopping, it's just a confidence thing.

Which leads to the freemount hassles you had. That's the one thing you do practice in the carpark. It's getting used to knowing people are watching you and relaxing and concentrating on what you are doing. Of course being your first time in a crowd? you needed to jump on and off a few times before the start just to relax. As the only foreigner in our little group, and one of two adults, I know any spectators are watching me (and they will think either I am really amazing or a complete klutz ) Fortunately I am usually able to ride to any event the kids are performing at so have had a reasonable warm up and confidence boost.

And finally I dusted off the 29 and rode across town today.(It's been five weeks since I have had it out) After the muni and 145 cranks it was all a bit dodgy... Spent 5 minutes just trying to get on at the start But after that I had no major problems mounting, usually first or second go. It was noticeable how I had lost the 'feel' for the 29 and also couldn't climb up any reasonable slope. And my legs were like rubber when I arrived at the gym after an hour and a half. But I had started to get the 'feel' back even if I did upd on a bumpy bit a path. Still think I need a new seat though....

But it was good to be out on the 29, it's a very different ride compared to the muni 24". Next year I will get a trials wheel

Cheers

James

[Alucard]

Ah ha krjames

I admit it took me quite a few hours to figure that movie out, but I got there in the end.
The youngest unist there was only 6 years old (Bobbie) and she only upd once!

Quote ""Next year I will get a trials wheel"" Quote

YCNHTMU'S !!!!!!!!

My second uni was a trials one. I remember it well, the seatpost would bearly fit into the frame and I ended up hammering it in with a block of wood and a sledgehammer. ( I was very impatient and needed it NOW) . Anyway, I wasn't paying enough attention to the direction in which the seat was facing as I was hammering the seat post in. No, I didn't take the seat off, I thought the spongy seat would help cushion the blow, as I couldn't find a smaller hammer. ( Not really allowed into the garage unsupervised, I can't be trusted ) So as a result my seat is slightly skewwhiff, but that's not too bad as I ride like I'm jousting anyway

[57UniRider]

AWESOME VIDEO!!!!!
Can I visit England a year from now, and ride that thing WITH you?

Ha! Talk about some motivation!
I don't know! The way you dodged that little kid! Masterful!!! I'd be afraid I would cause a pile up!

YOU are AWESOME!
8-)

[57UniRider]

Hey There Alucard!

I was typing the above entry on the iPad and could not give it the emphasis it deserved. Now that I am on the computer I can tell you what I REALLY think!

Your video is...
Awesome!
and so are you!

Hello James, and Everyone!
The weather in Southwest Louisiana is about to cool off a bit.
...and I have time to practice!
Looking GOOD!

Happy Riding Everyone!

[57UniRider]

Hello Jojoxie and mBalmer!
I posted so quickly last time, I missed saying 'HI' to you!

I had a good practice session this afternoon. The boiling hot weather is just now thinking about cooling off just a tiny bit, and I seem to be conquering my other latest excuse for not giving unicycling the attention it needs. Every time I say I am "back to work on it," I seem to jinx myself.... so I shall ease back into it...

I'm looking forward to being able to practice anytime I jolly well please for the next few months! I'm also working on Zumba and Yoga... getting into shape!

Uni Greetings again to Alucard and James and Everyone Else!

Sounds like everyone is doing GREAT!

[57UniRider]

Hello Everyone!

I've been off trying to get a high blood pressure problem in order. It went crazy this summer. Nuts! However, the absolutely wonderful news is that the doctor suggested I take a sabbatical from teaching this year! I never knew how much of a stress reliever that would be!!! I'm doing all sorts of exercise: zumba, yoga, stair climbing, walking with weights, and finally unicycling again!... along with eating foods that supposedly tend to lower blood pressure.

I've got a curiosity question.
As I was uni riding yesterday evening, I got to thinking about stability. Now that I'm finally getting the 24" down the road, it feels like it is easier to keep the 24" from falling over due to going too slow in the middle of a turn or from hitting a bump, etc. (as opposed to the 20").

Do you think that is because of the larger wheel, or what? I thought it might be just because I was getting better in general, but it's been so long since I've done any real practicing, I don't think I can credit just "getting more riding time."

What do you all think about how stability might be affected by the size of the unicycle?

Thanks Everyone!