Omg!!!

[TwoLeftFeet]

I just bought a unicycle . In a moment of pure madness ... what have I done?

[johnfoss]

So far, you've spent some money. What's next? It could change your life.

[TwoLeftFeet]

I have just placed the order. It is yet to reach me. It's a learner's 20" from unicycle.com. Next I will be scouting for a quiet place preferable hidden from my neighbours' prying eyes in order to learn the sexy unicycle samba. Lots of hip movement yes?

[johnfoss]

Originally Posted by TwoLeftFeet

Lots of hip movement yes?

You probably won't be thinking of your hips at all, but that's nothing to worry about. It will seem impossible. That's normal. Eventually you will start to DO the impossible and that's when the fun starts. Up until then, it's basically all work.

Lots to read is available in the main forum; best to start there and don't post much until you've read that and worked on it in your secret practice spot.

BTW, when it comes to it, you'll have to figure out which is your dominant foot. Do you think it will be your left, or your other left?

[elpuebloUNIdo]

Originally Posted by TwoLeftFeet

In a moment of pure madness

The moment of pure madness is when you ride your first single revolution.

[TwoLeftFeet]

My dominant foot is my left, I think.

I will not be experiencing my first revolution for some time. Still waiting for the package to arrive.

At the moment, I have a bike helmet. That is the only safety equipment that I have. Don't plan to do stunts. So do I need safety items like shin guards, wrist protection thingy, gonuts protection?

[OneTrackMind]

Originally Posted by TwoLeftFeet

Don't plan to do stunts.

Riding a unicycle at all is a stunt.

So do I need safety items like shin guards, wrist protection thingy, gonuts protection?

Wrist protection is important unless you are a martial arts master who can fall from any position without involving your hands.

[TwoLeftFeet]

Ah ... I missed the boat on the wrist protection. I clicked my order, I browsed a bit and saw the Kris Holm glove wrist wrap thingy. By then the box was already out the door. These unicycle.com folks were very efficient.

p/s - do I have to answer the one "wheel" question every single time or is this just to torment newbies?

[elpuebloUNIdo]

Originally Posted by TwoLeftFeet

p/s - do I have to answer the one "wheel" question every single time or is this just to torment newbies?

The intent is only to torment robots. The moderators should notice soon that you are not a robot, then you won't have to answer the question, I think.

Personally, I am more a fan of the roller-blade-type wrist protection, the ones with the plastic inserts. As a beginner, the unicycle shoots out from under you; I guarantee you'll go down on your hands at least once...and it only takes once. Not to scare you. Rather, I want you to feel safe (though as a beginner, you will not look safe to others).

Welcome to the forum!

[song]

Originally Posted by TwoLeftFeet

At the moment, I have a bike helmet. That is the only safety equipment that I have. Don't plan to do stunts. So do I need safety items like shin guards, wrist protection thingy, gonuts protection?

No.

When I first started learning, my shins got hit by the pedals a couple of times, so I bought some soccer shin guards, but after about a week, I noticed they hadn't taken a single hit, so I stopped wearing them. They were too hot anyway, and in KL, they would have been even worse.

Other than that, I have never worn any protective gear, though I would if I were practicing high jumps, unispins, etc... stuff you don't need to worry about right now.

I am not promising you won't get hurt, but you should be OK if you are careful, and even if you are not, your injuries will almost certainly just be small scrapes and bruises. As long as you find some flat open pavement and stay away from any walls or fences once you have your feet on the pedals, you will almost always land on your feet when you fall off.

[Tinkerbeau]

Hmm...I think there is no one-size fits all solution and it depends on your attitude to risk, tolerance to pain, preference for feeling free vs feeling padded, most likely age and related bone resilience and lots of other things.

Me, I started a year ago and got all the padding I could get. Didn’t need any of it until last weekend when I came off while practicing the big wheel, couldn’t run it out and managed to bruise my knee (despite KH Percussions), split my thumb where it stuck out from the HillBilly half finger glove, put mayor ruts into my HillBilly wrist protector plastic thingmy (hate to think what that would have looked like on my palms and done to my wrists), bruised and cut my elbow after the 187 Killer Pads dislodged on impact, and put nice abrasions into my backpack when skidding out on the road.

So, for me, as another oldie entering this sport, it is body armour all the time.

[TwoLeftFeet]

Oh God . I hope you recover fast. I will try to find out about the wrist protection thing that skaters use. From some of the videos I see, the wrist guards only protect the wrist, fingers are exposed. By the way, big wheels are how big? 36"?

I can live with some scrapes like song's experience.

[maestro8]

Originally Posted by TwoLeftFeet

what have I done?

You posted a unicycling thread in a non-unicycling forum.

[TwoLeftFeet]

song,

No I don't think the Malaysian govt use prisoners or illegal migrants to fight jungle fires. However it is said that some of the jungle fires in Indonesia are caused by Malaysian Palm Oil companies in Indonesia.

p/s - I have just figured out how to switch SF to KL. Newbie on iMovie too. Me old fart, not too savvy on IT .

maestro8,

Oh sorry. I am suppose to move to the main discussion? I will look for a newbie"ish" discussion in the main forum and then try to insert myself .

[Gockie]

Originally Posted by TwoLeftFeet

Oh sorry. I am suppose to move to the main discussion? I will look for a newbie"ish" discussion in the main forum and then try to insert myself .

I think there's nothing wrong with what you did, you introduced yourself. Then naturally it led to the conversation of what new riders should do, as that's what you are.

Only issue is some people may not use the "new posts" function and only look in the forum sub sections of interest to them. (Which means they won't read this thread).