I’m starting a new thread about the progress since breaking my foot… I just couldn’t handle the spelling error any longer. I have been back on the 20" unicycle for I guess around 3 weeks now. Things have been going well despite the fact that my foot is still sore. I guess it’s probably a good regulator for me. The pain reminds me constantly of what happened, keeping me from doing anything too stupid. The funny thing is that while I continue to walk with a limp, riding is totally comfortable. Even the occasional hopping practice doesn’t add to the pain. I have pulled out my 26 road uni and, for the first time this week, my 26 Oracle. I didn’t ride on anything but pavement on both. I am still just too unsure of myself to get on the gravel just yet, but that seems to be around the corner. Tomorrow I am meeting a friend and we will be riding at one of the first places that I started riding longer distances. I can’t freemount the 26s yet… I push off from that foot, and just can’t push enough to make the leap just yet. So, I’ll be using a shoulder which I don’t mind
The interesting thing is that when I was first learning to ride my unicycle, my knees killed me. That never stopped, though the pain was getting less intense as the weeks went by. Now that I have been riding the 20", roughly 40 minutes 5 times a week, the knees have been fine. Even when I ride the 26s the knees seem to be doing ok. So, that one good thing that has come from taking time off the unicycle, and starting back slowly. I hope that I can start to feel comfortable again soon. Right now, I feel like I am soooo high off that ground, and I have a good bit of fear. I suppose it’s not such a bad thing.
Good news!
For the knee pain, to prevent it from coming back, a good thing is to do a progressive and long enough warming cession before riding the unicycle.
That’s one of the bad sides of not being 20 years old anymore…
I sense you’re feeling some dread about being back in the saddle. Part of you’re issue, I’m guessing, is that your injury happened near the beginning stages of learning, when “controlled dismounts” were still somewhat of a mystery to you. I’m glad to read that you’re back, that you’re riding in spite of the dread, and that you’re spending more time on the 20".
I am a huge fan of SIF riding, perhaps because I inherently have bad balance, and the seat-out is a giant level of compensation. Anyway, bailing out SIF is a lot easier than seat-in, because 1. there’s no chance of getting caught on the seat, and 2. the hands can help move the unicycle away from the body during a dismount. I ride with my seat very high (I have to be on my toes to pull out front or out back), and do almost everything technical (jumps/hops/unispins) SIF. This makes for, IMHO, a pleasurable riding experience, because I can switch between two very different types of riding (SIF trials and freestyle), without having to make a seat adjustment.
Keep practicing on-off-on-off-on-off. You’ll start to develop the ability to bail out in more situations. You need an antidote to the dread and uncertainty regarding another bad UPD.
Yes, it’s great to read that you’re back riding! And it sounds like it might be good therapy generally if you’re riding without pain despite it being tender when you walk.
I don’t know about Asheville but down here in the foothills it’s been a rough summer for riding or doing much of anything outdoors. But we’re coming up on the time of year I really look forward to and hopefully you’ll be able to enjoy it too. Little by little, no need to rush it…
I guess it is time to start mixing it up a bit. I think out of fear, I’ve been just riding pretty much the same route over and over, and doing the same things over and over. I had started practicing some hopping for a day or two, then decided maybe I was pushing it, so I do that sparingly. I think maybe the SIF could be a good thing to introduce. I took my 20" and my Oracle out today, but just couldn’t get on the Oracle. Maybe I just need to stay on the 20 for a while longer. Not too far to fall, and yes, gentle on the knees. Maybe I will have to pre-ride the 20" when I do start riding the Oracle again for warm ups. That’s a thought.
Yes Large Eddie, it has been pretty brutal here too. The wood shop is so hot that evenings don’t seem too bad by comparison, so I do manage to ride most evenings. Today I donned all my safety gear to ride in the park in the middle of the day, and I thought I would croak. Not a good ride at all.
Well, cool! I’m glad to hear that you’re making progress. Like LargeEddie mentioned, hopefully things will cool off soon and be better for riding. This summer was a real killer for me too, and the stupid-crazy heat came right when I was in a really great learning and riding routine, and it stopped me in my tracks for a while. Hopefully, all of us that have been stifled by the heat will get some relief before too long. Hope things continue to go well for you, and good luck with it!
elpuebloUNIdo, how do you get your seat in front, when you ride with the seat very high? Isn’t it stuck between your legs? I thought with SIF the saddle had to be a bit lower. Also do you put the seat to the front after you’ve mounted or do you mount in a kind of hopping state where the seat already is in front? I tried riding SIF once in the unicycle club, but it messes a bit with keeping balance.
The seat is not too high to pull out; it’s just almost too high. I think it’s the SI (seat-in) crowd who likes having a lower seat. They’re the ones trying to jump with the uni under them. It was never my intention to ride with so high a seat. But, whenever I raised the seat a tiny bit, then tried to go back to the old seat-height, I wasn’t satisfied. Also, performing SIF with a high seat allows the hands to provide greater leverage on the seat, and my hands are positioned closer to my “core”, during SIF, with the seat at this height. When I experimented riding SIF with the seat lower, I felt weaker in my upper body, and I was unable to stand up straight while riding. In regard to your question, I just looked at an old “seat height” thread, and some riders suggested that a high seat was good for SIF trials.
I mostly mount SIF, then depending on what’s next, stay SIF or go immediately seat-in. I have both hands on the seat during mounting, and this makes any subsequent adjustment really easy. I still do a lot of Seat-in mounting. SIF riding takes more energy, but the more I do it, the longer I can do it sustained. My efficiency is improving. If you want to feel like you’re using your entire body, start practicing SIF. Good luck!
This is all interesting. Three weeks ago snapped the end off my tibia and have a spiral fracture in the fibula near the ankle. I have had it put back together with plates, pins and over a dozen screws. They are talking about my leg not being weight bearing for 3 months.
How long after you started walking again did you start unicycling again? Was it with in days or weeks of getting back on to your feet?
Ouch, sorry to hear that - but welcome in the plate-and-screws club! Fractured calcaneus
I don’t want to discourage you, but it might take a bit longer than you would expect… I was cleared for weight bearing again after 8 weeks but I still wouldn’t attempt to start unicycling at the moment.
I didn’t have to wear a boot or anything while I was not weight bearing, so I maintained good ankle movement and could exercise the affected leg to a reasonable extent. Still, the forefoot had become rather stiff after the 8 weeks and it was very painful to put any weight on the foot in the beginning - but I could ride on an exercise bike.
After about 2 weeks I could walk without crutches and started riding my bike again. I have been going to physical therapy once a week for 5 weeks, doing about half an hour exercises every day and rides on bike to and from the train. Compared with the other participants in the physical therapy, I feel that my progress is very good - but still slower than I would prefer.
I wish you the best and hope that you will be back on your unicycle soon.
I’m really sorry to hear about this injury. My broken foot doesn’t compare to that if you ask me. I was non-surgical. I was in a boot from the beginning. My injury allowed me to be weight bearing for a couple of hours a day, though due to my work, and inability to take adequate amounts of time off to really heal, I pushed the limits of my medical recommendations. I really underestimated the amount of time it would take to fully recover. My injury was May 21 and I fully anticipated to be riding no later than August 1. That was a joke. I did get back on my 20" about 3 weeks ago in a very limited fashion. I’m still riding the 20, and maybe in the next couple of weeks will get back to the 26. My foot is still tender, but today is the first non-limping day I have had since walking. That is a very good feeling.
So, good luck in your recovery. Give yourself more time than you think you will need. I hate to say that, but it is true.
Thanks for that advice/information. It does not look great does it… oh well.
I had 5 casts in less than 2 weeks! but I am now in a boot. My foot swelled so much I had 2 pressure sores on my foot so they decided to take the cast off as the bones looked good. Having a boot on is fantastic! I am even allowed/recommended to move my ankle (not lateral though). So I have 80% movement back already.
Recovery is going well. As of last Saturday, I can walk without crutches or a boot on. My ankle is still quite swollen and massive! It is also very painful…
So the best way to get to the toilet at work (100m away) is to ride a unicycle.
Swipe me, I have just read this thread and am saddened at your injury. I do hope it fixes soon so you can enjoy life again, especially in the manner you like. I feel for any youngster hurting, and it tends to worry myself a bit, due to my age. I am getting quite old now, and smell of pee and biscuits apparently, and the fear of hurt is manifest… nice to know you are on the mend…!!
I followed Sukie47’s news closely, and I am heartened by her progress so far, now yours, streuth, what a hassle for you both.
Please be safe for your own sake…
Regina, you are only 3 years older than me and if you keep on playing the age card, I shall have to come up to Norfolk and forcibly rejuvenate you. Also, it sounds like you are doing the biscuit thing wrong. It is tea you dunk them in - that’s why we put milk in it, so you can tell the difference between tea and other fluids. And if you are dunking biscuits in the latter, bear in mind that might explain it if you get diagnosed with diabetes.
