I haven’t been keeping up with this group much lately. I’m glad that it’s growing in # of threads and people. I just don’t have as much internet time anymore…and I’m not going to sacrifice any riding time to make up the gap. But I’m VERY grateful to be even a small part of a wonderful bunch of uni-crazy folks.
I thought I would give a short report of my riding last week.
I participated in a cross state bike ride(on my Coker). OK Freewheel 2002 (okfreewheel.com)
I wasn’t very satified with my limited training or my weight(240 lbs). I still thought I could maybe ride 400 miles in a week though. I was very “wound up” before the ride, and rode many days during the ride with little or no sleep. Even at the end of some of the days, as tired as I was, it would take a long time to fall asleep. I only managed 300 out of the 400 miles, but it was a personal best and a LOT of fun.
I made the local ABC news at least 3 times and they showed a video clip of me riding very fast down a hill grinning from ear to ear for the camera. They also spelled my name right on the screen as well as “unicyclist” also spelled correctly. There was also a man making a full length commercially available video of the ride. He “caught” me riding a lot. One day he even recorded me cooling my bare feet in a kids wading pool inside a small town store.
Here’s how the miles went.
Day 1 50 miles
Day 2 68 miles
Day 3 55 miles
Day 4 21 miles (I was tired and sore and gave up early)
Day 5 40 miles (mostly in the pouring rain)
Day 6 22 miles (I had an arrangement with a friend to drive
his vehicle part way-I felt great after riding but
my motivation was low since I couldn’t go
“the whole way” anymore)
Day 7 38 miles
One more thing. I hate it when you guys start “bike bashing”. There is no need to treat “b**e” like it’s a four letter word. We owe everything to bicycling,where would we be without it? I know I should try to promote unicycling locally, but I don’t have many leadership skills, or patience for that sort of thing. I do “promote” unicycling by example every time I ride and I enjoy riding with the local bike club. I think lots of people could enjoy unicycling within the Cycling communities at large instead of trying to exclude themselves to unicyclists only groups.
I agree. Why bash bikes? I get generally good responses from bicyclists and excellent responses from tandemists. This is a game we play. Perspective Police… If we feel the need to divide the world into two camps, how about (1) those who have an intersting hobby of their own, and (2) those who don’t ?
Congratulations! The ride was quite an accomplishment, especially at 240 pounds. You lacked training miles too? Sounds like pure determination carried you through. Endurance riding is a rewarding undertaking especially on a unicycle.
Participating in an organized cycling event on a unicycle like you did is courageous. I have ridden in a few myself, and every time before the ride I am always a bit nervous about how cyclists will react to my being there. And every time everyone makes me feel as if I am the king of the course. So with that said, I encourage everyone who rides a unicycle to someday participate in a local cycling event. Whether it be 25 miles, 50, or 100, it’s a huge challenge, you will be well received, and its great for the sport!
As for your comment on bike bashers-I think most of it is all in fun. The bike industry has driven the unicyclist to a large degree. I have always been an advocate of the similarities between the two sports, especially when endurance riding is concerned. The bare mechanics of the two are very close to each other. One has to pedal both. By nature, covering the same miles on a unicycle is harder than a bicycle, and as far as I have seen, the majority of cyclists have no problem admitting so.
At 240 pounds, while viewing your picture I expected to find a belly. Either you are 240 pounds of muscle or you sucked it in just at the right time. Which is it?
I have found that “racer dudes” have absolutely NO belly. Even at the local level in SLC. For some reason a belly does not lend itself favorably toward short “all out races”. Without fail, every time a rider shows up to this type of race with even the slightest sign of a belly, he or she gets dropped very early on.
Interestingly, unlike the racer dude, endurance riders often times have bellies. NOT big ones, but noticeable. I’m not talking about Professional cyclists that are partaking in long endurance stage races like the Tour De France. These people get paid to ride, and fit into a different category. By endurance I mean 10 hours + and often multi day-such as RAM (Race across America), performed by normal people with jobs. More than once I have seen a rider with a belly finish before the same rider that would crush he or she in a shorter race.
> jobs. More than once I have seen a rider with a belly finish
> before the same rider that would crush he or she in a shorter race.
>
> Explain that one.
I think the short answer is that the dead weight of said belly is less of a
hinderance on longer rides than it is on shorter, more intense ones.
All-day type rides are done at a lower speed than the short ones, and the
belly dudes have a better chance in the endurance department than they do in
sprinting. Also I have a feeling, based on reading BICYCLING Magazine over
the years, that the riders in the longer events tend to be older. Older does
not necessitate belly, but the two seem to go hand in hand if you aren’t
careful.
“Cokerhead” <Cokerhead.6mevn@timelimit.unicyclist.com> wrote in message news:Cokerhead.6mevn@timelimit.unicyclist.com…
>
>> Here’s how the miles went.
> Day 1 50 miles
> Day 2 68 miles
> Day 3 55 miles
> Day 4 21 miles (I was tired and sore and gave up early)
> Day 5 40 miles (mostly in the pouring rain)
> Day 6 22 miles (I had an arrangement with a friend to drive
> his vehicle part way-I felt great after
> riding but
> my motivation was low since I couldn’t go
>
> “the whole way” anymore)
> Day 7 38 miles
>
> One more thing. I hate it when you guys start “bike bashing”. There is
> no need to treat “b**e” like it’s a four letter word. We owe
> everything to bicycling,where would we be without it? I know I should
> try to promote unicycling locally, but I don’t have many leadership
> skills, or patience for that sort of thing. I do “promote” unicycling
> by example every time I ride and I enjoy riding with the local bike
> club. I think lots of people could enjoy unicycling within the Cycling
> communities at large instead of trying to exclude themselves to
> unicyclists only groups.
I met Mark when he came down from Tulsa to ride the Uni.5. Mark, I think
you present a very positive image for unicycling. In fact, as long as
someone doesn’t create a real negative image to the public (speeding tickets
excluded) then its all positive.
Sometimes even those Tour du France BIcyclists look like they’ve got a little beer gut in the magazine photos… but really, they’re “belly-breathing” — deep, powerful breathing from the diaphragm. It’s supposed to help oxygenate the blood faster. … not to be confused with hyperventilating…
