Going for B.A.S.E on a Unicycle

Hi all! My name is Taylor. I learned to unicycle about a year ago so that I could try to add a new element to my sport. In the mean time, i fell in love with unicycling. I am in awe of all your skills and would love any advice you could give.

I own a 24" Torker that has seen better days since riding two to a unicycle is a bit more weight than it can take… but it still rolls. And, i own a 20" Nimbus trials Uni that I love dearly and ride daily to my office and back to my car (Approximate 1/2 mile every day).

I am proposing to my BASE jumping friends that I can safely jump all 4 objects: Building, Antenna, Span, and Earth while riding a unicycle off the exits. This next week I am going to get started by jumping a cliff (still in planning phase). I will try to post pictures and results as much as possible.

I will ask questions about each object as I approach each jump on this forum to keep you all entertained. My first question:

First Object: Earth
We are planing on tethering the unicycle to me with a cutaway system on the unicycle tether. I will be pilot chute assisted by a friend so my body position doesn’t matter as much. I will hold on to the unicycle through deployment, then drop it to the tether. Upon the unicycle hitting the water I will cut it away.
What is the best way to make a Uni float? 20" with Maxxis Tire or 24" with skinny tire?

Thanks,
Taylor :slight_smile:
BASE #1136

I think that you should land on the ground and ride away instead of landing in water :slight_smile:

I’m pretty sure a 20’’ with a fat tire would float better than a 24’’ - the 20’’ would weigh less.

Unicycles tend to float on their own. (Try it). Certainly the Maxxis one will.

It really would be cooler to keep the uni with you the whole way down, and land on it. Maybe for a future challenge.

Land it dude :slight_smile:

I’ve seen it done on video,
I think it was this one.
http://www.skydivingvideos.de/detail01-009-1.htm

Definately going to land it. Just need to check that the tethering device works as planned over water first.

I have a 173’ cliff near my house that i will land the unicycle off of once we get this first test out of the way. Video to come!

The unicycle community is AWESOME… thanks for the comments.

Taylor :slight_smile:

epic !!
good luck

Use caution with ordinary or skinny-tire unicycles. Basic unicycles with 1.75" tires generally do not float.

Sounds like you’re someone who likes to plan ahead and not just “go for it”, at least as far as being a B.A.S.E. jumper goes… :slight_smile: But only a 173’ cliff? Sounds awfully small.

For a span, consider the ever-popular Foresthill Bridge in Auburn. It’s the highest bridge in CA at about 735’ above the American River. Probably more like 650’ to the wide part of the trail where the B.A.S.E. jumpers always seem to land. I’d love to be there for that!

Good luck!

I watched your Lauterbrunnen Valley video, and was amazed! It’s so cool how you fall right next to the cliff, and then shoot out over the valley. BASE jumping in Lauterbrunnen Valley where you guys did just made my bucket list.

Your videos are absolutely amazing, especially the Lauterbrunnen Valley video. Mad props for combining the two sports. Good luck with landing it!

Thanks guys! We’ll see how the water testing goes, but if anyone is in the Riverside, CA area, just PM me.

The idea behine the 173’ cliff is that I can hold the unicycle through deployement, pinch with my thighs while flying the parachute, flare, and hopefully be able to hop while cutting away the canopy, then ride away.

Will definately take a few tries I think. Need the perfect wind. Sounds like a fun challenge.

~Taylor

Gotta hand it to you. That’s gutsy, especially from altitudes that low.

I logged a little over 2000 jumps between 1962 and 1976 but they were all from planes and choppers. BASE jumping was just beginning when I hung it up. I first rode a uni in 1964 but never entertained thoughts of combining the two sports.

Keep us posted on your progress!

:slight_smile:

So I was preparing to apologize to all of you for getting too scared to jump because my Uni skills were lacking. After riding in a clown outfit for the TSNY 1 yr Anniversery at the Santa Monica Pier last Saturday I was revived.

This morning I jumped the 173’ cliff with the Uni and everything went great! Video and pics are to come tonight when i get back to my home computer. I did not ride it out, but I did get very close. Please watch the video and any advice is greatly appreciated!!! :slight_smile:

Definately have a pic worthy of the cool Uni Pics section. :slight_smile:

~Taylor

ooo cant wait.:smiley:

base jumping used to be illegal didnt it? have the riles changed now?

Depends on where. The act of BASE jumping is not illegal, the act of trespassing is. The site I will be posting is a climbers area.

Now a days, many of the jumps we do that hit the internet are from BASE events such as Bridge Day (Fayetteville, WV), Go fast Games (Royal Gorge, CO), Malaysia Menara (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia), Perrine Bridge (Twin Falls, ID), or many legal European Cliffs.

Struggling with this AVCHD format on PC now, will upload video when i get home to my new Mac.

~Taylor

AWESOME! looking forward to seeing the vid and pics!

Here it is:

:slight_smile:

~Taylor

Probably the most spectacular uni-related stunt I have ever seen.

Give your friend a slap for calling it a b*ke though.

Nice!

It seems you were going a bit fast to actually ride your landing out on what appears to be a trials uni. You might have better success with a bigger wheel.

Definately going to try it again this week on the harder packed road. kinda stuck to the 20" unitl i can clear some credit cards to buy a bigger ride. :slight_smile: We’re thinking of maybe using a paramotor (Paragliding with a fan on your back) to add some head wind to the landing. :slight_smile:

On a technical note: i am going to try to flare higher, stalling the canopy sooner, so i can have more vertical speed on landing, but less horizontal speed.

More to come!

~Taylor