I’m reading this post, wondering when it is going to be my time. Knock on wood, nothing has happened in the last 2.5 years of riding which I’d call an injury. Nothing which kept me from riding the next day. I don’t bomb down steep hills or do big drops. I ride under the threshold of my ability to run out a upd (though I trip and fall frequently while upd’ing). I come down hard on my wrist guards and hammer my shoes against rocks and pavement, and they’ve saved my wrists and feet. I love my safety gear.
sukie47, I’m wondering if the pedals were a culprit in your injury. Depending on the the situation, sticking to the pedals can either be a nuisance or a savior. As an example, I own two 20" Equinox unis. The old, un-geared one has plastic Odyssey twisted-pc pedals, completely worn smooth. The new, g20 has the same pedals, but the plastic molded pins on those are still intact. I was goofing around yesterday on uneven ground on the g20 and had a bunch of awkward upds, which I attribute to staying on the pedals for longer than necessary. This makes it harder to land in a graceful fashion. On the smooth pedals, if a upd is imminent, I slide off the pedals with a foot position more likely to land gracefully. I’m going to smooth down the new pedals before my next ride. I’ve also rounded out the metal pins which come stock with the Nimbus unicycles.
Sorry to hear about your broken foot. I hope it heals fast and strong.
My co-worker just broke her foot in two places and had to have pins put in her foot. She had to wear the boot just like you. But, a week after the boot came off she was exercising on her foot. I know it is not the same as unicycling, but be patience and you will be riding in know time.
Really? How could you do that? The metal pins keep my feet stuck to the pedals and taught me that you can postpone your fall enough to get balance again. I say “yay” to my metal pins ^_^. Of course in cases where I do UPD, I sometimes still stick to the pedals, where I actually should have let go of them. Still I am quite happy for them.
I just can’t help myself, but this thread seems to be one for old people with their pains. Sure I’m 40, but younger than all of yous and I feel like a 25 year old being able to handle anything.
I kinda wonder Sukie how you managed to break your foot in 3 places. I’ve had many a UPD, but nothing serious. Mostly I land on my feet and those two times I landed on my knees were in snow and on sand. Did your feet get entangled between the wheel and the pedal? I had that once in the forest, which made me dive in the bushes. I am glad I am not in your position, as just like you I am hooked and feel I just need to ride ever single free moment. I hope for you you will heal quickly.
I actually think for the healing process it would be better to go out on your 26" than on the 20". Maybe the 20" is lighter, but it requires a lot more rotations, which may tire your feet more. A 26" is more relaxing, the way I see it. I certainly can’t ride 5km on a 20". I’d be dead by that time.
I definitely think the pedals contributed. But, I was also introducing a new skill into the mix by aggressively using the handle while climbing. That was the first day that I was able to hold onto my seat while climbing. I was really excited after climbing the first hill, and was probably over-confident while tackling the second. I remember trying to step off the uni to the front with my left foot, and not being able to. Then when I finally did come off, I was off balance, leaning back, and landed badly. Instead of rolling my foot outward, which is typical of a sprained ankle, I rolled my foot in, then when I fell onto my foot it also bent backwards. It was a horrible thing to see, let alone hear.
Go ahead and rub it in spring chicken I know I’m 47, but I don’t feel that old. Plus, the other day on NPR, I heard about a study involving “middle age” adults… ages 45-60 yrs of age. I’m not so old if I’m only NOW middle age
OK, so hold your left hand in front of you with the fingers up…now take your right hand and push the fingers hard to the left and then try to shove them behind your wrist and then on up under the elbow without folding your wrist forward. That is the only way I can describe how I broke those 3 bones. It would be the equivalent of breaking those 3 main fingers near the knuckles. Toe and pinky not involved. Sorry, but it is the only visual I can give. The knee was sprained, but doing much better. Ankle is sore now that I’m walking some. I take that back. Everything is sore
And, yes this is KILLING me!!! I can’t say enough how much I have fallen in love with this sport. I have only been so passionate about 2 things in my life. And I made my first passion my profession and still love it after 15 years. This has hit me with the same energy. I just hope I haven’t discovered it too late in life to enjoy it to the fullest. I think that’s why I was not able to pace myself as I should have. I can’t wait to get back on, even if I am a bit more conservative the second go around
It was preventable. I had had a hard time finding laceless shoes, and was riding in very flimsy shoes. It was preventable, and now I have much sturdier shoes.
I would feel better about getting back in the saddle if I had a clear thing to blame my accident on. Unfortunately, it seems it was simply an accident, which means it could happen again. Today is one of my bad days…I’m back to work and it’s clear that my boss is mad that I had an accident, and that I intend to continue unicycling.
The only thing I can suggest is to get yourself some ankle protection footwear.
I came off a motorbike once wearing suede dessert boots and badly skinned my ankle.
Since then - I have (nearly) always worn boots for heavy work, or riding motorcycles.
I currently unicycle in old ankle boots, and also invested in some 5-10 High Impacts.
The high impacts have tacky soles for extra grip on the pedals.
They also feature about 1-inch of padding on the tongue, which wraps around the inside of the ankle.
They are sturdy enough to protect your foot and ankle if the worst should happen again.
Money well spent if you can get them in a 50% sale like I did.
I was wearing high top five ten free riders. I was covered head to toe with armor. I don’t know if the High Impacts would have done any better. My ankle should have snapped too, but didn’t. So, they must have helped a bit.
Back in August 2015 (17th to be exact) I fractured my left ankle.
I was on my KH29, I had 100mm cranks (which I was NOT used to). I had pedals which where grippy (a bit too grippy) and I free mounted, somehow got the back of my heel on the pedal. Anyway, I tried to pedal, and I just ended up falling, with my foot sideways with a loud click.
I was in a CAM walker boot for 6 weeks. I could barely walk for the first few days.
Anyway, I hated it. I couldn’t ride my unicycle, which is the main thing I wanted to do over the summer.
After ~2 weeks of having it, I couldn’t bear looking at my unicycle out of the window, and I got my 20" out and just idled with my boot on. It didn’t hurt, which I was surprised about.
I started riding my unicycle again around 7/8 weeks after, but only lightly. I started commuting on my uni about 9 weeks after.
Don’t! I’ve heard this can make it worse, meaning less time on your unicycle.
Don’t miss Unicon completely – Stop in and say hi! It’s a convention after all, and possible to have an enjoyable time there without riding. Maybe. If you’re only there for a day or two. You know what I mean…
But take Bear’s advice. NO SHORTCUTS on your rehab! My good friend Bradley Bradley, back in the early 80s when we were just at the end of our teens, had an ankle injury that he made worse by removing the cast early and going back to riding too quickly. I think he permanently lost some range of motion in that ankle.
Bones take a while to heal, and you can’t speed up the clock. Take it easy. The unicycle will still be there, and it’s always more enjoyable to ride when you aren’t injured.
Ah yes, I remember those days. Now I’m 54, and riding like a 40-year old!
There was discussion on the forum about decreased time practicing mounts, once a rider learns to ride longer, uninterrupted distances. I am wondering if this is a recipe for injury. Since I started unicycling, I spent a fair amount of time practicing mounts. Some of them were quite difficult, causing me to fail 20+ times in a row. And each of those failed mounts was a sort of UPD. If the mount is tricky, and I have a good chance of falling, I’ll practice it on grass or dirt, rather than on the street. Anyway, this gives me lots of practice UPDing.
If you mount once, ride for 2 miles, then have a UPD, there is a chance your leg/feet/ankle muscles are going to be tired out when you UPD, increasing your chance of injury.
It is not reasonable to eliminate UPDs from your riding, so I suggest you practice them (once you’re good and healed), on your 20", on a soft surface, and when you’re fresh.
Changing your pedals may be a good idea, as well, or at least filing them into a lower, rounder form. Different shoes interact with pins differently, as well. My feeling about pins has changed as I’ve improved as a unicyclist. Pins have their place for mUni, for wet conditions, drops/gaps, etc., but I’ve also learned how to keep my feet on smoother pedals doing mildly technical stuff on my 20". On smooth pedals, the process of readjustment is dynamic and ongoing, involving the use of opposing muscles, and on pinned pedals, it tends to be discreet.
I know I’m 47, but I don’t feel that old. Plus, the other day on NPR, I heard about a study involving “middle age” adults… ages 45-60 yrs of age. I’m not so old if I’m only NOW middle age 
Today is one of my bad days…I’m back to work and it’s clear that my boss is mad that I had an accident, and that I intend to continue unicycling.