To update everyone here, I have been offline for a few weeks. I went on the road
for a short term job and took my daughter’s vintage Apple IIe with me. It took a
while to locate a serial card and a cable to drive my modem but now I’m back
online. I had my first (hopefully last) serious injury while practicing on my
uni about three weeks ago. I had been practicing for almost an hour, when my
normal practice period is 30-40 minutes. I was idling one-footed with one foot
hanging on the frame and I guess I got over confident and let my attention
wander. The next thing I knew, the ground zoomed up and hit me and some adults
(who had been standing about 30 feet away) were helping me up off the asphalt. I
think my foot must have slipped off the pedal at the instant the uni wheel was
behind me and I would normally have pushed down on the pedal to get the wheel
back in front of me. I was practicing in a school playground so my first impulse
was to leave before some official came out and banned me from practicing there.
I assured my helpful onlookers that I was OK and walked my uni off the premises
with all deliberate speed. I did get back on and ride about a block to where my
car was parked but I felt very shaky doing it. I landed on my right side and
shoulder with my forearm arm bent in front of my ribs. My body and arm took the
brunt of the fall, but my right temple hit the ground hard enough to bounce. I
had a bloody lump just at the hairline and 12 hours later I had a wonderful
black eye swollen half shut for show and tell my first day at the new job. I
know intimately now what the meaning of the phrase “rattled teeth”. All my upper
teeth felt loose and for a couple of days they hurt when I chewed. A very mild
concussion but I felt (reasonably, considering) OK the next day even though I
took it slow. This was a learning experience for me. What did I learn? PAY
ATTENTION! Just at the moment I felt confident enough to let my attention
wander, disaster struck. Unicycling seems to be one of those activities that
lets you know right away when you are not focused. Now, the good news: I have
had time to practice every day (yes!) I have improved all my current skills and
learned two new ones – hopping and a walking rear mount (this may not be the
correct term). I can hop in one spot until I get tired, or I can rotate 360
degrees in a series of small incremental twists while hopping. On a good day I
can hop with arms outstretched to the side but I normally hold the nose of the
saddle with either hand and hold the other up over my head. I found that I
always rotated in one direction (towards the free arm) so I made it a point to
learn to do it with either hand free and either foot forward… Now that I have
the hang of this, I want to go on to curb jumping and rope skipping.
PS Anyone know a good ASCII “smiley face” for head injuries? Dennis Kathrens
Taking my lumps in Ohio
Re: Kee-rash! Ouch, hurt.
Unicyclists, I know that usually us cyclists tend to avoid these
damaging crash stories, but I think we can make an exception. I want
to hear your dumb crash stories! Don’t be shy, I’ve had a couple of
stupid accidents, one resulting in a broken foot. (More on that some ,
other time.) I hope I don't start any trouble, I think we all can see that
the audience here is composed solely of unicyclists, all of whom know how
safe unicycling actually is. Also, I assume that a few crash stories wont
scare any of us. If you have any problems with this, write the list, and
for those with weak stomachs, don't worry, like all trends, this one is
bound to die out eventually. WIMPS! I hope this brings some action to the
list. Karl Frankowski.Re: Kee-rash! Ouch, hurt.
[Dennis Kathrens <d.kathrens@genie.geis.com> writes about various head
injuries.]
Ouch! A reminder to us all to keep those helmets on no matter how silly we look.
(As unicyclists this shouldn’t bother us, right?)
Alas, the weather is getting too cold for me to have any opportunities of head
banging until next spring. 
Seth Golub — seth@hilco.com — http://www.cs.wustl.edu/~seth/ “…And in all
of Babylonia there was wailing and gnashing of teeth, till the prophets bade
the multitudes get a grip on themselves and shape up.” - W. Allen