I was just returning home from a small trip on my giraffe, without any type of fall. As I was getting closer to my house, I had the “bright” idea of dismounting as close to my front steps as I could. There Is a short pathway to my front steps. I got close, then began to dismount as usual. Then it happened. It was one of those times when everything seems to be in slow motion. As I began to dismount, the wheel began to roll forward like usual, and then lights and sirens went of in my head. DANGER WILL ROBINSON, DANGER! The wheel hit the step, which in turn stopped it from rolling, in which case, instead of falling vertically down, the seat hit me hard in the groin, and I proceeded to fall in an arc. I landed on my wrist, and now I have a booboo.
Dont make the same mistake I did
When getting off of a giraffe, always allow plenty of room for the wheel to roll forward.
-David Kaplan
> Dont make the same mistake I did When getting off of a giraffe,
> always allow plenty of room for the wheel to roll forward.
That’s good advice from the injured. The same applies for letting the
wheel roll to the rear, or in any other direction. The safest way to
dismount is to let the wheel roll to the front. Why? Because you are more
likely to notice if there are people or other obstacles in the way and
less likely to hit them.
I was in a show once on a folding stage that was only about 10’ deep, and
backed up against the gym wall. At the end of my giraffe riding I did my
usual dismount, with the wheel rolling to the rear. I thought I had angled
it enough to keep it away from the wall, but somehow it ended up rolling
straight at the wall, hitting it when I was halfway down. As David
described, when the wheel stopped, I got jolted through the saddle and
thrown forward. In my case I landed face down, halfway off the stage.
Quite comical to the audience, and I played that angle, but it hurt!
Stay on top (and dismount with care), John Foss, the Uni-Cyclone
jfoss@unicycling.com www.unicycling.com
“455 newsgroup messages in a year is only 1.24 per day…” - John Foss,
trying to explain to his wife