Thanks all. Yes, it’s a bummer, but I will be back out there before I know it. I’m glad to hear that after a break Acrobel, your skills improved, and that your injury wasn’t worse (sprains can be worse sometimes I hear). I am curious to see what happens for me when I return to the uni. I am all too aware of my tendency towards excess, despite my knowledge that rest and taking breaks are extremely important. Sometimes, some of us just have to have the break imposed upon us. It’s just as well I guess. I am not a summer time person. I have no air conditioning and I work in a very hot woodworking shop. Being on the uni with all the safety gear would be a little over the top for me in the heat of the summer. Yuck. I feel for you Bradford.
I’m glad I sat down to update my recovery the other day. I started counting the weeks up, and realized that my healthcare provider and I got our count off, so I have one more week before getting out of the boot. Boo hoo. But, that’s kind of a relief. My foot isn’t feeling quite ready for that. Most importantly, I don’t want to do anything that would delay getting back on the uni. Man I sure do miss it!
Thanks for not calling me a weenie! I feel for YOU! No A/C? That’s tough! I hope it’s not as hot there as it is here. I once had a dorm room with no A/C about 30 miles north of Dallas, TX, and it was pure hell. We were above to the kitchen for the cafeteria, and we called our floor “Hell’s Kitchen”. We could pretty much only be in our rooms at night, and even then it was really bad. I don’t know how you sleep without A/C in the summer. I think I’d have to sleep in a tub full of cold water!
I could see it being a challenge for you having to start back in the heat of the summer not having the benefit of getting acclimated gradually. I don’t envy you that, but I’m sure you’ll find a way if you’re determined.
I’m thinking of riding at night. I used to go mountain bike riding last summer with a friend at night, and he loaned me some really bright lights that we attached to our handle bars and helmets. He got them off Amazon, and I think they could charge through USB, but I don’t remember anything else about them (brand, model, etc), aside from them not being very expensive. I may order some and give it a whirl. I’m guessing it will be harder on a muni, and there are always challenges to riding at night (safety, visibility, closed trails, etc), but that might be my best shot. I’m not having much luck disciplining myself to get up at 5:30 am, eat, and get ready to leave by dawn, which is what I’ve had to do in the past if I wanted to do anything outdoors during the summer. I’m neither a morning person nor a summer person. Doh’t!
I used to ride mountain bikes with a light. Don’t think I’ll be trying that on the uni. Be safe if you do it.
Yes, I gave in and put in a small window unit in my bedroom finally. I can’t sleep at night when it’s this hot. So. I’m officially a wimp. However, I still heat with wood in the winter, so I’m only half a wimp I discovered that unicycling is a great way to heat up. The lowest temperature that I went out in when I was learning was 22 degrees in Feb. And I remember that I was burning up in 5 minutes. Can’t wait for winter!
I am still in the boot, but I have a hard medical shoe for driving the stick shift. So, I got my truck back today! Yahoo…moving forward. I can hear my unicycles calling to me:)
As a former academic achiever, at first I took the typo in your title to be the Latin word “sine” and I do hope going forward that you will progress without breaking your foot!
It sounds like you’re getting there, so try to hang on a little while longer. Just a passing thought: Have you considered any unicycle-type projects, maybe lacing up a different size wheel or building up a style of uni that you don’t have from parts? You sound like a handy and capable type person, and that might a way to stay in the game if you’re into it. There’s always a lot of interest here in projects that people take on.
Yes, I saw the typo too late. It kills me every time I see it! It’s funny that you mention projects regarding the unicycle. I have thought about ways to do a non-functional project with wood. I have some commissions that I need to get to first, but the idea has been churning. Not exactly what you were probably thinking, huh?
Not exactly sure what that would be, but no definitely not! I’m curious to see what you come up with if you do. (On the functional side, bamboo unicycles not too far back.)
Mhm I thought first you meant something like making an obstacle course with all kinds of wooden planks and logs. I have 2 left hands and couldn’t make anything like a bamboo bike, but laying logs on the floor I am capable of
Wohoo! I’ll bet gettin’ that truck back is a big deal. It would be for me! I miss drivin’ a stick, but city drivin’ in traffic is murder with a stick, so I had to give that up years ago. Well, I’m sort of jealous! It sounds like you live like I wish I did! Stickshift truck, work with your hands/work with wood, burn wood in the winter (you actually have a winter), great off road trails, etc. I’ll bet it’s amazing in the fall there too. Lucky!!!
I do consider myself one of the lucky ones for sure. I am doing what I wanted from a pretty early age. Had to go down a wrong turn or two before figuring it out, but I finally got it Now, If I can just get back to that unicycle :o
Cool! I hope you get to ride soon. I’m sure it’s so close you’re counting the hours!
My wife was in Winston-Salem a few months ago for work, and she said NC was beautiful. She really hit it off with a girl that worked for the company she was visiting, and she said everyone there was really nice. After I read your post yesterday and started thinkin’ about how pretty it is out there, I told her she should get a job with the company she visited in Winston-Salem. As luck would have it, that same girl she hit it off with is visiting my wife’s office next week, so she’s plannin’ to spend some time with her and have a chat about the job sitch over there. I can always hope! I’d love to try some municycling out that way!
My wife is a chemist, and she’s currently the supervisor of a private toxicology lab. (She’s the brains part of this relationship. ) The company she visited in Winston-Salem sells her company the big, expensive lab equipment they run their samples on and also does the training for the equipment.
Yeah, I figured that was east of you, and to be honest, I’d rather be in the mountains, but I’ll settle for a place that’s 1) not here, and 2) really pretty, and 3) not here (heh, heh).
Yes, you’d probably end up east of here, as it will most likely has more to offer for someone with that background. Asheville is becoming a beer and food city. Anywhere but North Texas…yikes. I don’t know how y’all take the heat.
I’m getting a little down about the foot. I get to come out of the boot around the house starting Saturday. But, in all honesty, I don’t feel ready. It is still quite painful. I did start driving my truck with a medical shoe, and that ramped my pain back up. I have had to work throughout most of this injury (with the exception of week one). Despite taking great pains to do only light duty and stand only a couple hours a day, I think it has set me back a little bit in the recovery process. I thought I would be back on the unicycle 6 weeks after coming out of the boot…but even that is starting to seem unlikely. Maybe things will start feeling better once I am actually moving the foot in a more normal manner… <sigh>
Ug! Chronic “real” pain sucks. Don’t blame ya for feelin’ down. Hope you’ve got some good drugs! I also think it really sucks that you have to stay on your feet at work while you’re tryin’ to heal and in pain.
As far as North Texas, it’s not just the heat, but that’s an important part of it, especially in the summer. I just don’t really like it here. It’s not my thing, and my wife has never been in love with it either. She moved here with her family when she was 16 from Brooklyn, NY, and it was a tough transition for her, and I think she wants her winters back!
My thoughts are with you, in a very real way. Yesterday I was practicing mounting into a one-foot-still-stand and attempting to transition into one-foot-forward-riding. The pedals have become worn smooth and I slipped a lot. Then it happened. I’m not sure what happened and how it happened, but I momentarily got stuck on top of the unicycle, then fell onto the unicycle. When I fell on the unicycle, the combined weight of the unicycle and me squashed my left-big toe. So, here I am, sitting here, today, wondering if I broke my big toe. I’m in almost no pain, I have a reasonable amount of mobility in the toe; the bruising is starting to show. So, after almost 2.5 years of riding, that is the worst injury I’ve sustained so far. Not much to do about it. I can still walk (more of a shuffle) and drive my stick-shift car, but I’m not going to be riding for at least a week. I should consider myself lucky that the impact didn’t happen further up my foot; that could have been bad!
I immediately thought of you when I saw this quote:
I’m really sorry to hear about your spill on the uni, but glad it wasn’t any worse. I would guess if you broke your toe, you would be in more pain, but I’m not even sure that’s true. Either way, it sucks. It seems that I remember reading that you had injured your toe once before…?
I appreciate the pic. It’s funny you posted that today. I have been getting really depressed about my injury as of late. I have never broken anything, so I had no way to know what the recovery process would be like. Sloooowww…that’s what it’s like, slow as smoke off cold shit. I’m 9 weeks and 3 days from the accident, and I am still walking with a very prominent limp. It is so much more painful right now than I thought it would still be. The longer this process is taking, the more afraid I am of getting back on my unicycle. I realize the consequences of an accident could even be much more than just a sore foot for 3 months. Yet, at the same time, I also know that I could break my foot and need surgery just from walking across my lawn (wearing a boot in the grocery store has allowed me to hear lots of stories from others who have been in the same boot, so I now know that simply getting out of bed in the morning is risky business).
Anyway, that’s all to say that I am a bit scared to get back in the saddle. So, I guess I just have to lace up and get back to it when the time is right.
I’m happy to say that I have devised a way to safely mount my Oracle in my basement so that I can at least sit and balance between a post and a stair rail. I’ve been afraid that I would forget to ride, but I can tell that it’s all there, just waiting. So, maybe in a couple more weeks, I’ll be able to report that I’ve had my first ride since the injury.
Thanks again. I have been staying connected here, I just don’t have much to contribute.
I feel for YOU! No A/C? That’s tough! I hope it’s not as hot there as it is here. I once had a dorm room with no A/C about 30 miles north of Dallas, TX, and it was pure hell. We were above to the kitchen for the cafeteria, and we called our floor “Hell’s Kitchen”. We could pretty much only be in our rooms at night, and even then it was really bad. I don’t know how you sleep without A/C in the summer. I think I’d have to sleep in a tub full of cold water!
) The company she visited in Winston-Salem sells her company the big, expensive lab equipment they run their samples on and also does the training for the equipment.