The Steve Howard Custom 29er, who was originally tested by Jagur, is now in the posession of it’s rightful owner, --chirokid–. I am in the process of adding an addition onto my home, so my uni time has been minimal. But tonight, under a starlite sky, the SuperSHJag29er and I went for a ride.
Mounting came easy, but required a bit more concentration than normal. The smoothness and grace afforded the 29er were instantly apparent. I loved the feel of speed, not that I felt fast, but I did notice how much quicker I was making it from one point to the next. It felt almost like I was on a two wheeler.
As my mind wondered with this newfound speed, I noticed how cool the night air felt to my bare hands. I slipped my hands into my jacket pockets and abruptly lost my balance. I wish I had this UPD on video, as it would surely get a truck load of laughs. I wabbled fore and aft two times each, then went off the front of the big wheel. I landed on my feet, but the new, bright yellow, KH Velo seat officially occupies the “Used” catagory now.
I re-mounted my 29er with a new found respect. Maybe it would take a little getting used to. The remainder of the ride to the school campus was un-eventful. Once on the school property, a couple of security lights allowed me to see the surface better and I rode several 1/4 mile loops on the track. Then I rode up and down the parking lots, then the sidewalks. The first trick happened as I rode off the 4" drop at the end of the sidewalk. Yippeeee, I survived a drop, LOL. The big wheel made the 4" feel like nothing. A couple of laps later, I got up my nerve to ride up, maybe 2" high, onto the sidewalk. Again, the 29er just ate up the 2" incline. I repeated this several more times. Wow, this 29er it easy.
Next, I decide to try to idel on this bigger wheel. First try, I was able to idel 50 times with right down, then with leftfor fifty. Ideling actually seemed easier on the bigger wheel. With my confidence souring from the successful ideling, I decided to test my time in a 100 yard dash. First try, 17.76 seconds. Zoom, zoom, zoom. New try, at about 60 yards, my left foot flew off the pedal, my heart dropped into my stomach and I’m sure I looked like a Weeble for a couple of seconds. I decided to get a little more experience on the SHJag before attempting another 100 speed record.
Backward riding was a little different. I decided to ride onto the sidewalk, do a 180 spin and proceed backward. I did about 250 feet on my first attempt, only stopping because I ran into very dark concrete. However, I was anything but steady, the serpantine line I left would have made Odis look sober. Next, I did a stomach ride of 75 feet, then a jump mount (sure glad I didn’t miss that).
With all the success and fun of my first ride, I decided to mount the sidewalk at the 4" area. Have any of you ever heard of the Bible verse, Proverbs 16:18, “Pride goeth before the fall”? Trust me, it’s true. KH Velo seat now classified as “Used, with permanent scratches”. For the record, that rose bush was always bent weard anyway and my head DID NOT come dangerously close to being inside the 2nd grade classroom window.
As I was picking up my uni from the ground, Billham, from this unicycle forum, rang me on my cell. We had a fun chat about his success one footing across the entire gym today. Great job Billham!
Overall, my first impression is that the 29er is one smooth and graceful machine. I can motor from one local to another much quicker than before. I still can’t see me doing much off-road on her, or many hills either. But hey, with a little practice, “All things are possible.”
Thanks to Jagur, and Steve Howard for a great unicycle. --chirokid–
