Sitting on shoulders

My 5 year old son wants to sit up on my shoulders as I ride my unicycle. Any
helpful hints on this one? Just practice? I don’t want to hurt the little guy,
me is OK but he is up higher and has farther to fall. I have tried it a couple
of times and went maybe 10ft. Feels like it might come with practice.

I am not an expert at ridding yet but am getting better all the time. I went
about 350 ft the other day while juggling! Yeah!

Andy Arhelger

Re: Sitting on shoulders

Well, I would strongly recommend you get a bike helmet or some sort of head
protection. If your son is light it won’t be a problem, but if he’s big, you
may get fatigued, which is the real danger. Your biggest danger is falling face
forward, and if that is unchecked the angular momentum will throw your son’s
head on the pavement.

I would say go for it, but make him wear a helment and have a spotter catch him
if you fall. It doesn’t really matter how good a unicylist you are, it’s not
worth it to have a head injury when you’re young.

Derrick

Re: Sitting on shoulders

Andy Arhelger <Andya5@aol.com> wrote:

>My 5 year old son wants to sit up on my shoulders as I ride my unicycle. Any
>helpful hints on this one? Just practice? I don’t want to hurt the little guy,
>me is OK but he is up higher and has farther to fall. I have tried it a couple
>of times and went maybe 10ft. Feels like it might come with practice.
>
>I am not an expert at ridding yet but am getting better all the time. I went
>about 350 ft the other day while juggling! Yeah!
>
>Andy Arhelger

A few hints.

Make sure your passenger hooks his/her feet behind your back. The more a part of
you s/he becomes the easier it will be. If s/he’s not real good at this (I find
some kids just relax their legs and flop around) then use one hand to hold
his/her leg tight against your body.

Keep your back straight and upright. This serves to prevent back injuries and
makes riding, and falling off in controll, easier.

Put the seat a little lower than you would for normal riding. This makes it
easier to free mount and easier to dismount smoothly - even in a hurry.

I have given many shoulder rides in this way, even to people heavier than
me. I do fall off now and then, particularly with the heavier folk on board, but
my falls are always smooth and harmless. I am a fairly accomplished
unicycler, I have a strong back and I have a natural ability to controll how
I fall (off anything). If your not so confident about your abilities it
might be an idea to practice with a smaller child (building up to heavier
people) and to practice dismounts to the front and back of the uni with
someone on your shoulders. Try to step off smoothly and with a straight and
upright back so you dont jar anything.

When you’re learning this skill it helps to have a passenger who behaves
themselves. Remember they’re putting their life in your hands so don’t betray
their trust. Once you know what your doing it’s always fun to pretend you don’t.
Your passenger will then behave differently (usually in a way which makes things
harder - grab your head, pull your hair, cover your eyes, squeeze your neck, wet
your back), so be prepaired for it and get used to it.

Good luck.

Mark

Mark Sands o o o E-mail M.R.Sands@iasos.utas.edu.au o o IASOS/CRC Ph: +61 20
2941 Fax: +61 20 2973 ------------------------------------------------ o
Institute of Antarctic and Southern Ocean Studies o @_/ CRC for Antarctic and
Southern Ocean Environment /|
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