Couldn’t really find a thread that applies to this topic so I am going to just start another in the hopes of maybe saving a life or at least embarrassment to somebody… anyway…a couple of days ago I was riding on our riverwalk . I was on my way back to the parking lot where I had parked my car… I was about a mile away and cruising along on my 29er not a care in the world. The feeling came over me that I was about to sneeze…no big deal I sneeze all the time…so sneeze I did. OK…during the sneeze I never realized before how many muscles are involved …some of the same ones that are used to balance and pedal I’m guessing. but half way thru the sneeze it’s like my body forgot how to unicycle and the cycle flew out from under me at a pretty good clip…I went off the back, and luckily landed on my feet before continuing backwards and landing on my butt…the unicycle continued on without me for about 5ft or so before coming to a rest…There was nobody in sight which is unusual when I screw up.
So If you feel a sneeze coming on you might want to consider stopping beforehand. at least for those like me who can’t unicycle and sneeze at the same time…
I agree with you, a pre-sneeze dismount is better than a upd. this might sound strange but i am a violent sneezer and it’s pretty much impossible for me to stay on while sneezing.
I know exactly what you mean by that!
I think I know what you mean with those monster sneezes. I don’t get them often, but those ones that really take over your body for a moment. Could be bad if riding at high speed…
or on skinnies.
This is precisely the thing I love about unicycling … If you break consntration for the time it takes to sneeze- you fall off. I can sneeze and ride a b!ke, drive a car and even juggle. But the right sneeze can send one flying when on the wheel.
cold with possibility of sneezing
man…its really cold today…snowed a couple of days ago…but i am going anyway…having withdrawals . I used to have to concentrate on my riding ,but now I find myself drifting off on thoughts of other things and miss quite a bit of riding enjoyment…my body seems to have learned what to do without me thinking about it all the time…yea! I have been riding for 2 1/2 years now and
have settled on my 26" as the cycle of choice…not too big not too small…and very comfortable to ride…not so far to fall when I sneeze…
Zombie sneeze!
I’ve sneezed a few times while riding a Coker (I can’t recall if it happened on smaller unis), but more often than not, I’ve found that my sneeze gets derailed. This derailment happened again today and made me wonder if the root of the problem is fear – some primal thing that tells our brains that we need to close our eyes to sneeze but also need them open for balance.
As it happens, I can ride fine with my eyes closed (short distances!), so the next time I feel a sneeze coming and don’t have to worry much about what’s in front of me, I’ll try closing my eyes for a sec.
As for those times when I’ve successfully sneezed while riding a Coker, I can say that they’re a bit terrifying and somewhat surprising, but weirdest of all is that the sneeze is very abbreviated (again, probably owing to that neurological thing about fear).