Along comes one of those computer geeks I was talking about. …Who observed me doing one of those LAD’s on Sunday. :o
But maybe not as annoying as saying things like “ATM machine.”
Ouch. I actually understood that!
AAA=American Automobile Association (could be others)
FUBAR=F’d Up Beyond All Recognition. Used more in the mechanical engineering world than the computer one…
I understood FUBAR too. Don’t know where I hear it first.
The core term is “dismount”. I think we all agree that dismount indicates intentionally getting off the unicycle. UPD adds the unplanned, or unintentional element to same dismount. What I used to call falling off. Falling off the unicycle rarely ends up in the rider falling down (Freestyle, anyway). We used to say we fell off. And we said “fell down” if we fell off and didn’t stay on our feet. I always thought of UPD as a cutsey way of saying you fell off, while making it sound like something technical and not a mistake.
Not intentionally, at least. 
In fact I don’t know if you can have “unplanned suicide” though proponents of the Darwin Awards would probably argue that.
There has to be a period of stability after a UPD for an additional fall to not become a part of it. If you UPD and don’t regain balance before going off the cliff, it’s not really a UPD if you’re strict on the definition. I’m just not so strict.
Your cliff story is pretty hairy! It illustrates the old adage “The head leads the body”, which I’ve heard associated with both motorcycle riding and gymnastics. The body will tend to go where you look, which as we all know, can have ugly consequences! Glad you made it out of that one. As I have learned from repeated similar situations (not as drastic), stop to look at anything “down there”.
Interesting stuff.
The rest of the statistics on that site are incredibly in depth as well. Like the rollout of a coker wheel, taking into account rider weight, tyre wear and other factors.
well i am about to go out upd the crap out of my self 
Ah yes. From the man who also brought you guni, vanilla and chocolate feet (which I could never keep straight) and more!
I remember there being a discussion about the proper meaning of UPD on the forums a couple years ago and I don’t think a consensus was ever reached. To me it means when you unintentionally dismount from your unicycle landing and staying on your feet. To me if you land on anything other than your feet it is a crash or fall.
When I am climbing a steep hill and hit a bump causing my foot to come off the pedal and I find myself suddenly jogging instead of riding I would call that a UPD.
When I am coming down the hill and my shorts snag on something on my frame and it throws me to the ground I would call that a fall. I tend to call it a crash if I get launched from the unicycle
The cliff was a slip which had not fully slipped away just behind where I slipped, still holding on by some tree roots or something semi stable. Tony and Will advised me not to go down there immediately but I was feeling lucky and I wasn’t about to walk home without my unicycle and I was lucky enough again for it to hold my weight.
I’m not sure it was caused by looking as much as it was the slippery nature of the ground where I dismounted onto, maybe it was sloping towards the edge, and the slippery mudcakes that were my shoes at the time- but of course you could be right.
Just like people talking recession all the time cause peoples spending to recess, and thinking you will never ride a unicycle could prove true if you believe enough in your inability. Our thoughts can influence or create our reality.
Agreed! UPDs are such minor falls that you have your balance when you land on your feet unexpectedly. My cliff-face story was more of a fall than a dismount since I did not end up stable on my feet initially, as stability gave way to slipperyness.
But you became un-mounted from your uni and you didn’t plan it.
A graceful dismount in level 1 of the IUF skill levels does not involve being thrown to the ground or launching into a crash. Lets not confuse things by adding another letter -UPGD, and agree that by dismount you assume it is at least semi-graceful.
very true
thats the opposite side of the argument that all bails/falls/crashes are
un planned dismounts from the unicycle.
Personally I don’t use UPD or crash ever. I call it Bail or Fall.
I have been known to say fail on occasion as a result of watching too many fail videos on youtube
I was doing some lateral hops on some irrigation boxes and somehow ended up on my side on the ground - saddle in hand and feet on pedals (in front of an audience of course). So I guess I never technically dismounted - so would that be considered a UPD? or do I need a new term?
Must say that I usually say the same… bail … whatever happened. I’ve been living in a geeky world of TLA’s and just get tired with them all. Besides… bail… just rolls off the tongue better than UPD
I quite like the term UPDM standing for un planned dismount mount. I think everone has done this before.
Wow. I’ve never hear of anyone managing that before.
I guess that would be UPRM, un planned remain mounted
I thought it was Scott Bridgeman who developed the quickly and rightfully abandoned terms vanilla and chocolate feet. I’m pretty sure you’re right about David first using the term guni.
I’ve always considered UPD to have a different meaning than crashing, bails etc. I’m my usage, UPD is exclusive to falls where nothing worse happens than having to step off the uni. Crashes refer more to when I eat dirt or come off violenly in some way. Bails of course are selectively jumping off a uni to avoid a more serious crash.
Correct. I definitely consider a bail to be an intentional dismount, usually to prevent something worse from happening. Example: I often bail at the top of steep, technical descents if I don’t feel confident.
UPD is, of course, unplanned. And I’ll perhaps reverse myself a bit here and say that I agree it should be used for relatively minor dismounts. We only seem to really need precide definitions for such things when we’re discussing online rather than riding, but I guess it’s a good distinction to say that if you keep your footing it can be called a UPD, and if you don’t it’s something worse.
The competition event known as Standard Skill has various levels of dismount. From the IUF Rulebook (2008 version; still waiting for the new one):
5.4 Dismounts
All dismounts must be controlled, including the dismount at the end of the routine. A controlled (intentional) dismount is where the rider comes to a stop and steps off the unicycle. Dismounts executed otherwise will be considered unintentional. A dismount occurs any time a rider touches the floor, except in skills where the rider is required to touch the floor, or when a foot on a pedal touches the floor.
5.10.3 Cross (+) = - 2 Points
A cross is scored each time an unintentional dismount occurs with the competitor landing on his or her feet without the unicycle being dropped.
5.10.4 Circle (0) = - 3 Points
A circle is scored each time an unintentional dismount occurs with a part of the rider other than his or her feet touching the floor (hand, knee, rear, etc.) or with the unicycle being dropped. Seat drag skills only have this score applied if a part of the rider other than the feet touch the floor.
So if you want to get technical about it, that’s what already exists out there. BTW, in case you’re wondering why someone would want to do an intentional dismount in a Standard Skill routine, sometimes it’s the fastest and safest way to get to the next skill. But it’s important that any intentional dismounts are clean and clearly intentional, or they might get marked as Crosses (minus 2 points).
If you rode out of it you can call it something other than a fall. 
Definitely goes beyond the standard definition of UPD though.
All I know is…
UPDs suck!! especially in front of people; seeing someone on a unicycle is a rare sight. and an even rarer sight is seeing the retard who thinks he can ride launch off his uni and crash really hard. I, am that retard. Seriously though don’t you feel that when your cruising around with people watching you your chances to have a UPD skyrocket? I’m pretty sure they do.