When i'm an OAP...

born to unicycle for life: When i’m old i’m gonna get a one wheeled zimmer frame!

(prob a crap not funny at all joke, but hey give me sum credit i tried!:stuck_out_tongue: )

As the song nearly said, “Hoped I’d die before I got old…”

So this Zimmer frame - would that be the Coker with the extra wide hub and aero rim to get you to Bingo on time, or would you have a 24x3 Gaz for greater manoeuvreability in the post office queue?

Sounds a bit nuts, but last year when I spent far more time uncicyling than walking, I came to the conclusion that unicycles would make fine transport for pensioners, as it supports their weight and possible involves less strain on the knees than walking.

Of course it’s a little impractical for very old people to learn cos of the multiple falls that are a part of learning.

But for the likes of us who learn it before age ravages us, it think unicycling is going to come in most useful in the latter part of our lives.

There is no way you’ll be unicycling when it hurts for you to walk. You will fall off and break your hip or worse. You might be good enough that you fall rarely. I don’t think you’d be able to go more than a year without taking a bad spill.

I had the same idea here.

Also, what’s OAP?

Dave

Probably Old Age Pensioner
From the Acronym Finder

OAP

Old as poop?

My Spondylolisthesis will suggest otherwise.

I got into unicycling at the same time I was starting to deal with an incredible amount of pain. I didn’t know when I started if I would even be able to, as I could not bear to stand for more than 30 minutes, or even walk for more than a few kilometers.

As I learned to unicyle, I soon realized that I could spend a great deal of time riding. I could stand for 30 minutes, but I could ride indefinitely.

I soon realized that as I age and can no longer walk, (hopeully this won’t happen, of course) that my only option as a ‘pedestrian’ would be sitting atop a unicycle.

As I became more and more skilled, I was completely astonished (and still am) of all the crazy things I can do while riding. I can ride for hours, compete in 24 hr races, drop off close to 4 foot drops, and am only limited (so far) by my skill, lungs, or physical stamina. Yet, if I go to the shopping mall, I generally need to sit down after 30 minutes max.

I have developed strong abdominal muscles (behind the gut) and must’ve done some incredible strengthening of stabalizing muscles, or whatever is in there. Back surgeons and chiropractors are astonished, but encourage me (like I need them to) to kep riding, ‘it obviously is working for you’.

How odd is that?

That’s pretty amazing. It does make the concept of O.A.U’s (Old Age Unicyclists) seem feasable.


Sofa

I got into unicycling at the same time I was starting to deal with an incredible amount of pain.

How come you took up unicycling when you were in so much pain? At the time had you reason to believe that unicycling would ultimately be less painful than walking?

I was already into mountainbiking at the time. Although it certainly couldn’t be beneficial for my back, it certainly didn’t seem to be aggrevating it. (And I knew that keeping fit would have many benefits) The beding slightly forward position of a typical ride is a very neutral position. My riding had to be changed, as I found things that hurt, I’d stop doing them, or alter my riding style. Another funny thing about this…I won’t include long climbs in my bike rides now, as the bending down and straining up a long climb would bring pain, as would going out for a ride consisting mostly of bunny hopping. However, I can do 5 foot drops on it till the cows come home, and incorporate a moderate amount of bunnyhopping. (I’m quite sore the next day sometimes, but I’m generally pretty sore when I wake up anyways) (My MUni hill climbing is only limited by my ability, however)

So when I saw Kris on TV, I wasn’t thinking about getting the uni for doing what he does, it simply sparked my interest in trying to ride a unicycle, and once I discovered what an incredible ‘cure’ it was, I just kept doing more and more.

Not having any real knoweledge of what I can or can’t do, I refuse to limit myself without trying something first. If it hurts, I don’t do it any more. To a reasonable extent, of course…I’m pretty sure that skydiving impacts would hurt - so I don’t want to try it.

This is the best thing that has happened to me, and before I knew about this forum, I sent an email to Norco to forward to Kris
thanking him, and was almost dumbfounded that he returned my email the next day, and that he’d ride with me if we ever had the chance. (I knew him only as a ‘celebrity’ at the time, not an easy going, friendly nice guy to talk to, be it on the forums or in person)

Thanks again, Kris

interesting. i found that the slightly bent forward position in a mountain bike strains my back oh so much. i seem to remember jjuggle start a thread with an article about a guy (cliff?) who gave up mountain biking to do unicycling when his back couldn’t handle it. maybe i’m not riding right. i do seem to bending forward an awful lot.

maybe it’s just because i’m riding up a 20 degree (too lazy to convert to % grade) hill but my knees certainly feel horrible after about 10 times up and down my street.