I think I posted a message about this, can’t remember… but a little over a month ago, I had surgery on my ankle. Anyway, it was pretty minor as ankle surgery goes, but I was in a cast for a while. I needed crutches for the first 2.5 weeks, then I was in a weight-bearing cast for a month. Though I could walk on this cast, it still hurt somewhat, especially if I had a long walk to class. Well, lowering the impact solved that problem – so I rode my unicycle to class. I got slightly stranger than normal looks from the folks who noticed the cast. I was actually impressed with how easy it was to ride in spite the fiberglass from my toes to my knee. The hardest part was in being conservative – no jumping, or doing tricks, just riding.
Well, the cast came off yesterday, so I’m back to not being able to unicycle (weak muscles from lack of use, would be too easy to injure), but hopefully I’ll be back to it soon enough.
I didn’t realize this until I had the cast, but there is a big difference between wheel walking using only one of your two available feet, and wheel walking when only one foot is available.
Glad things are moving along. I think most of us have suffered injuries in the past or are currently healing from injuries that have prevented us from riding. Take your time, let it heal. Your videos and kind words have been an inspiration to many of us.
Not too long ago, I started a thread speculating that when we are very, very old, perhaps unicycling would be an easy way to get around. What you did was similar – and you actually did it! But at my current skill level (almost level one), I could easily UPD onto the wrong foot and hurt myself even more.
Inspiring story! Apparently there are very few acceptable excuses for not riding (weather, snow, cast, etc). Glad you are almost good-as-new!
As for your suggestion, I’m not sure I necessarily agree, though one can hope. What you have to consider are the chances of a fall, and the consequences of one. If the chances are low, and the consequences are low, then it’s not a big problem. If the chances become high during a normal ride, I would not recommend it. And if the consequences are high, it’ll require some consideration – very high, and I wouldn’t do it no matter what, moderatly high and I might try only if the chances were almost zero.
As for my case, my foot was in a cast to immobalize my ankle. If I did fall, the chances of my falling so badly as to cause the cast to bend enough to do any damage were quite low. And I, of course, had to ride very conservatively so as to avoid any chances for more than the smallest of injuries.
Well, one never knows what the future holds, and all situations are different, so must be viewed as such.
I agree that there are few excuses for not riding a unicycle. If it were possible I would have my uni permenately attached to my rear. After breaking my back and destroying my foot on a uni in '99 I find that it is much more comfortable riding the uni than walking with arthritis at 42 y/o. The seat takes a great deal of weight off of my foot… aaaah.
My brother took this picture of me on a uni with crutches two months after the uni accident.
Are those Kooka cranks on that cycle in the vid? Have they held up to drops ok? Are they on a Suzue hub? No twisting of the axle? What sort of frame is that?
Did I mention that you are crazy? Despite the cast, your muscle and tendon will still squirm around inside- take care of yourself, heal… and send more video’s!
That’s great! I love it. Shows dedication. Reminds me of when I broke my foot. I refused to let them put a cast on it. I insisted on them giving me a wooden shoe that I could take on and off. Ya see, a cast can’t get wet, nor could it fit into my kayak.
I’m just curious… did your cast make any tricks easier? You know, take advantage of the situation?
Yes, they are Kookas with a suzue hub… I haven’t had them long enough to throughly test them, but so far so good. The highest drop I’ve made was just under 5 feet, and no problems at all.
The frame was made by Chris Reeder back when the only frames on the market which could fit a 24x3 were in the $600+ price range. http://www.reeder.unicyclist.com/mud/
Funny thing was, once I’d scheduled the surgery, I took the remaining month of freedom and really got back into riding again. There’s nothing like knowing that soon you won’t be able to ride anymore for a while to motivate. I took the philosophy that injury wouldn’t be so bad because I’d have time to recover after surgery anyway. (Of course, that is flawed reasoning – had I broken the other leg, getting around on crutches would require a bit more efort.)
Do you have pictures of your X’rays and can you post them? I have a fascination for ankle-fractures now after breaking my own. What sort of fracture was it and did you get a lot in the way of metalwork?
