I’m curious for all those coker riders out there, why do you choose a coker to do distance riding? Why not just use a road bike? Distance riding just seems boring to me. So anyways, can anyone explain the mentality behind this?
BTW, remember, you are talking to someone who used to commute 2.1miles to school up and down hills on an onza trials uni, so it’s not like I’ve never done stuff on a uni where a bike would be better. And if you are wondering why I did this, it’s because I’ve never had a uni with a wheel bigger than 24", and I didn’t have a functioning bike at the time. And honestly if you want a better justification than that, i can’t give it.
I pondered this question many times over about why riding distance in general. Then I got a road bike and the challange became seeing how fast I could get places around the city. Its not something you can really explain to people as why you would want to push your body into doing something that there is an easier way to do. I imagine riding distance on a coker is a similar.
Why ride for distance in general? a car will almost always get you there faster… Dont try to reason it, its something you just have to do and have a passion for in order to fully understand why do it…
I run cross-country and did some inline distance skating over the summer. I just starting unicycling so I don’t have a coker or any other big wheeled unicycle. But to answer your question (why people go distance running/cycling/skating) for me at least (different people probably have different reasons) I like doing distance runs just because it feels good. After a long run, you’re dead tired, gasping for breath, you’ve gone non stop for 10 or so miles (more on skates or uni/bi/cycles) but you just feel good. So yea, thats the reason, it feels good.
I really liked distance speedskating because of how fast you could go. It was a rush, especially on monster hills. I dunno how fast coker’s can go but they are faster and going fast is fun.
I use my Coker as my (nearly) exclusive form of transportation here in Manhattan… as well as using it to go on distance rides about once a week… either weaving in and out of cars through the streets of NYC or riding along one or both of the rivers. The Coker serves my needs much better than a road bike could here in the City for several reasons (I have both hands free to carry groceries and stuff when I go shopping and when I have to use (or move) my car, the Coker fits in the trunk, making commuting back and forth between my apartment and my often very distant parking spot a breeze, etc.), but I’ll stick to the question at hand - distance riding. Certainly when I’m riding in the streets the Coker is better than a bike because it’s much more maneuverable and I can weave in and out of cars and other tight spots that bikes can’t even get through because of their handlebars (I have to turn my body sideways sometimes). Whether I’m on the streets or the bike path along the river, I find plenty of opportunitites to have fun carving sharp turns, riding down stairs (sometimes up a few stairs, too), or finding some curbs or other skinnies to ride along. You can’t have much fun carving turns on a road bike or riding stairs and skinnies. The urban landscape offers plenty of ways to mix it up and have a great time… and you get a lot more exercise than on a road bike.
Distance riding is not just about distance or else you would ride circles in
the gym. Its the whole experience, reacting with the environment, being
out there. Adding the coker is the icing, something extra on top of an
already enjoyable experience.
People do it because they enjoy it, simple as that.
I too wonder what the attraction is to long distance unicycling. Sure I can see that riding in an urban environment would more suitable for a unicycle, but what about touring on the open road? I think I’d rather ride a bicycle.
I don’t… I bring it in with me and usually roll it around… or once in a while I’ll stick it in a corner somewhere in the store and keep an eye on it. When I ride it to the local watering hole that I like (that’s not so local), I have to be extra careful because I have more guts and less judgement when I leave… and I’ve miscalculated my clearance when going through some tight spots a few times and have also failed to spot a pothole in advance that I ordinarily would have seen!
Why do people run marathons when it’s faster to ride a unicycle?
Why would anyone ride a unicycle when it’s faster to ride a road bike?
why ride a road bike if driving a car is faster?
Why drive when you can fly?
I do all the above, not in any particular order. I enjoy 2 and 3 and sometimes 1. 3 (car) and 4 (flying) are handy, but I rarely enjoy them as much. I love Road biking, but sometimes I’m sick of just going fast and want a different feel to what I ride- hence the Coker. Checkernuts and Naomi summed it up nicely for me. Don’t reason with it- do it if you enjoy it, or to give variety to what you do, otherwise forget it and just ride the bike.
As for riding in an urban environment- that’s fun but after jumping off things for a while it gets pretty boring for me. Prefer to go places and enjoy the change in scenery.
Funny, I do (or have done) all of those too. I used to run to help stay in shape and clear my mind after school. When running screwed up my knees, I started biking. I started road biking after buying one older then I am at a garage sale. The speed was a lot of fun and I started biking to school. I’ve done many century rides on my 1980 Miyata road bike, but soon it became boring. There isn’t too much new road to ride in Hawaii. The day before my last marathon I got my shinny new Torker in the mail. That marathon marked the last time I “went for a run”. Since then I’ve stopped biking as well. Unicycing is what I do for the majority of my physical fitness requirements.
I road uni because I find it more fun then biking and a whole lot more work. It allowed me to get more exercise in less time, less space, and more cheaply then a bike, and it didn’t wreck my knees like running. I also think it’s safer then biking because of the lower speeds. I’ve topped out my Miyata at 47 miles an hour. I couldn’t imagine falling at that speed. You might say that you don’t have to go that fast, but when you are at the top of that hill, you can’t help but go fast.
To sum up, I road uni because…
It’s fun
It’s good exercise
It doesn’t wreck my knees like running
It’s cheap
Yeah, I like the bit about cheap. Currently my RB is skipping like crazy because the drivetrain is shot. Haven’t had to replace anything on the Coker yet, except as upgrades.
Why endurance sports in general?
Its a lot to do with the challenge…to test your limits…just to see if you can…Similar to the “Why climb Everest? because its there” situation…To do something which you once thought was beyond you…
But why unicycles?
It just adds an another dimension…makes it a tad more interesting…Is it only me but I feel a lot more content after completing x miles on a uni than a bike…
Don’t get that in a car or on a bike, do on a coker.
I do do distance on a bike as well, in fact at the mo I’m doing way more miles on the bike than the yike, why, just coz that whats I’m riding for fun at the mo. Last summer it was the other way round. I ride miles for fun, its a nice way to spend a sunny day out in the country seeing places.
last week i had things to do in town, and i rode upwards of 10 miles every day last week. cokers are just fun, not to mention maneuverable and flashy. i have a road bike, and the coker is just a better workout, easier to store places and neigh impossible to steal. i find its not boring if i have music to listen to while doing it, which i do regularly.
Top speed on my odometer at present : 21.5 mph
I hope you have brakes on that thing.