Unicycling Friends:

This is Kyle driving Miss Quinny. Yes, unicycles are practical.

This is Kevin’s doing. He’s a regular at Muni Mondays. He does freestyle moves on a 24″ Sun uni and can turn faster than you.

Give Me a Sign…

These sum up the last 2 weekends of my life.  Good times with great friends.  Biking has been good for me, but unicycling has added another dimension to the awesomeness of human powered transport.  Don’t get me wrong- I still love bikes.  I rode 2 bikes today (both Surlys- I guess it’s been Surly Week).

This weekend is back to the uni with Yellow Creek Grassroots Racing on Saturday, and Get Some Miles in on My Neglected 36er Sunday and Monday.

Ride on.

OK Bike Nerds, ID This Accessory:

The contest is not about the Ross, it’s about the green centered clip on the fork.

We ran across this gem at the Fixed Gear Community Bicycle Collective today.

Some think we should call it The Ministry of Bicycles.

We need funny hats and an HPV Popemobile.

Taking a Mulligan

Bravo to all those who are encouraging Bike to Work Day.  I sincerely hope people give up car commuting for a day and give the bicycle its due.

I won’t be taking part.  I’m taking the day off.  Not just from bike commuting, but from work.

You’ll find me here: Dirt Fest .

I’ll be at the Unicycle Demo booth- Susquehanna 8.

I’d blog more, but I have to pack.

It’s All Part of the Plan

The keychain speaks volumes.

In 2010 we hosted a 2 day stage race that featured bicycles and unicycles. It happened because Ed Johnson believed in us. He had the vision to create a great event for bicycles- and then took the risk of incorporating big wheeled unis into the plans. In the grand scheme of human powered racing, distance unicycling is still in its adolescent stage- at best. The 36″ wheel is under 15 years old. At BCSR 2010 most people were surprised that unis could cover a very hilly course at a 13.67 mph average.

It was cool to be part of the stage race, but bigger things are yet to come.

The book in the background hints at a bit.

A lot more starts today. And tomorrow. And next weekend.

Thanks Ed.

The Red or Blue Pill?

A shot of today’s mail:

Which one?

One is in plastic wrap, the other on 90%+ recycled paper.

One has flat pedal reviews, the other has a mattress ad.

One has automobile ads, the other a 1989 Talon Slayer.

One keeps giving me complimentary subscriptions and threading to cancel, the other I gladly paid for a lifetime subscription.

I will miss Bike Snob though.

Old Dog, New Tricks

Just another reason why I love to ride.  This is video of one of my first mildly successful attempts at riding the Ultimate Wheel.  I realize in the grand scheme of YouTube awesomeness it’s not much.  I have no delusions that I’m the greatest rider in the world.  I didn’t post the video to look for applause or brag about my accomplishments either.

I posted it because I’m thankful for being part of team.

Team Learn the Ultimate Wheel consisted of my friends Isaac, Kevin, Steve, Rob, and the other Rob.  A while ago Isaac suggested we get an ultimate wheel for club use.  Of course, non of use could ride ride, or even had attempted to ride one before.  It just seemed like another service we should offer.

Isaac and I tried to ride the wheel for quite some time with vary degrees of failure.  Neither of us could muster more than a couple of pedal strokes- even while holding onto bleachers or a wall.  After many mini sessions over several months we relegated it to the closet.

Then one day Kevin was attempting to mount his uni and ride from the seat drag position.  That means not touching the seat at all.  This method means the pedals are the only point of contact with the uni.  He was doing pretty well- actually VERY well as he’s only been riding since November 2011.

Anyways, I suggested that an Ultimate wheel might be easier to try as the Q Factor is much lower (the pedals are closer together).  I noted that we had one in the closet.  We pulled it out, aired up the tire, and he gave it a go.  He totally skipped the trying to start along the wall and got a couple of pedal strokes of progress quite quickly before plateauing for the day.

Steve then commented that if he could see somebody ride it for 5 pedal strokes it would make his day complete.

Ah, the perfect storm of inspiration.

After another frustrating day of not wheelwalking I set out to learn the UW- again.

Although, this time something was different.  It seemed to involve a much more natural motion.  After a few minutes along the wall and bleachers I was actually letting go for 1/2 a revolution.  Then one. Then two.  Then one.  Then three.  Then one.  Then five.

Then the other Rob heckled me.  (I of course shot back and told him he needs to be able to beat his pre-teen girls in a race.)  We laughed, but I knew it was on.

A bit more practice along the wall and I took Kevin’s inspiration and tried freemounting and starting.  After another 15 minutes or so I handed the camera to Rob- the first volunteer to hold it.  We had several false starts as he noted that he has a hard time getting touch screens to work, yet he volunteered first.  We also had some false starts due to my nervousness that the red light was on.

Then, magic.

Thanks guys!

Now if I can just get wheelwalking down…

I can’t wait for the May 12th workshop.

C D Ride

This was today’s haul of roadside booty:

For some strange reason I thought it would be a good idea to set out for a 36 or so mile adventure aboard my 36 inch uni at 11:30 when I needed to be back by 3:30. (Yes, for some strange reason 100mm cranks make me feel sassy.)

I also thought that a 50% chance of rain starting at 2 pm put the odds in my favor. You know, a glass half-full perspective.

What I failed to consider is that at 40 degrees F, the 50% chance of rain really means the other 50% chance is for freezing rain.

I had about 15 miles or so to really mull this over. The rain made me wet, but the freezing rain hurt when it relentlessly pelted me in the face. Neither was good for visibility’s sake. Just in case I hadn’t come to this conclusion early on, this rain/freeze pattern repeated itself for a good hour before settling into rain.

The conclusion of all my research?

Given the choice between rain or freezing rain, I choose finding a 10mm wrench.

Score.

Pictures of People

This is one of my favorite celebrity pictures.

For those not in the know, Mr. McFeely rode his bike and ran the Speedy Delivery Service on Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood. If you never saw Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood, you should watch a few episodes. We can still use a lot of his lessons he taught us. Treating others well never should go out of style.

Mr. Rogers was the man. When he retired I was hoping to make a career change. I could have never filled his shoes though. I can at least bike (or uni) commute and change my shoes when I get to work. I’m not much for sweaters either.

I’m not sure what I’m going to do when I grow up.

A random note: once my wife got to be the Purple Panda for a press conference. But that’s a story for another time…

Train Pain

Today is a “rest day”. I’m not sure what that really means other than I’m a bit tired. I had some good rides over the past week. I usually don’t go into my “training” regimen, but I’ve been inspired:

The “Training Plan”:

I tend to see bikes as useful machines. Scratch that- REALLY useful machines. Not useful as in, “I should strap this multi-thousand dollar sub 20 lb 2 wheeler to my SUV and drive for an hour to get to a dirt church session in the woods.”

But rather,

“The propane tanked kicked. I need a gallon of paint. The house phone is dead- time to get a new one. We need some groceries. – And I really want a loaf of fresh bread. I’ll take the Xtracycle.”

Or,

“My wife forgot her purse at her shop which is 36 mi round trip by back roads. I’ll go get it. Oh yeah, it’s Auntie Em windy out there.”

Or,

“Hey Ed, a friend of mine is gigging 18mi away. We should bike to Mars and back first. Then we can round out the 60 mi trip with some brutal headwinds. Oh yeah, ride your road bike I’ve got a 43 x16 fixie Cross x Check with a rack.”

This was last Saturday, Sunday, and Friday. Also included in the fun was a propane run on Thursday (about 12 miles round trip. Saturday had a hour and a half of outside fun on the MUni with Isaac (video test at the top of this post), and an indoor session at the Y. Monday included a 25 mile wind tunnel adventure (does it ever stop) 36er uni ride, and some Backyard Trials riding with Isaac and Andy.

It makes Tuesday’s fetch a pizza with Pinky the unicycle and climb back up a long steep hill (while holding the pizza) seem easy.

(Just a side note: no gas was burned to get to the start of any of the rides.)

Maybe I should read up on how to train to hit my ideal weight. Wait, do they mean how much I can haul by bike?

Probably not; I guess I’ll just keep riding and let the subscription lapse.