Trail Safety



U

U-Turn

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Found this on a hiker thread, of all places.

Please take heed of the "penalty for failure", and take your risks
intelligently...

'Unacceptable outcomes' (http://tinyurl.com/5vg7j)


--
U-Turn - Member of Generation XO

Weep in the dojo... laugh on the battlefield.

'29er Tire Study' (http://u-turn.unicyclist.com/29erTireStudy/)

'Strongest Coker Wheel in the World'
(http://www.unicyclist.com/gallery/albup39)

'New York Unicycle Club' (http://www.newyorkunicycle.com)

-- Dave Stockton
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Tassilo wrote:
> *Do you know anything about the guy? Is he still alive? If yes, what
> injures did he have? *



Phil was nice enough to share that crash over in Just Conversation last
month. See this thread: 'Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow, ow!'
(http://tinyurl.com/3wnaa).

The web page with the video and a description of what happened is here:
'The Miles Todd Crash Video'
(http://www.mountainbikebill.com/MilesCrash.htm). The good news is that
he was OK. A broken pinky, sprains, bruises, a few stitches, but no
major injury. The web page describes all.

Be careful around exposure.


--
john_childs - Guinness Mojo

john_childs (at) hotmail (dot) com
Gallery: '' (http://www.unicyclist.com/gallery/john_childs)
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john_childs wrote:
> *Be careful around exposure. *

Especially if you're on a bike! It's a lot easier for that type of fall
to happen due to not being able to easily step off. On a unicycle that
particular crash would have been much less likely.


--
johnfoss - Walkin' on the edge

John Foss, the Uni-Cyclone
"jfoss" at "unicycling.com" -- www.unicycling.com

"It's good to find something that makes boys into men and men into boys,
my opinion is that unicycling fits the bill." -- Lloyd Johnson

"Read the rules!" -- 'IUF Rulebook'
(http://www.unicycling.org/iuf/rulebook/) -- 'USA Rulebook'
(http://www.unicycling.org/usa/competition/)
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Ah thanks, missed Phil's thread.

I can't agree that a unicycle would have been "safer" or less risky.
Anyone who has ridden off-road knows that you come off in many different
directions with many different velocities and orientations. Heck, just
watch the blooper section of any uni video. Most of the time you can
simply step off, but sometimes you take a header or get tangled in the
uni.

If you are riding that kind of stuff on a unicycle, take a step back and
ask yourself is it worth the risk. Think about it before you have peer
pressure involved. And don't delude yourself that just because you are
not on a bicycle, that the risk goes away.


--
U-Turn - Member of Generation XO

Weep in the dojo... laugh on the battlefield.

'29er Tire Study' (http://u-turn.unicyclist.com/29erTireStudy/)

'Strongest Coker Wheel in the World'
(http://www.unicyclist.com/gallery/albup39)

'New York Unicycle Club' (http://www.newyorkunicycle.com)

-- Dave Stockton
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U-Turn wrote:
> *I can't agree that a unicycle would have been "safer" or less risky.
> *

I don't think we differ much for the most part. Certainly that trail
contains plenty of danger, even if you're just hiking! Any rider is well
advised to really think about it before attempting such a section. We
have a couple of similar trails in my area, which I hope to someday work
into a MUni Weekend (that's the Stevens Trail and South Yuba Trails:
http://www.unicycling.com/brett/steven.shtml
http://www.unicycling.com/brett/southyuba.shtml).

However, I will maintain that the unicycle is clearly safer in terms of
the type of dismount that rider did. His bike went off balance to the
exposre side, and he had nowhere to put his foot. Down he goes! If the
same thing happened on a unicycle, the rider could just take the other
foot off the pedal, and drop straight to the ground.

Where Phil had to stop and put a foot down, a unicyclist would either
stop and hop, or dismount to the front, putting his feet squarely on the
ground. He would not be "strung up" by the frame, which is the
difference here.

This is why I would ride a unicycle in many places I'd be too chicken to
ride a bike!


--
johnfoss - Walkin' on the edge

John Foss, the Uni-Cyclone
"jfoss" at "unicycling.com" -- www.unicycling.com

"It's good to find something that makes boys into men and men into boys,
my opinion is that unicycling fits the bill." -- Lloyd Johnson

"Read the rules!" -- 'IUF Rulebook'
(http://www.unicycling.org/iuf/rulebook/) -- 'USA Rulebook'
(http://www.unicycling.org/usa/competition/)
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I took a friend riding on on mtn bikes some years ago and she suffered a
similar (although not as dramatic) fall.

All she did wrong was stop and try to put her feet down. Since the
trail was sloped, her downside foot had nowhere to land and she took a
tumble. It was only about 20 feet but it was really steep and rocky.

She was pretty lucky (even though she cracked a rib) that she wasn't
more seriously injured.

What really sucked though was that she could not ride and we ended up
walking out in almost total darkness on a really narrow single-track
trail. I felt sorta responsible so I kept trying to lighten the mood by
joking around. Everytime she'd laugh pain would shoot through her ribs
so then I just tried to be quiet. By the time we reached the hospital
almost four hours had passed since her fall.

I think that was the last time she went biking off-road.

I've never riden that trail on a unicycle but I plan to this summer.
It's a fairly short trail at about 5 miles. You are rewarded by a hot
spring and a beautiful waterfall near the end of the trail.

-mg


--
mgrant - Ever hoping for the best!

The sun is the same in a relative way but you're older, shorter of
breath, and one day closer to death.
michael_j_grant (at) yahoo (dot) com
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johnfoss wrote:
> *Where Phil had to stop and put a foot down, a unicyclist would either
> stop and hop, or dismount to the front, putting his feet squarely on
> the ground. He would not be "strung up" by the frame, which is the
> difference here.*

Phil???

Did you say Phil? :)

Surely you had a momentary brain-misfire when you typed that. It wasn't
our beloved Phil who tumbled off a cliff! Phil merely posted the
original thread -- from the relative safety of his computer.


--
Dave Lowell - _

Member of the
'New York Unicycle Club' (http://www.newyorkunicycle.com)

(i used to be uni57)


-"People who quote themselves are lame"- - Dave Lowell
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My bad. Please replace any instances of "Phil" with "Mr. Owie dude."


--
johnfoss - Walkin' on the edge

John Foss, the Uni-Cyclone
"jfoss" at "unicycling.com" -- www.unicycling.com

"It's good to find something that makes boys into men and men into boys,
my opinion is that unicycling fits the bill." -- Lloyd Johnson

"Read the rules!" -- 'IUF Rulebook'
(http://www.unicycling.org/iuf/rulebook/) -- 'USA Rulebook'
(http://www.unicycling.org/usa/competition/)
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I think another important difference is that unicyclists often ride in
armor. In that fall armor would've saved Miles from many injuries to his
knees and arms. Also, it would've given him more options for the initial
fall. I wear armor so that I am limited in where I can fall or what body
parts I can use. I don't think that that man would've fallen off that
clif if he had been on a unicycle. Maybe his unicycle, but not him.


--
gerblefranklin - Trials Unicyclist

http://gallery.unicyclist.com/Trials-Muni

"Peace cannot be kept by force. It can only be achieved by
understanding."-Albert Einstein
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