>I have just been told, by a friend of mine, that he and some other
>friends have been attempting to ride a 13 foot unicycle! They have a
>tall barn with a smooth floor. They rigged up some kind of rope/pulley
>and harness to the roof of the barn to which they attached the rider
>and the unicycle, in the inebitable event of losing balance. The
>unicycle was made by one of them at their father's place of work, so
>it's a home made design. I have not seen it yet myself.
>Has anyone attempted anything this tall?
Many unicyclists have ridden unicycles from 6-12 ft. high, but only a
few have exceeded the 12 ft. "barrier". The two primary reasons are
the probability of serious injury approaches 100% very quickly some
where just above this height and safety cables or ropes are not
usually set up for unicycles of this height. (Safety cables with
reliable supports should be used with cycles this tall or when the
rider is unsure about or not experienced at riding such tall cycles!)
Sem Abrahams rode a 73 ft. unicycle in Japan with safety cables. He
also regularly rides his 14 ft. unicycle (without safety cables) in
some of his shows.
Steve McPeak will forever hold the Guinness record without safety
equipment of 31 ft. (Steve also attempted to ride a 101 ft. unicycle,
with safety equipment, but few in the unicycling community will say he
succeeded.)
Tom Miller has regularly ridden both his 16 ft. and 24 ft. unicycle on
numerous occasions without safety equipment.
Chuck Marquette rode his 22 ft. unicycle without safety equipment
about as regularly as anyone has ridden such tall unicycles.
There are also a number of unicycling clubs with cycles as tall as
perhaps 14-15 ft. which are ridden in parades without safety
equipment.
There are many other individuals who have ridden unicycles taller than
12 ft. whom, I haven't mentioned and probably don't know about.
Please feel free to report such omissions.
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Concerning injuries on a unicycle:
There have been a few serious injuries as a result of unicycling, but
I haven't heard of any fatalities. Just compare this to bicycling,
particularly racing where the injuries are very serious and even life
threatening. Also, provided one doesn't wrecklessly ride a unicycle
on busy streets and highways, riding a unicycling will be many times
safer than riding a motorcycle or driving a car.
On the other hand, minor bruises are relatively common while riding a
unicycle at the limit of one's ability. Such minor bruises are
usually forgotten the next minute and rarely bother one for more than
a few days. It's the price the unicyclists pay for becoming more
skilled.
It's when we EXCEED the limit of our ability to ride, become
OVERCONFIDENT or allow our concentration to LAPSE, that serious injury
becomes a real possibility! So avoid these risk factors, for years of
pleasant, injury free unicycling!
Stay on Top!
Ken Fuchs <kfuchs@winternet.com>