Knees

The lump on my knee went away seemingly within minutes of resting and icing.
But my knees have continued to be sore and achy at times.

I keep icing them when convenient. And I'm taking ibuprofen to reduce inflammation.
And I'm avoiding any kind of exertion that my make things worse. No running, jumping, cycling.

It sounds like other unicyclists have had knee problems. It might be related to seat height being too low. Or it might be that I'm not relaxing enough and still putting too much weight on my legs and not my butt. This is common for beginner unicyclists. I've definitely improved in this area, but I'm probably still not quite relaxed enough.

I probably just pushed myself too hard once I started going longer distances.
Hopefully I will be 100% soon!

Water On The Knee?

I've been sensing a bit of an achy feeling in my knees lately. Nothing I'd call pain, just a small aching occasionally.

Tonight after riding around the block and around the house in the grass I noticed a lump on the side of my left knee. I pushed on it and it was soft and depressed easily, sort of like pushing on a puffed out cheek.

I used the google and I think it's "water on the knee". It sounds like overuse can cause this. I'll have to read more about it, but icing can help, so I started with that. Of course, giving my knees a rest is a good idea.

So I'm hanging up my unicycle for about a week.

Hojack Trail Again

This morning I repeated yesterday's ride. The forecast called for 100% chance of rain. I like those odds! When I left it wasn't yet raining, but about 10 minutes into my ride it started.

I recorded most of my ride. I UPD'ed once towards the beginning and the shock turned my camera off ungracefully. I was able to turn it back on, but the video up until that point was lost.

I trimmed down and spliced portions of the footage I took on the ride back. I tried to show the variety of terrain. You can hardly really tell it's raining, or the difficulty of some parts. I wanted to take some still photos, but it's hard to stop to take pictures when my goal is to stay on and moving. I didn't see a single person on the trail. I guess I'm the only one weird enough to be riding in the rain. Oh yeah, on a unicycle.

Without further ado:

Smile! You're on Uni-camera!

Tonight I built a camera mount for my unicycle:

The results are imperfect mostly because of my imperfect riding. On the trail this morning I noticed my trail in the mud looked like a snake. I don't always ride straight. Maybe that'll get better with time.

Here's a test video:

First Real Muni Ride!

This morning I rode a stretch of the Hojack Trail here in Webster.
I made a google map to figure my distance. 3.3 miles!
The whole trip took about an hour. I walked a only a tiny amount, to get around mud or across some roads.
It was hard work but a lot of fun! The trail surface varies quite a bit: gravel/dirt, smooth dirt, crushed rock, mud, grass, road crossings. Some of it is 6 feet wide and other parts are single track about 8 inches wide. Though any vegetation is typically cut back about 6 feet. It's a well maintained trail. If I'm not sore tomorrow, I might go again, and take some pictures. The Hojack Trail page doesn't really show all the terrain.

The crushed rock and mud were definitely a challenge. There were a few dozen mud zones, usually about a meter long. One must have been about six meters long. On my way back I got all the way through it but then I UPD'ed at the very end. At least I was left standing past the mud!

Around the Block, Around the House

Tonight I rode three times around the block, with long breaks in between. I think I'm getting less tired. Mostly my legs start burning. Unlike a bicycle, I can never coast and I'm always controlling my speed. Sometimes my weight is more on my feet and not enough on the seat. I gather that with practice I'll become more efficient at doing all this and will be able to do longer rides.

I also tried riding through the grass around the house. One time I got all the way around but fell short about six other times. There is greater resistance in the grass than on the street, which means I'm pushing harder and constantly stalling. And of course there are little hills and valleys in the lawn that catch me by surprise.

Can Syd Unicycle?

My 5 year old coach has been begging me to get her a unicycle for the past few weeks.
Well I finally broke down and ordered a 16" uni from ebay. $50.
It's cheap, but I'm hoping that doesn't matter a whole lot for a little kid.

Of course, she'll be wear full body armor as she learns. Will she stick with it? We shall see.