Of Exploding Unicycles and Men

10/14/04

On my ride home up Flatbush Avenue two Fridays past, I heard and felt my tire explode. Since this happened to my 29” unicycle, the explosion was particularly loud. When a tire explodes you first feel yourself shrink a couple inches and then you decelerate really really quickly (this has happened to me before). And since I was going top speed (probably about 15 mph), I didn’t have a chance to land standing. I didn’t see my life flash before my eyes, but I did think, “Uh-oh, I guess I won’t have a chance to land standing, so I guess I’ll be rolling this one out. I hope I don’t tear my pants.”

As soon as I hit the ground in my tuck position, I heard someone scream, “Omygod!” She apparently thought I’d been shot, and afterwards, while I was cel-phoning my wife, people told me that they thought I’d been killed. In fact, I’d only sustained four minor or middling injuries: a bruised left hand, a sore left wrist, a scraped outer elbow (from sliding in my tucked position), and a tiny scrape on my left knee. Even my pride was unharmed, since the accident wasn’t my fault. And I’ve been riding too long (and messing up in public too much) to feel embarrassed about falling after a tire explosion.

I later learned that this particular tire was recalled by Nanoraptor because it was prone to rips in the outer rim, confirming what I’d heard from the man at the bike store. Apparently the inner-tube had gotten pinched by the rim and the tire, and when I turned slightly while going up a tiny ramp, it popped.

Two weeks later my left wrist is the only injury that still hurts, but it’s getting better. I’ve had to ride my Coker to work, but that’s turned out to be rather enjoyable because the ride is faster. And I installed longer cranks, and they make sidewalk riding much safer (for the
pedestrians).

I should add that I wasn't eating sushi at the time of the explosion, or talking on my cel phone, or even riding against traffic. Sometimes bad things happen to safe riders.