S-levels for UPDs

5/14/02

Tornadoes and hurricanes have the Fujita scale

The Fujita wind damage scale provides a measure of a tornado's potential destruction:
Scale Wind (mph) Damage
F-0 72 or less Light
F-1 73-112 Moderate; roofing peeled
F-2 113-157 Considerable; roofs torn off
F-3 158-206 Severe; roofs and walls destroyed
F-4 207-260 Devastating; strong houses destroyed
F-5 261-318 Incredible; houses moved
F-6 319-380 Unlikely to occur

UPDs need the Stone scale
The Stone UPD scale provides a measure of a UPD's potential destruction:
Scale In a word Description
S-0 Light Rider lands on feet at a walk or jog, rider catches uni, no damages or injuries
S-1 Moderate Same as S-0, only rider lands at a run
S-2 Considerable Rider lands on feet, often at a run, but unicycle hits the ground
S-3 Severe Rider actually falls but is not injured; potential for embarrassment
S-4 Devastating Rider falls badly and is scraped up or bruised; rider is able to ride
S-5 Incredible Rider's injury prevents further riding for some time; uni likely damaged
S-6 Toe Clips Rider is killed, the result of poor judgment and/or unsafe conditions

Using this scale for my first day on uni.5, I can say that I had a few S-0's, mainly as a result of faulty mounts. My first UPD while riding was S-1, and I quickly hopped back on. On the bike path, I had an S-2 dismount, tho it's likely an extension or even decent Miyata seat could have prevented this. In Brooklyn I had a level 4 UPD while riding uphill. I landed on the street and rolled out of the fall; I managed to roll over my fanny pack without breaking the screen of my PDA (palm-top computer). This is my second UPD to involve a PDA. Hmmm.... Anyway, near home I had another S-2, tho this was at a fairly slow rate.

My brothoer has had several S-5s. I believe his first was on the European Unicycle Ride and came when his exhausted legs couldn't stop his overfast downhill ride. He lost control, fell forward, and saw his Coker smash into a wall below and flip into the air. He had some badly bruised ribs and the Coker's small seat post was somehow bent. Recently he was laid up for over two months when he hyperextended his foot on a fall, bruising the bone atop his foot. This would have been an S-3 had his foot not landed in a pothole of considerable depth.