Club rules for giraffe use

Our unicycle group just got a 5' giraffe. We have some pretty new
riders that would like to try the giraffe, but I am concerned about
injury from lack of unicycling experience. On someone's website, I
noticed that they required a rider to be level 3 before they could use
their club's giraffe.

How should one determine when a rider can use a giraffe?
What does your club do?
What do individuals with giraffe experience (riding and teaching)
think?

I'm probably being overly cautious, but I'd feel terrible if I let a
young rider (young in age and experience) try the giraffe and see them
fall and get hurt. I know there is always a risk, but there is a point
where you should say no.

Bill


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In our club you have to be able to idle 20 times, ride in some figure 8s
and go forward and backwards to the half court line 4 times
(continuously). Don’t give any kids special privileges over other kids
though. They will work harder once they know what the have to do to ride
it and once one person meets the requirements the others will want to
even more.


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KcTheAcy wrote:
*In our club you have to be able to idle 20 times, ride in some figure
8s and go forward and backwards to the half court line 4 times
(continuously). Don’t give any kids special privileges over other kids
though. They will work harder once they know what the have to do to
ride it and once one person meets the requirements the others will
want to even more. *



Sadly I'm not sure I could ride your club's giraffe.


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in my club you have to be able to kill a bear with a fork to be able to
ride a giraffe, or to even be considered a member of the club. some
would say it's a bear killing with fork club, mainly because it is.


...BKWFC OWNS YOU!!!!!


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we don't really have a formal policy, just a "you really think you can
do it?" and a "if you get a little crooked jump off" kinda rules. We
wouldn't let anyone who couldn't do a controlled fall get up there. most
non-childern are fairly cautious when it comes to trying stuff like
that. but level 3 sounds like a good rule.


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if the kid only wants to ride forwards, i dont think that he or she
necessarily needs to be proficent in idling and backwards riding. if
the kid can comfortably mount and ride unicycles with two or three wheel
sizes, then that should be enough.


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muniracer wrote:
*if the kid only wants to ride forwards, i dont think that he or she
necessarily needs to be proficent in idling and backwards riding. if
the kid can comfortably mount and ride unicycles with two or three
wheel sizes, then that should be enough. *


I would tend to agree. I think you can tell, Bill, and make a judgement
call. But this allows problems to arise such as complaints from non
qualified riders who think they are qualified. If you feel that a limit
must be set to keep qualifications purely subjective, I think level 3 is
good. However, it would be wise to tell the rider to only do things on
the giraffe that she is comfortable with on a standard 20'' unicycle.
That is, don't let a level 3 rider attempt backwards on a giraffe until
she has mastered it on a normal unicycle.


If you are going to be allowing large amounts of people to try your
unicycle, you should take some precautions (I'm assuming you have had
them sign some form of waiver before giving lessons. If not you probably
should).


1. Make sure they are proficient riders (obvious).

2. Make sure the giraffe is in good working order. One key thing that is
easy to overlook is chain tension. It is important to have adequate
chain tension, especially for idling. A "popped" chain leads to a fairly
catastrophic fall in my experiences.

3. Teach the riders how to fall from the giraffe. This may seem like
something that would happen intuitively when someone's balance is
overstretched, but many people fall badly. The main thing when falling
is "get clear of the unicycle." Landing on it causes nothing but bad
times. Also tell them to make sure they land squarely on both feet. I
hurt one of my feel before coming down on one foot (like 1...2). Also
make sure they know to land softly. SHock with the legs.

4. When they first start, make sure they have tons of stuff to grab on
to. They will likely be scared and want to grab onto things at various
stages in their ride.


My $2.


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TheObieOne3226 - Owns you, SWAT does, mmmm

'SWAT Gallery' (http://gallery.unicyclist.com/SWAT) -- *New!
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UPDATED*

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"Obie is definately a trend setter, I got in to unicycling because of
him, and came here because of him"
-KJ-52

"Praise Allah!"
-Gilby

"I'm a stupid piece of crap."
-Maestro8

disclaimer: the above message was not intended to offend anyone. if you
are offended i can take no responsibility for my actions because i don't
feel like it. also you are reading an internet newsgroup where not
everyone will share your same views and beliefs, be able to take
criticism and post/read threads at your own risk.
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TheObieOne3226 wrote:
*Sadly I'm not sure I could ride your club's giraffe. *


me neither!

In the past we used to make kids wait till they were level1, that was
when little kids used to come. Don't think any of the ever quite got
there though...


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i've allways figured that if someone wants to try, that qualifies
him/her to 'have a go'
i've only ever had one 'kid' want to have a go and his dad was with him
so i figured that was safe enough

before i let people ride the raffie, i ask them to get on and
'jump/fall' off the back
i get them comfortable with the dismount before they even try n ride
we don't have too many grab-ables at raffie height in the hall we meet
so we've had to rely on people walking alongside the rider, offering
hands and shoulders as support

KCtheAcy's post is interesting and it seems that there are benefits to a
fairly 'strict' raffie policy over and above the simple safety issues


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I dont really know about requirements.

I myself couldnt idle or ride backwards, when i tried the giraffe.
Infact I learned to idle on a giraffe before I could on a std. 20"

Maybe for the people who havnt tried it, just need a spotter or two, to
get them started.


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