Day 3

No video today, but I did have to recharge my Solowheel twice!

I finally felt comfortable enough turning that I braved the neighborhood sidewalks. At first, I just ran laps around my block. This got me used to small bumps in the sidewalk and 90 degree turns. Also, I got used to watching for pedestrian traffic instead of focusing all of my attention on my own ride. After about 20 minutes of constant riding, my feet did get a little tired. Taking a short break helped a lot. Also, spreading my feet apart a little more stopped me from levering my shins into the tops of the red pads, which had made me pretty sore over the past couple of days. (The soreness is mostly gone now, but I'm still wearing an ace bandage on each leg as a cushion.)

You can only do so many laps of your own block, so I eventually began to venture forth. I rode the mile or so down the big hill to my kids' school and back. I walk this route several times a day, but I was amazed how quickly I covered the distance on the Solowheel. I rode around a local park, then I took my daughters to several nearby parks, them biking and scootering along with me. We had a great day, and I'm feeling a lot more comfortable. I can't turn tight circles, or ride one-footed, but I can keep the wheel on the sidewalk...

And people weren't kidding about the thing being a conversation magnet. It seemed like everyone wanted to talk about what I was riding, where did I get it, how hard is it to ride, shouldn't I be wearing a helmet, etc.. Great way to get to know your neighbors a little better: Ride a Solowheel around your neighborhood on a beautiful Sunday afternoon.

Now I'm contemplating whether to go to sleep, or go for a short moonlight ride...