The Law of Unintended Consequences

 I went DOWN this evening.  

We are building a shed in our backyard.  Its been sitting at the back end of the driveway since May.  I just haven't had the time or the weather.  I had planned for next weekend, but the weather this weekend was gorgeous!  Well, the walls are up, gable ends in, and roof supports done.  My goal was to start the roof before ending for the night.  Mission accomplished.  I was able to place one roof panel where it belongs, and tighten it down.  My wife told me dinner was ready, time to relax before an early bedtime.  Long day at work tomorrow.

We cleaned up the trash laying around.  Threw away a 10' tape measure that didn't want to recoil.  Picked up the cardboard from the packing material.  Put away all the screws and miscellaneous parts that come with diy shed builds.   Tools in the toolbox.  The stepladder was still in the shed.  My wife was in the shed picking up the last of the parts.  I collapsed the stepladder, picked it up, and headed out.

I had stacked a few pavers on the ground in front of the door to work as a step until I can make something more permanent.  I'm not sure what went wrong.  I tilted the stepladder down and forward, ducked under the front door opening, and stepped out on the pavers.  Something didn't work right.  Either the ladder hit something, or a paver slipped, or my foot slipped, but I pitched forward.  As I fell forward, something weird happened, something I just didn't expect, didn't anticipate...  Time slowed down.

Well, it felt like it slowed down.  I saw the ground rushing to meet me.  My brain wanted to figure out what went wrong, but muscle memory took over.  The ladder was pushed aside, I picked a side of my body, tucked my shoulder under, and went for my best tuck roll.  If there hadn't been an old fence post with a round concrete base laying on its side directly beneath me, the tuck roll would have been el perfecto!  A 10 from the Olympic judges.  I would have stood strong, arched my back and victoriously thrown my hands in the air.  A perfect dismount!  Instead, my thigh hit the concrete post base and threw me off a bit.  I still accomplished the tuck roll, and stood victorious, albeit without a hint of grace.  

My wife stared in disbelief.  "Are you ok?"  I could only exclaim how awesome it was!  You have to understand where it all came from.  When I fall riding a unicycle, I try my best to run it out and not go down.  Sometimes, you just go down.  In that moment, a tuck roll is my best friend.  Its something I have practiced numerous times while riding.  Not intentionally.  I never intentionally fall.  But I do fall.  I have practiced falling quite a bit.  

Tripping out of the shed and going down, I knew what to do.  Let me be clear:  it wasn't instinct, it was practice.  I even considered the soft grass, and knew the landing wouldn't hurt as much as an asphalt street.  All of those thoughts occurring in a split second.  I'm not gonna lie, I feel a little giddy.  I didn't mean to trip out of the shed.  But my training took over, even if it isn't the goal of riding a unicycle.  The goal is to not fall down.  But I do.  Experiencing that thought/reaction process was really, really cool.  Having my unicycle riding experience benefit me in ways I haven't intended is a blessing.  I didn't get hurt, except I may have a bruise on my thigh where it hit the concrete and ruined my perfect score.

I could trip tomorrow and really get hurt.  That would be life, and through the pain, I would have to laugh at the irony.  But I didn't get hurt today, and its all because the unintended consequences of riding a unicycle worked in my favor.  Practice being young, and it will help keep you from aging too quickly.  Grace is optional.

I See Your Failure, and Raise You...

 I failed today.  It was a little failure, but it caught someone's attention.

I rode hard today.  Pushed myself while riding my unicycle, and my legs got tired.  That usually ends up in a fall, which it did.  Down to my knees, side tuck roll, a little scrape.  The car driving up behind me had a clear view of my failure, and stopped to make sure I was ok.  After numerous assurances that I was fine, they drove off.  I do wonder if I ever make someone's facebook post:  "Saw an old man fall off a unicycle today.  Buying a dashcam tonight."

While writing my "Mantra..." blog, I wondered about that failure.  I wondered when was the last time someone saw me fail, and not just falling off of a unicycle.  I then wondered when was the last time I saw anyone fail.  Well, there have been one or two recently, and they were big ones, but I'm thinking in general.  I typically don't fail in public, and rarely see another fail as well.

I see fails in social media all the time.  Usually they are captured by video, and posted for all generations to marvel at.  But by and large, I don't see it.  Not that I want to see more failures...  or do I?

The question occurred to me:  Why?  Why don't I see people failing?  Are people less adventurous today, less willing to take risks?  Are the consequences of failure greater?  Is the embarrassment too much to bear?  Are people today less tolerant of failure?  Is failure something to be avoided at all costs?  

I suppose all the questions are valid at some point, in some way.  What strikes me today as being the most relevant comes from my own personal experience.  I pushed myself hard today, fell, got back on, and finished my ride.  I was wondering where all the others were, who were pushing themselves, risking the failure, finishing the ride...  and it occurred to me as I am writing this paragraph...  its me.  I am not in the proper place to see the others.  I can't expect to see failures and finishes when I am not in the company of those taking the risks.

I wasn't really expecting a concrete answer, but there we go.  That was genuinely unexpected, and pleasantly surprising.  Found an answer while writing.  Huh.  

I need to make some changes.  

A Mantra, a Little Blood, and a Lame Insult

Third day back on the unicycle.  Why I ever quit riding, I just can't fathom.  Felt better the first day.  Felt great the second day.  Missed two days for work/weather.  So I'm cruising today.  I'm doing the usual half-mile-break-half-mile-back ride.  If I haven't ridden in a while, this is the typical warm-up.  But no, before the break, I decided to go further.  Around the mall is 1.7 miles with varying terrain.  Just do it!  So I don't break, I turn the corner and keep going.  This is gonna be great!  I feel amazing!

My focus on the first two days was staying on and not falling.  My focus today was on my mantra.  I created a rhythmic chant years ago to keep me focused.  "Sit in seat, chin up, wiggle fingers, breathe."  It sounds simplistic.  For me, it is powerful.

"Sit in seat" is critical for a unicyclist.  If I'm not sitting, all of my weight is on my legs while trying to pedal, balance, and support myself.  Legs burn out fast this way.  Sitting on the seat takes a lot of the support factor away from my legs, and they can better focus on balance and pedaling.  Of course, on a unicycle, I'm sitting on a singular point, with the capacity to fall in any direction.  This engages the core in a way few exercises do.  

"Chin up" is one I struggle with.  Any little bump in the road, any crack, a small twig, a pine cone...  anything unexpected under the tire can disrupt balance.  To anticipate this, I look down a lot.  Today was a concentrated effort on looking ahead.  Lifting my chin does this.  What it also does is straighten and strengthen my posture.  Hunched over is no way to ride a unicycle.  To enjoy the ride, I need to look around, enjoy the scenery, and feel like I'm riding as well as I can.

"Wiggle fingers" is how I deal with all the stress caused by every other part of my body except maybe my head.  The legs are pumping, the core is adjusting to all the bumps, the torso is tall and strong, the arms are flailing to maintain balance...  and the hands are tight, fingers are tense.  To relieve the tension, not just in my hands, but as a reminder to relax my whole body, I wiggle my fingers.  It works.

"Breathe".  Lots of things in life make us forget to breathe.  My wife often asks me if I'm breathing when life gets me stressed.  During strenuous exercise, I do breathe deeper, but not always properly.  Telling myself to breathe reminds me to open up my lungs, and really stretch my diaphragm when I inhale.  And exhaling, to push hard, get all the old air out.

So here I am, feeling good about the ride, feeling good about the decision to push further.  I'm about halfway done.  BOOM!  UPD.  That's unplanned dismount, or fall in unispeak.  Typical tuck-roll.  Scraped my right knee just above the knee-pad.  The smallest of scrapes, just a little blood.  This is why I wear protective gear - helmet, knee pads, and wrist guards.  Yes, I pushed myself further than I should have.  Yes, I should have taken a break by that point.  My legs aren't accustomed to that much exercise yet.  And yes, I am a stubborn 20 year old in a 56 year old body.  The car that was coming up behind me stopped, rolled down the windows, a man and woman in their late twenties, very concerned.

"Are you ok?"

"Yeah, I'm great."

"No, really."

"Yes, great.  Been doing this for forty years."

"So you're sure you're ok?"

"Yup.  What's life without a little blood?"

Part of the ride is on the sidewalk along Boston Road, a very busy road.  I did smarten up, and took a few rests.  My final rest, I'm sitting on a cement post at an intersection.  A car slowly passes through the green light.  A man opens his door and yells, "Get a real bike!"  Closed his door, and was gone.  Wished I had had a second to respond, "Get a real core!"  I've ridden bikes all my life.  Riding a unicycle is so far above riding a bike in workout terms.  Can't even possibly compare.  As usual, those who have never done criticize those who do.  

Walked up the three stairs to my porch with much effort.  When my legs shake that much, I know it was a good ride.  I wasn't physically ready for it, but I pushed myself, challenged myself, paid for it with a little blood and a lame insult.

I could, at this point, compare each of my four mantra points with deeper meanings in life.  Not today.  As I type...  as I reach down and brush part of Fernbank Rd off of my leg...  as I look outside at the sun, feel the breeze wafting through the windows...  I decide I'm not done with today.  I'm done unicycling, but I've sat here long enough.  Its the perfect weather for another adventure.