Tag ninebot one training

Saturday morning Cindy went in to work at her new gig at a new gym that is only 8 miles away.  I used that time to get out in the yard with the weed whacker.  I had not buzzed the yard in a few weeks.  The ground was quite soggy with some standing water so it was a messier than normal experience.  I also got a reminder of why I was supposed to wear long pants when performing this chore.  I inadvertently whacked a fire ant mound that sent a ton of them into my rubber boot where they immediately started lighting up my calf.  As I ripped the boot off and started whacking at my leg I vowed to never do the chore in shorts again.  I kept myself busy all morning doing stuff around the house until Cindy got home a little after noon.

Early in the afternoon Bill, our friend from the running club showed up with two Concept 2 Rowers in the back of his truck.  We were buying one of them.  Bill has been a long time rower.  He has amassed literally millions of meters of rowing over the years.  I had enjoyed rowing both at NCH and Planet Fitness.  Retro does not have any rowers.  Cindy and I thought a rower would make a nice addition to our fitness arsenal and we had a spot in our bedroom in front of the window where it would fit. The rower we actually bought was one Bill’s daughter used for awhile.  Despite being used a lot it was still in excellent condition, much better than any rower I used at the gym.

Bill is the equipment manager for the running club so we spent nearly a decade meeting up on race sites way before the crack of dawn to set up for events.  Bill has also helped me out on my property in the past, doing some grading work and also helping me transport and set up my smaller storage shed.  He may be the hardest working person I know.  We caught up a bit on the latest and greatest as he gave us a pretty thorough run down of the rower.  There aren’t many things I miss about my time as the running club timer but being able to work with good people like Bill is one of them.

After Bill left we did a run to Home Depot to get a few things.  We actually did not stop at Rural King this weekend, a rarity.  Going to Dunkin Donuts, Home Depot and Rural King just fits us like an old comfortable t-shirt.

Saturday night we opted to stay home and watch my Netflix Blu-ray, Gods of Egypt.  Yes I had heard the movie got bad reviews but how bad could a movie be that has the Kingslayer from Game of Thrones and King Leonidas from 300?  Well the answer is, really, really bad.  It was so bad that Cindy bailed watching it maybe half way through.  I was committed to see it through to the end.  A movie can be awful but sometimes it’s so dumb it can flip around to be entertaining in some bizarre way.  That is kind of how I felt as I endured to the end.  I was laughing out loud at just how dumb it was.  It also had a very weird musical score at times that did not seem to match up with the mood of the scene.  You really don’t need to ever see this movie but if you chose to do so I would advise downing a six pack first.  C-

Sunday morning I once again had the alarm set for 6AM to get an early run in.  Cindy had planned to go with me but her back was bothering her so I wound up going solo.  I was surprised when I pulled up to the track around 6:45 and there was nobody there.  Normally there are one or two people walking the track very early.  I was also glad to see the sprinklers were not running so I wouldn’t have to dodge them this time around.

I had decided going in that I wanted to increase my lap count by one.  I had been doing 13 lappers up until then which worked out to be around 3.4 miles. 14 laps was my goal.  It was sort of peaceful having the track to myself as I circled the track as sunrise emerged.  As I got to lap 11-12 I was feeling ok so I entertained the idea of pushing for four miles of total distance.  I had not run 4 miles at all in 2016 and I if I did it in 2015 it was very early in the year.  As I rounded the final turn of lap 14 I glanced at my watch and saw one more lap would get me four miles.  I mentally committed and put in the 15th lap.  To be that close and bail would have been lame.  I ended the run as I began, alone, but feeling a mild sense of accomplishment as well.

Later in the morning Cindy and I loaded up the Minipros in the Prius and headed to North Collier Regional Park to get some riding in.  The park is large, beautiful and has paths all over the place that are perfect for two wheeled fun.  As we were zipping around we saw signs for early voting.  I knew early voting had opened up on Saturday but I did not know you could vote on Sunday too.  Cindy and I decided we should take advantage of our discovery.  We rode back to the car so Cindy could grab her ID.  We then took turns babysitting the Segways so the other could vote.  There were no lines and we finished in less than 5 minutes each.  We were both happy we inadvertently got a chance to fulfill our civic duty while joyriding.

As we rode around the park we got asked about the Minipros a few times by other park visitors.  To those that have never seen them in action it looks pretty crazy.  While I was waiting for Cindy to vote I was freaking a couple out by driving my Minipro around by remote control.  It was very warm, by the time we were done my shirt was soaked.  Even with the heat it was a beautiful and fun ride.  Cindy and I both really enjoy cruising on the Segways.

Cindy made arrangements to go to the movies with her daughter, niece and mom Sunday afternoon which again gave me time to do my own thing.  One of those things was to go back out on the road to ride my other personal transport device, the Ninebot One E+.

I had not ridden the wheel since Wednesday after work.  During that ride I felt stiff and uncomfortable.  I gave myself a few days to recover physically and mentally.  I drove through a pounding rainstorm a couple miles from the house to Dunkin Donuts where it was blue skies and nice.  I decided to take the wheel on the same route Cindy and I followed a couple weeks prior on the Minipros into a nearby development and golf course.

When we did that ride I remember thinking how it would be awesome if I was comfortable enough on the Ninebot One someday to be able to go this route.  I did not expect to be able to do it so soon.  I felt much more comfortable on the wheel than I did on Wednesday.  I actually rode back to the car three times with the intention of leaving.  Each time I decided I was having too much fun and headed out again.  In total I logged over 7 miles during the session which felt awesome.  Being able to navigate the sidewalks and walking/riding paths without feeling in mortal danger was a good thing.

Towards the end of the ride I came across another revelation in regards to foot position that was unknowingly causing me issues.  I had been having issues turning well to the left which is the side my foot is planted on the wheel when I mount.  I would normally have that left foot and ankle pressed firmly right against the side of the wheel, my thought process being less space meant less room for wobble.

I did a little test where I tried mounting the wheel with the opposite foot.  During this test I realized my turning problem had now reversed sides as well.  Well the light bulb clicked in my old brain.  It seemed like having a foot so tight against the bot makes it difficult to turn that direction due to lack of clearance.  I mounted the wheel with my foot and inch or so off the wheel and felt GREAT.  Not only could I turn both ways better, it also allowed for a more comfortable riding position.  It felt like moving the foot off the wheel a bit allowed the slight variations in wheel angle to be absorbed by my feet and ankles instead of transmitting all the way up my left leg.  I ended the riding session feeling very optimistic and anxious to get back on it again soon.

I watched the closing ceremonies of the Olympics last night which for the most part was much less interesting than the games itself.  I found the Brazillian music annoying as hell.  The costumes made me feel like I was watching one huge Mummer’s Parade.  The most interesting part of it was when Japan did their high tech routine promoting their hosting of the games in 2020.

Despite my initial thoughts about the raw sewage rivers and Zika outbreaks in Rio clouding the Olympics, I still found myself just watching the various events, many of which I NEVER witness outside of this four year cycle.  There are so many touching and meaningful moments that every Olympics provide, despite the never ending commercialization of the event.  I can still drown all that extraneous bullshit out and just enjoy the simplicity and joy of witnessing the best athletes from around the world trying to make their dreams come true.

I am now on my fifth day of prednisone and have stepped down from the three pill to two pill a day level.  Unfortunately I have noticed absolutely no change in my ear problem.  It still feels closed and has a low level ring.  I have a follow up appointment with the ear doctor today.  I will be sure to voice my opinion if he starts to suggest an extensive treatment plan, I will likely tap the brakes.  The bottom line is I can still hear and the ringing is only loud enough to be annoying but not debilitating.  I’m not going to get on the hamster wheel of expensive testing/treatment to just help pad their bottom line.  My gut tells me this is something that will either heal itself or not.  I don’t think they can “fix” it with a pill or a shot.

So I mentioned on my Dufisthenics blog how my right ear popped while I was reversing out of a skin the cat, a difficult calisthenics move that has you upside down and inside out.  When it happened it felt similar to what happens on an airplane although I also started with an immediate low volume ring in that ear. I assumed the exertion from the move caused the ear to close and it would open up shortly.

Well it’s now Monday and it hasn’t opened at all.  I am worried I did something more serious.  I found some blood on my pillowcase over the weekend which I am afraid could have come from the ear.  I have tried various fixes, like yawning widely, the valsalva maneuver, cleaning out the ear with peroxide, and lots of nose blowing.  None of it has worked.  I am hoping to get an appointment at the on site employee clinic here so someone can take a look inside to see what is going on.

When I came home Friday there was a pretty incredible storm blowing through with sideways, torrential rain.  In the time I had the garage door open to pull the Tacoma inside the front half of the floor had a pond form.  It was crazy rain that of course once again left the property a mucky mess.

On Saturday Cindy and I had a full errand circuit, hitting Pinch-a-Penny, Dunkin Donuts, Rural King, Racetrac, and Home Depot.  By the time we got home the back of the Tacoma was fully loaded down with gas for the mowers, chlorine for the pool, sod, mulch, a 50 lbs bag of chicken food, and a few other items.

After eating lunch we headed outside to get busy.  Cindy worked on installing the sod in areas the chickens have destroyed, a task we have to repeat on a regular basis.  I worked on getting the 20 bags of mulch laid down.  Once again the chickens were the impetus behind the work as their tireless work kicking mulch out of several landscaped areas left nothing but muddy dirt in a lot of spots.

While we were working Ali and her boyfriend stopped by to drop off Sadie which was nice.  We gave them a quick introduction to the chickens.  It was the first time Ali had been in the back yard in a looong time so she was surprised how much things have grown/changed.

After I finished with chores I got out on my Ninebot One.  I had seen a video that made me realize what I was doing wrong when it comes to turning so I wanted to test out the tips.

I was successful doing some simple turns along with a few fails.  I was able to ride a circuit down our driveway, onto the street, into the neighbors half circle driveway, back on the road and into our driveway without falling.  The key was realizing I needed to control the lean of the bot on slower turns from the knees down instead of leaning my entire body.  I felt good about the progress.

Saturday night we stayed home and watched our Netflix rental, 10 Cloverfield Lane. We both liked the original Cloverfield which was a very odd but scary movie.  10 Cloverfield will have you scratching your head as you try to figure out what exactly is going on.  Of course I can’t give away the plot but I’ll tell you the movie had both Cindy I and yelling out loud, more than once. It’s a solid B+ film.

On Sunday morning I set the alarm for 6AM which Cindy wasn’t thrilled about.  I actually was awake a couple hours previous to the alarm for whatever reason so when the alarm went off I felt like death.  I set the alarm so we could accomplish a goal we talk about often but never accomplish, getting out to run before the sun is up in the sky.

We got to the track around 6:45 and started our roughly three and a half mile training run.  We have hopes to compete as a relay in a 10 mile race at the end of October.  This was our first step towards that goal.  The run was challenging, even without having the sun in the sky baking us.  The air was still very humid and we also had to dodge the poorly adjusted water sprinklers that in some cases shot out 15 feet across the running surface.  The run was not easy but we completed it, averaging about 9:30 per mile which was fine.  I am pretty confident that in the span of two and a half months Cindy and I can tack another mile and a half onto that distance for the race.

When we got home we went for a coffee run with Sadie in the back seat.  When we got home Sadie acted like she was disaapointed and did not want to get out of the car.  We made an illogical decision to grab her leash and head right back in the direction we just returned from to go to Home Depot even though we had no real reason to go other than we knew Sadie would like walking around.  We did wind up buying a few things while we were there, there is ALWAYS something we need for a home repair/project if we think hard enough.

Early afternoon Cindy and I took the Segways out for some more dual riding fun.  We rode around another development area.  Once again the Minipro’s delivered easy, quick, low stress fun.  I found that my Ninebot One riding actually made riding the Segway feel a but weird for a few minutes as it is a much different experience.  In total we put in a little less than 5 miles on the ride.

Later in the afternoon I got in some extensive Ninebot One training.  I wanted to build on the turning progress I made the day before.  I figured the school parking lot would be a much more beneficial location to do it.

I bet a spent over an hour at the school grounds.  During this time I felt that finally the elusive IT clicked in my head, I just could ride.  During the session I put in excess of six miles on the wheel, traversing a variety of surfaces including the parking lot, sidewalks, speed bumps, road, the running track and even a 100 yard section of open grass.  Don’t get me wrong, it is not easy for me and I still had moments where it felt like I was close to falling off but I stayed on the wheel.  It felt sort of awesome.

The closest thing I can compare it to is when I taught myself to juggle as a young man working as a meat cutter at Weis Markets.  It had a similar feel where it felt nearly impossible at first but through practice and determination it became another reflex reaction.  Riding a EUC was similar from the mental standpoint with the addition of a physical toll that is paid in bumps and bruises.  I was proud for forcing myself to continue to get on the wheel time and time again, knowing the end result was going to be me falling off and/or hurting myself.  48 years of age is definitely not ideal for learning a new balancing skill.

After getting home and announcing my accomplishments to Cindy I was anxious to build upon it more.  I threw the wheel on the charger for an hour or so and headed back out.  I came up with the goal of running the complete length of 8th street, something I did the other day in multiple segments, as one continuous ride.  As I approached the dead end side near the county fairgrounds I came up on a family that was out in their driveway.  I could tell they were all looking at me with confusion.  When I got closer the father said to me, “What are you, some sort of wizard??”  I laughed as I kept rolling and told him there were a ton of falls before I got to this point.  I was able to complete the roughly three mile circuit without falling or getting off once.

That wasn’t enough for me, I went out once more a little later as the sun was setting.  I wanted to get some FPV of me riding, something I was far too unstable to consider doing previously.  The LED light rings on the Ninebot One are really cool and I wanted to get a good shot of them, something you can’t do very well in bright sunshine.  The end result was the video below where I again ran an uninterrupted but shorter circuit. Once again, it felt awesome.

I still am not nearly as smooth or stable as I would like to be.  I still have regular wobbling that kicks in but for whatever reason my body can just deal with it and keep rolling.  My turning is not fantastic but I was able to maneuver a lot of sidewalk angles successfully when I was at the school.  I honestly feel at this point I could go on a ride with Cindy on a bike path or slightly populated sidewalk and be ok.  I need to be much more focused when riding the wheel than on the Minipro but as time passes I am expecting single wheel riding to become more and more a reflex instead of conscious thought.

This newfound ability has me wanting to be on the wheel more and more.  I wouldn’t be surprised if it finds it’s way into my trunk for some lunch break riding now and then. 🙂  In total three weeks have passed since I received the wheel.  If you factor in I did no riding the week prior to Comic Con my learning curve has been roughly two weeks.

Last night I put on my full body armor to have a more prolonged session on the Ninebot One.  I was curious if the week long layoff would have a noticeable negative effect on my still very basic EUC riding skill.  My primary goal last night was to get the hang of stepping off the wheel at the end of a ride instead of the awkward hop/fall off I have been doing so far.

The rides up and down the driveway went pretty smooth.  I felt more or less under control.  My first few attempts at stepping off were not good but eventually I got a little better.  I really have to think through how I need my body to be in order to make it happen.  Of course this needs to become a reflex reaction before I would feel safe riding around more obstacles or people.

I had one big highlight of the night when I started the ride crossing the driveway into the front yard.  I then crossed the house mound and descended down the hill to the front yard, turned and was able to climb the hill and wind up where I started, stepping off in a controlled fashion.  I was surprised and very excited I pulled that off.  All in all I was very happy with the way things went and I am finding myself feeling much more anticipation instead of dread when I step on the wheel now.  In addition to continuing to work on stepping off the bot I need to get much, much better at turning.  Tight turns is something you need to be able to do in real life, all I have been successful with so far are larger sweeping changes in direction.

Warning, WoW talk ahead.

Yesterday the initial stages of the new WoW expansion released which unlocked the ability to play the new class of demon hunter.  My decade plus in the game meant that I had already brought every class in the game to max level.  Getting to try out a brand new class is always interesting.

I had a lot of fun rolling around the desolate landscape kicking demon ass wherever I could find it.  Demon hunters are a bit of an anomaly.  As their name suggests, their primary goal is to destroy demons however they are part demon themselves.  The main difference is they are not part of the hive mind that controls other demonic forces in the game.

With this new expansion they have changed a TON of things which is the case with pretty much every expansion.  The changes cause players to have to re-learn a lot of things which can be a pain in the ass but all part of the cycle of MMORPG’s.  If they kept things the same forever the game would get stale very quickly.  Just as in real life, if you are not adapting to and embracing change you will be left behind.

Last night Cindy and I were trying to decide if we wanted to get in another September road trip this year.  I have one window of time that is available in September to do it.  If we do decide to take the trip it would be an east coast course that would hopefully takes us all the way to Maine.  We are weighing the time, logistics and expense of something like that with a staycation where we mix in some more local fun and projects in that same time period.  Of course the traditionalist in me is uncomfortable with breaking the streak of long road trips Cindy and I have done since we have been together.  I get a lot of enjoyment exposing Cindy to places/things she never has seen before.

So I have been laying off riding the Ninebot One since Saturday.  The biggest reason is the bruise/blister on my left ankle which is very sore to the touch.  Despite all the pain and frustration I have endured since starting the learning process I still found myself wanting to be on it last night taking one more small step in my riding ability.

Although I am still very early in the stages of EUC learning I found myself already looking at higher end wheels that I could eventually master like the King Song KS-18.  It’s a huge 18 inch wheel that can go 20 mph with a range of 30-40 miles.  It’s profile is so high that they actually include a seat that you can sit on while riding, crazy.  I can only hope someday I have bike like comfort and stability on a single wheel device.

I have a short week and a long weekend coming up as Cindy and I are attending another Con, specifically the Tampa Comic Con.  Cindy has been going nuts doing costume development.  I am going to join her in the cosplay this time around.  My outfit should be pretty cool but I am worried about passing out from the heat of wearing it.  I can only hope they have the AC in the place cranked down to arctic level.