over the past couple of weeks, i’ve made a concerted effort to try at least one new skill (or application of skill) every thursday nite during our club meetings
(i know, i’m supposed to do that everytime i ride but we all know that the road to hell is paved with good intentions…)
while doing this, i’ve discovered that i can actually ride backward in a circle and a figure eight
go backward in a circle on the raffie
ride with the seat out back (never even thought to try that untill we went thru the levels one night)
last night i tried riding while piggy-backing someone
that seemed pretty doable and the volunteer seemed pretty brave so we tried riding with her on my shoulders
on the first attempt, i didn’t lean us far anough forward and stalled with my pedal down after half a revolution
after safely dismounting we decided to try again and managed a very comfortable ride around the hall
it felt waaay easier than i ever imagined it would be
a couple of questions
have u tried riding with someone on your shoulders?
what’s your experience of it and where would u rate it in terms of difficulty? (compared to the skill levels, what ‘skill level’ is riding with someone on your shoulders?)
Sounds Great Dave. Good work. I nearly got the habit of backwards riding but I’m nearly there. The Figure 8 riding is dead set easy. I haven’t tried to carry anyone on my shoulders yet but you never know one day I will get the chance to do it.
And as for the last question, I can’t answer that, but that’s up to the other’s who will follow on, and I’ll take their answer’s for that in my Unicycle Club into the future. Thanks Dave for That. Good Stuff.
Backwards?
I can barely manage to ride in a circle backwards. I can do it, but the circle is very sloppy. I don’t practice backwards circles very often so I’m not likely to get better any time soon. Backwards figure 8’s are beyond my meager skills.
I can ride only in forwards figure 8 mode Not backwards yet.
I’m with you John, but I seen how the figure 8’s done.
But backwards riding, I’m not there yet but getting there soon.
But I may or may not do the Figure 8 backwards riding, I’m not sure.
i was showing one of our members (the guy who can hop about 40cm up onto objects but still cant turn right!) how to turn when i thought i’d apply what i was telling him to my backward riding and see if i can finally get a circle
i did and as i stopped, very happy with myself, he said:’ why did u stop? do a figure eight’
at first i was slightly miffed at him raining on my parade till i tried it and managed it
the point of this thread is that there r so many things i could do that i never knew because i kept thinking they were way too difficult and i’d have to do the practise, practise, practise thing
now i can save all that practise time for onefooting
ggggrrrrrrrr
I rode around for a while with one of the kids in the street on my shoulders last year some time. It was fun and I found it surprisingly easy. I find it easier than backwards riding in any form if that helps.
That’s amazing! What’s his hopping technique like? Is he just really naturally agile?
he’s realy short, an ex-freestyle bmx’er, if that counts for anything
i suspect he must’ve done some pogo-sticking in his life as well
i’ve been trying to get him to register here
let me bug him again
I rode with my cousin (who was visiting from England) on my shoulders. It was easy to ride because she was light and small. I held her hands (one hand while mounting) and when I dismounted I let the Unicycle fall rather than grabbing the seat. It was easier than I expected too, although I imagine riding with an adult on your shoulders would have a crushing effect on where you sit (circulation would be difficult to maintain). As a skill I think it is very easy but it would be at least equivalent to level 3 to prevent absolute beginners from attempting it. Riding with a passenger is relatively safe; you are extra careful since you are responsible for someone elses safety rather than just your own. I would never try carrying a shoulder passenger on a giraffe- although it would be fun for the recipient of the ride, I would not want to risk them falling. I found this picture of Steve Mills with his family in been there done that. Quite an impressive display by the Dazzling Mills:
Ha! I can do that.
I can ride one footed with either foot. My one foot with other foot extended is OK and getting better.
I’m still jealous that you found it so easy to go backwards in a circle and figure 8.
You’re right that if you can inspire yourself to try something new you will likely be surprised at what you can do. I’ve been riding with the Uniques unicycle club lately and seeing other riders doing skills inspires me to try new things. That’s one reason I started working on my one foot extended riding and some other skills.
