Hi everyone, I came across the newsgroup by accident and have been inspired to
start riding again. I learned to ride when I was 12 years old (I’m now 42) I
haven’t ridden since the early 80’s. I dusted off my 20" Schwinn and went for my
first ride this morning.
I’ve been riding bicycles for fitness for 15 years but never gave the unicycle a
thought for this purpose. I rode for a 1/2 mile and could hardly stand when I
got off the thing. I was amazed I could still ride the thing but apparently you
don’t forget how to do these kinds of things.
I want to thank everyone for the inspiration and ask one question. My ride was
very jerky this morning. Fast, then slow, then fast again. Does this naturally
smooth out as I ride more or is there something wrong with my technique? I
never rode a lot when I was younger. I just rode to prove to myself I could and
to show off.
Todd
Re: Back at it after long hiatus
Todd,
Welcome back! I too learned at 16, stopped in the early 80s and started riding
again last year at 38. I got right on at my first attempt, but rode hesitantly
for the first week or so before the natural rhythm returned. Give it a while.
It’s a matter of regaining your sense of balance and smoothing out the
adjustments to changes in speed and road conditions where even little cracks can
throw you off a little.
Good luck, Raphael Lasar Matawan, New Jersey
Todd Johnson wrote:
>
> Hi everyone, I came across the newsgroup by accident and have been inspired to
> start riding again. I learned to ride when I was 12 years old (I’m now 42) I
> haven’t ridden since the early 80’s. I dusted off my 20" Schwinn and went for
> my first ride this morning.
>
> I’ve been riding bicycles for fitness for 15 years but never gave the unicycle
> a thought for this purpose. I rode for a 1/2 mile and could hardly stand when
> I got off the thing. I was amazed I could still ride the thing but apparently
> you don’t forget how to do these kinds of things.
>
> I want to thank everyone for the inspiration and ask one question. My ride was
> very jerky this morning. Fast, then slow, then fast again. Does this naturally
> smooth out as I ride more or is there something wrong with my technique? I
> never rode a lot when I was younger. I just rode to prove to myself I could
> and to show off.
>
> Todd
Re: Back at it after long hiatus
>My ride was very jerky this morning. Fast, then slow, then fast again. Does
>this naturally smooth out as I ride more or is there something wrong with my
>technique?
Part of it might be technique–try to keep your weight on your seat, not the
pedals. Some of the jerkiness comes from shifting weight between the pedals.
That portion will smooth out with a bit of practice.
The main part of the jerkiness comes from riding a 20 inch wheel. The larger the
wheel, the less the jerk! (You can tell I’m a Coker 36" wheel rider).
Welcome back to riding!
David Maxfield Bainbridge Island, WA