finally got the hang of a double wheeler

I finally ‘mastered’ the basics of riding a double-wheeler today. I took
unix2 to Central Park expecting to go not much further than I’d recently
been able to ride at home (which was only about 7 revs). And even tho I
had no tall and long fence to help me, I managed to ride for about 400 or
500 feet. I could stop, shift in place, turn, turn on purpose, and even
dismount on purpose. Other than the freemounting idea (that’s still way
off) I could pass a unix2 level one test. It’s still quite weird to ride
it, but I was psyched that I was able to hop right onto a regular uni and
ride with ease.

I’d say that it took me about 6 hours to learn, spread out over two weeks
(because of the really bad weather). It’s definitely worth it because it’s
a blast to ride. I had the unforch experience of having to stop suddenly
at one point and discovering that the bottom wheel wanted to keep going.
Luckily I got out of that one nicely. I must say that I no longer fear the
unix2, but I do respect it. To wit: I no longer put on a helmet every time
I even look at the beast. No I ride it with wrist guards but with no other
protection. Part of the trouble is just getting used to falling correctly
(basic idea: freeze one of your feet on its pedal so you know where the
uni is going to land).

Hope this helps.

David Stone

Congratulations!

Just to refresh my memory, is that one of those ones with a wheel on top of another where you pedal backwards? If so, that’s a real accomplishment.

Andrew

Re: finally got the hang of a double wheeler

Actually free mounting isn’t very hard when you know how to approach it. If you can do the leg around mount on a ‘normal’ unicycle then all you need to do is try this mount on the two-wheeler. Try to get a bit of ‘follow-through’ motion with the leg that goes around. That way when you make contact with the pedal your foot kicks it backwards. This gets you out of the ‘dead zone’ and starts your moving forwards.

Try it, it’s not that hard! I did it successfully within 1/2hr of being shown.

Good Luck