(Finally) After approximately 150-200 tries, I succeeded in freemounting my 6’ giraffe!
My 8th attempt today I finally did it!!
Then again in 4 tries. Then the very next try! Then in 4 more tries.
:}
.duaner.
Re: Freemounted my Giraffe 
Congratulations! Giraffe freemounting is one of the finer sensations unicycling has to offer.
What method did you use? Details, details, please.
Nice work,
Raphael Lasar
Matawan, NJ
Re: Freemounted my Giraffe 
Congrats! How’d ya do it?
duaner <duaner.ssctt@timelimit.unicyclist.com> wrote:
>
>(Finally) After approximately 150-200 tries, I succeeded in freemounting
>my 6’ giraffe!
>
>My 8th attempt today I finally did it!!
>Then again in 4 tries. Then the very next try! Then in 4 more tries.
>
>:}
>
>duaner.
Congratulations! Only 150-200? I know that’s a lot less than what we went through, trying to figure it out from scratch in 1979/80. I guess it helps a lot if someone can offer a tried-and-true method.
After finally doing a successful mount, I was unable to duplicate it to prove it to my fellow learner Bradley Bradley. It was quite a while between the first and second successful attempts. But eventually it became consistent, to the point of our infamous 1981 Giraffe Freemounting Contest at the Redford Mini-Meet. Carol Bahorich (now Bricker) and I tied at an official 129 in a row. We then each did one unofficial one, bringing the count to 130. She was on a 4’ Penguin giraffe, and me on my trusty Schwinn.
Re: Freemounted my Giraffe
i wish i’d kept carefull track of the amount of succesfull vs failed mounts to see how the ratio changes
klaas?
i found for a while and with regular practise, i maintained an average of about one in three
if i didn’t practise, it would slip to 1 in 5 real quick
at some stage i ‘turned a corner’ of sorts and picked up the raffie after not touching it for weeks and freemounting first time ( i then promptly put it away to maintain the image;) )
i cannot even begin to understand those figures!!
(what’s the diff between the ‘official’ and ‘unofficial’ mounts?)
are freemounting competitions still common at uni-meets?
UniMike> Congrats!
JJuggle> Congratulations! Giraffe freemounting is one of the finer sensations unicycling has to offer.
Thanks! And, I agree! (at least so far in my uni’ing experience)
UniMike> How’d ya do it?
JJuggle> What method did you use? Details, details, please.
The short answer: the basic method: tire, pedal, seat, pedal. My strong foot is right, so left foot started on the tire.
The long answer part 1 …
I practiced the skills I thought would help
Using the climb-ladder-and-grab-roof mount, I practiced:
o riding
o turning
o idling (my biggest problem idling was catching the balance point, so…)
o entering the idle
o riding backward short distance (so I could back pedal if needed to catch balance). I’d ride back a few revolutions, then foward, then back, …
o CATCHING my balance. I’d change my riding abruptly (with a sharp turn, or stop, or direction change) to throw me slightly off balance, thus giving me practice at CATCHING my balance. (I find balance reasonably easy to maintain when in balance, but hard to ‘get’ or ‘catch’ when off balance)
I also practiced stepping up onto the tire and placing my first foot on the pedal and trying to balance there.
The long answer part 2 …
I PAYED ATTENTION TO EVERY DETAIL I COULD THINK of to pay attention to
I figured (seemingly correctly for me), that if I knew exactly how I did each mount attempt, then:
I could make reasonable guesses at how to adjust my mount, and
I could successfully repeat the mount when I finally got it. (Since my first success, I succeeded at 13 of my 49 attempts - better than 1 in 4
I try to pay attention to everything: what I do, when I do, what I think.
Here’s my current personal list of details:
Hold uni vertical, rite hand is holding seat handle, left hand on seat post
Align cranks with frame (note: later, when I tilt the uni forward, the bottom pedal moves slightly forward of the frame)
Make sure rite pedal is level; left pedal tilted forward slightly
Place rite foot correctly (for me: 7 inch rite of tire, heel even with back of tire)
Put left foot on tire / toe of shoe in frame
Make sure left hand is 1 inch below seat clamp
Tilt uni to correct position (for me: slightly forward and to the rite, with my rite arm fully extended this is a comfortable position)
Make sure my rite foot is parallel to the tire (note: I do this after tilting uni)
Bend rite leg in preparation for boost up into the mount
-- ok -- i'm about ready to mount -- but first --
I pause and think about the things that are not yet fully automatic, for me, this is currently:
o I'm going to boost a little forward (I used to lose my balance backward)
o I'm going to boost very very slightly to left (I had tendancy to tip to rite)
o I'm going to let go of the seat post, and put that hand up for balance
(my natural tendancy was to move it to the seat - there may be something wrong with my nature)
o I'm going to remember to let go of the seat once it's between my legs
(my tendancy was to hold onto it - but I find the balance easier if I have both hands out)
o I'm going to look out / ahead - I am NOT going to look down
(improves balance in so many things)
o I'm going to go quickly but not too fast
(after 120 or so mount attempts, I somehow had one that went a little slower, and it seemed so much easier. So I tried it again, and it really helps me - if I make a point of not rushing the mount, I am much more in balance. Apparently, I was actually rushing thru the steps too quickly (for me at my current experience level))
-- now, with everything fresh in my mind --
Boost - tire - pedal - seat - pedal
Pedal, turn, twist, swing arms wildly in the air, etc. as needed to catch balance
(Some of these are quite sloppy, but already a few mounts have landed quite on balance).
Grin
Ride
Dismount
Repeat
.duaner.
yikes bet that’s hard!
took me ages to freemount my litte 20" uni for me a giraffe no chance!
you’re good! 
that’s a very kewl write-up of the freemount!
i have never even thought about where i place my right foot (i’m also right-foot-strong so i mount in the same way u do)
now that i think about it, it makes sooo much sense
thanx
and he did it barefooted too!
Re: Re: Freemounted my Giraffe
The contest was officially declared over at 129, see below for reason. We wanted to round it to a more even number, so we each did one more.
That was the only time I’ve seen one. It grew into kind of a monster. We did it during lunch at this one-day meet, so time was limited. We started with about 10 or so people, which quickly dwindled to about 4, and after 10 or 20 mounts it was just us two. People were getting real bored watching us, not to mention me getting tired (I had a bigger climb and harder fall each time than Carol on her 4 footer). I started throwing in fancy mounts to see if we could bring about the end quicker. I did leg-around, jump to both pedals from tire, mount to one foot idle, and even my own side-jump mount, but they all worked.
Finally, lunch was over, events were waiting to start, hardly anyone was still watching, and even the judges wanted us to hang it up. They made me stick to a schedule of a mount every 10 seconds. Carol’s mount was very quick; a step to the tire and a quick jump to the seat. Mine took a little longer. I remember being pretty sore in the following days, and I was in good shape back then. That’s why I haven’t tried to do it again. Plus since the contest was not carried through until one of us missed the mount, we don’t know how long it might have gone on…
Sorry to disappoint you, but alas, no, I wore shoes (high tops).
I’ve yet to figure out how to put my barefoot on_the_tire / jammed_in_the_frame in any way even remotely comfortable. Also, I didn’t mind having the extra foot padding / ankle protection for all those 2-3foot drop UPDs – almost made it worth the discomfort and hassle of wearing shoes.
.duaner.
giraffe mount every 10 seconds ?!?!
Wow!
my calculation
130mounts * 10sec/1mount * 1min/60sec = 21.67 minutes
So you did actually do 130 mounts in less than 1/2 an hour?
Wow again! I’d consider that impressive even if you had missed every mount, or if you had been mounting a non-giraffe uni.
.duaner.
Re: giraffe mount every 10 seconds ?!?!
No, I think the whole thing took a little over an hour. It started with a big group which ran slower, and only after people were looking for excuses to end it did they impose the time schedule. 10 seconds per doesn’t leave much rest time!
Re: Freemounted my Giraffe
duaner <duaner.stekh@timelimit.unicyclist.com> wrote:
>The long answer part 2 …
>
>I PAYED ATTENTION TO EVERY DETAIL I COULD THINK of to pay attention to
>
>I figured (seemingly correctly for me), that if I knew exactly how I did
>each mount attempt, then:
>I could make reasonable guesses at how to adjust my mount, and
>I could successfully repeat the mount when I finally got it. (Since
>my first success, I succeeded at 13 of my 49 attempts - better than 1 in
>4
>I try to pay attention to everything: what I do, when I do, what I
>think.
Great idea and Great job!! Makes my efforts to freemount my 20" seem
a bit insignificant - but I’m danged happy anyway!! YEHAW!
Way to go duaner and o thought that you would be doing the running mount since you saw that MPEG on the list
You have to show me next time im over ther or at juggling which ever comes first
Nate
New Motivation!!!
Dauner: What a great write-up of your mounting technique. You have given me new motivation to learn to freemount my 6’Giraffe.
I have not ride the Giraffe in 10 or 15 years, and could NEVER freemount. You think this 265 pound, 40 year old can learn to freemount? With your method, I bet I will be successful. --chirokid–
Re: New Motivation!!!
Sure. Go for it! You’re just a big kid. (from my 150 pound, 45 year point of view).
Re: Re: New Motivation!!!
Wow, your 45. Now I’m extra-motivated. Also, I admire you even more.
How are those knees? :D–chirokid–
Go for it!
After owing a Schwinn Giraffe for over 20 years I finally learned freemount at 43.
My motivations:
-
Harper made it look too easy
-
Last June we were doing a demo for a new club. One of their riders was well over 50, over weight, a bit cross eyed, and hadn’t ridden a giraffe in about 20 years. He free mounted a five footer on the second try.
At club practice around last June we had a tall night. I finally got one successfull mount when no one was looking but they heard me. Later that week I spend considerable time in my driveway until I got a couple. At my son’s baseball game that Saturday I nailed the first two tries and several others. In July I tried it at a show, I nailed the practice mount behind the curtain and couldn’t mount on stage to save my life. A couple weeks ago at another show I failed first try, went looking for something tall to mount on when the MC “encouraged” me to try again. Nailed it on the second try. Just got back in from the driveway, got on top after a few tries but didn’t nail the mount until about 20.
It is so easy when it works and so elusive when you are off.
Moral of the story: You can do it but must be practiced for consistency. I need consistency.
Re: New Motivation!!!
we want a day-by-day blow-by-blow account