Trying to get back to basics and work on filling in gaps in my skills.
I have always dismounted with the unicycle to my rear. It feels natural and safe as I just step off to the front and usually catch it with my hand as I do.
Dismounting with the Unicycle in front of me feels like I am falling backwards with no control. I feel like I am going to fall backwards onto my butt.
I realize this is such a simple thing, but I can’t seem to find a way to get started and get over the initial fear.
I’m the complete opposite - I can’t dismount off the front willingly (And only ever do if I UPD hard…). To come off the back, I just lean back a touch, grab the seat and flick the wheel out in front, while putting one foot down… It feels fairly secure and (from my POV) I think it looks fairly controlled too Maybe I’ll video it and check, only to find I’ve been ebarrassing myself in public with what looks like major UPD’s!
How do you jump off the back, in a way that you feel too insecure about it?
Good tips, thinking of it as the opposite of a mount helps me, I will try tonight. It probably doesn’t help that I can only mount on one side, or that I can’t really stop well, and can’t hop yet.
Thanks Yuval for the link that was great, and thanks guys for the other tips.
Apparently some people learn to dismount from the rear of the uni almost the day they learn to ride, while others will ride for months and even start to do a couple of tricks before they can dismount this way. I was one of the latter, but within a day or two of trying to learn how to idle, I was able to dismount from the rear.
Being in control of backward movement, backpedaling, etc, will make this sport both safer and more fun for you. If you acquire this sort of control, rear dismounts will come to you effortlessly while you are thinking about other stuff.
Thanks for the links this video was really good at showing rear dis-mount and in slo-mo. You have to jump to 1:05 to get past grown men riding tricycles.
While this may be obvious advice, it may be slightly more “controlled” if when you remove the first foot, you use your remaining foot to slow the wheel down by applying a back pressure of sorts, like when braking. This way you don’t need to do it quickly, and you have greater control.
I wouldn’t worry about this too much. In my first stint of unicycling 1983-1990 I never dismounted to the rear. I never really thought about it.
Only in my current incarnation as a unicyclist, 2011-present did I start dismounting to the rear, and only I think because I am unicycling much more than I did when I first unicycled. I just started rear dismounting because it’s more graceful and felt right.
If you don’t idle or ride backward well, focus on that first. It will make rear dismounting easier and I think then it will just come.
Maybe I’ll video it and check, only to find I’ve been ebarrassing myself in public with what looks like major UPD’s!