after a fair bit of practising i’m now able to mount the camelopard roughly 1/3
i have noticed that i can only freemount it if i have the saddle noticeably lower than i would normally like to have it for riding
is this something anybody else has noticed?
will it ‘go away’ with some more practise?
any suggestions on how to make it go away quicker?
thanx
Re: giraffe freemount question
“GILD” <GILD.c736m@timelimit.unicyclist.com> wrote in message
news:GILD.c736m@timelimit.unicyclist.com…
>
> after a fair bit of practising i’m now able to mount the camelopard
> roughly 1/3
> i have noticed that i can only freemount it if i have the saddle
> noticeably lower than i would normally like to have it for riding
>
> is this something anybody else has noticed?
> will it ‘go away’ with some more practise?
> any suggestions on how to make it go away quicker?
your next trick should be to learn to stillstand and adjust the saddle
height.
joe
Re: giraffe freemount question
Dave,
I used the “too low saddle method” for a few days, but found that the riding, once I was mounted, was not that much fun.
It will go away with more practice, but you can force the issue by putting the saddle up to the height (or maybe just slightly below) where you’d normally like it and, go for it.
Essentially I found that once I had the basic motions (and I use the tire-pedal-saddle-pedal method) down, upon raising the seat all that was required was, for want of a better term, a bit more uummpphhh.
I should note, in the interest of full disclosure, that doing this did result in a couple of nasty spills, but fortunately no serious injury.
The lower seat definitely helps in the initial phases of learning, but soon becomes an impediment, I find, to the actual enjoyment of riding a giraffe.
Good luck,
Raphael Lasar
Matawan, NJ
thanx. i neede to know that it’s not a uniquely dave problem
to the practise room!
"(and I use the tire-pedal-saddle-pedal method) "
are there any others?
apart from going straight for the pedal and the running jump mount?
I haven’t succeeded yet in the last one. The guy aiming the canon hasn’t gotten it right yet.
Raphael Lasar
Matawan, NJ
i had to ask, didn’t i?
Don’t forget the helium-balloons-grab-the-seat-as-you-float-by mount.
Re: giraffe freemount question
To make it go away, don’t lower your seat. Riding a giraffe with the seat too low is not only awkward, it can be dangerous. So instead, concentrate on making the mount into a comfortable ride.
I don’t know what type of mount you are doing, but if you are climbing up, don’t put your second foot on the pedal until after your crotch is on the seat.
It should go pedal, seat, pedal. When you hit the second pedal, it helps to push it backward because you have power in that direction. So if you arrange your mount where you’re just slightly off balance to the rear, this will put you just about right, wth a forward lean so you can ride away.
Try it 100 times and see if it works!
Stay on top,
John Foss
(130 freemounts in a row to Schwinn Giraffe, 1981)
i do the foot on tyre-pedal-seat-pedal mount
my problem arises from reaching the first pedal and being stumped in my efforts at getting my crotch onto the seat by not being able to reach it
as a solution i started lowering the seat and it ‘worked’
or so i thought
jjuggle’s suggestion of more ‘oomph’ sounds about right
i’m also going to have to look at the amount of lift i’m getting from the foot on the pedal
just to confirm: i should have my seat set at optimal riding height (heel on the pedal/leg straight/ not locked)
and then mount the beast?
130 in a row john?
was this an endurance competition?
are they still held at uni-fests?
Re: giraffe freemount question
I have been nursing a case of Achilles tendinitis caused by learning to
mount mine. I believe the tendinitis is due to the frequent 34" jumps from
the failed mounts. I’m taking the giraffe in very small doses until the
tendon gets better.
Normal unicycling doesn’t seem to bother the tendon, except for certain
UPD’s.
–Mark
–
Mark Newbold
Montpelier, Vermont USA