Hi, I’ve just been out cycling, and joy of joy! I can go down a kerb… well,
that is to say - I did it a few times (5) and only fell off once
But, I also tried to go up a small kerb (say, about 5-10 cm), and just don’t
seem to manage it: I nearly did it a couple of times, but lost my balance…
what is the best way to do this? It seems to me that riding straight at it
will work, but would tend to damage the tyre or rim… is there a special
knack? (I notice for Level 2, you have to ride over a 15x15cm obstacle!)
bunny hopping - yes stand up on the pedals to keep the bunny safe. hold the seat
with one hand, pull it up. keep your knees pretty much locked and use your
feet/ankles to absorb the landing (unless you’re bouncing really high :-)). it’s
actually a very easy trick, esp if you ever used a pogo stick. keep your head
up, as always.
taking the kerb head on - you don’t hit it at all. before you get there, you do
a single bunny hop and your momentum takes you up and over. the hard thing is to
get the timing right so that when you take off you’re at once close to the kerb
and have your pedals horizontal. you need to learn to make small adjustments in
your approach angle to get this right. to begin with you can just do what was
suggested yesterday and get in position, then back the uni up a few revolutions,
mount and ride at the kerb knowing that you’ll arrive at the right place at the
right time. you can of course practice this kind of jumping by just hopping over
cracks in the sidewalk, or sticks, or your friend’s head…
