Hand wheel walking is defined in the IUUF rulebook as “Riding by
propelling the unicycle with the hands on the wheel and with the feet
resting on the frame.”
Seems pretty straightforward. Haven’t tried it yet, but why not? How the
hell do you begin to practice it? Do you have to start from - and end with
> Seems pretty straightforward. Haven’t tried it yet, but why
> not? How the hell do you begin to practice it? Do you have
> to start from - and end with - normal riding position?
For the skill levels, yes you have to get in and out of the skills from
normal riding position. The best training method I’ve heard of is to have a
spotter. Since you can’t hold on with both hands on the tire, someone needs
to guide you with two hands on or around your waist.
Since I usually didn’t have access to a convenient spotter, I did two other
ways:
Stomach on the seat with feet lightly dragging on the floor (very hard on
the stomach)
Push tire with one hand, and use other hand on the wall. This is probably
the hard way.
But don’t listen to me, because I never finished learning it and lost
interest!
Good luck,
John Foss, the Uni-Cyclone
jfoss@unicycling.com
www.unicycling.com
“You’re not supposed to wash your Roach armor” - Nathan Hoover, on safety
equipment cleaning methods
While we’re on the subject of hands- how 'bout hands on pedals? I’v seen a couple of clips of people riding like this- I couldn’t see their faces, so I’m not sure how much of an impact it may have had. Skill progression suggestions, anyone?
Christopher
Nycjoe@aol.com wrote:
> Hand wheel walking
> Do you have to start from - and end with - normal riding position?
Joe,
I believe the rule book says that all moves except for the mounts begin with the rider seated on the seat, feet on the pedals and riding forward. Somebody please correct me if I’m
wrong.
Bruce
yoopers@inwave.com writes:
>Nycjoe@aol.com wrote:
>
>> Hand wheel walking
>
>> Do you have to start from - and end with - normal riding position?
>
>I believe the rule book says that all moves except for the mounts begin
>with the rider seated on the seat, feet on the pedals and riding forward.
> Somebody please correct me if I’m
>wrong.
>
>Bruce
HWW requires the rider to begin and end in a riding position. There is ONE
skill which doesn’t, and that, I bv, is side riding.
David
Co-founder, Unatics of NY
1st Sunday / 3rd Saturday
@ Central Park Bandshell
1:30 start time after 11/1/01
In the USA rulebook, you need to get in and out of this skill too. This used to be where you didn’t have to because at the time the levels were made, nobody thought it was possible.
For learning to hand wheel walking, you’ll want to start next to a wall or pole. For the wall, it should be at an outside corner so tht when you hold on the wall with one hand, you’d let go and be able to turn any direction while hand wheel walking away from the wall.
To get started, you want to put one foot in position on the frame, put one hand on the wall, bend down to put the other on the wheel. Then put your other foot on the frame. Finally, lean foward a little and start pushing with your hand that’s on the wheel, bring your hand that was on the wall to the wheel and push with that one.
One tip for the guys to ease the pain is to pull the seat out a little bit forward before leaning down to reach the wheel. Make sure you bend down far and this will make your abs rest on the seat instead of any other sensitive body parts. 
> In the USA rulebook, you need to get in and out of this skill too.
> This used to be where you didn’t have to because at the time the
> levels were made, nobody thought it was possible.
Actually, Sem Abrahams was the author of the original 10 levels (after
levels 1-4 were designed by Jan Layne). Sem got feedback from lots of
riders, but at the time he was the only rider known to most of us who
could
get into and out of that skill. He considered it one of his hardest
skills,
and didn’t want to make it a requirement for level 10. Since then, many
riders have worked on this skill and found easier ways to get into and
out
of it, so that by today’s standards I think Side Ride fits right in, and
riders should get into and out of it for level 10.
Stay on top,
John Foss, the Uni-Cyclone
jfoss@unicycling.com
www.unicycling.com
“You’re not supposed to wash your Roach armor” - Nathan Hoover, on
safety
equipment cleaning methods