Re: how to ride a unicycle
Well, this was how I learned:
Find a wall and something on the wall to hold onto. Put the wheel up to the
wall and the seat comfortably between your legs at your crotch. Now hold on
to the shelf or whatever is there that is stable and there to hold onto.
Put one foot ( your stronger one) on the pedal that goes with that foot.
Pull your self up onto the unicycle and get your other foot on the other
pedal. Now sit there for a while and just get a feel for it. Rock a bit
maybe, just get used to it and get a little feel for balance. Now when you
feel ready or up to it, hold on a wall or a shelf with one hand and just
try pedaling along it. Chances are you'll probably fall off, but get back
on and keep doing this till you get it right. Once you are good at this
it's time to leave the wall behind. Get on and face the direction you wish
to go. Somewhere open and in the opposite direction of the wall your
holding onto. You will not be pedaling against the wall anymore. Now, push
off slightly and start pedaling. You'll have to pedal faster than you think
and if you don't, you'll fall over. You won't get far, probably not even a
full turn/pedal. That is completely normal so don't get discouraged. Keep
doing this for about a half hour to and hour a day (if life allows). Set up
a marker where you fall off so you can see your progress and have a goal.
Then practice, practice, practice!!!!
TIPS:
When you pedal look straight ahead at some point, a tree, house, something.
Whatever you do, don’t look down in front of you. You’ll only fall off.
Put your weight on the seat, not the pedals. You’ll just end up making your legs
sore and it will mess up your balance.
Keep your arms loose, out to your sides a bit, and ready for action. Your arms
along with your body weight are pretty much your steering wheels.
Make sure you own a good quality uni. I unhappily got a generic little “toy” uni
for my 10th b-day. I’m now 14 and I have just gotten to a point of being able to
ride it. (it was so hard to learn since it was so poorly made) Now its broken
and I’m going to get a 26" Sem. Crappy tricycle looking uni’s are hard to learn
and ride and aren’t really worth the time and effort. The only advantage is I
probably will be able to ride my Sem real well.
Learn to free mount. IMHO this is like the best thing to learn. It only took me
about a week to learn and is extremely helpful! I will allow you to get on your
uni without holding on to anything. How to do it: Put one pedal down all the way
(the pedal of your stronger foot). Put your one foot on this pedal with the seat
at you crotch and standing up relatively straight. Now, sorta jump up onto the
uni and lean forward along with getting your other foot on the other pedal.
Start pedaling or your fall forward. It really isn’t too hard once you get the
basic idea and practice a lot.
Check out your local library for uni books and check out the web, also. Here are
some very good sites:
http://www.unicycling.org/ http://ecstasy.winternet.com/usa/
http://www.dearien.com/Jason_Dearien/unicycle/
http://www.unicycling.org/unicycling/faqs.html
I hope this helps. : ) If you would like to contact me for anything, talk,
questions, comments, feel free to email: midnightwright@hotmail.com
-Midnight