I can ride a unicycle if I get up against a wall and start but I can’t get on it without the wall. I seem to fall to one side or the other. I would really apreciate it if you could give me a tip on getting started or how you would get on when you were a beginer. Thank You
The way I lurnt was to mount using my car as suport then ride along it, i quickly ran out of car so i just had to lean forward and pedel like crazy, don’t worry you will fall off…lots! But after about 10 hours you will be sweet, trust me the practice will pay off, definatly!
Re: I’m a beginning unicyclist and have a question.
controlledfall <controlledfall.r1jgn@timelimit.unicyclist.com> wrote:
>
> I can ride a unicycle if I get up against a wall and start
> but I can’t get on it without the wall. I seem to fall to one side or
> the other. I would really apreciate it if you could give me a tip on
> getting started or how you would get on when you were a beginer. Thank
> You
OK, start with your uni in front of you with the cranks horizontal and
the pedal for your favourite foot at the back. Put your foot on the
back pedal and lean forwards onto the seat so that the pedal is pressing
up on your foot. Now, do a little jump with the foot that is on the
ground, so you go forwards onto the seat, over the centre of the wheel
and into the riding position. While that is happening, get your
foot on the front pedal and start riding.
Try not to put any weight on the back pedal, or the uni will roll
backwards. This is the trickiest bit, you may want to start with a
brick behind the wheel to stop this happening. Once you have the
mechanics of the mount sussed, get rid of the brick, or use
progressively smaller ones. Leaning into the uni is the important, as
this is what counteracts the tendancy of the yike to roll backwards.
You need to jump with
sufficient enthusiasm to get youself into the leaning forward position.
If you fall off any way except forwards you are jumping enough.
Good luck! Freemounting is tricky at first, I think it took me almost
as long to get right as learning did to start with.
Nick Grey
To e-mail me, add 0307 after my name in my e-mail address.
Re: I’m a beginning unicyclist and have a question.
I still count myself a beginner. I remember pushing myself at the beginning
to learn. I pushed myself again and again – and again. And then again. I
kept using the bed of my truck to get up, and then I could go … but only
so far, and then I always had to walk my uni back to the truck to start
again. I knew I wanted to go farther, and I didn’t want the annoyance of
having to walk the uni back.
I told myself one day, “Okay, you’re going to freemount. And if you don’t,
you’re won’t be riding today.” So for two hours, I tried and tried – and
tried. And then tried.
Every 20th time, or so, I actually freemounted. But there’s no magic
solution: just keep at it. I think it took me two or three weeks.
People here in the newsgroup kept saying, “keep at it,” and truly, that’s
what it takes. I forced myself to freemount – well, to try
freemounting – with both legs, alternating with each attempt. After a
while, it just comes.
David
stiller ( at ) quip ( dot ) net
Re: Re: I’m a beginning unicyclist and have a question.
i used a similar approach to learn how to freemount my giraffe
u have to be a bit ‘firm’ with yourself
the discipline is worth it
nick described the ‘static’ mount
i started freemounting using the ‘roll-back’ mount
i’m quite glad i started with the ‘roll-back’ as i believe it gave me a headstart towards learning idling
for the ‘roll-back’, start with your favourite-foot pedal back and pointing about 45 degrees down towards the ground
get the seat in position and, at first, just practise stepping on the back pedal and feel the uni roll in underneath u
step off the front and catch the uni before it hits the ground
u can also allow your weight to fall back and step off the uni backwards, once again catching it before hitting the ground (if possible, this isn’t crucial, just a good habit to get into)
the important bit is to experience that moment of stability when u are sitting on the uni and to gain confidence in knowing that u can step off the uni without hurting yourself
if u find the uni scooting out behind u when u step on the back pedal, simply adjust it’s angle and or your body positioning correspondingly
once u are fairly comfortable doing this, go to the next step and attempt to get your foot on the second pedal once u’ve ‘stepped-on’
it helps to ensure that the second pedal is fairly flat and not perpendicular to the ground
tilting it slightly forward is not a bad idea as your foot will come from the front
when u get your foot on the pedal, push it back about a quarter turn
if this causes the machine to scoot out from under u, u’ll need to realign the whole thing again
ideally u want that last push to leave u in a slightly leaning forward position with your fav foot pedal far enough away from the vertical so u can ride away
remember the basics
keep your weight on the seat
dont grab the saddle - that centers your weight and makes balance more difficult
dont look straight down at the ground in front of u
look up and away
if practising indoors, look at the opposite wall
if u dont know which one is your favourite foot u can determine it by checking which foot u use to climb onto something first
or by standing with your feet slightly apart, ask someone to gently push u on your back untill u overbalance
the foot that steps forward to prevent u from face-planting will be your favourite foot
keep your practise sessions short and fun and whenever u feel yourself getting angry or frustrated, give it a rest for a couple of minutes and try again
u WILL get it
let us know how u get on
Walls are a state of mind.
Start out with your wall, as usual.
Visualize the wall being always beside you.
Feel the wall beside you, supporting you, comforting you, always there, waiting for you to reach out and accept its support.
The wall is in your mind. You control the wall.
The wall is there for you.
You can leave the wall behind, and take it with you. You are the wall. You cannot fall. You have the wall.
All of that mystical stuff about keeping your weight on the seat instead of the pedals (or the wall) helps, as well.
Oh, yeah…
… and wave your arms around a lot, too.
Before the total freemount, I suggest putting something behind the wheel like a brick or curb and stepping up on the rear pedal and ride off. Once you’ve mastered that, the freemount will seem easier.
-Eric
ride
fall
repeat
Check out this thread, it helped me quite a bit six months ago:
http://www.unicyclist.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=22861
Zen and the Art of Unicycling…
The next national bestseller!
I can ride 20-30 feet if I start out with my back against a wall and if I take off but I just can’t free mount. I’m going to keep trying and trying tell I get it right. Besides this is only my 3rd day.
Hey I was wondering how the 20 inch Sun Unicycles are?
Thanks alot for all your tips. I think I might have found the right kind of sport for me.
SENDHAIR! have we taught u nothing?!?
there is no wall…
Are you sure, Grasshopper?
Sun’s are cheap P.O.S. in my opinioin… The best entry level 20" you can buy is far and away the Torker Unistar (stealth). The Unistar is built like a tank compared to other uni’s in the same price range.