Learning to Unicycle: Day 4
Didn’t make a whole lot of progress today distance-wise, but I did learn several important tips.
I got home from work, rested up as usual, and then went right out in the front yard to area ‘B’. I stayed there for about an hour, just doing what I have been doing; practicing riding with the support and then trying to get some yardage without the support. I fell a whole lot during this time, and busted up my saddle guards, but I figured, hey, better them than me. I decided to take a short break and investigated the forums a bit for some tips (by starting this thread).
I went back outside to practice more using the tips suggested to me, and unfortunately, it was starting to get very windy with accompanying dark clouds, so I only got in abother 40-45 minutes of practice, in which I attempted to utilize those tips from that thread and actually found they helped a lot.
Even though this day of practice wasn’t as long as I would’ve liked, I did have my first encounter from a non-uni’er today while practicing. She just came up and was like “Woah, how do you ride that thing?” I thought it suitable to reply with a shrug and a “I’m not sure, I’m still working on that part.” She laughed and wanted to see it, and she tried to get the guy that was with her to help her on it, but he was just like “Nah, girl, you’ll fall right off that!” I agreed with him and she reluctantly moved on.
Important Tips from Today:
- Keep all of your weight on the seat! If you’re anything like I am, this might be hard to learn to do, because I tend to want to stand up on the pedals. However, I’m quickly forcing myself to get out of that habit, because keeping your seat on your unicycle’s seat is extremely important if you don’t want to fall.
- Look straight ahead. This was also a problem for me, as I keep looking at the ground, which seems to throw off my balance quite a bit. I’m getting out of that habit slowly but surely.
- If you’re honestly not sure about something, ask around on this forum. This is probably an obvious given, so let this serve as a simple reminder; ask when you’re unsure.
- Pedal fast. I know I said this in my last entry, but I want to stress it again. Pedaling slowly is much harder than pedaling fast, and it’ll take much longer to learn to ride any considerable distance if you go at it slowly.
- Lean slightly forward as you ride. Think of the unicycle as a pendulum beneath your body; lean your torso forward and try to pedal to keep the unicycle under you. However, don’t lean forward too much, or you’ll just fall forward.
- Don’t give up. If you fall, just get back on and go at it again. And again. And again. However long it takes. Rome wasn’t built in a day.