McNerdius, Day Two

General
1

Hello again, this is Captain McNerdius, the c# programming, VW
worshipping, Esperanto-speaking, sherry-drinking… AND NOW…
unicycle-riding NERD !!!

Day two of my learning curve, and i’ve come up with some questions.
But first, my progress… both good and bad.

Good) I’m very comfortable rocking and doing half-revolutions. i
still need to sort of touch the wall and/or flail a bit more than makes
me happy, but i know once i get moving, that’ll fix itself. i’ve done
one or two 2-3 foot splurts, cut short only because of a bump in the
floor at the end of my hall. i think next time i practice i’ll move
back in the hall… duh.

Bad) Two things here… My pedaling has been somewhat akward. I dont
know if it’s my seat height or what. I’ll get to the “top” with my
dominant foot, and SHWOOM i FLY. about 50% of the time, that is. I’m
thinking my seat could be too low, but you tell memy knee is bent about
5-10 degrees when the pedal is down. This is the largest callenge i am
having right now, as the more i try and control it, the worse it seems
to get.

Next… my NUTS. I’m doing the airseat conversion tomorrow, but there
may be a deeper issue. Keeping my back straight, while leaning
forward… correct me if i’m wrong, but that’s going to shift my weight
somewhat forward on the seat, correct ? Like… right on the narrow
area ? that’s where my weight’s sitting right now, and it’s not that
the seat is uncomfortable or anything, but i weigh about 225lbs, and
that much weight on that little area, is a BAD THING. Is that just how
it is, or am i even sitting wrong ?

Anyhoo… just a couple other questions and i’ll be done ! i promise !

Tire pressure: I’m at 60 right now. Should i go higher ? My tire’s
rated to 65. The only reason i ask is i’m so fat. lol.

Terrain/Tire pressure: On a related note, is there any rule of thumb
for tire pressure as it relates to terrain… for example: harder
terrain/higher pressure, softer terrain lower pressure ? I don’t know
why i think there would be, but it’s just that i do half on thick
carpet and half on linoleum. Whaaaaaaaaaatever.

Anyhoo, i’ll look forward to reading any advice y’all pros may have
when i get home from work !!! i’m OUT !!! THANKS in advance !

2

When the crank is vertical it is in the dead zone if you put your weight on it the uni will fly out from under you. this shuld be avoidable by making sure you lean forward and put most of your weight on the seat. For smoth surfaces you want your pressure higher and for rougher or hopping yu want it lower. The 60 you have should be good.

3

If you want any tips for beginning to ride, you can check out my unicycling journal that I kept while learning, details the first 35 days of my learning to ride. Link is in my sig, or can be found on www.unicycletips.com .

4

You don’t need to lean forward on the seat. When people say lean forward, they mean the whole thing (you and the unicycle). Unles otherwise indicated, your back should always be relatively in line with the unicycle frame (straight up).

Sit. Don’t try to ride away from your support. Best place to learn is next to a fence, on pavement. Or next to a wall, on floor but a fence is easier to hold onto. Riding away from your support will give you lots of practice in falling off and getting back on, but that will come later anyway. Better to learn how to balance without falling off every few seconds to start.

It takes a while for your feet to learn to control where the wheel goes. But as long as your feet are on the pedals it’s up to them to keep it or move it where you want it. Don’t try to do anything when the cranks are vertical other than roll past that part of the pedal stroke. All your power is in the area around horizontal cranks.

Enjoy!

5

Re: McNerdius, Day Two

dudewithasock wrote:
> If you want any tips for beginning to ride, you can check out my
> unicycling journal that I kept while learning, details the first 35
> days of my learning to ride. Link is in my sig, or can be found on
> www.unicycletips.com .
>

I read it about a half a dozen times before deciding to buy my uni :slight_smile:

it rox…

right now i’m taking your advice and emphasizing my practice in the
“rocking” area. i’ll be making this at least a half of my exercise for
a good while.

6

Re: McNerdius, Day Two

johnfoss wrote:
> You don’t need to lean forward on the seat. When people say lean
> forward, they mean the whole thing (you and the unicycle). Unles
> otherwise indicated, your back should always be relatively in line with
> the unicycle frame (straight up).
>

what i mean is, even if i and the unicycle are leaning forward, my
weight is on the seat at an angle, towards the narrow portion of the
seat. OUCH. Regardless, i’m doing the airseat conversion today, so i
can quit bitching :slight_smile:

7

there is some limited adjustment (tilting) ability in most uni seats. go ahead and loosen the four bolts on the bottom of the seat and tilt the seat so the front goes higher in the air, like this: - (rear) _/ (front) .

though I find it’s a little harder to situate yourself, once on, it seems to move pressure to your butt, where it’s more comfortable.

<-- oh, and I’m a nerd too.

8

I read it about a half a dozen times before deciding to buy my uni :slight_smile:

it rox…
It’s a great journal and i read it heaps before buying my uni too. I even wrote my own for 10 days until i could ride well and freemount. I haven’t posted it here cause it’s too personal and just a block of text about 2000 words long. I’m sure i’ll be glad to look back on it one day, but so far i hevent’t.