Quick Questions

Greetings to the ng :slight_smile:

Well, seeing as I am a relative newbie to unicycling, I thought what better
place is there to ask questions than here? Alright, here they are.

  1. Freemounting. I can do this maybe 3 out of 5 times. Is it just practice
    for me from here on in? Or are there any little tricks or tips I should
    know about?

  2. Idling. This one eludes me. I have NO idea where to begin, where my pedals
    should be, etc. etc.

Please help me out here if you can, I’d REALLY appreciate it. :slight_smile:

Thanks and best regards. Daniel

Re: [Quick Questions]

  1. Freemounting. I can do this maybe 3 out of 5 times. Is it just practice
    for me from here on in? Or are there any little tricks or tips I should
    know about?

It sounds like you have reached the practice stage. Keep in mind that there are
two basic ways to free mount.

In the first method you tuck the seat under you and then place your dominant
foot on the pedal. The pedal should be pointing somewhere between you and the
ground, about 45 degrees is good. Place pressure on the pedal causing the
unicycle to roll backwards. This will bring the wheel under you. Pause
momentarily, then ride forward.

The second method begins in the same way but you rely on the non dominant foot.
Applying just a little pressure with the dominant foot to keep the unicycle in
place, launch yourself off the ground and forwards using your non dominant foot
and then ride forwards. This method has the advantage that you don’t need to do
a quarter revolution backwards first and you are imediately in a good position
to ride off.

Make sure you are aware of which method is working for you and practice it.

  1. Idling. This one eludes me. I have NO idea where to begin, where my pedals
    should be, etc. etc.

I recommend practicing idling in a doorway as it gives you something to hang on
to. As you get better you can progress to holding onto only one side of the
doorway and then eliminate it altogether.

Your body should be fairly upright and the motion of the wheel is almost like a
pendulum beneath you. The important thing is your pedal position. With your
dominant foot down the crank are should pass through a 90 degree angle and back.
Something like this: From here… /

0 \ To here.

0 / And back.

The little circle is the center of the wheel and the lines represent your
cranks. Notice how the starting position is at a 45 degree angle to the floor,
the crank swings through 90 degrees and is again at 45 degrees to the floor.
When idling things should be symmetrical.

Idling takes a fair amount of practice but is well worth it, especially for
people wishing to perform and juggle.

Hope that helps.

Peter

o o Peter Bier o O o Juggler, unicyclist and mathematician.
o/|\o peter_bier@usa.net


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