>> What is your favorite riding surface? How do different surfaces affect
>> your riding technique?
In reply to my query, Jimmy Brokaw <Unicycler@juggler.demin.co.uk> replied:
>I love outdoor asphalt. Indoors I actually prefer hardwood floors. Can’t stand
>carpets of any sort. I don’t really notice the lack of adhesion much, but I
>sure notice how much easier it is to pedal or turn on a hard surface.
Since most of my riding is done outdoors, my particular favorite happens to be
smooth asphalt too. But finding smooth asphalt that I can ride on without
risking auto traffic or indignant yells of “Can’t you read? NO BICYCLES!” can be
an epic quest. And outdoors, you have to factor wind direction and speed into
every maneuver.
Indoors, the hardwood floors I have ridden on have had the wax and in some
cases, even the varnish worn away by thousands of person-hours of aerobic
exercise. This makes it hard for me to practice spins or even sharp turns at any
real speed–my tire loses traction and slides out from under me sideways.
Sometimes I even spin the tire when I try to accelerate too hard from an idle.
Some of this may be due to riding a 24" wheel–I tend to use lean sideways more
than my fellow unicyclists on 20" wheels.
One of the skills I am working on these days is a transition from one-footed
idling to one-footed riding. I find that it is significantly easier to do on
short-pile carpet, I think because the extra friction keeps the uni from
twisting while I am “winding up” for that first revolution.
Dennis Kathrens