Riding with seat on stomach

Riding Advice
1

Here is my final hint file for level 3, telling how to ride with the seat on the
stomach. It is partly my thoughts, with some hints taken from a 1993 posting by
Terry Jones.

I will not be distributing any hints for the figure 8, 1/2 revolution backwards
pedal, or the 180 degree turn, unless someone submits something, since these
skills mostly take practice.

As usual, send me any suggestions or corrections on this article.

Beirne

Ride with the stomach on the seat for 10 meters

Riding with your seat on the stomach is not very hard, but starting from
standard riding position and returning there after riding in your stomach adds
difficulty to this skill.

  1. You may want to practice riding with your seat on the stomach without
    mounting from the standard position. Climb on while holding onto a wall and
    go. Rest on the seat and put your arms out for balance. Keep your head up as
    high as you can.

  2. When you can ride comfortably with your seat on the stomach, try getting
    there from the standard riding position. You want to pop the seat out, put
    your stomach on it quickly, and let go.

  3. Ride your 10 meters, stand up, and push the seat back in.

Notes and hints:

If you keep your seat high (leg almost straight when the pedal is at its lowest
point), you will want to lower it an inch or two for this trick. This makes a
major difference when replacing the seat.

Don’t hold onto the seat while you ride. If you will do you will find yourself
out of balance since your body will be uneven and it will be harder to rest your
weight on the seat.

Don’t wear baggy pants, since they will get in the way when you replace the
seat.

Keep the seat close to your legs while your stomach is on it. It will be easier
this way than if the seat is up towards your chest.

Beirne Konarski bkonarsk@mcs.kent.edu Terry Jones terry@santafe.edu

–

Beirne Konarski | Subscribe to the Unicycling Mailing List bkonarsk@mcs.kent.edu
| Send requests to unicycling-request@mcs.kent.edu “Untouched by Scandal” |

2

Re: riding with stomach on seat

Ah, very interesting … I learned to ride with stomach on seat a little
differently.

>From the old levels list I learned to ride with the seat held to front first.
I had the difficulty noted about holding onto the seat and being off balance.
But once I learned that, the stomach on seat was pretty easy.

I would ride with seat forward and then lean over and ride with stomach on the
seat while holding onto the seat. I did this until I felt comfortable
(confident) that the seat would not pop out. Then I let go. It only took a few
tries and I had it.

To return, I would grab the seat, straighten back up, and push the seat back
in. I found it easier to get the seat out and in if I stopped first with the
peddles horizontal, stand up tall and slide the seat out/in while
balancing.

Maybe I learned the hard way. I took me a lot longer to ride with the
seat to front.

– Dirk Iwema Cincinnati, Ohio USA Internet: iwema_dirk@ae.ge.com