Discomfort never gets better. It’s best to stop before that “little pinch” becomes a rash or a blister, that is, stop as soon as you notice some discomfort and adjust as necessary.
And, yeah, riding in jeans just isn’t Kosher. Anything with a fat seam becomes a literal pain in your keister.
I ride in swim trunks over bike shorts; although bike shorts are great on their own, I’m not into the “lycra look”. Some manufacturers make board / cargo shorts with integrated padding that combines the best of both worlds… spendy but worth the dough IMHO.
This is exactly what I do. The fabric is made to dry quickly. The seams should be very flat.
Right now swim truncks are on sale everywhere. I look for the ones with longer legs and hand pockets (gum, chapstick), leg pouch pockets with velcro closure (keys, powerbar) and one back hip pocket (waterbottle). If there is a mesh inner bikini-like lining, I cut it out.
For very long in-the-saddle rides, I set my watch to beep every 5 minutes. At this time I’ll slow down and stand up while peddling until the beeping stops (about 20 seconds) to give the smashed nerves a break and get a little blood flowing. Then sit back down and off you go.
These two steps make a huge difference.
Also, make sure your seat angle is optimum. I tilt the nose up pretty far so if I try to sit on the twins, I’m sliding backwards off the middle (crotch-crunching) part of the seat and my weight is concentrated on the big flat part of the seat at the back.
I finally made 21 miles on my Nimbus 36 yesterday. (so now I’m an expert on distance ) One thing was that at 15 miles, my knees started to get sore. So I stopped at home for a short 10 minute break.
That’s when I noticed that I had skipped my daily: one-a-day multi-vitamin, and low strength 81mg aspirin. So I took them.
Afterward starting again, my knee soreness went away. I think the small dose of aspirin took away the knee soreness.
Also what hampered my previous attempt at 20 miles was that bearing caps became loose enough to make riding tedious.
So I’m suggesting a low dose aspirin may releive joint pain on a long ride. Also a good maintenance check is in order, all bolts tight and tire air. (I am now using locknut’s everywhere.)
you might want to try raising your seat a bit or if you have a rail type seatpost you might want to tilt the seat up slightly so the front is higher up.
On the same note, if the ankles start hurting more than the knees you probably want to lower it a tad.
Yeah, and along those lines, I’ve been wearing that Buff headwear thing that came with the subscription to Uni magazine. It is light, and keeps my bald head from getting sunburn through the vents in my helmet.
Not to bring back a dead thread, but when do you know you are ready for distance. I’m still learning and still need suport in order to stay on the uni! But eventually I want to do distance. No Muni, but basic street riding around town. I live kind-of out in the boondocks, but was wondering when a good time would be to get into distance. I know I need to be able to ride unassisted, but like for how long and for how far? Is a 29" fine?
I’d say that for now just concentrate on getting more stable on the Uni. Once you get better your distances will increase exponentially. Once this happens you’ll get to a point where you will feel confident enough to attempt a few longer distances, and then just go for it.
I started 5 months ago, and gradually worked up to doing a 7km ride around the neighborhood. Then a longer 10-15km ride on the weekends. A month ago I did a 20km cycle race on my Uni (well ended up being about 24km’s with the extra couple km’s at the start and the end). I only have a 24" so it took me a long time, and reckon that a 29" or a 36’r would be the way to go (if only I had the spare cash I would do it).
I use a KH Fusion Freeride sadle, cycling shorts, and Chamois ButtR
I’d focus on time, not distance for a while. Then commute on your uni.
When I was learning it was hard to find practice time, so my first big goal was to ride my 2.5 mile commute. I calculated that if I averaged 50 rpm on my 20" it would take me 57 min, so I practiced for an hour each session until I could ride for an hour w/o any breaks and only a few UPD’s, or being exhausted at the end. For my first commute I gave myself 2 hrs. and it took me 1:05. Now I can do it under 30 min if needed.
Then finding practice time was easy. I just rode everywhere. Even grocery shoping (as long as I wasn’t getting anything in glass jars).
If you need a larger wheel (like 29"+) to do your commute in a reasonable time, I’d wait untill you can do at least all of level 2 and some of level 3 first.
Commute time = distance/(avg. speed)
Uni speed = [(wheel diameter in inches) X 3.14 X 60 X (avg. RPM)]/(5280X12)
stress: I am extremely prone to stress . for instance I can’t withstand the idea I may fall in front of a car (happened). I may need to ride on “bike only” routes (those are rare around here).
-boredom : I find that “just riding” is boring. I may ride on distances of say 20km but on Muni trails because there is something new every minute. 3 weeks ago I rode 30km on tarmac and I did’nt like it.
Being able to do these distances doesn’t happen over night. You work your way up.
I started by just local riding, trying bike trails, trying bmx trails. Increasing my time in the saddle wearing cycling shorts helped and a Kris Holm Freeride seat.
Your seat will make the single most change in your ability to ride long distance. Having a comfortable seat really makes a difference!
Mastering basic riding skills is also important. Turning, hopping, navigating over curbs and bumps, freemounting are handy since you will use these skills while travelling distance.
Using my 20" I was able to secure these skills and build confidence. Then I upgraded the seat from a stock crappy seat to a Kris Holm. Then I start doing 1 - 2 km’s distance. Next 2 - 4 km, 5 - 7kms.
After your ready for first long distance start preparing for ride:
Map out a route
Pack a back pack (water, cellphone, mp3 player, snack)
Have fun.
When you are seriously ready for long distance consider either a 29" or 36".
I can’t get into which would be better for you, that another thread topic.
I rode a 12 mile on my 29" about 5 weeks after I started unicycling. It was rough. On the same note, I rode a 78 mile day a year and 6 weeks after I started riding on my 36" and it was about as rough as the 12 mile the year before. Distance riding is all about building your stamina and tolerance for it up. Start small and work your way up. Before you knwo it you’ll be racking up the miles.
) One thing was that at 15 miles, my knees started to get sore. So I stopped at home for a short 10 minute break.
glad to hear it helped