In regards to different kinds of skills besides “artistic” ones in the official
10 skill levels:
It sounds like a good idea, but a problem would seem to be how to have
objective/measurable tests for skills such as riding off road.
One possibility for a different kind of achievement level would be one for
commuting. How about some kind of official recognition for someone who regularly
commutes to work? A rider could keep a log of the days and distances he/she
rides. Maybe a “level one” achievement could be to commute (round trip) 250
times (roughly equivalent to a full year of commuting). Or alternatively, a
total commuting distance of 1,000 miles (~1,500 km). That would be the
equivalent of a 4 mile (~6 km) round trip commute. Each additional year of
commuting (or 1,000 miles/1,500 km) could earn another patch or bar, similar to
the level patches.
Scott Arnold
–Scott, Jody, Vjera, Luke, Hope, Thad, and Simon Arnold
o o o o o o 7 unicyclists, Lane County, Oregon /[]\ /[]\ /[]\ /[]\ /[]\ /[]
o (Simon can finally do it)
|\ |\ |\ |\ |\ |\ /[]\ E-mail: jodya@efn.org
O O O O O o o http://www.efn.org/~jodya/jodya.html
I’m 23 and have been stuck around level 5-6 for about 2 years. I’ve been
riding for 8 years, and really only mastered wheel walking (i.e., being
really comfortable with it and able to go for about 50 m regularly)
recently. I’m also a bit stuck on dsmounting wheel hopping and can’t be
bothered learning right foot one footing… Here are some factors
contributing to my skill plateau
other interests / lack of time / intense university schedule (I probably
only `practise’ for an average of half an hour a week)
other unicycling interests (I’m into trials, hockey and ofroading, which
don’t really contribute to skills like ww and wheel hopping)
lack of peers (there is only one other rider I know of a similar skill
level, but we rarely ride together). This is probably the greatest
limiting factor for my (and probably other people’s) slowness in
learning difficult or scary tricks. At least the internet is a constant
source of inspiration.
the fear factor: somehow the thought of pain and suffering really
doesn’t do it for me any more
boredom: why would I want to learn one foot riding with the RIGHT foot?
weather: it’s raining at the moment
laziness: yeah well…
krap uni: my seat really hurts and my cranks are permanently bent and I
can’t afford to fix them.
Actually, looking at that list, there’s a lot that I can overcome. At the
moment, I’m not really that bothered about improving skill levels, I’d
rather learn to hop higher and learn to pedal grab. However,the same
factors contribute to me not learning thos skills.
nic
On Mon, 24 Dec 2001, harper wrote:
> When Ryan Woessner achieved skill level 10 he was the youngest at 13 > among a very small group all of who achieved this level in their teens. > I thought that was one of the coolest things I’ve ever heard. People are > hopefully still patting him on the back every time they see him. > > Is it possible for someone in their 20’s, 30’s, or beyond to achieve > this level or is this something like female Olympic class gymnasts > where, if you are out of your teens, you really can’t compete anymore? > I’m not interested in the “anything is possible if you…” responses. > I’m interested in responses from the older (apparently over 20 is > older), higher skill level riders giving an indication of what the real > limitations are for them. In particular, what is it in skill level 7, 8 > or 9 that you just haven’t been able to do and why do you think that > particular skill is so difficult for you? Maybe you can’t practice > enough anymore because you have to support yourself and a family or some > other time constraint. > > I also am not asking you to be self deprecating. Since posting to this > group I have learned to do more things in the last year than in all my > previous 38 years of riding. I do things on a unicycle now that I never > even thought were possible and I’m just getting ready to pass skill > level four. Last year I would have considered it to be impossible to be > where I am now and I still look at some of the things in the upper skill > levels and say, “no way.” > > > > > – > harper Posted via the Unicyclist Community - > http://unicyclist.com/forums > ___________________________________________________________________- > ________ > rec.sport.unicycling mailing list - > www.unicycling.org/mailman/listinfo/rsu