I went out today, and it was hot and sticky, the trail I chose was waaaaay too technical for the mood I was in, and I banged the hell out of my knee on my frame crown. After only a half hour of riding, I said ‘to hell with it’ and rode back to the truck.
Man, it seems like some days your on top of the world, and some days you’re scraping around at rock bottom, ready to leave the Muni at whatever godforsaken trailhead you’re at.
I love to ride, but damn, sometimes I really wish I was better at it.
If you didn’t know what the lows felt like you wouldn’t know what a high was
… and yes I often have days like that.
… and yes I’ve wanged my knee on the frame.
I find that the only thing that will save me from a bad riding day is riding with other people. Alone, I’ll want to just walk back to the car, maybe even quit the sport altogether if I’m in a true funk. Riding with others, those feelings typically never come even when I’m having an off day.
Absolutely. The weather is my biggest foe. I hate heat and humidity. On the other hand I have been on a lot of rides that I assumed would suck because I just wasn’t feeling it. Then after a few miles I pedaled through my funk and had a great ride. But some days I do say forget this, I go back to the car and do something else.
Cheer up man, if you don’t ever have downs you aren’t human. I remember how hard it was learning to turn, it was over 100 degrees (f) and it was so awful. Now I can turn on a dime and I’m really happy that I kept going.
Coming from a street back ground yes you will have those days when everything is just shitty. Those days even come with muni. I was on a trip to vancouver just recently and the first three days I felt as if I was just killing it on the trails. The fourth day kicked my ass and I just felt like shit, I just wanted to go home and never ride again. Its a crappy feeling but it does come every now and then. I find that feeling mostly when I am pushing myself to new levels. Its a huge mental game I think but dont let it get you down for long term.
Of don Miguel Ruiz’ The Four Agreements (book), the fourth one is “Always do your best.” Some days your best will be less than on other days; sometimes a lot less. Do the best you can based on that day’s conditions and your own.
Yes, I have also experienced days where I felt like I could ride forever, and others when I felt like my feet and tire were in invisible sticky-mud.
Yeah, today was kinda like that. Went out for a quick ride at noon to lose the funk I was in, it was about 100 degrees out, rode crappily and UPD’d for no particular reason, came back in a worse mood that I started. Oh well. Gotta be better tomorrow!
So when can I get my fair share of the Ups??? Every ride every time something goes bad I hit something or hurt me or miss uni and never a dull moment honestly… And I love it!!
There are heaps of these slogan things out now and I dont like this one specially when the kh shirts are a perfect statement but this sums up what im so hopeless at trying to say and I will swap one word
Yeah everyone has bad days even when u account for everything that could cause problems.
If I haven’t paid attention to the weather and gone out when really hot, not prepared for the cold, or out of shape I won’t be happy. To battle against that I try to check the weather before planning a Muni ride and if its gonna be hot get out early & done by 11AM. Also I make sure I can meet my personal fitness minimum.
It’s not about being better so much as it is about unicycling being very, very, very hard.
I rode for a number of years before I finally accepted that the limitations of unicyling are far greater than a body can overcome, esp when compared to our two wheeled brethren.
Enjoy unicycling for what it is, push your limits but stay in sight of what can be done, don’t let yourself be beat so bad that you lose interest in riding, keep it fun, give yourself easy days, walk stuff if you’re getting tired.
Life is a mental game and you’re in it for the long haul, so just wait it out and play smart, keep your edge, and you win
We all have hero and suck days… I totally sucked on Tuesday, but today I am gonna kick arse and take numbers, yeah!
+1
If I can keep at it u could too. There’s even more that I can’t do. Partial paralysis ~ 95% below knee, 10% quads, 35% hamstrings, 80% hips, 70% glutes, and 25% lower abs & back.
I get frustrated of some of the basic things I can’t do (like free-mount & hopping) or not have the discipline to push my fitness more (like Aspen Mike) and therefore ride better. I just remind myself of what I can do that others can’t.
I feel your pain. Definitely have had a lot of those rides where nothing seems to go right. UPD after UPD on stuff I typically ride clean. Crazy. I think a big part is the crazy heat and humidity around here that really throws me off my game. The stuff I ride is crazy technical so I’ve got to wear the shin/knee guards, gloves and wrist protection and helmet which only makes the heat far worse…
My solution is to scale back my expectations this time of year and limit myself to no more than an hour of riding in this heat. An hour seems about right and I stick to a good loop course that I have fun with and know well. Set small challenges for myself but otherwise just try to make the most of my short ride.
That all being said I can’t wait for the cooler weather to finally arrive. I’m not a hot weather person at all; I thrive on the cold! Bring it on!
In my early Muni career, I once threw my Pashley 26 Muni over a hedge in anger and despair.
I was expecting too much of myself. Even now, 10+ years and hundreds or thousands of miles later, I would find that sort of path hard going on a 29. Back then, I was UPD-ing every 2 metres or so and I was exhausted.
On another day, you will swoop down the trail with the grace of a ballerina and the grin of a happy monkey.
I haven’t thrown my uni “yet”, but I can’t say that the thought hasn’t crossed my mind
Seriously, unicycling IS impossible, so how much should we sweat the little stuff. I feel no lessening of my manhood when I walk something.
And about that heat, it is a definite “killer” when it comes to endurance and performance. We have it bad out in the Southeast this time of year, 90f+ temps and 70-80%, not something to laugh at, makes me want to hide in the house and wait until Fall.
Go riding first thing on Sunday morning, 7/8am, it’ll be so much cooler and that little bit of humididty will feel nice.
+1
Doesn’t get too humid here but it can get over 105 F.
I get out as early as I can, but I’m not much of a morning person. Ideally I’d get to the trail, hike up and get to the top as soon as I could see where I’m going, right now, that’d be ~ 6am. Usually I can only get up early enough to get to the top of the trail by 8 or 9.
I have found a couple of days off has a really positive effect when I do get back on. It could be that my body is telling me I need to rest, if only to come back stronger and refreshed
i havent ridden in a few weeks due to work and side hobbies, and the heat and bad rides. i rode a few days ago and it kicked my ass rode 4 miles and was fried i felt like crap and still do.
Alright, first off, thanks everyone for their thoughts. I’m glad to see I’m not the only one to go into a slump.
Went out today and had overcast skies and cooler temps to deal with.
The good news is that I’m back! Today was definitely an up day, and I was able to ride everything. Checked out a new trail system, and had a blast. Planning to head back up tomorrow for some more fun.
