A quick vid of some riding now that I’m about 3 months in:
Another vid of riding backwards some, not smooth, but I did it:
At this point, if I’m not trying anything challenging for me, I can ride straight forward at jogging speed if I push, and I can ride continuously for a few blocks including street crossings if I don’t have to wait for the light. But after that, my legs need a break for some minutes, and I’m winded.
The next trick I want to learn to do is a stillstand. And as always I’m working on my endurance, and here and there on smoother pedaling and keeping the wheel straighter. And if by next summer I could go from needing to wear 2 layers of pants to just 1, that would be awesome!
Feedback always welcome. Thanks for watching/reading!
Good Job! I’ve been practicing quite a lot this month. It’s about 3~4 times a week, and 2 hours at a time. The progress is slow. The wheel still rubs my calf a lot, and I still can’t either idle or ride backwards. Beiside, I found that the sole of my left foot gets sore after about 30 revolutions. I think it might be Plantar fasciitis. I probably shouldn’t practice so often or at least not so long at a time.
@Syoten for the sore foot, yeah good to figure out stuff like that before it turns into a bigger thing. You mention just your left foot, so maybe work on switching which foot you lead with for different things (if you don’t already) will give it a break, improve the other foot, and lead to even better riding overall. For myself I had to make a conscious effort to switch what foot I use for what, often enough, so that either foot can do everything, at least to some degree. I’m hopeful continually getting more skillful with both feet in more situations will lead to better riding in all situations.
The other thing could be changing the shoes you use. At first I really liked thinner sole shoes that let me feel exactly where the pedals were. But those can be hard on your feet depending on your landings, terrain, etc. so I switched to thicker sole shoes. I know a lot of people like 5.10’s for biking/unicycling. I’m used to more minimal shoes for other stuff I do, so as a compromise I went with Lems which still give good ground/pedal feel, but still manage to have a thicker sole for more cushioning and protection.
Another thing, at least for me, especially if I’m getting some distance, is that the placement of my foot on the pedal really changes what my foot is doing and how hard it’s working in different ways. For me there’s big differences depending if the pedal is towards the heel, middle, or ball of my foot, and also if side-to-side if my foot is right on the pedal or hanging off half way, or twisted. This is exaggerated for me if I’m using a thinner sole shoe.
I should add that sometimes when I switch shoes or foot I use, size wheel, etc. I feel like I almost have to relearn a skill or seriously recalibrate. It just feels wrong at first. My brain tells me to jump off almost immediately. Though this is happening less often over time, so I think I’m getting more flexible which is helpful.
@dreamisdestiny Thanks for sharing. You are right. I haven’t tried to switch the foot I lead with.Now I can only freemount with my right foot on the pedal first, and the wheel rubs my right calf much more than the left calf. I’ll try to adjust my riding so that I can use both feet more evenly.
As for the shoes, I usually wear barefoot shoes for walking and hiking. But for unicycling, I wear Vans at first and now switch to MTB shoes for more protection. Maybe it’s because I have flat feet so there is more pressure on my sole when riding UW. Anyway I’ll try to figure it out, so that it won’t become serious.
