So I’ve been working on some more advanced skills (advanced is relative really, for me I mean). Seat drag backwards, seat on side one foot extended (idling now, hopefully riding soon), side idling/riding, forward lace walk just to name a few.
I’m in no rush to get these skills solid, as I know they take a while, but seeing videos of them helps a lot, as the correct body positioning sometimes isn’t obvious at all. For example, cross riding took forever to figure out. For a while I didn’t know you used your ankles, tilted the seat, twisted your hips, etc. After months of practice, I have it down and can do long, controlled runs of it consistently, but can’t transition yet. My cross hopping isn’t very good. Another good example is daiki walk (seat on side standup). I was making no progress for months and then I was told at NAUCC to point my shoulder in the direction of the uni. Suddenly it wasn’t that hard anymore and within a few minutes I did a controlled run across the gym.
Some of these are just a matter of more practice I think. Forward lace walk I went 9 steps away from the wall in July. I’ve gotten 8 steps countless times since but haven’t gotten more than 9. I just practice it when I remember to but I’m taking my time with it rather than grinding away. Seat drag backwards (in front and back) I think is just a matter of practicing a lot.
But skills like seat on side one foot extended, I’m unclear how you’re supposed to position your body. For idling I try to mimic what I did with my longer runs, but I can’t get it consistent. It’s the little things, like should the seat be against my body? And if the majority of my weight is going in the seat, how does that work? The seat is on the side, so not directly above the wheel. And then side idling seems like it would be good for learning the balance for side ride, probably harder than side ride, but it’s something I can practice in my room. Another skill that is tricky to figure out where you position your body.
Does anyone know of any resources or videos where these skills are demonstrated? Anything that would be helpful for learning advanced skills? There’s a lot of 15-20 year old posts that discuss these skills and have links to unicyclist.org, but there’s nothing there. It’s just betting on cycling now.