UniLog
- Stationary Skills and Backward 1-Foot
I tried out a new practice area last week. Although concrete and covered, the surface was wavy, making riding skills 'not fun'. I was stuck with coming up with skills I could practice in the space.
What I chose was to work on stationary skills. I'm deficient, so it was a good decision. I've tried with little success at idle, seat on side, and crank idle. I've also had growing success with side hopping.
This week I made great progress with side hopping. I first got down the easy variant, where you can hold the tire with your free foot. But now I can do side hopping without this help. I'm also interested in resting the free foot (heel) on the front of the tire. This should look interesting, and be the same difficulty or more than regular side hopping.
Yesterday I got much better at idle, seat on side. I have my right foot down, usually my better idling foot. Three to four times I did 5+ idles, with little prep, almost stepping right into the idle. Usually I have been pushing off a wall to get to the balance point.
I'm also improving at crank idle. It feels great, I know how to step off at any point, but the balance point doesn't stay around too long. Recovery doesn't happen.
Another stationary skill I've been working on is hopping on wheel. Related to this, I'm riding and popping the seat out front. I stop, and just as I start to stand up I pull the seat out, kind of pops out. From here I either hop seat out, or grab the seat with two hands and try to balance and then jump up and off the pedals. Sometimes I twist the seat 90 degrees. What I am aiming at is a sudden stop, and jump up to hopping on wheel. This requires minimal energy by avoiding prehopping. But looks like this requires more balance.
Hopping on wheel I get to by either stepping up (when I get tired) or jumping up. I think my unicycle needs to be stronger in the wheel/seat. I need a stiffer seat for sure.
Yesterday I also went to my riding practice area. I was tired of not getting out of one foot backward. I spend a lot of time trying to slow down, which I never do. This is because I have been trying to go back into idling one foot. This isn't working. So yesterday I started riding backward and then putting one foot on the frame and going into one foot backward. I also got from one foot backward to backward riding. This is done at speed, so I don't have to worry or think about slowing down. After only 15 minutes practice, I'm doing it pretty smoothly. I also have a higher hit rate for getting into the skill. going from idling one foot was easy for learning, but seems not good for overall performance.
- skills: Bwd 1-ft
- skills: Side Hopping