Hi all,
I've been reading this forum as a lurker for a couple of months, so
thought it's about time I get round to introducing myself...
I was given a unicycle by my wife last Christmas and after a slow start
(well I am apparently rather old to learn at 34 according to many
people's opinions!) I have now reached the stage where I can ride around
on smooth ground and even venture out onto the local off-road trails
(VERY easy biking, challenging for me on the uni!) without falling off
too much. I can get back on if I'm on a downward slope or with a
stick/curb/stone to wedge the wheel against, but haven't mastered
freemounting on the flat yet. Did a couple of miles on a forest track
yesterday (mainly smooth mud/gravel) - this was the longest ride I've
done so far and my legs really ache now, which surprises me as I'm a
keen cyclist - perhaps it's just my poor technique!
I've got a couple of questions:
The seat post is at its maximum height, but is still slightly lower than
I would have it on a bicycle (which could partly account for the leg
ache). Should I get a longer seat post (I've got a unicycle.com
"adult's learner" 20", so it should be easy) or should I just get used
to it how it is? Most of my riding will likely be off-road, and I've
noticed that people seem to have the saddle relatively low for that
anyway - am I right?
Also I'm doing a couple of things that have been refered to as "bad
habits" on the forum, namely putting very little weight on the saddle
and flailing my arms for balance. Will these just go away with practise
or should I be doing something positive to correct them? If I try to
keep my arms still I usually fall off
Tried riding up a steepish
slope yesterday and felt like I needed to hold the saddle to stop myself
just standing up, but I couldn't balance with only one arm!
Anyway, sorry about the long post - I'm really starting to enjoy
unicycling now I can actually get somewhere on it - will probably buy a
24 or 26" when I'm good enough to justify the expense, but for now the
learner's 20" does all I need.
Rob
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rob.northcott
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