paranoid newbie looking for tips/advice

saskatchewanian;1103310 wrote:

Drink two beer then give it a go




+1

= 3 beers, hmm, might be too much beer then


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munirocks

mono for bono
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Thanks for the correction, yes, 3 O'Clock and 9 O'Clock it is, I have to
stop

posting at night


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xtor
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I am relearning to ride after a 20+ year layoff and I am watching my
fiancee learn to ride so I hope i can offer some help. You need to get
that tire pumped up. Get it up to about 50 PSI, as you get better and
develop leg strength you can lower the pressure to suit your preference.
Also play with your seat height, a too low or too high seat can give you
problems with dead zones. While I haven't seen you ride your
description makes me think you are too tense... wiggle your hands and
shake your arms before riding away. Don't be afraid to wave your arms
around while you ride. Also if the tennis court slopes slightly one
direction, ride that direction and that might help you with the dead
spots. Also that beer suggestion is not crazy. I ride my motorcycle
better with a (single) beer in me.


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ezas
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On Sep 25, 4:41*pm, McNerd wrote:
first things first... this is a long post. *

hello everyone. *i'm a (re-)beginning unicyclist. *I've been
interested for nearly five years now, and i bought my first uni a bit
over a year ago. *I practiced a bit indoors, mainly rocking and
whatnot, but there was no real opporitunity for me to practice
outdoors. *Needless to say, the uni was soon tucked away under the
bed.

And then there was today. *I currently live about 6 blocks from a
tennis court. *I'm going to be practicing about 3-5 days a week, 45
min to 2 hours a session, weather permitting. *I hope to be at least
at level 1, perhaps even 2, before the winter keeps me from practice.
By then, i won't need as much practice, eh ? *I'll still uni, just not
on a schedule. *That's my hopes anyway.

My uni is a torker lx, 24. *(I'm 6'1") *The tire is just what came on
it standard from unicycle.com: *a "cheng shin" or something to that
effect. *more on that later. *as mentioned, i'd done a bit of practice
before, but this uni has no more than a city block's worth of "milage"
on it.

After my 45 minute session today, which was about 50% remembering my
year-old practice of getting on it, combined with 50% of actual
MOVEMENT, my skills are as follows: *"Pulling" myself up atop it.
Leaning against a wall, or pushing up with something. *A mere balance
aid does not cut it yet. *i need to actually USE something. * -AND-
10-30 feet of VERY rough and slow riding, using the fence for balance
about 50-75% of the time.

I hope not to be a bother with all of the questions to follow. *I'll
just put it out there that i've read plenty, i've bought a book...
yada. *I've done my homework but i still have questions. *MY BAD !
i'm a newbie. *So here it goes...

Considering this was the first time i've moved on the thing i'm
encouraged. *I kept telling myself to keep my back straight and my
weight on the seat... and it helped a LOT. *except for that damn dead
zone. *so i get used to keeping my weight on the seat... the dead zone
is still killing me................ i'm not leaning forward enough,
right ?

so i lean forward more. *still problems.

so what i'm thinking is i have my seat too high. *I'm noticing the
tendency to put weight into the pedals as they approach 6:00. *it
could be just a newbie-ism, but i think it's at least partially due to
the fact that my leg is straight enough to lock my knee... and THEN
WHAT ?!?!?! *UPD ! *Even if it's not terribly too high, i think maybe
it's high enough to encourage or enable me to put the weight on the
foot, "stand up" on it, lock the knee and go down... all in an
instant. *Dropping the seat a bit, just enough to make knee-locking
impossible, might just speed up my learning a bit.

Does this sound plausible, or is it overanalytical rubbish ?

On to the next thing. *24 vs 20. *I'm 6'1". *I bought this uni over a
year ago. *The reading i did at the time made me beleive that a 24 was
the best idea for me, being tallish. *The reading i'm doing today,
combined with my weight, make me think a 20" would be a better
learner. *I'm about 240lbs... so my "center of balance" may just be
that much more important a factor in choosing a uni. *Right/Wrong ?
Overanalytical rubbish ?

And lastly (for now), is the tire. *I'm 240, and i've pumped this tire
as full as my manual foot pump will let me. *i get on the uni and it
squishes to about half it's original height.
see (http://mcnerdius.blogspot.com/2008/0...le-photo.html). *Am i
too fat ? * *Now that i look at it side-on for myself it doesnt seem
too bad.......

I know it's a long post, but what can i say, i passionately desire to
succeed. *I've always been a fan of efficiency and whatnot... used to
be into rollerblades. *But... till they have a set of wheels you can
attach/detach to/from your shoes in as long as it takes to mount/
dismount a unicycle... the unicycle wins. *It is compact, efficient,
and practical. *Oh and i'm fat, so i need the exercise. *Wish me
luck ! *Oh... and there WILL be more from me as i practice more.
count on it... !!!!!!!!!!!! BWAGHHAHAHHAHAHA

yeah if i left anything out... well let me know duh.

I made some good progress today. It was my second "lesson." I took
merely 30 minutes and got much farther. I think it was a beer that
helped. I was less tense that way. I did about 3 full revolutions a
few times, and i got the "feel" of riding independent. In no way
consistently, but i know what it feels like. Most of the time i was
going 1-2 revolutions at a time, falling off every 1/3 of the way down
the tennis court. I called it done when i made it all the way down
the tennis court without falling. Slowly, choppy-like, and not yet
comfortably, but it is progress. I can FEEL it in my legs and core,
so that's enough for me. I LOVE IT.

oh... i lowered my seat, all the way. i may try chopping the post
down and dropping it a bit more, just to get an idea how it feels.
But yeah, it helped tremendously. I will be getting video of myself
sometime soon just cuz. I'm also noticing where my feet like to be,
and that my pants and shoes are causing issues. I'll wear shorts and
a different pair of shoes next time, which is probably tomorrow after
work again. Weather permitting.

Just don't be afraid of grabbing your nuts in public


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hobo_chuck
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you know the word nerd was invented by Dr Suess.... betcha didn't....


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On Sep 28, 2:11*am, The.Mars.Volta
st.com wrote:
you know the word nerd was invented by Dr Suess.... betcha didn't....

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The.Mars.Volta

Coming Very Soon-*Buy Koxx-one Unicycles, parts, and accessories for the
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only a true nerd at heart would know this. :-P