Gliding

Also do a search here on "gliding." There have been a lot of useful
posts on this.

Some people have found that practicing gliding on a smooth slope
helpful. This worked for me - it helps to develop control with the
gliding foot. It will also burn a hole in your shoe quickly. However,
you must be quite comfortable assuming the gliding position before
trying this. I could glide 4-5 feet comfortably before I tried hills.

It's important to find the perfect slope - not too steep, not too
shallow. On a good hill, once you get into a groove and you feel
comfortable, you can go for hundreds of feet. This kind of practice
will improve your comfort level on flat ground.

One foot mini-glides are a good idea. Personally, I was a lot more
comfortable with gliding once I became fluent with wheel walking. I put
in many hours until I could wheel walk and one foot ww figure eights
with relative ease. Then gliding didn't seem so scary.

Once you get really comfortable, you can work on going straight into the
gliding position from a fast riding position. This alone takes a lot of
practice, but I've found that you need speed to get any distance on flat
ground.

Lastly, as your technique develops, you will be able to control the tire
in a very subtle way, applying and regulating only a very small amount
of pressure on the tire. I wish there were a shortcut to that, but it
took me a LONG time.

Joe


--
merrill - Confinement Loaf

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