ZebraOnAUnicycle said:*on wednessday i am going to do a speech on how to ride a unicycle for
my communications class and i am taking my unicycle.
*
I like to compare unicycling to walking. It has many similarities.
Learning to walk and learning to unicycle are similar processes. They
both take a while to learn. They both have to become automatic
motor-skills. And there isn't a point where you suddenly "get it".
When you learned to walk, you were wobbly for a while, just like when
you learned to unicycle. Lastly, the balance issues are similar. Read
on...
When you walk, you always have to keep your feet underneath you (under
your center of gravity). If you lean too far forward with your upper
body (maybe you stumbled), you have to immediately take faster steps --
so that your feet are underneath you again. And if you lean too far to
the left, you must step to the left to put your feet back underneath
you. Same exact thing happens with unicycling, except you have a wheel
instead of feet. Lean too far forward and you have to pedal faster to
get the wheel back under you. Lean too far to the left and you have to
steer the wheel left to get it back under you. Just like walking,
see?
Some people think that the balance required to ride a unicycle is like
walking on a tightrope. That is only true when going very slow or doing
a still-stand. But when you are moving, the balance is similar to
walking. Also, you are never perfectly in balance. Instead, you are
constantly making corrections to your balance.
Also, to continue the comparison to walking... With walking or
unicycling, you have to fall in the direction you want to go. Stand and
keep both legs straight. Now extend your right foot forward. See how
it's up in the air? You have to fall forward in order to take a step.
Lock your legs in that position and tip forward until that foot hits the
ground. That's walking... lots of temporary imbalance, falling, and
correcting balance problems. Just like unicycling.
Well, this is how I describe riding a unicycle to non-riders. And I
demonstrate both with the unicycle and with my feet (I tip my body
forward without taking steps -- until I have to take steps fast
otherwise fall on my face. Then I tip over to the left until I have to
step to the left. Then I show them the same thing on the unicycle.)
You could give the above comparison and then add details about the
mechanics of unicycling -- pedaling, speeding up, slowing down, how to
turn. Make sure they understand the direct connection of the pedals to
the wheel (no free-wheeling) -- that's the key to front-to-back balance
AND slowing down (no brakes).
Hope this helps... good luck!
--
Dave Lowell - _
my main man is the man whose main man is jagur.
member of the 'new york unicycle club' (http://www.newyorkunicycle.com)
-\"you like this friend of yours, which is why you shove him/her into
the mud puddle.\"- - james_potter, describing the true meaning of
friendship
come to brian mackenzie's 'twnr: us release/ride party'
(http://tinyurl.com/6tvvt) at 'ray's mtb' (http://www.raysmtb.com) on
feb 19. 'twnr us release: updated info' (http://tinyurl.com/5tjpj)
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