232 Feet but still problems

Practice.

--
unitrialser - Team Hazard

Mindless Films
http://www.geocities.com/mindless_films

"Pink is the new black." -- Jess Riegal's Helmet
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it really just takes practice.... I found that once I could ride about
as far as you, I still couldn't stay on forever because my legs got
tired. This went away very quickly though. Put more weight on the seat,
that might help....

--
James_Potter - betcha can't stick it!
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First, congratulations on riding 232'...that's a true milestone - your
really on your way already.

Balance comes with practice, eventually it will be instinctual.

This may sound like silly advice, but don't think about it...just relax
and pedal smoothly. Look at a distant point and let your body get used
to balance correcting. Oh, and don't pick-up hitchhikers.😄 - sorry
couldn't resist.

--
roadkill - Crash Test Dummy

"Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new." -
Albert Einstein
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I agree with roadkill--Congratulations on the 232 feet!
I remember my first unassisted 50 feet--it was less than a year ago, and
it was the greatest feeling.
Unicycling is an endless series of accomplishments, one after the next.
Take them one at a time. Before you know it, those 232 feet are going to
feel like nothing, and you'll be working on a new goal.
Keet it up, and keep your back straight, and whatever you do, don't
think "too much" about the particulars, just enjoy every inch of
progress. It will come before you know it...

--
dogbowl - rides a 26", but dreams of a coker!

All I want out of life is to be able to ride the unicycle while smoking
a cigar at the same time. Is that too much to ask for?
www.dogbowl.com / www.eyeballplanet.com
I USE LINUX--I LIKE LINUX!!!!!!!!

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roadkill said:

*...just relax and pedal smoothly. Look at a distant point and let
your body get used to balance correcting. *

This was going to be my suggestion too. Don't look down right in front
of you. Hold your head up and focus at some distant destination. Look
forward about 20 or 30 feet, not 5 feet. This will help with the
balancing.

--
mucRider - From the Over 50 Group

Life is like a garbage can .... you get out of it what you put into it.
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mucRider said:

This was going to be my suggestion too. Don't look down right in front
of you. Hold your head up and focus at some distant destination. Look
forward about 20 or 30 feet, not 5 feet. This will help with the
balancing.

Agreed.

It's a built-in thing in your body that you wind up being where you are
looking. So if you're looking at a distant target, you're likely to get
there. If you're looking at the ground in front of you, you're likely to
wind up there instead.

Cheers,

Stu

Stu wrote:-"...if you're looking at a distant target, you're likely to
get there. If you're looking at the ground in front of you, you're
likely to wind up there instead."-

Well said Stu...we get what we focus on.

--
roadkill - Crash Test Dummy

"Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new." -
Albert Einstein
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How do you focus on the horizon when you have to negotiate the lumps &
bumps beneath you?
Cathy

--
cathwood - lunicyclist

A thought is just a thought.

http://www.chuckingandtwirling.co.uk
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Focusing on the horizon helps divert the thinking while learning...it
sets-up a goal. After some hours on uni, the body "learns" the balance
points and we relax more - less tense throughout our muscles. Then we
can look at obstacles in the path and maneuver instinctually, without
fighting ourselves, because balance has become second nature.

--
roadkill - Crash Test Dummy

"Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new." -
Albert Einstein
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roadkill said:

*Stu wrote: "...if you're looking at a distant target, you're likely
to get there." *

I've been looking at the moon while I ride. If I ever have a lunar
landing, I will write a Mikefule-style ride report. 🙂

Hey, e39m5, congratulations on your very fast most excellent progress.
See you at the unicycle club meeting?

--
uni57 - David C. Lowell

dave lowell (uni57)
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uni57 wrote:
-"I've been looking at the moon while I ride. If I ever have a lunar
landing, I will write a Mikefule-style ride report. "-

Good response ! 😄

And, I'll join you - I was looking up at the stars, the other night,
while riding.

--
roadkill - Crash Test Dummy

"Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new." -
Albert Einstein
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Lol I used to count pedal revalutions when I was learnin. I used to play
against my bro to see who could get the most padals, -I always won-

--
caw89 - Cody

'Cody's Gallery' (http://gallery.unicyclist.com/Codys-Gallery)

'sixsixone' (http://sixsixone.com/)

AIM: unicaw89
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cathwood said:

How do you focus on the horizon when you have to negotiate the lumps &
bumps beneath you?

Good question. You look mostly at a distance and you can spot most
trail features at 20 or 30 feet away. Then when they need closer
inspection when you're approaching them, glance at them again briefly
when you're almost there. That way, you 'read' the trail and build a
mental image of it while you go so. Obstacles are often best dealt
with in combination so that by processing your mental image you can
choose the best line to ride. Obviously, to accomplish that you need
to read the trail ahead. Finally, when you're past an obstace it is
ready to drop out of the short-term memory space reserved for the
trail image.

Klaas Bil - Newsgroup Addict
--
wouldnt you be grumpy if somone just said you had PMS? - jagur

232 feet and you still have problems!?!?
I've only got two feet, and I've just gotten to the point where I only
need one to ride! (Still need both to mount, though.)

Serious:
Practice.
I'm about the same as you with going backwards. I can regularly make it
50 feet pretty easily, but rarely more than about 200. Some of that's
because I can't see bumps, but usually it's just because my balance
fails. But, I used to be able to say the same thing about going 10 feet
consistantly and 50 feet rarely backwards...keep practing, and you'll be
doing 250 ft regularly and 1,000 occasionally.

And, I personally would put the distance a lot higher than 50 feet for
how far you need to be able to go before you can do it
forever...probably closer to 1/4 mile or so.

It just takes practice.

--
Skippii - Kingpin, One for the Road

One for the Road: Harrisonburg's Unicycle gang.
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Well, thanks for the comments. Im going to really try focusing on a
certain spot now, and keeping more weight on the seat. My legs do get
tired. I also pulled off my first free mount yesterday. The one where
it rolls underneath you, I cant do a static mount for some reason. I
really want to get to the NYUC meeting today, it actually just started.
My mom doesn't seem to want to drive me because of the Henry Hudson
collapse.

e39m5

--
e39m5
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e39m5,

It was nice meeting you today. I'm glad you could make it to the
meeting and meet some of the members. Come back soon! And keep
practicing... you are doing great!

(Also, when we were talking about impossible wheel riding, I mentioned
John Foss's amazing riding. But I didn't mean that he was at the
meeting today before you got there. He actually visited us last year.)

--
Dave Lowell - _
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e39m5 said:

*Im noticing that my feet slide off the pedals quite a bit, I dont
want spikes on the pedals because ive gotten nailed in the calf quite
a bit. Any ideas for that? *

Get some good shinguards, most of those just wrap around your entire
lowerleg, and so protect almost everything. Mine even have ankleguards
(Thank the lord)

--
Erant

Live free, prosper, and under my rule.
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