The old guy is learning to idle!

Idling on a bigger wheel is harder but not impossible, you'll get there.
It gets easier as you get better, just keep practicing. Short strokes
will be fine once you get the hang of it.

--
nickjb
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Rock on! You're setting the bar pretty high for us younger dudes...

patmoore said:

I'm guessing that will ease as my technique improves.

As you get better at idling, you'll be able to relax more. As with
riding, try and put more and more weight on the seat and concentrate on
your balance. It actually takes very little muscle to idle. The
"upper" foot is completely unnecessary and once you become comfortable
with idling you can easily pop that foot onto the frame and give that
leg a rest.

--
maestro8

Those are my principles. If you don't like those, I have others. --
Groucho Marx
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Thanks as always for the advice and encouragement!

--
patmoore

MY GALLERY (\"HTTP://TINYURL.COM/MHCHU\"😉
"When you're over the hill, you pick up speed!"

"If you're not living on the edge, you're taking up too much room."
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A good exercise is to practice riding in a very small space, like cement
plot behind your house or on a small driveway. Just idle back and
forth and move around backward and forward a stroke or two at a time.
It's a super work out to stay in the saddle for as long as possible;
eventually you'll learn you have to relax or you'll burn out. In time
you can do this in an eight square foot circle, or even smaller. It's
hard on a Muni with a big mushy tire but the control you gain is
valuable on the trail.

JL

--
vivalargo
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I'm another 'old guy' trying to get idling down. Problem I have is, I
just have too much fun riding around and practicing other stuff like,
riding up and down curbs and hopping so, I just don't practice idling
that much. I recently decided it was time to really start practicing
idling so I'm spending a little dedicated time at it each day. I do
right leg down and I can usually get in half a dozen or so cycles
pretty consistently but I always start getting a little off balance and
it's over. It still makes me sick to watch videos of people who can
idle endlessly. I've also discovered it's much more difficult to do on
my 29er compared to the 24. Feels like so much more inertia to have to
overcome on the bigger wheel. I'm going to spend a lot of time at
idling this winter in my garage when it's cold and snowy outside.
Well, it's my lunch hour so I'm going outside to ride a little.🙂 🙂

BTW, your tip of looking at the horizon while idling seems to help me a
lot too.

--
underdog

'I tell you, we are here on Earth to fart around, and don't let anybody
tell you different' - Kurt Vonnegut
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