terrybigwheel said:Why can't you just transition to gliding from one-foot pedalling? One
foot is already in position (on the crown) so wouldn't it be a natural
progression to raise the other foot off the remaining pedal, to the top
of the tire, once you're moving smoothly? (And slightly DH would
probably help too.)
The problem with this is that for a brief moment while your foot is
moving from the pedal to the tire, you have no contact with the wheel.
You would have to execute a half-second or quarter-second coast before
you can start the glide. It's amazing how fast the wheel can shoot out
from under you. While this isn't impossible to learn, it just adds more
difficulty to an already difficult skill. My preferred method for
entering a glide starts from riding normally. On foot A's downstroke I
move foot B to the tire and as soon as contact is made, I lift foot A
to the frame. This way one of my feet is always in contact with the
wheel and I can exert some kind of control.
It shouldn't be surprising that this is exactly the same procedure I
use to enter a one-foot wheel walk. I suppose one could learn gliding
without learning wheel-walking first, but the two skills share the same
posture and foot positions. Since your legs are higher and more forward
than during normal riding, your position of balance is different from
normal riding. Learning wheel walking allows you to become comfortable
with this new position. Then learning to glide is simpler because
you're already halfway there so you can focus only on the aspects that
differ.
I learned to glide by finding the steepest hill I could. Then I fell
down a lot. I don't know if that was the best way, but even now I find
that smaller incline and lower speed makes gliding harder. If you know
how to one-foot wheel walk, then your instinct will tell you to lift
your foot from the wheel occasionally to make corrections. Resist this
temptation! It is very important for your stability that your foot does
not leave the tire. Instead, learn to make corrections by shifting your
weight forward or backwards. I never had much problem with side-to-side
balance, only forward-backward. There are two tools you have to control
your balance in this dimension. The first is how hard you press on the
wheel. The harder you press, the more friction there is, the slower the
wheel will go. The second method of control should be movement of the
middle of your body, your hips. If you feel you are falling forwards
(you are moving faster than the wheel), thrust your hips back while
keeping your upper body over the wheel. This lets you get behind the
wheel and push it fowards to keep up with you. If you feel you are
falling backwards (the wheel is moving faster than you are), you have a
choice. You can push on the wheel hard with your foot to slow it down
or you can thrust your hips forward and arch your back. This lets you
get in front of the wheel to slow it down. You will fall a lot, but
eventually you will learn how to use these movements to keep yourself
within the small envelope of balance.
--
Nioate
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