Long distance Advice

Hold your back right.😉

M@B

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Marijn@Belgium

*O-(*🙂 I am UNIque , just like my unicycle !🙂 *)-O*
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as long as you are a fully confident rider it shouldn't be too hard.
last weekend I rode 12 km on my 20" and felt fine at the end (took me 1
hour 15 though 😄 ). with a 24 it should be no trouble. just don't wear
heavy clothes.

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ridingwithscissors

*o* unicycle for earth *o*

habbywall said:

ridingwithscissors is officially dumb.

vanpaun said:

evil spelling nazi

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Take walking breaks every once in a while if you ever start ot feel numb
"down under"

--
saskatchewanian

phlegm said:

The best way to overcome a mental block is to do a mental rolling hop
over it. :p

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I second the hold-your-back thing. It shouldn't take you much longer
than an hour 45 or 2 hours or so, if you're on a 24 with long cranks.
Shorter cranks will obviously be faster. But if you remember nothing
else, remember to keep good posture! 🙂

My first hard, fast Coker ride was a one-hour circuit ride for a
unicyclathon, and I averaged pretty well, but by the end I could hardly
stand up and it was very painful to walk and even to sit down, because
my back was so flubbed up from leaning forward at my hips slightly the
entire hour.

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chuckaeronut

Cycling: It doesn't get easier; you just get faster.
Unicycling: It doesn't get easier; you just do tougher stuff.
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be ready to take some time. Seven to ten miles training rides would do
fine. It is really a matter of TIS (time in seat). you can do it!

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rem48
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chuckaeronut said:

I second the hold-your-back thing. It shouldn't take you much longer
than an hour 45 or 2 hours or so, if you're on a 24 with long cranks.
Shorter cranks will obviously be faster. But if you remember nothing
else, remember to keep good posture! 🙂

I'd say keep whatever posture is comfortable. I always ride with my
back very low down. It lowers your centre of gravity and keeps you
steadier. I probably have the same position on my unicycle as on my
roadbike when I'm going fast.

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GizmoDuck

The Uninam Tour 2008.....Hanoi to Saigon!!! www.uninam.net

The Monguni 2009....Unicycle Tour of Mongolia

Email me for details.
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Really, that's cool. Whenever I try to go really fast, I always crouch
over like you say, Ken, but when I did that for a whole hour, my back
just about gave out. I think it was because I was using the muscles in
my lower back to literally hold up my upper body weight, because I was
leaning over and not resting on anything, unlike on my bike, where my
weight is evenly distributed between the bars and seat.

I wish I knew how to ride crouched and get out of the wind without
killing myself! (Do you have any tips?)

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chuckaeronut

Cycling: It doesn't get easier; you just get faster.
Unicycling: It doesn't get easier; you just do tougher stuff.
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chuckaeronut said:

Really, that's cool. Whenever I try to go really fast, I always crouch
over like you say, Ken, but when I did that for a whole hour, my back
just about gave out. I think it was because I was using the muscles in
my lower back to literally hold up my upper body weight, because I was
leaning over and not resting on anything, unlike on my bike, where my
weight is evenly distributed between the bars and seat.

I wish I knew how to ride crouched and get out of the wind without
killing myself! (Do you have any tips?)

A good set of handles helps me immensely. Mine are a few inches
farther in front than the seat handle, but somewhat shorter than the
T7.

+-------------------------------------------------------------------+
|Filename: Handle2_2.jpg |
|Download: http://www.unicyclist.com/attachment/25315 |
+-------------------------------------------------------------------+

--
steveyo

steveyo
...like having your own personal rollercoaster...

- a few 'uni race write-ups'
(http://home.nycap.rr.com/rduhan/uni_race_writeups/)
- muni and kokopelli uni 't-shirts, mugs and stickers'
(http://www.cafepress.com/steveyo)
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That handle looks really good steveyo 🙂 Did you have to do any special
fabrication to make it or is it made of existing, standard parts?

--
minkuni
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Get a rhythm going, pace yourself, rest every so often, but not too
often. Set yourself goals: number of laps, or landmarks, or times,
before you stop. Never stop for more than a couple of minutes. Keep
hydrated. Eat bananas.

And practise. I did 24 miles on a 24 once. It was tiring. 15 miles
should take you something either side of 2 hours depending on ability
and experience. It is possible to do that length of time "in one", but
it hurts.

Good luck.🙂

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Mikefule

I've not lost the other wheel. I invested my tricycle in Northern Rock
shares.
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Crizzzz said:

Just so you know i am doing it on a 24" as its the biggest i own..

Do you know anyone with a bigger wheel that you can borrow? 15 miles
is certainly doable on a 24", but on a 26" or 29" it'll be that much
easier (and isn't going to need retraining to ride - but a 36" will).

When is it that you are planning on doing this? If it's quite soon,
then you should really have some 5 mile or so rides under your belt by
now. Otherwise, the best advice is to just ride more often and
further. Go out for some 5 mile rides, and then start on some longer
(7 - 10 miles) and it'll give you an idea of your readiness and how the
unicycle feels after an hour in the saddle.

Make sure you take lots of liquid with you. A camelbak backpack is
nice, but if you don't have one, then just get some bottles of energy
drinks in a normal backpack. Mars bars and Soreen malt loaf will help
you get through it too 🙂

STM

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semach.the.monkey
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The most important advice above was a single word, which I'll repeat in
all caps to make sure you notice:

PRACTICE

Do some long rides so your body will be used to the idea. Also, wear
some good bike shorts (ones you already know work for you). Don't try
anything new on the day of the ride, including shoes. Stick with what
works.

If you want to mess with hardware you can try some shorter cranks. 89mm
is not too short for a 24", though they're not good for much besides
cruising (they're good for Freestyle on a 20"😉. You can also borrow a
bigger unicycle, but again only if you'll have a chance to do some
practice and get comfortable on it.

This is not to say you can't just hop on and ride 15 miles, on a
borrowed uni or your own. All of the above will just make it more
pleasant!

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johnfoss

John Foss
Email: "jfoss" at "unicycling.com" -- www.unicycling.com
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Man with broken collar bone say: "Have you checked your shoelaces
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Thanks for the advice guys, I'm managing about 3-4 miles of unicycling
at the moment usually only stopping because of the pain between my
legs...rarely do i run out of energy when i'm cycling long-ish
distances

The main problem is reducing the friction and making the ride a bit
more comfortable really..is there anything else i can do other than
wearing cycling shorts to make the ride a bit gentler on my crotch?

Cheers, Chris

--
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What kind of saddle do you have on your uni? I recently switched to a KH
Freeride Fusion and I'm starting to really like it, just had to get
used to it. While the stock Nimbus (KH Fusion clone) saddle was cushier
for rough terrain the Freeride doesn´t make my crotch as sore after a
long ride. You could also look into making an air saddle.

That said padded bicycle shorts are really something you should try.
And before you ask, no - you cannot catch "teh gey" from wearing proper
sportswear 😄

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minkuni
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Crizzzz said:

is there anything else i can do other than wearing cycling shorts to
make the ride a bit gentler on my crotch?

Cheers, Chris

Let's rephrase the question to see if it suggests the answer:

Is there anything more appropriate to wear than the item of clothing
that is specifically designed for the job?

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Mikefule

I've not lost the other wheel. I invested my tricycle in Northern Rock
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Mikefule said:

Let's rephrase the question to see if it suggests the answer:

Is there anything more appropriate to wear than the item of clothing
that is specifically designed for the job?

What i mean is, is there anything as well as cycling shorts that i can
do/wear to help even more..i don't mean instead of..

Sorry for the confusion

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Crizzzz
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The Freeride saddle is the single best thing I've done for comfort.

I always ride w/ two pairs of cycling shorts (one for padding and
friction and the other to help keep everything in, out of the way), and
Chamoix ButtR.

If you don't want to stop, slow down your cadence and pedal standing up
for about ten or twenty seconds every two or three minutes. Watches
that have countdown timers usually beep for 10-20 sec.

I usually Muni on what is for me, very challenging terrain. I set my
timer to go off every 20 minutes, the next time I UPD I either drink a
couple of mouthfulls from my water bottle or eat something.

--
skilewis74

Ride everywhere and never just ride anywhere. If you can ride where you
are going within a hour, do it, and if you can do a trick 50-75% of the
time do it along the way.
Bob Burnquist on how to improve significantly.
'Trials Building'
(http://www.unicyclist.com/forums/showthread.php?t=64235)
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Crizzzz said:

What i mean is, is there anything as well as cycling shorts that i can
do/wear to help even more..i don't mean instead of..

Sorry for the confusion

I was teasing.🙂

Talcum powder in the shorts will reduce friction and "sticking".
Often, the problem isn't -rubbing-, it is -sticking-. A piece of skin
gets trapped in such a way that your weight tries to stretch or smear
it. Talcum powder or other lubricant stops this.

If the problem is simply weight on your "sit bones" then you need to
adjust your seat and get more practice in.

Strangely, I find that shorter cranks and a slightly faster cadence
make for a more comfortable backside. I don't know why.

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Mikefule

I've not lost the other wheel. I invested my tricycle in Northern Rock
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Mikefule said:

Strangely, I find that shorter cranks and a slightly faster cadence make
for a more comfortable backside. I don't know why.

I find that shorter cranks allow a smoother pedalling circle, which
means less jouncing up and down in the saddle on each pedal stroke.
For me this equates to a more comfortable scrotum, rather than a more
comfortable backside. I've never had a problem with backside comfort
on a unicycle.

I don't find that a higher cadence necessarily makes for more
comfortable nether-regions, but shorter cranks /do/ lend themselves to
a higher cadence. Also, a smooth pedalling circle (which means less
jouncing around) is a prerequisite of maintaining high cadences.

--
Danny Colyer

'http://www.redpedals.co.uk' (http://www.colyer.plus.com/danny/)
"He who dares not offend cannot be honest." - Thomas Paine
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