Re: Free mounting (again)



D

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cathwood <[email protected]> wrote:

> Is it 'normal' to take a while to do regular freemounting?

I got my unicycle at the beginning of February and I made my first
successful freemount this last Friday. I ride exclusively in urban
areas, so until then I had mounted by backing the unicycle up to a
curb -- so the wheel can't move backwards -- and hopping on.

--
Dan
 
I've had my unicycle for about three months now. I tried freemounting a
few times and decided it was impossible (all the videos I've seen must
have been faked). Well, I decided to give it another try tonight and
was successful three or four times. I'm so excited! We'll see if I can
do it again tomorrow.


--
scottb
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Not sure how helpful this will be in the long run, but when I learned
the roll back mount, I had the seat lower than I do now, and the foot
that wasn't starting on the pedal was placed in front of the other pedal
(pedal resting up against my calf) with the wheel behind me.

I then stepped -back- onto the higher pedal to push back for the quarter
turn roll back.

Later I found that I needed the seat higher for comfortable riding, and
then I couldn't do that mount anymore! (see what I mean about it not
necessarily being that useful...?) However I did learn my next mount
much more quickly, so perhaps it did help.


--
s7ev0 - ************


We fell out of trees, got cut and broke bones and teeth, and there
were no lawsuits from these accidents. They were accidents. No one was
to blame but us. Remember accidents? ~ GILD
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I find my progress very erratic, and sometimes going backwards!
You can get something consistently one day & the next day it's nearly
impossible. I suggest just give it a break & don't bother if you're
having a bad day with that skill (or riding generally). You'll feel that
you've made zero progress for a while, then suddenly have a huge
improvement, or do several new things all at once. my first
Kidderminster Uni Meet I managed 3 new mounts, and the 2nd time, 2 more
new mounts (and on a Coker too). in-between, progress seemed minimal.

Keep practicing, but if it's not working at that time, try something
different!
see you at BUC - by the end of it you'll be doing kick-up & suicide
mounts!


--
mikepenton - sometimes level
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s7ev0 wrote:
> *I (perversely) started trying to freemount before learning to
> ride...*

I did that too as I figured if I could freemount that when I fell off I
could get back on quicker. At first I was using my right foot but it was
hard then I swapped to my left and nailed it soon after.

Cathy, there will be plenty of people at BUC who'll be happy to help and
you may well be surprised how much you can learn in a weekend.


--
unicus

Every time I try to write my signature the pen slips on the monitor.
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Here's a little ordered checklist that you can use to breakdown the
static mount (which i would argue is the easiest and best mount to first
learn).

Step 1:
- Put the saddle under you (between your legs, against your crotch... it
all sounds perverted, but you know what i mean).
- Have the wheel in front of you.
- Both feet on the ground.
- Cranks at the 3 and 9 position (horizontal), with the back pedal
closest to your strong foot. (If you want, it's also common to have the
closest pedal a little lower than the other, so not quite horizontal.)

If you are comfortable, move onto Step 2.

Step 2:
- Put your strong foot on the pedal that is closest to you (the back
one).
Still comfortable? OK, move onto Step 3.

Step 3:
- Without the wheel moving, slowly put most of your weight onto the
saddle and rotate up onto the unicycle, while stepping onto the other
pedal with your weak foot.
If you can't mount consistently, i bet that this is where your problems
begin. I'd guess that when you went to step onto the weak pedal it
moved up and back. This is because you didn't put enough weight onto
the saddle and left too much on your strong pedal. The trick is that
you need to have just enough pressure on your strong foot so that when
you rotate up onto the unicycle and reach for the weak pedal, that it
doesn't move. Practice this over and over until the weak pedal doesn't
move.
If you can get onto the unicycle, and have both feet on the pedals in
the ~horizontal position, then move on to Step 4.

Step 4:
You are now on the unicycle, but you need to ride away...
- Continue to rotate on the unicycle so that the saddle gets just in
front of the axle (so that you are leaning forward a bit).
- Ride forward so that you don't fall forward.
- Continue riding until someone asks you where your other wheel is.
If you can do this consistently, continue to Step 5.

Step 5:
- Run back to your computer and thank hecklar for teaching you how to
freemount.

Trust me, free mounting is extremely hard to do. It took me a long time
to learn, but now i can do about 6 mounts, and can static mount
perfectly, every time, without thinking. It's not even a "skill"
anymore. But, when i first learned it felt amazing, so i understand
your pain.

Let me know if you need any explanation on my steps, and keep us updated
on your progress.


--
hecklar - Street Rider (Level 4)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
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Here's a little ordered checklist that you can use to breakdown the
static mount (which i would argue is the easiest and best mount to first
learn).

Step 1:
- Put the saddle under you (between your legs, against your crotch... it
all sounds perverted, but you know what i mean).
- Have the wheel in front of you.
- Both feet on the ground.
- Cranks at the 3 and 9 position (horizontal), with the back pedal
closest to your strong foot. (If you want, it's also common to have the
closest pedal a little lower than the other, so not quite horizontal.)

If you are comfortable, move onto Step 2.

Step 2:
- Put your strong foot on the pedal that is closest to you (the back
one).
Still comfortable? OK, move onto Step 3.

Step 3:
- Without the wheel moving, slowly put most of your weight onto the
saddle and rotate up onto the unicycle, while stepping onto the other
pedal with your weak foot.
If you can't mount consistently, i bet that this is where your problems
begin. I'd guess that when you went to step onto the weak pedal it
moved up and back. This is because you didn't put enough weight onto
the saddle and left too much on your strong pedal. The trick is that
you need to have just enough pressure on your strong foot so that when
you rotate up onto the unicycle and reach for the weak pedal, that it
doesn't move. Practice this over and over until the weak pedal doesn't
move.
If you can get onto the unicycle, and have both feet on the pedals in
the ~horizontal position, then move on to Step 4.

Step 4:
You are now on the unicycle, but you need to ride away...
- Continue to rotate on the unicycle so that the saddle gets just in
front of the axle (so that you are leaning forward a bit).
- Ride forward so that you don't fall forward.
- Continue riding until someone asks you where your other wheel is.
If you can do this consistently, continue to Step 5.

Step 5:
- Run back to your computer and thank hecklar for teaching you how to
freemount.

Trust me, free mounting is extremely hard to do. It took me a long time
to learn, but now i can do about 6 mounts, and can static mount
perfectly, every time, without thinking. It's not even a "skill"
anymore. But, when i first learned it felt amazing, so i understand
your pain.

Let me know if you need any explanation on my steps, and keep us updated
on your progress.


--
hecklar - Street Rider (Level 4)
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I've had many problems with freemounting the worst one being that I
sometime forget what I have been able to do for months.

I think most of my problems stem from the fact that I am a very stressed
bear. I freemount easily when slightly tipsy ;)
I do not freemount easily when people stare at me or when I think about
the fact that I suffered a severe injury while freemounting my Coker.

So now I am working on "fun attitude" when freemounting: see the relaxed
clown trying to mount?? and hop it goes!

hope this helps
bear


--
wobbling bear - GranPa goes-a-wobblin'

One Wheel : bear necessity
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