Wheel Walking: Falling on my back a lot



P

podzol

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Hi Folks,
I am learning how to wheel walk. I can regularly go between 6 and 10
feet.

Now that I am actually able to do it for a short distance, the
character of my UPDs has changed, I am landing flat on my back, or
elbows and wrists. I am wearing helmet, wrist and elbow protection. But
it remains a jarring experience.

I believe the problem lies in how far I am leaning back. Probably too
far.

Any thouhts on some drills I can do to fine tune my leaning without
the risk of falling like that, or what I might be doing wrong?

Thanks!


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Hi Blake,

Hey, didn't you say a few days ago that you were having a bout of
something that was affecting your balance? I think that's the only
reason that you're falling at all these days!:) But really,
everything that I've read has pointed to falling off the back as a good
thing in the learning stages of wheel-walking. I'm trying to learn
that, too. I've just gotten a new freestyle unicycle and it's totally
different than my attempts on my KH freeride. I've come off the back a
couple times too.....I just wish that they made effective and stylish
butt pads.

I have noticed that along with that very upright-feeling balance comes
the feeling that the wheel seems to want to roll forward all on its
own, which means if I don't have my foot securely on
it....squirt....out it goes like a watermelon seed. For me the
difficult thing seems to be getting any side-to-side correction going
at such a slow speed. Any tips?


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I am just learning to WW at the moment, and have just about got it past
the 6m 'barrier' mentioned in the unicyclopedia. I find at low speed
that a lot of arm flailing and body twisting to change direction is the
best solution. Its not elegant at all but it seems to work for me.

You can't lean forward at all when learning to WW, you actually have to
lean slightly further back than feels comfortable in order to get a
steady foot motion going, otherwise the wheel accelerates out and you
get unbalanced.

My main problem with WW at the moment is transferring into it, or
freemounting into it, so I need a wall. Until yesterday that is, when
Roger taught me 'this' (http://tinyurl.com/adzqg) mount, so now I can
freemount into my crappy WW.

Now I need to learn how to transfer out of it into normal riding, and
work on going for more than 10m or so.

Loose.


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Loosemoose

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To me WW is one of the most boring skills to practice. I keep doing it
because it'll eventually lead to gliding, but I haven't yet found the
motivation put in the kind of time it takes to really master the
skill.

I have a few tips which I hope will help me relearn 1ft ww soon.

Walk slowly, go for time rather than distance.
Take long steps.
Practice "half step back": Stop the uni in mid step, roll the wheel
backwards a little, and continue forward.
Be quick to get the free foot back and ready to take another step, or
to step off the uni if the walking foot slips.
Think about how things go wrong and how to bail out. Then practice
falling off in a controlled way, without getting hurt.


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Borges
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The good news is that after you learn to wheel walk you'll be able to
land on your feet when you fall off the back rather than landing on
your back and elbows. Unfortunately that's not going to help you while
you're learning.

In my way of thinking, wheel walking is more about learning foot
control than worrying about upper body balance. If the unicycle is
shooting out it is because of poor foot control and not because of poor
balance. Concentrate on learning the foot control.

I was a very slow learner for wheel walking. Took me ages to learn the
proper foot control. And then when I learned one foot wheel walking it
also took me ages to learn the foot control. But once you learn the
foot control then wheel walking becomes easier and safer.

Foot control is learning the proper pressure to put on the tire,
getting the feet placed properly on the tire, not letting one foot get
in the way of the other, being consistent with each kick and each foot,
learning to take long strokes, getting the full toe to heel motion,
etc. There is a lot for your feet to do and it takes time for the
motor skills to kick in and learn to do it all on their own.


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Borges wrote:
> To me WW is one of the most boring skills to practice. I keep doing it
> because it'll eventually lead to gliding, but I haven't yet found the
> motivation put in the kind of time it takes to really master the
> skill.



Yeah, really. I don't exactly care too much about being able to wheel
walk, I just want to be able to glide. Unfortunately it seems like
it'll take a decent amount of time to get to the point of confidently
gliding, with lots of wheel walking practice in the middle.


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LikeableRodent
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LikeableRodent wrote:
> Yeah, really. I don't exactly care too much about being able to wheel
> walk, I just want to be able to glide. Unfortunately it seems like
> it'll take a decent amount of time to get to the point of confidently
> gliding, with lots of wheel walking practice in the middle.

I was exactly the same, I started to learn to WW because I wanted to end
up being able to glide, but actually WW is a very challenging and
entertaining skill in its own right. Mounting into it isn't too hard
(the tyre is always there and its always the same, unlike the
pedals/cranks). I'm slowly moving on to 1ft WW, which will end up in a
glide eventually, but for now I'm content on working on my WW until its
nice & solid.

Loose.


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I also decided to learn WW about a week ago i think my progress is a
little slow can only do 2 or 3 steps on the wheel, and keel over its so
frustrating :mad: . i switch between keeping my right foot on the pedal
and using my left to walk the wheel and the standard way of doing it.
Anyone think this will help any ?????????


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polyphonic Hippie
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hey blake, something i can tell you that realy really helped me out was
this. when doing your kicks make them short and quick and dont let your
foot go too far down the wheel at all. just do short and quick little
kicks. some people will bs you and say "lean back"- i speak out against
it saying that its bs and its no cure all at all. anyways best of luck
and update us on your progression:)


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Jonny_Peacock

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Jonny_Peacock wrote:
> when doing your kicks make them short and quick and dont let your foot
> go too far down the wheel at all.


Got to disagree with both halves of that.

Short little "kicks" can easily lead to the wheel shooting forward, and
you on your back. That style of motion should come later, as it works
great for going fast. But when learning, you need control. DO take long
steps, and as long as you're not going fast, DO let your foot go as far
down the front of the wheel as is comfortable. When learning, remember
the idea is wheel "walking." Once you figure it out, then you can run.

I do agree with Peacock on the leaning back thing. Don't lean back.
Don't lean forward. If you're being methodical in your approach and
holding onto a wall, fence or spotter, you'll figure out your balance
point. You can balance in any bodily position, but for most forms of
riding, including wheel walking, the best position is to *sit up
straight.* What feels different is that your pelvic area is at a
different angle when you wheel walk, because your legs are out in front
of you. You're sitting further back on your butt, and it will feel
strange if you're not used to it. But when in doubt, always sit up
straight. Your spine should be more or less parallel to the frame.

Falling on your back:
First thing to do there is learn how to catch yourself before you
experience the dreaded tailbone landing. I did this on my (cement)
garage floor a few times when learning some wheel walking skills, and
it's one of the worst feelings. Practice falling off the rear and
landing on your feet. To do this you need two things:
1. Your feet need to be able to whip out to the sides and down behind
you. Keep 'em wide, or else they may catch on the pedals.
2. You need to know when to do it, before your balance is too far gone.
Comes with practice. I prefer a slow and safe approach, while others
are willing to push their limits a little harder to learn faster, maybe
falling more.

Then go back to improving your distance (or time). If the wheel is
shooting ahead of you, you might just be accelerating out of control.
Try to keep a steady speed. This will be quite a bit slower than
regular riding, so get used to it. You have to concentrate on balancing
more. Most people tend to go off the front, because they keep leaning
into it expecting to go faster. But wheel walking isn't fast at all,
until you're very solid at doing it.


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I've been able to WW for a few weeks now. It's still not pretty, but
I've learned to not fall on my back. The key for me was not letting a
pedal hook one of my feet. I know it's a terrible feeling. For a
moment after coming off the back you think you're fine, and then a
pedal whacks your foot out from under you.

One thing you might try is wheel walking up a slight slope. That way
you can lean a bit into it, hopefully reducing the falling backwards,
and still get the practice maneuvering your feet on the wheel.


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phlegm
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phlegm wrote:
> Look down. When you see a pedal, put your foot on it, and put the other
> foot on the pedal in the back at the same time. Then ride away!


Thanks. That was exactly the advice I needed.


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koebwil

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phlegm wrote:
> Look down. When you see a pedal, put your foot on it, and put the other
> foot on the pedal in the back at the *same time*. Then ride away!


yea.....no. when returning make sure to keep one foot on the wheel so
its stable, then return that foot *after* the other goes into place.


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koebwil wrote:
> I need advice on getting back to my pedals from a WW. Please help me.


There are a couple of ways to do the looking down bit.

One way is to take a couple steps with your knees held close together,
and a glance out of the corner of your eye on the outside of your leg.
You should be able to get a look at the outside edge of your pedal.
That's enough to be able to see where it's at. Continue wheel walking
till it's in the right position and then put your foot on the pedal.

The other way is to take a couple of steps with your knees held out
bowlegged style (cowboy style), and take a glance between your legs to
see the pedal.

Choose the one that is most comfortable for you. Looking to the
outside of your leg should be more stable, but it depends on how you
ride.

Just be careful not to look down and lean forward at the same time.
That'll lead to you falling off the front or making a desperate
acceleration to stay on.

Expert style is to one foot wheel walk while dangling the other foot
over the pedal. The dangling foot will feel when the pedal comes up
and hits it. Put that foot on the pedal, put the other foot on the
pedal, and bingo. No look back to pedals. I can't do that yet, well
I've done it a few times but just by luck.


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