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Old October 5th 03, 12:58 AM
Carl Barrentine
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Default New Torker: My first attempts trying to ride...

daino149 wrote in message ...
Black (Stealth) Torker all the way! I just rode 40 miles on mine!

Daniel


Daniel et al. -- Thanks to all who responded to my inquiry about
purchasing a used 24-26" unicycle. I bought a 24" Black Torker whilst
I was in Fargo yesterday, and have been beaverin' about the task of
learning to ride the thing. So far I've invested 'bout an hour
attempting to ride with my left hand on the railing of the patio deck
last evening, and spent another hour this morning trying to ride the
inside perimeter of a local tennis court. I get the feeling that I'm
making some progress, though I have to concentrate pretty hard--so
much that I was pretty perspirey after each session--to (1) keep my
back straight and (2) put my weight on the saddle, not on the pedals.
(Thousands of hours bicycling has probably ruined me for unicycling!)

After a couple of hours practicing, I've a comment and then a quick
question about leg extension and placement of the foot on the pedals.
As a cyclist, I 'clip-in' to my heel-less shoes near the 'ball' of the
foot. But fiddlin' with this uni, I feel that I have more control on
the unicycle when I wear a heeled shoe and make contact with the pedal
in the arch portion of my foot.

Here's the question: Is there a preferred or recommended way that I
should place my feet on the pedals to maximize balance, control, and
smooth cadence?

My sense is that riding this contraption is heaps harder than riding
my track bike--my hard-learned cyclin' skills don't seem to transfer
well in the process of learning how to master this unicycle. For
example, after over two hours pedaling, I can sometimes go about 2-3
crank revolutions before I feel the need to prevent a fall. Is this
pretty typical? Candidly, I'm feelin' like a six year old, even
though I'm 51 and have been bicycling since I was six.

Thanks for any hints you'd care to share! --carl (A new uni from
North Dakota)
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