Unicycle lessons, how to stop on a unicycle
Congratulations, you have learned to drive your unicycle forward with confidence. As a natural order of progression, a large number of beginning unicyclists choose unicycle idling as their next goal. The ability to idle a unicycle allows the rider to avoid dismounting while remaining relatively still. It’s a great skill to have when your hands are full or while you’re waiting for a light to come on. Idling is also critical to learning many tricks. If juggling while riding a unicycle is your future, well-developed idling ability is essential.
Idling will take patience. It can take some time to learn, and at first it may seem like a daunting task. Idling calmly takes a lot of practice.
When learning to idle, the laws of physics are very much against the unicyclist. The new cyclist, just like the new cyclist (or Lance Armstrong for that matter) relies heavily on the benefits of forward momentum to stay upright. However, unlike the bicycle, the unicycle at idle allows the rider to let go of forward momentum as a requirement to remain mounted.
Idling requires the rider to have great coordination. The unicyclist must make small but constant side-to-side, and fore-and-aft adjustments in stance while making quick but precise pedal movements to compensate for the lack of constant forward momentum.
HOW TO IDLE A UNICYCLE…
– The first step is to always wear full protective gear, especially when learning new skills. More gear is better, but at a minimum, wear a helmet with good protection for the back of your head and wrist straps.
– Find a sturdy wall, a post or, if you’re not too tall, a door frame will do.
– Assemble the unicycle, and align the pedals at 6 and 12 o’clock.
– While holding the kickstand with at least one hand, push the top pedal forward to 2 o’clock (or about 45 degrees).
– Now push down with your bottom foot to bring the top pedal back to 12 o’clock.
– Spend some time repeating this movement. After a while you will notice that you have a better idea of the center of gravity.
– Just like when you initially learned to ride forward, gradually let go of your supports.
– Once you are idling more smoothly, you may want to idle without waving your arms.
Unicycling provides a fantastic cardio and core workout, and is an activity that takes an almost infinite number of skills to master. Idling is key to many aspects of unicycling. Once you’ve learned to idle, you can be proud of having the foundation that will allow you to progress in other areas of the sport of unicycling.