I have read the FAQ, and the various conflicting views about learning
in the archives, but I still have a few queries. Perhaps, if the
answers are interesting, they could be added to the FAQ.
1) Which part of the foot should be on the pedal?
I assume it is the balls of your feet. Is this correct?
2) Is zig-zagging bad?
At one stage I found I was continually accelerating until I fell
off. I attempted to straighten up to slow down without luck. Soon I
started to zig-zag fairly violently (around about 30 degrees from the
direction I was heading); I find this checks my speed.
Another learner here tends to keep the wheel fairly straight. Another
is somewhere in between.
Does anyone have any comments about the zig-zagging? Is it a bad thing
that I should actively try to overcome? Is it something which will
naturally wear off? Perhaps it is a positive thing, as I imagine
someone zig-zagging would find it far easier to turn around? Do
experienced unicyclists zig-zag?
3) How long is it all going to take?
I think I have had an advantage over most learners; having read much
of the archives, I have had a fair idea that unicycling was not going
to be an easy task. Unlike juggling, which is often a lot easier than
it looks (few people believe they themselves could be juggling 3 balls
in well under an hour,) unicycling is much harder than it looks -
several comments from first-timers have convinced me of that.
Nevertheless, there were some disappointing periods where I (and
others) seemed to make little progress. I think the FAQ should do its
best to warn people "Unicycling is tricky. Learning to unicycle takes
roughly <x> hours to learn to do the basic manouevres. Don't give up!"
4) How inflated should the tires be?
I have over-inflated my tires (from memory, they should be 32psi, and
I have them around 45 psi) until they seem to adequate support my
weight without virtually twisting off the rim when the unicycle is
turned on the spot. Is this wrong?
Thanks for any help you can provide.
Regards,
Julian
-- Julian Orbach (julian@cs.uq.oz.au)
-- University of Queensland
-- Brisbane, Australia