Horizontal mount

[James Hoskins]

Hello again everyone...

I am now progressing quite well, but I have a small query about mounting.

I hardly took any time at all to learn freemounting, surprising myself.
However, I am not sure that I am doing it quite as it should be done....
when I mount the lower pedal (right pedal - haven't put the practise in for
amidextrousness (!) yet !). Anyway the lower pedal goes past the bottom and
I deliberately force a half rotation backwards to get the pedals horizontal
with right foot forwards, then start cycling from there.

I suspect that there is no need to perform this rotation past the bottom,
and start pedalling from the mount with the left foot forward. However I
can't seem to get the hang of this. Is there any tip out there that will
help me to achieve this? I've looked through the mounting help sections and
can't see of anything that addresses this particular problem - if indeed it
is a problem.

Cheers, and thanks in anticipation...

James.

[Tim Sheppard]

> I hardly took any time at all to learn freemounting, surprising myself.
> However, I am not sure that I am doing it quite as it should be done....
> when I mount the lower pedal (right pedal - haven't put the practise in
> for amidextrousness (!) yet !). Anyway the lower pedal goes past the
> bottom and I deliberately force a half rotation backwards to get the
> pedals horizontal with right foot forwards, then start cycling from there.

> James.

Hi James,

This certainly isn't a problem. You're doing it all correctly, since if you left
yourself mounted with the pedals vertical, you wouldn't be able to move.

What you will find, is that you needn't force that rotation as far as getting
the pedals horizontal - you can still get enough momentum to start riding from
quite a small offset, say 45 degrees? But this is a skill that will develop over
time as your control gets refined.

I tend to freemount with very little backward roll, but when my second foot goes
to meet the top pedal, it kicks the pedal backwards a little (a natural move
anyway), to increase that back roll. If I coordinate my other foot to allow this
roll and immediately compensate afterwards by pumping downwards on its pedal,
that is enough to generate forward riding. Of course your body needs to be
off-balance forwards slightly too at this moment, to stay on top.

A couple of years ago I did post a very detailed description of freemounting,
which someone was going to put in the FAQ. I didn't check to see if it went in,
and forgot about it - shall I repost it for FAQ inclusion now folks?

Tim IUF Director

=========================================================
Tim Sheppard tim@lilliput-p.win-uk.net Lilliput Press - Publisher of fine
books in miniature England http://www.lilliput.co.uk (http://www.lilliput.co.uk/) The Storytelling FAQ is
hosted here
=========================================================

[beirne@ald.net]

> A couple of years ago I did post a very detailed description of freemounting,
> which someone was going to put in the FAQ. I didn't check to see if it went
> in, and forgot about it - shall I repost it for FAQ inclusion now folks?
>
> Tim IUF Director

Tim,

Somewhere in time I apparently missed it or lost it, because the page I have
(http://unicycling.org/unicycling/freemount.html) is written by someone else. I
have a few postings with suggestions that I've been meaning to go through, so
its a good time for more advice and information on the topic.

Thanks, Beirne

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Beirne "Bern" Konarski | Unicycling Home Page: beirne@ald.net |
http://www.unicycling.org (http://www.unicycling.org/) "Untouched by Scandal" | Unicycling Society of
America:
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