Drops onto Inclines

Hi All,

How do cope with landing a drop onto an inclined surface that is followed by
lots of rocks? (Like Mr. Toad's trail) The old "land entirely on your rear foot"
technique is painful and pretty hard on equipment.

Do you...

Grab the brake in midair? Drop sideways off the ledge? Drop seat out in front
off the ledge? Lean forward and accept the fact that after impact you'll be
speeding down the mountain? Ride full speed ahead and plan on using your body
armor? Get off and walk? Do something totally different?

Chris Reeder

Hi,

Dropping onto inclines is a tough skill, in my opinion.

With a good brake design, it seems to work well if you punch the brake a
split-second AFTER you impact, and roll through with some braking assistance,
gradually reducing braking pressure (or keeping pressure if you're landing on a
long hill). It is important to NOT securely jam the brake while in the air or
you'll likely be on your face. With practice this technique results in fairly
smooth roll-outs.

Hope this helps,

Kris.

--- Chris Reeder <reed8990@uidaho.edu> wrote:
[color=blue]> Hi All,[/color]
[color=blue]>[/color]
[color=blue]> How do cope with landing a drop onto an inclined surface that is followed by[/color]
[color=blue]> lots of rocks? (Like Mr. Toad's trail) The old "land entirely on your rear[/color]
[color=blue]> foot" technique is painful and pretty hard on equipment.[/color]
[color=blue]>[/color]
[color=blue]>[/color]
[color=blue]> Do you...[/color]
[color=blue]>[/color]
[color=blue]> Grab the brake in midair? Drop sideways off the ledge? Drop seat out in front[/color]
[color=blue]> off the ledge? Lean forward and accept the fact that after impact you'll be[/color]
[color=blue]> speeding down the mountain? Ride full speed ahead and plan on using your body[/color]
[color=blue]> armor? Get off and walk? Do something totally different?[/color]
[color=blue]>[/color]
[color=blue]>[/color]
[color=blue]> Chris Reeder[/color]

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[color=blue]> How do cope with landing a drop onto an inclined surface that is followed by[/color]
[color=blue]> lots of rocks? (Like Mr. Toad's trail)[/color]

Kris Holm gave a great answer, covering the cutting-edge rider (like you,
Chris). Having just written a big post on falling, I'll add a bit:

For myself, using 150mm cranks on my 26" wheel and no brake, I have to feel I
can land under control if the terrain after the drop is still nasty. If I
can't control the landing, it would be very risky to proceed from there *not*
in control.

I was amazed at the amount of Mr. Toad's I rode this second time, compared to
our first visit in June (where I was on the same unicycle). I rode so much
better at MUni Weekend, I dropped right through some of the technical areas we'd
stopped at last time to take pictures. I thought there was still more ahead when
we'd already passed it all!

Two reasons for this:
1. The June ride was 1 week before my wedding. I was under strict orders not
to get hurt!
2. At MUni Weekend there were so many excellent riders (like Chris, Bruce, even
Casey Drummond) I think I was inspired to stretch my confidence and
abilities.

Stay on top, John Foss, the Uni-Cyclone http://www.unicycling.com

"In the walk of life sometimes you are a dog, and sometimes you are a hydrant."
- Anonymous