How much of being able to ride a unicycle is psychological?

[Young at heart]

I was riding along (I'm a beginner) and was really comfortable, with my arms down at my sides. As soon as I realized what I was doing, I UPD'd. It's all psychological!

[Danitz]

Received my new Nimbus Drac 29” muni. Wow, it’s like riding in a Cadillac compared to the 20”. It’s so smooth and seems easier to balance on. Thanks Josh at Unicycle.com for answering all my questions, and for the advice to go with a 29” incher.

I’ve ridden over 10 miles on XC trails with the new unicycle. My drifting is not as bad. However, I still tend to drop my left shoulder and drift to the left. On one ride, I was able to consciously drop my right shoulder and drift to the right. Trying to drop my right shoulder allowed me to sit with my torso straighter and I rode straighter. My guess is that I just need to focus on keeping my torso straight and I’ll grow out of this phase.

Any advice? As I get better, am I going to stop struggling with this pesky drift? Or, am I developing a really bad technique by constantly tending to drop my left shoulder slightly?

I tried riding with my hands behind my back. Seems like I could master that if I tried hard for a while. Maybe that would get rid of this lean/drift.

Also, it’s interesting to note that on my 20” unicycle (50-mm cranks), I have averaged 5 mph over 20+ miles. On the 29” unicycle (67-mm cranks), I have averaged 5 mph over 10+ miles. I assumed that I would go faster on the 29”. I guess the longer cranks have slowed my cadence. Or, maybe 5 mph is only as fast as I am comfortable going on these trails. Does anyone have any thoughts on this?

Thanks!

[aracer]

Originally Posted by Danitz

However, I still tend to drop my left shoulder and drift to the left. On one ride, I was able to consciously drop my right shoulder and drift to the right. Trying to drop my right shoulder allowed me to sit with my torso straighter and I rode straighter. My guess is that I just need to focus on keeping my torso straight and I’ll grow out of this phase.

I suggest you try consciously dropping the right shoulder and you might just sit straight - if not immediately, you should sit a lot straighter when you stop consciously doing it. It's something you should grow out of to some extent - I have a tendency to ride left shoulder forwards which comes out when I'm struggling with balance (for example with low tyre pressure making messing up the control feedback loop), but when not having such issues I can ride with whatever posture I like.

Also, it’s interesting to note that on my 20” unicycle (50-mm cranks), I have averaged 5 mph over 20+ miles. On the 29” unicycle (67-mm cranks), I have averaged 5 mph over 10+ miles. I assumed that I would go faster on the 29”. I guess the longer cranks have slowed my cadence. Or, maybe 5 mph is only as fast as I am comfortable going on these trails.

I presume that's 50mm shorter cranks compared to the 29 rather than 50mm long cranks on the 20? Crank length will make a bit of difference to cadence, but it is sometimes over-rated IMHO. Certainly I can ride a lot faster on my 26 with 150 cranks than my 20 with 127s, despite the fact that the leverage ratio is quite similar for both. Not a problem for me doing 7-8mph on the 26, so I should think it's more about confidence.

[Danitz]

Thanks Aracer. I appreciate it!!

[AngryGumball]

Honestly, while there's a physical part of it, knowing how to correct your balance and keeping the uni under you, I think a lot of it is psychological. At the point I'm at now, I think it's psychological more than anything else. Why I say this: When starting out in my room, rolling back and forth, I would let go and do a full rotation pedal. Following day when I felt comfortable with that, I took it outside. The wide open space was a game changer for me..much like going from the 3-foot section to the deep end of the pool, without the floaties on.

Once I got comfortable riding in the open space, I attempted changing direction, and riding that way felt awkward as I wasn't used to traveling that way. I got over it quick though.

Many of you probably know (if you follow the progress diary) that I took a spill the other day, landing on the tailbone after a really great ride. I knew that this was going to be a 'mojo-destroying' event for me but I kept thinking positive anyway. When I got back to riding the following day, my confidence was rock bottom again. While I know that now I can ride 150-200 ft comfortably, my mind was not allowing me as I kept thinking of the fall. I lowered the seat down a bit, thinking that this may make me more comfortable as I was learning at that given height rather than using the maxed out position in which I fell on and I think this is helping. Slowly but surely, I'm regaining confidence and am starting to feel more comfortable with the fore/aft movement again and correcting myself if I go too far.

It's kind of amazing how psychological this really is.

[johnfoss]

Originally Posted by Danitz

Also, it’s interesting to note that on my 20” unicycle (50-mm cranks), I have averaged 5 mph over 20+ miles. On the 29” unicycle (67-mm cranks), I have averaged 5 mph over 10+ miles. I assumed that I would go faster on the 29”.

You will. You just got the 29", right? It takes time to get comfortable on new equipment, especially if it's a wheel size you've never used. In a little while you'll wonder why you ever went on long rides with that 20".

Originally Posted by AngryGumball

When I got back to riding the following day, my confidence was rock bottom again.

When in doubt, remember to check with the people around you. Where you're riding; your neighborhood, your town, and ask how many of them can do what you're doing. Oh yeah. You're already way out into the world of the impossible for most of them. This is, of course, psychological as well...

[AngryGumball]

Actually, I had someone earlier who has seen me practice today, and he gave me a thumbs up when I got back on and rode another distance. He told me to keep it up. Now to try riding where I can be seen more via the public...just to see reactions.

In terms of confidence, I was more of referring to the fear of falling over, as opposed to a self esteem thing. I'm sure most of the general public would be amazed if they saw me ride as much as 20 feet. This often happens when I yoyo out in public. I can mess up on a trick and non-yoyoers will still tell me "wow, that was cool, how'd you do that?"

My neighbors, cousin, friends on Facebook, and everyone else I know all tell me "You won't ever catch me on that thing." Actually, after my cousin was filming me and caught my wipeout, she immediately told me "now you know why I won't ever get near that thing!"

I was reading a few pages back about road camber. This is exactly what I am currently working with, and find that if I'm not careful, I tend to drift towards the gutters. The trick for me is to aim myself away from it, and ride down the middle of the road. I can keep a pretty straight line when I ride, more or less...it's developing...the 'physical' aspect of uni-ing.

[Danitz]

Thanks, guys!

[skilewis74]

Yeah, road camber, slanted/ rutted trals can cause drift.

As well as a slightly crooked seat.

To cure my drifting to the left after learning I did LOTS of tightish circles to the right. In the meantime I intentionally made my seat crooked to the left ~ 5 or 10 degrees untill my riding streightened out.

[Nurse Ben]

Any advice? As I get better, am I going to stop struggling with this pesky drift? Or, am I developing a really bad technique by constantly tending to drop my left shoulder slightly?

Do you ride with a hand on the saddle/grab handle?

Try raising or lowering your seat.

Drift is a problem when cruising because your trying to go straight without much pedal pressure; more pedal pressure allows for greater control.

It's always possible that you lean because one leg is shorter than the other, so you could try positioning the ball of your foot on one feet so it's closer to the pedal spindle.

You can also try turning your seat a bit to one side, which could force you out of your lean, but in the end you just need more time in the saddle, lean corrects itself with practice and endurance.

To give you an idea of what I mean by practice: you have ten miles on your 29er so far, I ride more than ten miles of trail each week on my 29er, and when I'm tired I still have to fight lean depending on the trail, as well there are times (when I'm tired, sore, or not warmed up) when I feel like every bump is trying to kick me off the uni.

Riding uni is mostly physical, the mental game is important, but most important is realizing your limits and gradually building your skills and endurance to push those limits. It is also important to take breaks, eat and drink well, and have an awareness of how you are riding and the things you can do physiclaly to overcome a problem, like tweaking your posture, small changes to set up, tire pressure, etc...

For example, I like to ride with a high seat, but I know that a lower seat is easier to ride in tough conditions, so I use this idea for when I get tired and find that I'm struggling, knowing that I don't have as much strength to stand tall on the pedals, I will lower my seat and my riding improves.

Taking little "mental health" breaks as you ride is a good way to recover some energy.

[Danitz]

Thanks, Skilewes74!

[Danitz]

That's awesome, Ben. Thanks a lot for the thorough reply. I’m not in shape. At the end of these 3 to 5 mile rides, I’m definitely tired. However, each day is a blast. So, I’m looking forward to gradually building my skills, and to greeting the sunrise tomorrow morning on my muni. Rather than going for distance tomorrow, I'm going to hang out at a more difficult area of this park and try hopping over a small ~8-inch rut and making it up/down some 2 - 3 foot mounds. It’s so cool that these unremarkable natural features have become exhilarating obstacles to overcome.

[Nurse Ben]

The really psychological "hardship" of riding a unicycle is that the learning curve is so incredibly flat, that most of us are bike riders so we know how easy and fast riding could be, as a result it is too easy to bash ourselves for our inadequacies.

Seriously, if you can ride a unicycle down the street, you are already amazing

I find that as an older rider, learning and sticking to a sport that has such a flat learning curve, it is not as much of a psychological struggle as it would have been when I was younger and wanted "more" from my sports.

What I get from riding muni is perfect for me in that I can get an amazing workout in a short period of time on terrain that would be boring on a bike, the gear is inexpensive, simple, and easy to care for, and it's slow enough that my dogs can easilly pace me and my wife is able to stay with me on a bike.

After three years of riding I finally feel like I'm becoming the rider I wanted to be from the start, though I am still a far cry from being as good on a muni as I am on a bike, but I can see the light and this keeps me moving forward.

I think it would be great to have more riders around to help with motivation, but we all know how hard it is to find and keep riding partners

Yesterday I rode the Oregon, a big burly muni that makes me work harder, so today on the 29er I'll be flicking it around like it's a sports car. I am anticipating a 26 muni build once the new Nimbus hub is available, then my quiver will be complete! That's another thing that is psychological for me, getting involved with new gear, it keeps things interesting on a differnt level; I may be a geek at heart

Hey Danitz, where do you live?

[Danitz]

Ben, sent you a personal message.

[Danitz]

It's been a few months. I've XC unicycled over 100 miles on a 29" Nimbus. Leaning to the left or right is no longer a problem. I'm getting better at going uphill (can finally hold on to my seat). Can go off of curbs and roll over ruts.

But... Now, I can't turn to the right... Crazy! The last couple of weeks it's gotten really bad. There's a single track trail that I ride multiple times a week. It has a gentle bend to the right with some technical bumps and ruts. I use to do this with no problem (it was the highlight of my ride)! Now, I'm looking like an idiot with my arms flailing in order for me to not fall.

For the last couple of weeks, I can turn left really smoothly but I have to pivot to turn right. If I turn right, I feel unbalanced and feel like I'm going to topple over to the right. I'm guessing that I've gotten into the bad habit of dropping my left shoulder and that's causing problems when I turn right.

Any suggestions? My seat is straight. My tire pressure is normal. Wheel seems true.