Beirne> I received several helpful replies about my draft description
Beirne> on how to go over a 15cm drop. I added them in to the
Beirne> document, as well as taking some information from a past
Beirne> posting. Here is my final version (until I get more
Beirne> suggestions).
ok, here's some more suggestions on what you already have.
Beirne> To ride off the curb, approach it at a relaxed but even
Beirne> pace. Ride off the edge, and be ready for the unicycle to drop
Beirne> a bit underneath your seat.
The last part of this sentence struck me as a bit odd. How can the
unicycle drop a bit underneath your seat. This seems to imply that the
seat doesn't drop, or other weirdness :-) If the person reading these
hints is planning to go off a curb, I'd be surprised if they were so
uninformed that they need to be told that the uni is going to drop a
bit. So I'd omit this altogether.
Beirne> You will want to land with your weight on the pedals, which
Beirne> reduces pain and lets your legs act as shock absorbers. Start
Beirne> moving when you land and settle back down on the unicycle.
One thing which helped me make it off bigger drops was pausing a little
before starting to ride off. If you're going to take the weight on your
legs, you need to stop pedalling (unless you have incredible muscular
control at all points of the compass), so the question becomes: when should
you start again? The guy who taught me made me hold it for a quarter or
half second after I had landed and before I tried to pedal off. Later you
can reduce or perhaps eliminate this.
Beirne> You may wish to hold on to the front of the seat when you go
Beirne> off the curb, so that you can guide it back as you settle
Beirne> down.
I think people should DEFINITELY do this. Maybe you'll eliminate it later
on for small jumps. There are a few reasons why doing this makes things
simpler. The most important is that it allows you to get right out of the
seat while you're in the air. You not only hold the seat, but pull it
UP. Then, if you have your feet in the easiest (horizontal) position, you
can be completely off the seat when you land. Result? No bone jarring
impact travelling up your spine and into your brain. This is especially
important as you learn to go off bigger things (which of course you'll be
soon wanting to do). I have been off about 2 feet jumps (60cm) and wouldn't
even think of going off without holding the seat. Another reason to do it
is that it stabilises the uni, though this is less important if you're just
going off a curb.
Beirne> If you don't like the idea of curbs, when off the uni,
Beirne> position the wheel where it would drop off the curb, and place
Beirne> the pedals in horizontal position. Then back up the wheel
Beirne> carefully, mount the uni, and go down the curb. This method
Beirne> ensures that the pedals are horizontal for landing, which is
Beirne> the easiest way to do it. After confidence and skill builds,
Beirne> it won't matter where the pedals are when going down curbs.
This is good advice. You can also use it when learning to long jump over
things.
Beirne> Also, some people prefer to jump off of the curb, rather than
Beirne> dropping off. This way you are sure to land with the pedals
Beirne> in a good position, but you need to be able to jump while
Beirne> moving.
I am one of these people. I feel that it gives me more control - I actually
jump up. You do need to be able to jump a little bit while riding, but
definitely not much. Using this method, you choose when to take off. The
other school of thought (or at least the only other one I've encountered,
i.e. in the few friends I have who do this), is to ride off with the pedals
anywhere and keep pedalling in the air until the pedals are horizontal. I
find this harder, and I don't think it looks as good (as if that matters :-)).
Some other things I would add are:
Lower the seat an inch or two. You may find this makes things much more
comfortable and that you greatly reduce the probability of the
seat-up-the-bum trick. Once you can do the trick comfortably, you can raise
it again.
Make sure you practice landing with either foot forward. This is very
important if you want to become good and able to jump in all
circumstances. This is even more important if you like to jump off (rather
than ride off and pedal in the air), since being able to do it with either
foot forward means you'll be able to get into position (pedal-wise) twice
as frequently.
Practice making subtle adjustments to your approach angle so as to reach
the edge with the pedals almost exactly horizontal. I don't have any good
tips on how to do this, it's just something I conciously
practiced. Eventually I became so good at doing it (with right foot
forward) that I found I *couldn't* ride off any other way! After a bit of
un-learning I got passably good at going off with left foot forward, and
eventually it didn't make too much difference.
I realise that these tips are a bit over and above what it takes to ride
off a curb, but you may as well learn to do things in a way that lets you
extend what you know. If you just ride off without stopping pedalling and
without lifting the seat and standing up on your pedals, you're probably
never going to do much more than ride off a curb (and occasionally get hurt
doing it).
Terry.