Keeping up with the technique

I spent a couple of hours on the unicycle last Sunday. The initial ride was just for fitness - around Lake McKusick and through the Eagle Ridge neighborhood - but then I went back to the Junior High for some technique work on the tennis courts. When I'm on the fitness rides, I often feel like I'm not making progress on basic skills. In the case last week, I thought I was having more difficulty than I should have with simple mounts and also some discomfort with tight turns. Also I was unwilling to drop off curbs. So after the first part of the ride I continuted on to the tennis courts to do reps of mounts with both feet, reps of tight figure 8s and more practice with dropping off curbs. I don't know about you, but I really need to work that type of practice into my regular riding routine or I think I'm never going to get better.

I feel like my balance is better from the arms-folded work I'm doing on the longer rides (as noted in earlier posts). I feel like my arms and upper body aren't thrashing and jerking around as much, although that might just be wishful thinking. I'm finding rocky and rooty trails to be a challenge, as is turf. I feel much more comfortable if I can clearly see the path and there are no surprises. Lastly I want to mention cadence - maybe because of the bike commuting I'm doing or perhaps just comfort with the unicycle, my cadence is up. This is particularly helpful on downhills where my first reaction is to freeze up and go real slow. I find that I have better control if I keep that wheel turning.

Here's the Sunday ride. Total distance was just shy of 6 mi.

View Sunday ride in a larger map