Progress Report..
Haven't written anything about progress in a while.. still practicing and practicing a variety of stuff, mostly from phase I of Ryan Leech's DVD, Mastering the Art of Trials:
- trackstanding
- hopping
- rocking
- rolling balance
- endos
- side drop / side endo drop
- rear wheel hops
I think getting the basic skills (trackstanding, hopping, and rocking) is really important in order to progress. Rear wheel side hops is difficult without enough experience with these basic skills (as I'm learning). When struggling with rear wheel side hops I go back to practicing trackstanding/hopping/rocking combinations.
New Bike Today!
Got my new bike today! A Rockman Switch frame with some new and used components. Check it out..
Thanks to the fine people at Attitude Bikes! They were very helpful answering my questions and also helped recommend a bike to get started on.
I took it out tonight and it felt much better than a mountain bike. I didn't try anything new except getting up on my rear wheel. It seems to come up easier yet still difficult to balance and have the front wheel stay up. I'd like to get some shin guards first as I've scraped one shin up a couple days ago using my old bike (with the plastic pedals) and not interested in finding out what slamming metal teeth into shins feels like right now.
Out last night
Went out last night. Just track standing and roll balancing. Some things seem easier thinking about than doing -- stopping when on a narrow path and starting again. Used my old bike still..
Easing Off the Brakes
Learned something today: When pivoting on front wheel and swinging rear wheel around, ease off the brakes when rear wheels lands. This will help prevent falling over if too much energy was put into the "swing".. The bike will roll backwards. Neat.
Tonight's session was a lot of rocking, pivoting on both wheels, rolling balance. Nothing new. Was out for about 1.5 hours until dying for water.
No Seat Today
It never occurred to me until today when a friend of mine asked why don't I take my seat completely off?
I went out again and practiced the same old, plus lifting my front wheel onto something higher and balancing with some improvement I'd say. Forgot to take my seat off until the last 1/2 of the session but found it much safer. Was out for about one-and-a-half hours and now my wrists are really sore..
Today’s Session
Went out for about two hours, 9 ~ 11pm.
Felt a lot of control today. Practiced rocking, especially with rear wheel and going around in a circle while front wheel stationary (as much as possible) and going around both ways. Also tried pivoting on front wheel while turning rear wheel. Spun around to about 90 degrees. Going to the right a bit easier than left. Track standing felt more effortless tonight too. More endos and trying to get into a rear-wheel stand.
I received a pair of gloves for Christmas from my girlfriend and that seems to help tremendously (thanks Jan!). First time trying them out and it was great.
Daily Progress
Today's session:
- Track stand
- Rocking
- Track stand with wheel on higher surface
- Rolling balance
- Hopping up on a curb and continuing to balance
- Hopping up stairs
Also tried balancing on one wheel (attempting rear-wheel hops) and thought I "felt" the balancing point for maybe 1/2 a second. How I'm practicing this: bringing my front wheel up on a higher ledge, trying to balance (although finding it hard), then when I am balanced, try to lift my front wheel up. Other times I'm trying to pedal kick into a rear wheel hop but paranoid with the high bike frame and seat.