Things I learned today..... crappy progress?

Well, turns out my approach to learning pivots and balance before anything else paid off. I learned how to do pivoting drop offs off of ledges. Most degrees is like 45-90 degrees....didn't really try to do a 180, as I can't really 180 pivot on my nose, but I can SOLIDLY land regular ones. Highest ledge that I tried off was like waist high, so like 3 feet. Landed it my 1st try, but when I landed on my rear, I had too much weight back or pulled up on the front too much and couldn't get the front back down after landing....2nd try, landed it like in the videos - rear then lightly let down the front....

Secondly, I learned how to pedal kick!!! I can only do like 2 on a good try, but always atleast one solid one. I keep listing to the left or right, and occasionally back when landing, but I actually got them today. I can only PK up to something like curb height, MAYBE double curb if I tried. The farthest I PK'ed on flat ground was like 2 feet....but this was the 1st time I actually devoted some time to trying it. Took me about 2-5 minutes to get some timing down with the releasing the brake and kicking, but I figured it out! I have to do the ghey little 1 inch high front rock or endo before I get on the rear and pedal kick, but hopefully I can eventually phase that out :bigthumb:

Pretty proud of myself! I've only been riding like 3-4 weeks, so learning balance REALLY pays off. :bigthumb:

Now what do you guys recommend I do? Start practicing the PK's and endo drop offs(180+ degrees specifically) and really starting to ride trials or just keep practicing my balance and pivots like I have been and just do the pedal kicks at the end of a ride (like I did today) to slowly gain them? I'm not sure if I keep practicing my balancing and not the PKs if my learning curve will slow....LOL, I'm going for the most efficient learning curve possible. I need to make up for all those lost years of riding trails and freeride :rofl:

What do you think of my progress? I can(not too familiar with terminology quite yet :greddy: ):
Bunnyhop like 1.5-2 feet
Bunny Hop to rear wheel stall
Wheelie drop to rear
Endo hop(about 3-4 hops)
Endo hop to rear wheel
Static hop(both wheels) about 6-9 inches foreward
Pedal up(nothing high though, MAYBE like 6 inches)
Bash on a ledge to both wheels
SOMETIMES hop from bash to rear
90 degree pivots on front or rear in either direction, but smoother pivoting CCW on the rear, and CW on front
Occasionaly up a 4-6inch ledge and land front first...feels funny, so I don't try it that much.....
Pedal kick once (learned today)
Endo drop off (learned today)

Maybe that list is a little drawn out, but that's EVERYTHING I can do besides trackstand Decent for 3-4 weeks?

 

I can't really rock for shit...I tried that to keep balance and I can't do it really, I can rock like 4 times before I lose my balance...

Trackstanding, I can trackstand maybe like 10 seconds when I was counting. But I know the times I wasn't really TRYING to just trackstand, like when taking a rest...I've trackstanded longer for sure.

The bash and pedals...eh, I've been using them alot, just so I can get some balance after hopping from my bash onto rubber on a bench about the width of a bleacher seat. I don't really have the confidance to really bunny hop onto stuff, so the way I was kinda practicin rear balance was roling up to it, stopping, then wheelie my wheel and ride it to bash/pedal, then either hop up to rear (sometimes) or just both wheels.....it's pretty fuckin hard to keep balance on a 2x4 when hopping from bash to your wheels then trackstanding to catch you balance so you don't roll of the edge...atleast, at my level it is, LOL!

Yeah, I'm not really concerned too much with the pivoting drop-offs other than just a basic sideways one...I wasn't really intending on trying anything more than the side drop-off but I got curious if I could really do one....

I wanna go UCI, cause I HATE the feeling of hopping to bash, it feels so damaging, even though I look afterwards and nothing was really done, it just feels so abusive and destructive on the crank, bash, ledge and frame, I would rather utilize my bash pretty much just so I know how to, not because I HAVE TO, ya know?

I wanna try some rocks really bad...I haven't gotten the chance to hit the jetty's(closest things I have to boulders, LOL) but maybe I'll take a trip there tomorrow and see how shitty my static hopping and balance is :rofl:

*edit** thanks for the compliments...typing took me forever, LOL. Yeah, I'm really oriented towards balance, but I just got curious today....I guess holding off on all the good stuff for later worked out.....lets hope I can keep it that way :rofl:

 

Yeah....as far as being stable just on the rear, like pedaling to my rear, I get like 3-5 hops before I lean to a side. So I decided to see how a pedal kick would straighten me out since I could kinda readjust in the air and balance while moving is alot easier than stationary, so I seriously gave it a shot today....and after figuring out my damn timing problem...it's worked out.

Like Andrew and Bill both said...Balance is KEY. Before I started, I was all for just learning pedal kicks and all the showy stuff...I read posts from 3 peoplein particular who all said the same things in one post to some newb (who isn't even on this board anymore, LOL), Kevin, Andrew, and Bill telling some body that Balance and basics should be learned 1st and everything else will come easier...I decided I would stop being bullheaded when I got my Megamo and that's the BEST ADVICE EVER. Getting the balance actually made things TONS easier and my confidance level shot up.... :joshers: :bigthumb:

 

It depends on the situation for me but I usually only lock the front brake. But I think trackstand means just stationary and balance....I wish I coul;d stand for forever, but damn, whenever I consciously try, I can't go any longer than like 10 seconds on a good try, but when rolling up to a ledge to wheelie drop or when riding around town and I'm at an intersection...I just stand, and when I counsciously catch myself, I over compensate and lose balance...

I guess you just have to do it a ton to unconscouly"make it happen"....

 

yeah....never really concentrated on wheelie drops...it was something I decided would help me balance on my rear...and when doing drops, practice on formation and landing.....that, and it doesn't drain you by having to haul ass to bunny hop off a ledge....so it was mainly for rolling balance and learning to land smoothly.....

 

Yeah, but it all comes easier as your balance is TONS better and you're smoother/technique is better right?

I think right now I'm just gonna keep practicing what I have....I think I'll learn sidehops once I can have a pretty decent surge/foreward static hop...i.e. better balance. Juggling a whole bunch of different techniques to learn sucks...that, or I'm just being a puss, :greddy: :rofl:

I might go attack some Jetty's today, see how I fare.....maybe I can do decent, but I doubt it considering my lack of "bag-o-tricks" :ugh2: :rofl:

 

I wish I had people that could ride trials around here...only BMXers and XC weenies....

So I have to analyze vids....I'm gonna go out and hit some rocks. Jetty's are all I got, so I'ma see how I fare on those...hopefully I do OK....

 

Jst got back about 30 minutes ago from a Jetty's ride. LOL...riding rocks are hard. I got up my first rock at the end of the jetty's, and EVERY HOP I made I fell. Well, fell or feet came off the pedals.

Man, lotsa knowing how to do wedges on jetty natty. Spent lotsa the time just trying to figure out where to go....after about 30 minutes of getting beat up and moving like 15 feet total, I did what was best and went home, LOL.

MAD props to people who can ride jetty's(or any really rocky natty). I'll shoot a pic the next time I go.....way outta my league at my present skill/balance level. There's lotsa square poles. like 9 inches wide and stacked on eachother....woulda be fun if I knew how to do good static hops etc...I'll snag a pic...you'll see, it's a pretty good ractice spot for you advanced people. If it weren't fuckin 85-90 degrees outside, it'd be even better.