Idling

So What Do I Do?

When learning this skill it's definitely advantageous to have a wall or post to lean on if need be. Once you've got a vague feel for what you're trying to do it's best to move away from any form of support. The general idea is to have the wheel swing from front to back then back in front again and so on while your head and shoulders remain almost completely stationary. The motion is very similar to that of a pendulum.

1. Leaning against a wall get the pedals so they're vertical with your favourite foot on the lower pedal. It helps to maintain your balance in this position by keeping your weight on the lower pedal.
2. Apply a small amount of pressure on the other higher pedal - not enough to move it just so you can feel it in your foot. Now you're ready to push the wheel slightly behind you.
3. Focusing on keeping your head and shoulders still: increase the pressure on the high foot to bring the pedal to just above it's horizontal position. If it's easier for you think of it as bringing your favourite foot to just below it's horizontal position. Whatever works for you.
4. Now your feet are in the position they would be in if you were riding along and wanted to start idling.
5. From here on in it's up to your favourite foot to do most of the work - it's the one that does all the pushing backwards and forwards while the other does its best to maintain as small amount of control on the other pedal.
6. Push down on your favourite foot to bring the wheel underneath you and forwards. As the wheel comes directly under you think about your favourite foot getting ready to stop at just below its rear horizontal position. Feel your foot reach its lowest point and start to rise up behind you. Apply enough pressure to bring it to a complete stop before it reaches the horizontal. In the back of your mind keep thinking about keeping those shoulders and your head stationary - think "I am a pendulum".
7. If you're still sitting on your uni you're doing really well - it might well take a few goes to get the first idle or rock without having to step off.
8. Now, with your favourite foot behind you apply downward pressure to bring the wheel under you and behind you again. It's the same story once more - feel your foot reach its lowest point and think about it bringing the wheel to a stop with your favourite foot just below the forward horizontal position. There you go - that's one complete idle you've just done. Well done!
9. Keep practising this until you're fairly happy when using a support to lean on.

Now it's time to leave the wall behind and try it in a real world situation. Firstly you need to be able to come to a very brief halt with your favourite foot just below its rear horizontal position. To do this ride along as slow as you can while still in complete control - too slow and you'll be going to be wobbling all over the place. Pay attention to your other foot and feel it come to its lowest point, rise up behind you and and start to reach it highest position. It's as this foot comes up and reaches its highest point that you need to apply pressure to it so you come to a temporary stand still with the wheel slightly forward of your torso and the non favourite foot pedal just above its forward horizontal position. Practise doing this then pushing down on your favourite foot and riding off forwards again.

Now when you can do this momentary stop you're ready to throw in a single idle. Just the same as when you were practising against the wall - push down on your favourite foot to bring it down and infront of you (with your head and shoulders keeping their place) and your favourite foot coming to a brief halt just below its forward horizontal position. When it hits this spot push down on it again and ride off as normal. When you can do this comfortably instead of riding away try another idle before riding away. As your confidence grows you can increase the number of idles before riding off.

Make no mistake - this is a tough one to learn and took me a good number of weeks to get happy with it. If I'm honest I will still hop in place if I need to wait before crossing a road because... well... it's easier. Shame on me ;-)