Halfbike is going well

After a slightly hesitant start, I am pleased to report that my fun on the Halfbike is going well. I have used it quite a few times locally and have been a tad more adventurous in going a little further. I’m really enjoying it! Plus I’ve leant it to my friend Bryan, after my friends Paul and Steve have each had a little go on it.

Learning a new way of moving

This is the main, interesting thing about the Halfbike. You have to learn a new way of moving, balancing and this certainly tones up a number of muscles through the body. You also have to learn to be more relaxed and have some confidence in yourself.

Let me explain a little further. Whenever I ride the Halfbike for more than a couple of minutes, I can feel my core/abdomen muscles are working, plus shoulders and arms. My hands hold on tight, probably too tight. Also because I’m standing up all the time, different “cycling” muscles come into play and, for me, I get fatigued before too long.

It is the way we use our mind to relax and go with the flow of the Halfbike which is nice. An important key is being able to relax both physically and mentally on the Halfbike. Think fluid thoughts, avoid being rigid and tense; then you can move well on the Halfbike. A fun thing to do is freewheel and sway from side to side and zigzag your way along – that’s fun.

My cornering needs to be improved and, to be honest, each time I go out on the Halfbike I improve still further. I have been known to corner too fast and sharp, to the point of a back wheel lifting off the ground. Practice makes perfect.

What do others make of it?

My friend Steve C came out with me to take some photos along our local Busway (or I should say the cycle track which runs alongside the Busway). Steve was keen to see me in action on it and how it went. Although his task was to photograph me, we had some fun and he had a little go himself. This reminded me of when I first tried to ride it.

While we were on the Busway, there were some other folk and I reckon each one noticed the Halfbike. Some looked intrigued, some smiled politely and some probably thought I was mad. Some teenagers who were walking home from school were most interested and tried to work out what it was and what it could be called.

Paul had a few attempts under the cover of darkness on our quiet road. Again he was like Stave and myself in starting to learn. Paul has an engineering mind and was keen to know how it worked and fitted together. His attempt was valiant.

And at the Kayaking club

I asked my friend Bryan if he’d like to borrow it to have a go. I know he’s interested in cycling and is generally game for having a go at something like this.

While I was at the club, a number of the members had a go. I reckoned they would all be good on the Halfbike since they had a highly tuned sense of balance (a necessity in staying upright in a narrow, unstable flat water racing kayak). It was the youngsters who mastered the Halfbike without difficulty; in fact their was one lad who jumped on it and instantly rode it better than I can. It seemed the younger the person was, the easier it was for them to master the Halfbike.

Now back to Bryan. He’s really fit and takes care of himself, although he’s older than me. So far he’s not mastered it. I have suggested he should carry on learning at his mind will suddenly ‘click’ and then he will be okay.

Terrain

In the previous post there are comments about using the Halfbike off road. In my experience to date, I would say it wouldn’t be viable off road but I would be interested in what others have to say on this. I don’t think gentle hills are out of the question but you must be sure you can brake sufficiently well and remember the brakes aren’t as powerful as ordinary bicycle brakes.