Have you ever heard of a crossover sport? It’s not some hot new trend like Crossfit weighed down with buzzwords. It’s actually a thing.
And knowing what a crossover sport is (in this case, specifically some snow sports like snowboarding) may just be able to help you become a stronger, more proficient, overall better unicyclist.
But we have to walk before we can run, er, ride, here. So let’s cover our bases and then get into why snowboarding and other snow sports might be worth your while to learn.
Skip the clown circus bikes. There are other ways to become a better unicyclist, and not all of them have wheels.
A crossover sport is, as the name might imply, a sport that uses similar movements to an athlete’s primary sport. Additionally, crossover sports require similar skills and activate similar muscle groups as the athlete’s “main” sport.
For instance, let’s say you play football. Good crossover sports for you might be basketball and soccer. Both of these sports require excellent coordination, reflexes, and flexibility, and all of them are full-body sports that require great strength and stamina. For defensive players, especially linemen, wrestling might be considered a good crossover sport too.
As you can see, a crossover sport is a sport that helps an athlete refine the skills and muscles needed to pursue his primary passion, whatever it is.
In this, unicycling as a sport is not unique. There are good crossover sports that even we one-wheelers can enjoy.
And, since winter is just around the corner, it’s high time to shed some light on snow sports like snowboarding that can be excellent for keeping us in fighting (riding?) shape during the “off-season” (if we can use the term!).
To illustrate how snowboarding can function as a great crossover sport for unicyclists, we first have to look at the skills that snowboarding can help you develop.
For one, your feet are locked together on the board. This is not exactly the same as having one wheel but it is a similar enough constraint. Just like you will be tasked with balancing one wheel, you will not be able to move your legs independently of each other while snowboarding.
Snowboarding also takes an immense amount of core strength, not to mention, no small degree of proficiency when balancing on the slope. Moreover, you need to respond to changing conditions within fractions of a second, often at high speeds - higher than you’d experience on a unicycle, at that.
With respect to balance and coordination, this should be a no-brainer. It’s tricky balancing atop the saddle over one wheel - anyone can see how that would be. But you know what else is slippery? Ice - ahem, snow. Falling off a snowboard, like falling off a unicycle, is a cinch, until you develop proficiency.
Keeping your knees bent and learning to manage your speed are two other essential skills of snowboarding, both of which are not only necessary for unicycle ridership, but specifically for descending a slope. This aspect of snowboarding is another boon to those that tame the unicycle in less chilly climes.
Another thing that snowboarding can help coach you in is how to fall properly. Injuries happen when riders don’t know how to fall, or worse, instinctually engage in bad habits - like sticking out the arms, which can result in broken wrists, torn ligaments, and worse.
And, of course, if it wasn’t obvious from the start, snowboarding will help build overall strength, stamina, and cardiovascular endurance, all of which aspects of fitness are necessary to becoming a proficient unicyclist as well.
Also, snowboarding requires quick thinking, problem solving, and rapid response times to stay upright as you encounter dips, bends, and other obstacles on the mountainside. The enhanced reactivity and critical thinking needed to become a proficient snowboarder are not only applicable to mountain unicycling, but to all disciplines of unicycling.
Now, it should also be noted that the benefits mentioned here of snowboarding as a crossover sport to unicycling are not exclusive to it. While it might be the best of the snowsports for one-wheelers to try, other activities, like skiing, can also be beneficial to unicyclists.
If you were looking for the perfect winter pursuit to keep you in unicycling shape throughout the winter, give the riding a rest this fall and take up snowboarding, or perhaps skiing.
There are other ways besides other cycling pursuits, like penny farthing bikes and clown circus bikes, for staying competitive and honing your skills in the saddle. This is just one of them, but it makes for a great crossover sport nonetheless.
