Funky Chickens are one of the easier scuffing tricks to learn. As with many other tricks it is possible to learn how to scuff this trick and learn the side-to-side balance before actually learning how to ride in and out of the trick.

To help learning to ride in and out of this trick make sure you know how to do the 180 at the beginning of fire hydrants (even if you can't do a fire hydrant)- as well as you should know how to do smoothies.

• Begin by riding at a medium/slow speed with your body on the left side of the bike. Your left foot should be on the left front peg and your right foot should be on your left rear peg.
• Do a 180-degree rotation on your front wheel, similar to how you would for a fire hydrant. As soon as you are turned around, put your right foot over the handlebars and grab your seat with your right hand.
• To actually do the trick you should push down with your right foot against the tire hard enough to get the back wheel to come off of the ground. Scuff and turn the handlebars from left to right (just a little) to control your forward/backwards and left/right balance. You should be travelling in a clockwise circle while doing this trick. (to your right)
• To ride out, let the back tire fall almost all the way to the ground then push on the front wheel hard to keep your speed. Let the front tire fall to the ground and put your right foot up onto the top tube. Bring your right foot over the handlebars quickly and smoothie out.
• Step to the pedals and ride away!

Funky Chickens, while not being very difficult, may introduce you to scuffing for one of the first times. Don't let yourself get frustrated if it takes several weeks of practice to get the balance for scuffing this trick.

Once you learn to balance and ride in and out, experiment with other tricks that can be done into and out of funky chickens. Some basic tricks include, tailwhip (out), tailwhip to decade (out), and fire hydrant (in). It is also possible to do steam rollers, whiplashes, e-squeaks, pinky-squeaks, freak squeaks, and a TON of other tricks into and out of funky chickens.

FAQ: What the heck is scuffing?

A: Scuffing is the process of shuffling your foot along either the front or the back tire while the other tire is off of the ground to control the bike. You push forward with your foot to keep the bike rolling forward, then you draw your foot backwards up the tire to keep the bike from falling backwards. In a nutshell you are typically falling backwards (right after a push) or you are falling forwards (while drawing your foot back). You scuff zillions of tricks including freak squeaks, dump trucks, e-squeaks, elephant glides, and gerators.

If you have a question about this trick please feel free to e-mail it in...