Learning Journal

[adrees83912]

I learned how to ride my unicycle from just pushing off of a wall for 2 weeks, 2 hours each day, kept falling and falling, then one day i woke up and started riding.

[Alucard]

adrees83912
Welcome to the forum

Way to go! That's pretty darn quick by my standards
I wouldn't say I woke up and started riding, it just happened after months of practice. I knew that if I could do it once I would be able to do it again so I stuck at it, practice, practice.

[Jigywigy]

I have been lurking and reading the posts for a while learning how to unicycle. This has been a great source.

One thing I did not expect was how hard it is! I am a over-sized (230 lbs, 5'8", age 51) but still expected to be able to ride off after learning how to balance. It took me two weeks to move away from the walls of a tennis court and now I ride 500 feet consistently -after 2 months. That is as far as I can get before I have to stop because my thigh muscles ache.

I got into this when my daughter (10) asked for a unicycle so she could learn before the local group performed in the Cherry Blossom Parade. In three months, she went from non-rider to free mounting with figure 8's on a 20 inch. I pushed her quite a bit during practice. Everyone was surprise she made the cut- even the 'coach' who originally gave her a very outside chance. For the first 4 months she made no progress until dad stepped in for one-on-one lessons and 6 am extra practices in the final three months.

My source for knowledge was this group and youtube.

So, surprise, my family gave a me a 24inch after the parade. Now she is pushing me to get out there and ride. She rides behind me and tells me what to do.

I know once I relax to get my weight on the saddle I will be able to make it further! But this group is a great resource and this thread is great. I just wanted to thanks for helping the lurkers!

Here is the link to some coverage of the parade:

Scarborough group performs at Cherry Blossom...

I am one of the larger parents walking along the side as support. She is in the back of the 20 inch group as she was the last one to make the cut.

The groups facebook page with great photos.
https://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Gy...54588591267641

Jigywigy

[Alucard]

Hey, Well Done You!

That's a cracking video. What do you call a uni with 3 wheels on it?? Not a joke, that's a real question.

um, aching thigh muscles , are you thinking "BOS"


....Bum On Seat!

try and let your seat take ALL of your weight.

ps. Welcome to the forum

[57UniRider]

Hello jigywigy!

What a neat video!
Oooo. Tons of FUN!
You should definitely ride next year!
Keep on keeping on!

[TopHatPlus]

Hello everyone i am still alive =D i have been super busy lately >_< Life seems to have gotten away on me...

Unicycling - i have been doing quite a large amount of commuting! I have gotten very good at free mounting with oddly weighted and shifting back packs and riding around the streets, we had a busker fest in Dundas ontario last weekend and i went down with my brother and we rode around on our unicycles and had several dozen people ask if we were one of the buskers haha it was so much fun!

My brother bought the Club trainer 29" unicycle from UDC and i have been practicing on it a bit... as a short rider getting up on it is kind of hilarious... i could free mount it in about 2 minutes and ride super smooth, its a lot fun!

My unicycle is wearing out... the cranks won't stagy tight and more and need to be re adjusted every 2 hours... so sad... i don't have the money for another but i have decided i would be better off with a Numbus 26", maybe used, we will see how the funds look, i can't stop riding though haha its so easy and such a great way to get around =D

[jyngles]

Welcome to the forum jigywigy, it is nice to see someone local on here, and yes this forum has been extremely helpful, but I wish I had someone right next to me giving me guidance and pointers. I too have been working on BOS (bum on seat) and this forum has help for me to constantly remind myself, weight in the saddle. It is much easier to do everything. I still have a long way to go, but I keep telling myself, weight in the saddle. Maybe someday we will meet up neighbor...

[jyngles]

Road my uni all day at Market Square Day in Portsmouth, NH, first time riding around people, especially this many. It was very clustered at times and I did pretty good weaving in and out of people. Not bad for the first time, didn't run anyone over, but did have many UPD's. It was a great experience and it seem to help in some areas with control. Had a bunch of fun.

[Alucard]

Hi gang

THP Freemounting a 29" in two mins---- Way to Go!
jyngles Sounds like you had a blast. It's Great Fun isn't it

I've been taught a TOP TIP
''Ride along as if you are being pulled up by your hair''
I find this really does work for me, my back straightens, I now face forwards instead of sideways and for some unknown reason, my pace quickens. But, I then get distracted and I fall back into my 'regular' stride. I have to keep reminding myself 'hair pull'. Its a great bit of advice.
(Thanks Nasher )

[krjames]

Originally Posted by jyngles

I too have been working on BOS (bum on seat) and this forum has help for me to constantly remind myself, weight in the saddle.

Actually you don't need to 'work on it' if I may seem pedantic. Just riding more or even just as much as poss is all you need to do. Just a learning stage really. First manage to stay on, then manage to keep on for a hundred meters and then it's a case of how many kilometers do you want to ride today? Looking at my notes, it seems to have taken me about 12 weeks to ride 5km with just one upd. I know I always concentrated on no-stop distance as the main measure of competence. Still not very competent...

Anyway ran the Gwangju 100km last night so I'm off to do a bit of shopping and get a some beer

Cheers

[jyngles]

I am able to ride about 5k with only one UPD at this point. I think that is pretty good. I not sure if I am that interest in long runs. If I am able to ride for a 5 or maybe 10k in one stretch I am ok with that. I think I am more interested in how long I am able to stay up without any UPD's.
I have a ways to go. Yesterday was an enormous help with all the people around. It help me to focus on looking up and what is around me rather than looking down or a short distance in front of myself.
Lots of fun and great learning experience.
Can not wait until the next town event with lots of people.

[UniTographer]

I rode in the local high school parking lot today. The lot is canted; I was riding around the edges of the lot, which meant up two sides and down two others. The lot is somewhere between 0.4 and 0.5 miles (0.6 and 0.8 km) around the perimeter. While the best I managed without UPD was about a third of a mile, it was great practice riding on different pitches.

My new pedals came on Thursday. I went with the ($19) blue "DX Muni Pedals" on UDC; they don't disappoint! The only downside is that I find it harder to convince myself to mount and ride off because of the pins. Not that I've had any problems with these pedals getting away from me (and I'm now riding with leg armor). And my free mount is probably around 80% (feels like 100%, but I'm sure that's not true) so there's really no reason for the trepidation. They just make me think: "whirling pegs OF DEATH" and I stand there, one foot on a pedal, feeling for that initial balance between the seat and the first pedal before attempting the mount. Once I convince myself to JUST START ALREADY I'm off and riding.

Coming downhill in the lot I certainly made use of the pegged pedals, making right turns (my weak side) by manhandling with my feet. No sliding whatsoever on these babies.

With several stops, I made it around the lot four times. The ancient (1988) b*ke computer I dug out of my shed says I managed about 1.6 miles total, at somewhere around 7 mph. (I figured it was time for a computer to keep my distance rather than continuing to count pedal strokes...)

And I noticed that the more tired I am on the uni, the more my left shoulder points forward. It almost felt like I was trying to mount a skateboard near the end

[UniTographer]

Originally Posted by jyngles

Road my uni all day at Market Square Day in Portsmouth, NH, first time riding around people, especially this many. It was very clustered at times and I did pretty good weaving in and out of people. Not bad for the first time, didn't run anyone over, but did have many UPD's. It was a great experience and it seem to help in some areas with control. Had a bunch of fun.

Sounds like fun, jyngles! I'm on the cusp of starting to commute to work on my 24". I'm a mile from the local train station (a mostly downhill trek from my house), and then maybe a half mile from the train station in Philly (relatively flat, but with people, cars, and general insanity). With my 1.6 mile ride today I'm almost ready to attempt it. I'm sure my legs would be dead when I reached the train in the AM, and I'm not sure I can make it up the steep grade on the way back, but I'm sure it will be great practice!

[UniTographer]

New pedals and new seat: feels like a new uni. I've lost a little of my balance - obviously where I was gripping the seat with my thighs - and I've been set back to only a tenth of a mile before UPD. So I'm working on my lacking skills instead of distance. Y'know, tricky things like turning to the RIGHT.

My course is still the cul-de-sac at the end of my street, but I'm using part of the street as well (the part that's flat; it heads downhill back toward my house). I'm working on a 180 inside 3 meters (street's width, ish, turning to the left); down the straight; then around the cul-de-sac to the right. World's worst figure 8.

On one of the narrow end turns this morning, I almost lost my balance - and caught it again by idling! Once. So my maximum idle count is now 1.

[Alucard]

UniTographer

You are blazin' a trail Way to go! even idling now eh