Going to learn how to ride this thing!

[uncommitted]

5 hour mark now.

The plan to mount with support and go forward without any support didn't go as well as I would have hoped. Every time, have a turn and down in about 5'. I made 10' a couple of times but it just wasn't 'clicking'.

Went back to my wall for a bit and noticed that I could use the support for about 5-10' and then I could go without support sometimes. On Tuesday I made maybe a few runs of 10', and a couple of 20'.

I set a goal for 30', but never got there.

Last night I started mounting with my non-dominant foot every other attempt as an experiment, that seems to have helped a bit. Last night when I went out it seemed to go well, probably 2/3 of my attempts I was getting to the 10-15' mark, with a few of them going to 20'. I'm getting close to outgrowing my patio, it's probably about 40' long so hopefully soon I'll have to find another spot!

One thing that seems to help is a thing I do for golf. When you set up for a golf swing you need to get yourself lined up, so I count the number of things I need to do as a setup procedure. (1) Feet square, (2) knees slightly bent, (3) firm grip, (4) chin up, (5) etc... I actually count them out before my swing, it keeps things consistant.

I've started to do those things with the uni. (1) mount foot centered, (2) sit straight up, (3) head high, (4) find something to look at in the distance, (5) arms out for balance, (6) other foot on the uni, (7) lean slightly forward, (8) go! So when I get on the uni i'll count, 1... 2... 3... 4... 5... 6... 7... 8...!

Still on the lookout for that one big run, but I'm definitely getting a little more consistant on the shorter runs. I've found myself correcting myself a little bit instead of falling.

Soon...

[uncommitted]

Went to the Berkeley Juggling & Unicycling Festival today for a couple hours, not really all that interested in the juggling part but it was good to hang out with a few unicyclists for a bit.

Also, have my longest run to date, a whopping 33 feet! (felt like a mile!)

[jona]

Sounds silly, but if you have a grocery store around close. Go over after hours and push a shopping cart around. I put many a lap in a parking lot pushing the cart. Gives stability and you can let it roll out of your way and be on your own when ready. Keep it up.

[uncommitted]

My wife caught a picture of me riding yesterday, thought you all might enjoy...

Caution, fat guy on a unicycle!

[uncommitted]

We'll say I'm at the 6 hour mark now, maybe 7 but I'll stay with the lower number since it could be going better.

Yesterday I found a guy down the street that had an old 20" Schwinn street uni. Things happened and it's now in my stable.

Wow, that 20" is a lot smaller than the 24" than it sounds. Seems like it's going to be a lot easier to learn on. I was on it for about 45 minutes yesterday and while I wasn't necessarily going farther I did feel a lot more confidence. Probably the biggest mental hurdle was that if I start to fall and put my foot down the ground is there. This isn't so with the 24". I'm going to stick with the 20" for a little while to see how that goes.


My biggest problem right now is side to side balance. Seems that the front to back balance has gotten better, when I fall it's almost always to the side. Occasionally I'll fall off of the front, but the ratio is much greater when falling to the side.

Can anyone make any suggestions on things I could concentrate to help me with left/right balance?

[uncommitted]

Hour 7.

Went out for an hour this morning on the 20"er, met up with a fellow unicyclist in SF to practice a bit.

Had a few good runs, new record of about 36'.

That run seemed a lot longer than my previous 33' "record", due to the smaller wheel. When I was going I was thinking to myself "Holy shit, I'm doing it... I'm actually doing it!". Then I came off.

Over all, had two runs over 30', and quite a few 20+' ones. I'm heavily leaning to the left when I do get going, like I'm following a rainbow or something. Not real worried about that yet, if I can only stay on going left... then left it is!

I'm back to holding onto something to help me mount, and then just going until faceplant or otherwise UPD.

[uncommitted]

Another hour in, another personal best. Hour 8 now.

Went to the school down the street and was having some difficulty getting anywhere by just mounting and riding, so I found a couple of walls. One was is 66' long, the other is 96' long, and I was going up and down the walls, one time with the wall to my right, and on the return trip with the wall on my left.

Last night I did 7 total trips up and down the walls (total 324' each trip, so ~2268' total), and this morning I did another 7 trips. Found with the wall to my right it was really easy, but with the wall to my left... not so much.

Sometimes I would float away from the wall and keep going, got about 6-7 30' plus runs, and one that I measured 42'.

Going to try for some more seat time later, when my legs aren't burning so much!

[Byc]

Now you have to think about putting the weight into the seat instead of your legs. Your body rests on the seat, the feet only have to put the pedals into the right position, which is, provided you are not riding uphill or are accelerating, a very effortless tasks.
I always have to remind myself, now that i am more accustomed to riding i can remember before i get out of breath.
It works almost instantly with the 20", sometimes with the 26" in the right offroad conditions.

Greetings

Byc

[uncommitted]

Appreciate the comment... So I *think* I'm keeping my weight in the seat, but to be honest I can't quite tell. There is definitely some acceleration going on though, I feel like I am running almost.

[GregHands]

From one fat guy to another.. Awesome!!! I got back on my unis after a long time (I'm 53) to help lose a bit of weight. It works, keep it up. 20's are easier, but I never did like the Schwinn seats, wait, I did not like the Schwinn seats from the 70s. I just never felt like I had the same control. Have a blast, wrist guards are your friend.

[uncommitted]

Originally Posted by GregHands

From one fat guy to another.. Awesome!!! I got back on my unis after a long time (I'm 53) to help lose a bit of weight. It works, keep it up. 20's are easier, but I never did like the Schwinn seats, wait, I did not like the Schwinn seats from the 70s. I just never felt like I had the same control. Have a blast, wrist guards are your friend.

My 20" is probably from the 70's

It's a two piece frame, connected at the hub and at the bolt that holds the seat in place. It's old, but it seems easier than the 24" at this point.

Definitely, fat guys need wrist guards. I have them, and I wear them every single time. They've saved me a few times.

[krjames]

Originally Posted by uncommitted

Appreciate the comment... So I *think* I'm keeping my weight in the seat, but to be honest I can't quite tell. There is definitely some acceleration going on though, I feel like I am running almost.

I don't think you really have to think about it. Your legs will get sick of holding you off the seat... You will know you have got it right when you start thinking "I need a decent seat"!
Congrats, you are learning a lot faster than I did

[uncommitted]

I notice your signature mentions a shortwave radio, are you a HAM by chance?

[Byc]

Originally Posted by krjames

... You will know you have got it right when you start thinking "I need a decent seat"!

Don't underestimate the Seat. The first one, on our first cheap 20" learner Uni, had to be replaced after a few weeks, and now, two years later, is only rideable for a longer time (>30 min) with two bike pants.
The Qu-Ax Muni seat (on my 26") was really comfortable at first, but now, a half year or over 100 km later, i also start wearing two bike pants for longer rides.
And i'm sure that there's still plenty of weight i could shift from legs/pedals to the bum/seat. Would like to compare the KH freeride and the nimbus gel for some time before i really buy a new seat.

Greetings

Byc

[hunterthompson]

You're making great progress! Relax your body as much as possible, put your weight in your saddle, and in a couple more hours you'll have it