Learning Journal

[NotSoYoungOne]

Following the idea of 'dudewithasock' from 5 years ago, I am going to keep a journal of my experience learning to ride. Thanks for the great idea! Also, thanks to 'steakfarm' who is also new to this community for the recent post that got me thinking, and to 'scott ttocs' who added the link to the journal from 'dudewithasock'.

First, a little history and some key learnings so far;
I am 46, but this is not my first time to try to learn. I have actually tried several times here and there over the years, the first time when I was 12, then again at 20, then at 36 (this is when I actually bought a uni, not just tried to ride someone else's), then again earlier this year.

The first uni I bought was a 24" Avenir. Little did I know that it would be hard to learn on this size. I am 6'3" and the seat post was too short, and the saddle was terrible. But I had no one to learn from and I did not search the web much 10 years ago. So, I gave up and the uni sat in the garage for almost 10 years before I met some young kids riding uni's one day earlier this year and decided to give it a try again.

I made a little progress, but was still on the 24" with terrible saddle and too-short seat post. So I went to the web to see what I could learn and discovered this community and a few other resources. I found a 20" Torker CX in the local classifieds for a good price so I picked it up. Then I found a good deal on a long-enough seat post on e-bikestop.com, and much nicer saddle (Velo) on the same site.

Key Learning #1: A 20" wheel is quite a bit easier to learn on
Key Learning #2: If the seat post is not long enough you may never learn to ride.
Key Learning #3: The saddle makes a huge difference. If you can't afford a Kris Holm the Velo is a good deal, at least it seems great for learning so far.

So I spent some time on it last night, and will again tonight for at least a few minutes, just getting a feel. Though I have tried a few times in the past I am counting this as my real beginning because I finally have a unicycle size, height, and saddle that will actually work for learning!

We have hard wood tile in our entry and main hallway, and they are a great place to spend time getting used to things. If your wife/mother/roommate/etc. will allow it I recommend some time inside as great way to get the feel of the uni. I also spent a little time in the garage and driveway last night - I used the FamVan as my support in the garage until I got to the end and then tried to ride out onto the driveway.

Key Learning #4 - This works pretty well, but having another car in the driveway is not so good - it is surprising how it gets in the way1

I downloaded the Klaas Bill and Andrew Carter guide and it had some great ideas that I am going to use. I also purchased the online-download book 'Ride the Unicycle'. It recommends not using any support from walls, rails, fences, etc. But I think I like the other ideas better for now until I am ready to free mount.

So, this is a long initial post, but hopefully it will be helpful to someone else as they learn. I will keep posting until I feel like I can ride well enough. Until then it will be nice to have the journal to keep me going. Thanks in advance for the support, encouragement, and tips. I know I am not the oldest ever to learn, so that is cool too! I will use the emoticons to signal how well each learning session went.

[unireed]

good plan, and welcome to unicyclist.com! make sure you dont make the same mistakes over and over again, and i think you will learn quickly.

[lbfin88]

Never give up! Never give up! Never give up! I found it's the key to success. Everything else will fall into place if you keep at it.

[jardz]

Originally Posted by lbfin88

Never give up! Never give up! Never give up! I found it's the key to success. Everything else will fall into place if you keep at it.

never give up, is the most important experience of learning a unicycle!

[NotSoYoungOne]

I actually wrote this up two days ago, but it took me so long to write it that when I went to submit I had been logged out so I lost it all! Lesson learned, make a copy before submitting

Thanks for the words of encouragement everyone! I believe them!

I did a quick review of Andrew Carter, Klaas Bil book and decided to start out in the entryway/hall for a few minutes to get the feel of things. Then I transitioned out to the garage. Our Astro van is parked, as I face out toward the street, on the right side, leaving the left side open and the driveway empty. For about 30 minutes I started out at the front of the van using the mirror as my initial handle, then worked my way down the side of the van until I got to the end where I would launch out into the driveway. I had a couple good runs where I was able to make it a little way before falling.

I rolled the tire across the floor for one revolution and measured the distance = exactly 5 feet. So one pedal stroke = 2.5 feet. I find it easy to count pedal strokes and calculate distance that way. I had a few rides of 4 or 5 pedals.

Next I went down to the end of our street where there is about 40 feet of concrete block wall running right next to the sidewalk. I worked up and down it for about 30 minutes, while mixing up which foot I started the mount with. I noticed that the right pedal was coming loose so I headed back to the garage. Besides, an hour is about the max for me right now time-wise.

After tightening the pedal I decided to try one or two more launches from the van. Surprisingly I had a good ride of 7 pedals, so I kept going for another 10 minutes where I had one more 7 pedal ride and my best yet, 8 pedal strokes! The best part was that 2 of these three were pretty straight and under control, and the 8 pedal ride felt really natural. Woohoo!

Key Lessons;
1. Don't try to catch the unicycle, just let it fall
2. More arm flailing is more better
3. If your foot is not straight forward the crank arm will come up from behind and you will experience a very nice unplanned dismount (UPD for those newbies like me that were wondering what this meant) - every time guarnteed!!

Tip for other newbies;
Being physically fit is very important. Leg strength, core strength, and reasonable flexibility are key to a good experience, and maybe even to eventual success. But maybe this is a moot point, as anyone crazy enough to do this already gets it.

So far I am having fun. My previous attempt earlier this year, and the attempt 10 years ago were not very fun and I got frustrated a lot. Perhaps I have grown up a little? But somehow this time I am really enjoying the journey. I think this site, and this journal are also key to the level of enjoyment. It is fun to come to a place where everyone understands perfectly.

[NotSoYoungOne]

Started out in the hall again for 5 minutes, then out to the garage. It is getting dark but the lighting is sufficient. Practiced for about 30 minutes and had a couple good rides of 4-5 pedals. I had one wild ride of 13 pedals, which is my longest yet (just over 30 feet!), but I was not stable at all - veering both directions but primarily to the left. So while it was not pretty, it was pretty cool. Just before calling it an evening I had one very smooth ride of 6 pedals. Though it was not as long it was very straight and I felt under control and natural.

Key Learnings:
1. Take satisfaction from every success, no matter how small
2. Expectations are not high/low, but realistic or not. Don't expect too much, just try hard everytime. And smile

[NotSoYoungOne]

Quick question;
How do I get to this thread easily after logging in? So far I have used the search feature, but it seems like I should be able to find it another way. Any tips?

[unireed]

Originally Posted by NotSoYoungOne

Quick question;
How do I get to this thread easily after logging in? So far I have used the search feature, but it seems like I should be able to find it another way. Any tips?

you can look in just conversation if it is recent enough, or you could on your profile page go to threads started by you

[Doc Doo]

NotSoYoungOne, you can "Suscribe to thread" in the thread tools at the top of this page. Then when you log in you click User CP and it will be there if there's been activity, if not just click View all suscribed threads.

Alternatively you go to your profile and click on statistics and "All threads started by...." eta ^ as unireed suggested above.

Simples!

Sorry to hear you had a not so productive session with your uni, I've had more than one or two of those and although it's a little disheartening it's still positive in that at least you were 'playing' with your uni.

Like you I don't have 2hrs a day to practice so it's 'as and when' which suits me and my life. I envy those who do have a lack of responsibilities that can practice as much as they like.

[NotSoYoungOne]

Thanks Doc Doo and Unireed for the tips. I just needed to look closer at the User CP (Control Panel?). Since I started this thread I am already registered on it - duh!

So, day 8 did not go so well either. Day 9 was today, Saturday Oct 2nd (I think it is past midnight, but close enough)

I practiced 3 times today; 20 minutes morning, 40 minutes early afternoon, 60 minutes late afternoon. My 16 year old daughter and I went to lunch and she recommended I try practicing on a pedestrian bridge that was just completed near our home over a busy street. I had not thought of it, but it sounded like a possibility. My challenge has been finding somewhere with plenty of space, free of traffic, and lots of 'wall' for supported practicing.

I had already practiced twice today, along a wall mentioned in an earlier post, and using my pickup parked out on the street. But I was not really making much progress. My concern about the pedestrian bridge was the sloped ramps, but I decided to give it a try. After a few minutes of experimentation I found the the ramps were long enough and the slope shallow enough that I could use them, and that this was actually a pretty ideal place to practice. I will try to get a couple photo's to include in my next post.

I went up and down numerous times, and used the flat switch-backs as opportunities to let go of the railing and 'sprint' across some short open distances. At first these attempts were miserable failures but as the time wore on I began to get more and more confidence and ended up with many comfortable 'sprints'. I also found that the slope, both directions, was quite helpful in forcing me to position myself well, keep most of my weight in the saddle, and use my legs a lot to control things. It is hard to describe, or even identify, all the things I learned. Short to say, this is an ideal training area and I feel that I will progress much more going forward using it.

Key Learnings:
1. The quick release on the seat post has been bothering me all along so I removed it and replaced it with a bolt that I cinched down very tightly. Having the saddle move back and forth horizontally was probably a factor in my lack of progress. I did this in the third session, so the last hour it was nice to have it not move around!
2. Squeezing my knees together seemed to help a lot. It did not necessarily help me go straight every time I attempted an unsupported ride, but it just kept me on the uni much better so even if I turned I did not immediately fall off.
3. There is an interesting balance of weight on the saddle to pushing with legs. Whenever I got it out of whack bad things happened. As I grew tired at the end of the third, and hour-long, session my foot slipped off the pedal several times, which forced me to focus on this. Though I was getting tired I was able to get it back together finish the hour with good success.

All in all day 9 was a big success. Not based on having a great unsupported ride, but in discovering an excellent training area, and making steady progress during the hour that I was there. I will not have a lot of days when I can spend a full hour, much less two, but I feel that I will make good progress on the pedestrian bridge each day going forward. Thanks to my daughter, Chelsea, for thinking of it!!

Good luck to others that are learning. Doc Doo, my fellow 46-year-old-learner, keep me (us) posted on your progress.

[Uni Zen]

Yesterday something totally unexpected happened. I learned to ride a unicycle! My brother B. (NotSoYoungOne) started learning to unicycle last September, and has been trying to coax me into the sport ever since. But I don't own a uni, and don't have a budget to get one right now. Plus, it just seems like a hard sport to break into. B. said it took him about 15 days of 30 - 60 minutes per day of practice before he could ride. Hearing that, I was a little hesitant to commit.

Yesterday B. brought his 20" uni for me to practice with, and helped me get started. I went into it with no expectations really, just wanted to try, have fun and not put any pressure on myself. Truthfully, without B.'s prodding, I wouldn't have been interested enough to try. But he got me out there and patiently helped me learn the basic concepts. He walked beside me, holding me up, as I rode drunkenly up and down the street in front of Mom and Dad's house. I'm sure that wasn't very comfortable for him, since I weigh 190 pounds. We worked on it for about 30 minutes in the morning, then left for a family visit to the art museum and dinosaur tracks exhibit.

Around 5:00 pm we arrived back at the house and went out to try the uni again. This time it felt much more natural, and I was able to balance without leaning so much on B. After maybe an hour or so I began to lean only on his hand rather than having my whole arm around his shoulders. And after a few more tries, I felt confident enough to let go of his hand. When I did this I'd go for a couple of pedals, and then wipe out. Did that a few times and then suddenly was able to pedal about 25 feet unassisted. That was exhilarating, and I immediately tried a free mount and somehow I did it and rode for about 30 feet! B. was amazed, and so was I.

I kept trying, and had several successful mounts and some long stretches of riding. The longest was about 150 feet. It was kind of a zen thing (hence my pseudonym). If I thought about it too much, or tried too hard, it didn't work. But when I just enjoyed the experience and went with the flow, my body learned it super fast. Kind of like rock climbing–over thinking doesn't help, it just complicates it.

All in all, I learned to free mount, learned to bail without eating asphalt when the ride is going ill, learned to dismount, and learned to hop. I'm lucky B. was willing to help coach and physically support me as I learned. I'm sure his help accelerated my learning curve by 10x.

Once I kept my balance for a while and rode, it was one of the freest feelings I've ever experienced.

Thanks to B. for having the vision of how I could learn to ride, and cajoling me into it. I'm just so busy right now that I didn't know if I could fit one more new learning curve into my life. But it happened so much faster than I expected! And now I have a cool new sport to do with my bro.

I'm thankful for moments like this that are serendipitous. They make life magical.

[jamberry]

Thanks Al & Pax--he complained a bit about the hat--said I was determined to make him look like a fool. I pointed out that he was riding a unicycle in a mardi gras parade--fool, jester, get it, kid? It was all good! lol

NSYO, I was on a 24" Nimbus MUni and Uniana Jones was on a K1 gold devil. One observation is having the smaller wheel is probably better for parades because of the slow and/or stop&go pace of the parade. But I'd just go in circles or idle or go backwards a bit to try to buy time/space and not dismount too much. When I did dismount, I'd take a moment to get some more beads ready to throw. We were thinking for the next parade we might attach some contact info on the beads/trinkets we toss to try to start up a local club or something. I wonder if we'd get any takers!

Pax and Maw--looking forward to hooking up next month!

Uni Zen--welcome and well done!!!

jamberry

[missingawheel]

UniZen- sounds like you are a natural, congrats! I'm sure your bro helped a lot, from what I've seen of his writings here it seems like he is patient and very good at explaining things. I sincerely hope you get hooked... what I love most about it is how convenient it is, I can spontaneously walk out my door with uni in one hand and ride around my parking lot, come back in and be working again. Every day you do that you get better.

Today I found some new singletrack near my 'stomping grounds', looked mellow and fast with a few roots and rocks. So I hit it- and couldn't seem to ride worth a darn, couldn't turn, what the heck? First UPD and I noticed that under the matted layer of leaves was perfectly slick mud, made the riding experience very much like ice. No wonder I couldn't turn, no scrub torque! Leaning turns became slides. Finally I found some drier sections and found my way back to my doubletrack loop trail. 7 miles in all of glorious sunny dirt riding.

Back at the car I pulled out the 20" for a cool-down session. I finally learned to hop, and turn-hop; succeeded in doing 180's in two hops, and rode away; neat! Oye muscles were complaining so I called it a day. I'm still recovering, flesh weak.

[Esquip1717]

I have recently purchased a 24" wheeled unicycle and have been practicing for two days. Today I made it for 3 revolutions. I have been using a variety of methods such as going along a fence, pushing a shopping cart, and pushing off between two dumpsters in the back of a shopping center. So far, I feel that I have made tangible progress each day, but truly satisfying progress eludes me. I have noticed when pushing a shopping cart that I can go 30 to 40 feet, but there are times when I know I'm not really riding correctly. But I can also feel that there are times when the riding seems to click and I can feel the balance kicking in. Is this a good technique? It seems to me that at some point I will just push the shopping cart away and not need it anymore. Those times when I put excessive pressure on the cart, the wheel is unwieldly, but when it goes smoothly, my weight is on the seat and the cart is not a factor.

[uncommitted]

I wouldn't stay with the shopping cart for very long, probably a good exercise to get used to being on one wheel but probably isn't great for actually learning.

Riding along a fence for a bit will get you a little closer to the correct form.

After that I've found that the bottom of some stairs is a good next step. Place the wheel against the bottom step, use the rail to get on the uni, and then take off unassisted.

Once you get used to that, use the bottom step without the rail to get a little closer to free mounting.

Welcome, and best of luck!