Hey everyone! I’ve been a quiet member of the community for a while now, watching videos and reading other peoples comments while I struggled with my own unicycling. I’ve owned one for over 7 years now but only really started riding about 3 years ago, and even then only sporadically.
At my birthday last November I decided I was done being jealous of all the riders I see on here and the few people I found to ride with in Austin where I live and decided that I’d man up and step up to the plate, declaring an ultimatum that from that day on I would ride for half an hour every day for as long as I could, hopefully at the bare minimum at least a year.
I did really well for the about the first month, keeping good track of everything and recording my ride times, distances, and what Uni I rode with really well. For the first month. And then the holidays came and while I actually did quite well riding through christmas time even with family here around new years my schedule got crazy, I got sick and most of all I just got lazy and bummed out (the bummed out part is completely unrelated, just made energy levels even worse). This is where I am hoping you guys can come in.
All I’m looking for is someone(s) to keep me on my feet and keep my accountable for my mouth writing checks my body should be able to keep up with. Anyone else who wants to make the same agreement (and I realize for some of you riding half an hour a day is practically nothing, but I’m not all too athletic to begin with so it’s taking it’s toll on my) or who just wants to yell at me if they haven’t seen me post in a while. Or anyone who just thinks I seem like a cool person that doesn’t mind the occasional “hey so…how’s the riding coming”?
Honestly even just some words of encouragement or tips would be vastly appreciated.
My blog I’m using (and trust me, I entered the world of blogging with extreme hesitancy) is located at UnicyleDaily.blogspot.com.
I’m not trying to advertise my own website for personal gain, please don’t click any advertisements or anything on it if you do happen to glance at it and if putting my website up here is a problem feel free to let me know.
Thanks for y’alls time and consideration, please be kind with any comments you may have as this is the first time I’ve ever posted to the forum!
My unicycle is my main means of transportation, so I get in at least 30mins/day(usually more, with multiple commutes, trips to the grocery, etc) by default whether I’m actively practising or not.
Hey DaneDawson!
So, what took you so long to post?!
Welcome aboard !!!
If you need moral support there is no better way to get it than to post here,
…like you just did!
I’m right across the Louisiana border near Lake Charles.
Not close enough to be riding partners, but we are sort of neighbors.
I COMMEND you for your 30 minute a day goal!
GO for it!
I looked up your profile.
No “about me.”
Can you tell us a little more about yourself?
I have been getting my rides in, thanks! If I have somewhere I am going/am looking for a good long ride to I have a coker I ride around, but for most of my rides around my neighborhood I ride a 24" MUni. My neighborhood/part of town isn’t terribly biker friendly so I don’t have too many places I can go from my front door. My brother lives in Dallas, next time I visit I’ll make sure to give you a shout!
@Heretical Rants: I would ride to where-ever I need to go, but as previously said (unfortunately) my neighborhood/area of town isn’t very bike friendly and doesn’t even have much for sidewalks. And work for me is about 15 miles away, which is by no means impossible but not a good place to start riding. I do go to classes around 6-7 miles away and I am planning on riding there at least once to see the plausibility.
@57UniRider: Updated my “about me” today, and thanks for the encouragement! While I don’t have any family that lives in louisiana my brother is planning a wedding in New Orleans later this year, if I can sneak off maybe we can get a ride in! Sorry for taking so long to participate in the forums, I was hesitant with my lack of skill and was honestly just being a lame-o. This is hopefully the start of a nice change!
Thanks for everyone who replied, those of you with whom it’s feasible I hope to get a ride with some day!
Dane dawson…you have a coker. Don’t they only build them in one size?..huge, and you say you have a lack of skill. I would give my high teeth to be able to ride one of those marvelous machines LOL
I’ve been riding for over a year and a half ( I think) and I can only ride forwards but I’m happy. Why don’t you start to post on the ‘learning journal’ thread? it would be great to read how you are getting along. And…if you don’t post for a while we’ll come looking for you cos we know where you live. tee hee
Yes, you did…
and a BUSY fellow you ARE!
Thanks for the info!
As Alucard said… "Lack of skilll !!!
I can only dream of doing what you are doing!
Come on… Join in the fun!
Reading threads is not nearly as much fun as participating.
That would be like WATCHING a unicyclist ride by and wishing you could do that some day.
I will admit, I may be biased. The only other Unicyclists I know that ride in my town have been riding for years, and my most frequent riding partner/closest Uni friend can easily ride for 9-10 miles on his Coker and then go for a run afterwards. The only “group” that I know that rides together in my area consistently rides cokers 4-5 miles minimum and excels in riding stairs, tight agility turns and rough terrain as well as other stuff I wouldn’t try on a 24", much less a coker. Very intimidating, made even more so by the fact that the group consists of someone 10 years my senior, someone 20 years my senior, and someone 5 years younger than me.
@Alucard: The trick to riding a coker is just getting started. It took me months to be able to freemount it, but once you get going it’s not too much different from “normal” riding. I was lucky enough to have a good friend of mine give his old worn out coker so I didn’t have to worry about the (to me) ridiculous investment a new Coker would be.
Anyone who lives in Texas or near the Austin area please feel free to message me and friend me so we can meet up to ride! It’d be a fun road trip to head out somewhere and go for a round with a fellow Unicyclist!
You have uni buddies, that’s good.
Funny thing, I used to feel intimidated, I even posted a few words about it. Now I can freemount two out of three (ain’t bad), I’m much less intimidated.
Maybe one day you’ll get to their level, but isn’t it fun learning and achieving.
Maybe also, they have more uni years than you. Just enjoy yourself
Welcome Dane, I’m glad you became vocal. It sounds like a good plan to ride 30 minutes a day if you can. Sometimes I go out and ride when I am bummed and surprisingly it gets my mind off things and adrenaline flowing, it makes me feel better. Ride and enjoy! I will be happy to say the occasional “hey so…how’s the riding coming”? 36ers are great I hope you are enjoying it. Once again, welcome.
On my way home from work today I saw a young lad on a uni. I wanted to peep my horn and wave but thought better not…didn’t want him to fall off. He was doing a good job battling against the wind in Rhyl.
Been keeping up with my rides fairly frequently now! I did the math on my blog again because my math looked all weird, as of today (day 65) I’ve ridden a total of 1753 minutes (out of the 1950 I am supposed to have ridden) and 118.8 miles. This means that I’m about 7 days behind somehow. Which is mega lame, but I can catch up! As long as I stay at least up to date I can make up the difference, and my goal is to be back even by the end of February at the latest.
Thanks for the prodding! You can keep up with my progress on my site at
That’s most excellent dude.
Glad you got back in touch, I couldn’t get on your blog site the other day, but managed it just now.
Keep up the good work.
ps do your pets sleep by the fridge
Hey, Dane. I enjoyed riding with you and your friend on Friday. Nice to get out and ride with someone else, even though my skills and that Hookworm tire didn’t do so great on the trail. Glad I could be part of your 30 minutes a day. Thanks!
After a wile it just gets easier as you cardio improves. Off-road is a good way to kick your heart rate through the roof. keep it up dude!!!
BTW KEEP AUSTIN WEIRD !!!
Six months ago I too decided to ride a half hour a day minimum. I managed nearly 100% for nearly four months and in that time managed to be able to free mount and ride a mile or so w/o any UPDs. I still ride probably 4 hrs a week now (I’d ride more, but it’s winter in New England) and just managed 4 miles of rutted, bad road with o UPDs and a 7 or so mile trip on/off road on Saturday.
It’s a good plan; one of the best things I’ve ever done for myself. Posting and reading here is also a good plan; I can’t begin to thank everyone for the inspiration they provide me.
Did you get your 30 minutes in today? What are you working on?
