Welcome and kudos to you. I started riding when I was 47 because of my oldest daughter who was then 11. The other daughter (then 9) picked it up quickly too.
They can still ride but hardly ever do it anymore while I have stayed with it.
Last night went well. At first my legs felt a bit weak and rubbery, but I persisted and worked through it. Mounting is becoming less of a challenge and more habit.
I worked hard at idling and at one point was able to idle, ride, slow to stop, and go back into an idle. But that only happened once. Still I did it and it really charged my batteries.
On a side note. My 10 year old daughter has been working on a kick-up mount and last night got it 7 times in a row. I am very proud of her. She is the youngest in a group of about twenty and is really doing well.
That would make for a very skewed turn. I think John meant bring your left shoulder forward.
The way I took it was to first bring the right shoulder back, then in a quick twisting motion bring the right shoulder forward. This will cause your lower half of the body to turn to the right.
48 just a spring chicken…I just turned 65 and since I started in may of this year I have lost 20 pounds and feel great…I try to ride everyday I can…and usually down at our city river walk …which is 7 miles long on the south side and 6 miles on the north… I usually try to make it a little farther each day…friday it was 3 miles out and 3 miles back…My body and legs don’t get that tired …its usually my seating area that gives out…but I redid my seat foam and leveled it out and its alot better…anyway thank god for unicycles it has given me a new lease on life…not to mention the cute jogger lady who thought I was awesome…no it was her that was awesome for making an old guy like me’s day. I started on a 24" but I’ve moved up to a 29er and love it…I’m waiting on my 127mm cranks so I can get some speed going…William
Wow William!
Are you saying you only started unicycling in May of this year and you are already cycling all those miles. That’s Brill.
Sal I do so envy you being able to idle, my legs just don’t have the strength
It’s great reading some of the threads and reading how people are progressing.
Well done everyone.
Elaine
you are very kind…I’m getting addicted to riding and any encouragement seems to push me further along…thank you
Hi
Hi William.
There are lots of people on these forums who give lots of encouragement and good advice.
There are threads about people just starting out and sharing their stories which is encouragement for all newbies.
I’d recommend searching for :
Learning Journal
57 UniRider
Sal Manila
Dudewithasock
and having a look at their threads.
I always end the evening looking at the “pictures of your latest ride”.
regards,
Elaine
oops
Just realised THIS IS Sal Manillas’ thread. Doh!
You got me! Yes, Sal Manilla is my alter ego. I’ve finally gotten around to making an avatar related to unicycling.
Yep! You’re right about that William. I’ve got many more years to go and I plan on being active the whole time.
I second that Alucard! That’s some serious mileage that William is putting in. Very impressive!
My progress has come to a standstill this past week, and may have even regressed a bit. I have been having a trouble with mounting and I feel extremely unstable while riding. Also my distances have shortened. Everyone has an off day or week and I know this will pass, so I’ll just keep peddling.
That’s the spirit, quitters never win!!!
A good week!
Well as the title above says, It’s been a good week. I think last I was just fatigued. We did a lot of running around and it took it’s toll in my body. But got some rest and this week I have seen some improvements again. I recovered my ability to mount and my distance increased. I’m doing well at mounting/idling/riding, but have not been able to idle after coming to a stop. I’ve also been able to relax more as I ride and my arms aren’t flailing around so much. I’m getting better at being able to adjust my footing and even grab the seat handle to adjust my seating while on the go. I know it’s all small stuff, but it adds up. That’s it for now.
A Good Week
“I’ve also been able to relax more as I ride and my arms aren’t flailing around so much. I’m getting better at being able to adjust my footing and even grab the seat handle to adjust my seating while on the go. I know it’s all small stuff, but it adds up. That’s it for now.”
Well Done!
Quick question.
I quite often freemount and put my bum on the seat wrong, then fall off quite soon after. I’ll have to try and lift up my bum whilst I’m riding. What position are your feet in when you do this?
6+12 or 3+9 o’oclock or does it not matter.
regards,
Elaine
I know you didn’t ask me, but…
when I started (in July) I found it easier to have the seat set up high in order to somewhat force me to sit on it. Now I can regularly ride ~1/4 mi or so w/o falling, and just this week I tried lowering the seat a bit. I ended up dropping it about 2" and now the seat is a lot more comfortable and I can move around on the seat as I’m pedaling! Trying to move my feet around on the pedals as I’m riding is still pretty stressful though.
What I’m trying to learn now more than anything is to establish a nice slow cadence. I can pedal furiously and stay on pretty well, but I want to get to the point where I have good control riding at a more relaxed pace. I have a long way to go.
Sam
Hi Samstoney.
I’ll try lowering my seat, then I should be able to clear it if I stand on my pedals. Thanks for that info.
"What I’m trying to learn now more than anything is to establish a nice slow cadence. I can pedal furiously and stay on pretty well, but I want to get to the point where I have good control riding at a more relaxed pace. I have a long way to go. "
Ditto that .
( I admit I had to "google " “cadence” )
In another couple of months I might try other crank lengths, see if that makes a difference.
Elaine
Short answer: I’m not sure. Long: I just hold the seat handle and shift around a bit as I am riding. I haven’t been able to stand on the peddles to change my seating. My kids just stand up with the peddles at 3&9 then sit back down. I hope, someday soon, I’ll be able to do the same.
I run a long seatpost and keep it up pretty high. When standing, it measures up with my bellybutton. I tried lowering it, but found it made it harder to ride. As I progress, I’ll slide it down a bit at a time.
I pretty good with riding a slower speeds. It’s just like everything else, practice, practice, practice. Everything will fall into place. It will just be a different order of events for each of us.
Just got back from spending the morning riding unis with my girls at the local grade school. Wow! What a difference from riding on a gym floor. Except for one prior day at the school, all my time on the uni has been spent riding in a gym or our garage. Up until now I have never really noticed that the school yard wasn’t level. As soon as I tried to mount I realized that it was sloped. It took a few tries, but I overcame it and we had a great time. I even took to riding up a long wheelchair access ramp. However, riding down I wasn’t able to do. I was amazed at much work went into riding even the slightest slope. My older girl took some video of the morning and I’ll post that after she’s done with the editing.
That is awesome. Slopes can take some time getting used to. At first, you have to spend a lot of energy fighting your own weight. Like, if you don’t lean backwards when going down a slope, and want to slow down, you have to put a lot of pressure on the back pedal to counter the pressure you put on the front pedal. After a while your body will learn to lean backwards more.
Upslope is the opposite. I still feel that it is easier than downslope, which is ironic. Going upslope feels like floating, and dancing on the pedals.
Right! I found upslope to be no problem. Leaning forward seems natural and safe. Leaning back I feel uncomfortable. Downslope I found myself riding fast and having to work harder. I was able to handle the downslope of the schoolyard, but as I stated, not the ramp.