What is your experience of unicycling? My first day on a unicycle dates back to (checks calendar) yesterday. This is the hardest physical activity/sport I’ve tried to pick up as an adult. Maybe the hardest since I learned to walk. I now have a deep appreciation for those who can ride with something like ease. My plan is to:
Complete a minimum of 100 practice sessions
in 100 days
and to do two or more sessions on the days I can
and to complete 100 days in a row
A session means a minimum of 21 minutes of practice (I would say “riding,” but that’s clearly a long ways off).
I’m both excited and scared. But mostly excited.
I’ve read some great instructional posts and seen some very useful videos here. I feel fortunate that I found this place.
I have a deep appreciation for those who are brave enough to learn unicycling at „a certain age“. At 68 years old you are well above my threshold of „a certain age“. Kudos for making this decision, and wish you a successful and accident-free learning of this very particular way to move around.
Welcome to the group and the world of unicycling, Brian! That sounds like a fantastic plan! With perseverance like that, I am 100% confident that you will indeed learn how to ride a unicycle. The time it takes, short or long, matters not. The only thing that is important is keeping at it until you’ve achieved your goal, and you strike me as the type of person who doesn’t give up easily. So in a sense, you are already halfway there because you made the decision to become a unicyclist, you have a plan, and now you WILL become a unicyclist. Please keep us posted on your progress.
it took me 3 weeks of practising every evening for 2 hours, before I could ride around on a parking lot. I was 39 at the time (10 years ago). Im sure you will learn well within 100 days. Just don’t give up and keep at it. your body will just have to adjust to the balance, but Im sure muscle memory works at every age. And don’t forgot to have fun while doing it.
Learning to ride a unicycle can be as much of a mental struggle as it is a physical one, especially when first starting out! When I was learning 3 years ago, there were days where it felt like I put in so much effort and got nowhere, and it felt discouraging. More often than not, however, the fruits of my labor would show up the day after Any time in the saddle, whether it be a little or a lot, is progress in my book. I wish you the best of luck!
I’m 681/2. Learned @ 64, never having been on one before.
I spent an hour a day for about 3 weeks. Wasn’t long before I could ride 1/2 mile with a few unplanned dismounts thrown in.
I now ride 6-10 miles/day on 29” or 36”.
People always tell me I’m skilled. I tell them ‘no I’m just really stubborn about giving up’.
Are you strong and have you ever broken any bones?
Do you have a “practice area” and “who” will be watching you?
What size unicycle and brand have you bought.
I started when I was 50 and I quit 2x before I got a better/smaller unicycle. Then another 2 months or about 70 hrs, I got it. Supposedly 15 hrs is the average. I guess I was way below that curve, and should have properly quit forever.
a.) 1st time quitting: it was cheapie 24" unicycle, and I sat on it in my garage held onto the side of the washing machine. WTF, forget it. Then it just collected dust for about a year.
b.) After using walls and rails to hold myself. I still could not release and “reliably” get 1 or 2 pedals. I quit. Actually, I researched youtube and internet. Tried different stupid gadgets; sticks, shopping cart.
c.) Started paying attention to the “mechanics” of the unicycle movement, leg motion and upper body. Which way did I fall, what did I do? Try the opposite,…,. Once you are aware of certain things then the possibility of different combinations becomes wide open.
However, I would say 90% of unicycle beginners do not “think” about what they are doing. They are just fighting to stay on. Now, the question is how long will you stick with it. Injure yourself? before you quit. In my case, I quit but never stopped “thinking” about it. It takes a kind of madness. So, don’t worry if you “never get it” it means you are mentally healthy.
Hi Brian, welcome to the family, you’re in the right place.
I love your plan for learning, and salute your ambition, but if I may… as an almost 59yo, I would suggest your plan is overly ambitious and could lead to demoralisation.
Apologies for being negative, but learning is tough, and most if us have found that after a few consecutive sessions, where nothing seems to be happening, the best thing is to take a day or two off and go again. Doing so has surprising benefits and cant be underestimated.
Don’t beat yourself up, rather, relax and go with the process, making it fun along the way.
I wish you all the best and look forward to hearing how you’re winning.
Agree 100% on this. It’s good to commit and practice regularly. But sometimes it can also be beneficial to take a day off, or to do a shorter practice session than originally intended.
Welcome! You’ve got this! Always great to see new riders, no matter what age!
Intersting that you mentioned learning to walk. I often compare learning to ride a unicycle like learning to walk all over again. Your brain and body already has a lot of the necessary side to side balancing techniques, it’s the front to back balance that requires the most learning.
What size wheel are you learning on? Also, how are you practicing, what is your learning to ride technique?
It takes a while to figure it out. When you do, the feeling is magical. Welcome to the forum. Revel in the fact all your friends will be jealous once you can ride. Stay safe out there.
Thank you, Wheelou. Here’s hoping my old muscles can learn this new trick and, as you said, remain accident-free.
Thank you, HardcoreCokerRider. I have a leaning toward impatience, but also I think for following through. Fingers crossed.
Thanks, Uni2ONE2. I’m now on a three-day, roll, as it were.
Thanks. Soon would be good, though my definition of soon may not fit the sport’s definition of soon.
Three days in and already I relate. Thanks for the well wishes, MrHydra.
Thanks for proving it can be done later in life. This means a lot, as I’ve been searching for another 60-something who started at 60-something.
The few things for which you asked:
Cross country and track runner, sometime cyclist (not competitively), disc golf.
I’m not sure how to measure strong, but on a treadmill I land above average in cardiovascular health. My legs and lungs seem good, my left heal a wee-bit injured.
I’m practicing at a handball court at a local middle school. No one really watching, but there are strangers almost nearby. This kind of concerns me.
Twenty-inch Nimbus II
It’s possible I have the “madness” you talk about. Time will tell. Already got an existing heal injury which, to my small dismay after a few days of no issues, unicycling tweaked today.
I’ll remember this and give a rest day a go when the demoralization hits – hopefully at the leading edge of the demoralization. Thank you for your input.
Nimbus II, 20-inch. Bombard away with the unsolicited but necessary advice. Right now, most all my practice guidance has come from ChatGPT and a smidge of YouTube videos.
Yep, I will. Thanks.
Thanks for the welcome, Max. Twenty-inch Nimbus II. Practicing almost in place, moving not many inches, per questions and challenges I’ve posed to ChatGPT. Working on balance for five to ten seconds, then a quarter- to half-revolution (the half ends with an involuntary dismount even with hand on wall).
Here‘s one of the most important terms to learn, as a unicyclist:
UPD, unplanned dismount. And yes, it happens to all of us, even to the most skilled unicyclists.
The writer in JimT‘s link mentions
This is a very valuable tip for any beginner. It can be hard to wrap your head around this at first, but once you do and manage to keep your weight properly on the saddle, you will progress quicker.
Any time in the saddle, whether it be a little or a lot, is progress in my book. I wish you the best of luck!
And yes, it happens to all of us, even to the most skilled unicyclists.