Here is my story. I ride around town each summer on my Boneshaker Highwheeler usually to the coffee shop and home. It usually creates quite a conversation for people who haven’t seen it before. One day a young kid said to me “Can you ride a unicycle?” I said “No, but I’d like to be able to ride one.” That was he start. I went home and punched in “unicycle” and started reading. I can do this, so I went to a Schwinn shop and bought my first uni. I had to get a longer seatpost and I started July 20, 2005. I live in a small town and have never seen anyone ride a unicycle here or anywhere in my 62 years. Our Fall Festival parade was coming up the last of September so I thought I could dazzle the folks by then. WRONG! I read somewhere it would take a 60 year old approximately 40 hours to learn to ride. I knew I could do it before that horrendous length of time. WRONG AGAIN. I’m sure I now have over 50 hours of practice and my best run is approximately 150’. I’ve done that several times (Maybe 6). I am a wonderful athlete (in my mind) but that was forty years ago. Maybe things do change. I don’t know why people complain about their seats or saddles. They seem fine to me for five or six seconds. Maybe they get uncomfortable after thirty seconds. I haven’t ridden (ha!) for six weeks due to old man winter. Anybody have any suggestions I can do in the house that would help something? I’m having withdrawal symptoms. I am going to do this someday. By the way, I wish I knew who that kid was, I’d like to thank him.
hmm… i think anyone can do it if they practice enouph. If you mean you can get 150’ without hanging onto the wall then all you need to do is keep on practicing. Otherwise you could try to hand on to the wall and ride. You should try to ride with the seat out in front of you so you get better at balancing, then riding seat in like normal you’ll be better & better unitll you can totally ride on your own without falling.
Nice post Spenoit! It’s never too late to learn, and if you can get 150’ without falling, the progress should be exponential from there. You are now a rider!
I learned just shy of my 40th, and I can’t remember how long it took, but I do remember once I was able to make it around my little cul de sac (about 150’), the distance in between falls started increasing significantly.
Indoor is tough to practice much beyond idling and still stands, although both of these will give you more time in the saddle and should help your overall balance and comfort with the unicycle.
One thing you might try during any times where the snow melts off is to go to a local high school or middle school that has a hard cinder track. They’re usually unused on weekends, easy to ride on, and let you measure your distance and track your progress. Plus they have nice big corners to get you gradually used to pedaling and turning at the same time.
You’ve also found a good forum for getting advice. I have to scoot now, but I’ll try to post some links to other helpful threads, and sites where you can see some of the basic skills–like idling–being demonstrated.
Welcome!
Tom
Great to hear of your enthusiasm!
Like the other’s said if you can ride 150’ then it’s just a matter of practice. As for the winter what size of wheel do you have?
I ride my 20" inside in a hallway… as a matter of fact I learned in that same hallway(I started in the winter) It’s a good idea to also practice idling while inside as you can hold onto things to get the feel for it.
As for people complaining about the saddle I find for myself I don’t need to wear a watch when going on a constant ride as after 1 hour exactly I start to loose feeling “down there”. It’s almost like a pins and needles feeling… If you’ve ever gotten a tattoo it’s like the numbness when getting one. Basically if you’re going on short rides you’ll be fine.
Okay, back with those links, plus a recommendation. In the future, if you start a thread that is unicycling-related or you’re looking for unicycling advice, post it in Rec.Sport.Unicycling, instead of Just Conversation. It will likely generate better response.
A good site to get to know is unicyclist.org. Leo has video clips of every skill imaginable. For example, if you want to see what I was refering to with “idling”, go to the main page, click on the “standard” link, then scroll down through all the different skills until you find idling under “stationary skills”. Then you can select from several viewing options. This site is solid gold.
Another good read is the New Unicycler’s Journal thread started by dudewithasock. It’s a great summary of some of the pitfalls and victories you can expect on your journey. Keep in mind he’s a young kid, so your progress will likely be on a different timescale, but I think you’ll encounter many of the same challenges. It’s a very detailed journal with lots of good info.
Hope these help. Good luck with your learning and please keep us posted on your progress!
Tom
You ride around town with your boneshaker hangin’ out? I bet it creates quite a commotion… It’s a wonder you dont get arrested for indecent exposure.
Spenoit, I forgot to mention this, but you’ll figure it out soon enough. On these fora we pride ourselves on our high level discourse on all things unicycling and otherwise, but we also pride ourselves on our world-class inane side comments and thread-jacks. Expect no less from a one-wheeler, and be prepared for both in any given thread. 
Hey, Great job starting out! Sounds like you almost have it!
I ride in myhouse all the time. Tomblackwood’s right on about idling. Freemounting is a good skill you can work on indoors. I find a hallway indispensible for working on wheelwalking right now, you could use a hallway for backwards riding and idling, one footed idling, too. Some don’t find that too difficult, and it’s a cool looking skill, too. Leo (links in post above) has some good video of that, but he does it very FAST if I recall. It can be doen at a slower cadence. Some indoor environs prove a good place to practice turning, too.
Riding inside feels a lot better after you stop by home depot and get some drywall tape, putty, sandpaper, primer and paint, and extra sheet of wall board. I like home repair, so I’m fearless in the house. My dogs learn to stay out of the way and my kid thinks I’m nutty, but he can see what a typical house is like at the neighboors if he likes.
Good luck to you! Have fun and get yourself wrist guards and a helmet if you haven’t already! Welcome to the fora and life on one wheel!
Dear Old Klutz,
From another “oldster”, Welcome. I learned to ride in March of 2003, shortly after I turned 50. I can appreciate that it takes longer to learn out of fear of falling down. It took me about 10 hours (15 minutes at a time) over a 2 week period before I could ride a few feet. (I am not a good athlete, never was.) It was several more weeks before I could ride across a tennis court.
I too learned on a Schwinn. The seat is okay for awhile but is not good for long distances. Also, don’t ride in blue jeans or other really heavy fabric pants because they have a big knot in the seam right about where your prostate is. Not comfortable to sit on. Consider a Kris Holm style seat (NOT the air seat) as they are much more comfortable and will fit on a Schwinn seat post. Wear pants with a flat seam in the crotch.
I can appreciate the “withdrawal” as can most people on the forum. It is supposed to warm up to about 60 degrees today. Right now I am anxiously waiting for the ground to dry because it rained overnight. I personally cannot recommend any riding inside the house unless you want to tear up the walls. Based on my experience, you are not ready for idling or one-foot riding or seat-out-front riding. Those are hard for us old guys. Just ride. Since you can ride 150 feet, you can do this. Just keep working at it. Expertise comes with experience.
When you can get back outside, try a tennis court. They are smooth, flat and you can hold onto the chain link fence around the court. That’s where I did my early training.
In my early days, I was not sure I would be able to do this because of the strain on my legs (thighs). As you get more comfortable with the balance and turning the wheel, rest your weight on the seat and NOT on our feet. To ride over a bump, switch your weight to your feet just long enough to get over the bump then go back to resting on the seat.
Keep riding. You have gotten past the hardest part.
PS, Don’t kill the kid.
Hi!
I agree that with others, If you have a garage or basement…
work on freemount, that help work you into stillstand/idleing.
You’ll find that when you get the freemount going, there’s a balance point that will get you into idleing.
Although I’m not as old as you (45) I’ve been riding over 35 years.
You’ll find that once bitten by the uni bug, you’ll never forget how to ride.
I’ve had dry spells over the years where I never rode.
And, then … you see your lonely uni in the corner …
… and poof … your riding again … and all those glowing feelings of accomplishemnt come flowing back…
ride on !
You can do it.
If I’m not mistaken, there were several 60-year-old guys doing the UnicycleLaosTour, and maybe one had learned recently.
You can do it. You may want to check for indoor basketball courts that are available, or outdoor courts which have been shoveled. Our local YMCA allows uni, but no metal pedals indoors. Don’t let winter stop you!
Billy
Thank you for all the great responses and encouragement. I failed to mention that it is a 20" wheel. I appreciated catboy’s post. I now realize why there were so many guffaws and jeering when I rode by. I did notice when I stopped, most visits were by the young(er) opposite sex. Just kidding. Thanks again.
Welcome to the wonderful world of unicycling, where nothing will ever be the same again, people will react differently to you - will ridicule you when it is none of their business, will expect you to entertain them and will laugh at you just because you’re doing your ‘thing’.
Unicycling has made me see both other people and myself, in a different light.
But now I can fly!
Cathy