After owning a unicycle for about 25 years, I have decided that it was time to learn to ride it. I have been going over each night to a local building and practicing on their sidewalk along the side of the building. I have gotten about 10 feet so far before I fall. When I hit the cement this evening I began wondering if it would be better as a beginner to have a municycle and practice on the grass. I have an old Cyclepro 20 in Unicycle and I wonder if that is my problem too. Should I buy a better unicycle to start with, or should I keep trying with what I have and then, when I can ride, purchase a better one? I have been looking at a Torker Lx 24 in. or today I noticed some nice prices on the K1 track Monster 24 Muni. My goal is to be able to ride the bike trails and some local commuting. Should I learn with what I have or should I purchase something better?
Syver hi, welcome to the forum.
I’d say, as long as everything on the uni works, stick with what you’ve got until you can ride about a bit.
A more comfortable seat will make a difference to your learning tho, so there might be value in upgrading from that point of view.
Hello syver, from a fellow 50-something unicycle enthusiast.
Pleased to meet you. Looking forward to visiting with you and hearing your success stories.
Hi Syver. Welcome to the forums.
Stick with what you have for learning a long as it is not damaged.
Learning to ballance on grass is a bit easier as the uni won’t roll out from under you so quickly. (Allows your reaction times to be bit slower) however actually riding / moving on grass is reasonably difficult as any rough surface makes for challanging unicylying even for experienced riders.
It would probably be best if you just stuck with the sidewalk & wall plan that you have adopted so far.
It won’t be long and you’ll be on your way. Good luck & have fun.
…and your not so successful stories. There should be plenty of those as well. As you learn you will have really good sessions followed by, “What the crap? I could do this yesterday” kind of sessions. Don’t get discouraged. Sounds like you are doing better than most in so short of time.
ditto mbalmer !
No kidding!
It’s really helpful to be able to tell fellow unicyclists (or unicyclist wanna bes 
) what’s going on… and get a few pointers and some good “you can do it” comments!
Stick with the sidewalk
Learning to ride is easier, in my humble opinion, on pavement. The grassy areas may be uneven, soft and slippery. Grassy areas require more strength too.
Some of my worst ankle scares have been when I tried to traverse a grassy area, tried to dismount, and found the grass to be wet and slippery. I didn’t get a severe sprain, but I thought I should have and was pleasantly surprised to find I could still put weight on it.
JD Miller
Syver, welcome to the forum. As many others have said, if your unicycle is working stick with it. Once you are moving further and ready to roll on you will want to upgrade and your choice will be easier once you are riding. Use your starter until you know this is what you want to do and until you know what type of unicycle will serve you best.
Also as jmille2788 said, I too think learning on the pavement is much easier. The uni spins easier and pedaling is smoother. Practice, practice and you will do great.
Once again, welcome.
Thank you all for the good advice. I guess I had kind of figured that you would all be saying the same thing. I was able to be re-assured as to what I had orginally thought. Thanks for the encouragement.
Welcome! from a 46 yo noob. My input would be don’t forget the safety gear. I have a helmet, kneepads, and gloves as a minimum. I am still looking for elbow pads that fit. Haven’t hit the elbows yet, but have torn skin on knees and palms, and hit the head twice, fortunately wearing a helmet both times.
Happy Riding!!
Thanks AnimalCage. I have been wearing a wrist brace since I have had a previous break there and I don’t have the normal movement there, other than that I have not worn the pads. I think that I will start though, it could save a “bunch” of skin. I have been going out in the evenings and practicing against a school that has some outside lights. The good thing is that nobody is around to bother me. I have decided that this will be the the summer that I will finally learn to do THIS!!
Hey, I’m tied for second youngest person in this thread!
Welcome and good luck! I see you are a person who does not rush into things, LOL. Glad you decided to dust off your unicycle and discover the joys of unicycling! (One of those joys is… us!
– but that’s just the beginning! Unicycling is great fun, keeps you young at heart, is great exercise, and will bring new friendships into your life.)
Welcome Syver!
I started about 10 days before you, and I’m definitely still a wall leaner at 16 days. I just passed my 58th birthday. 
If you are interested in my learning journal, I added it to a thread that has been going for a little while. It is called Learning Journal. If you search for it, you will find it.
Some of the best words I learned a couple weeks ago were that
- essentially anyone that can walk, can ride a unicycle, and
- It takes 60% determination, 35% persistence, and 5% balance.
It will be interesting to see how we each progress in the next weeks.
Risk
Howdy Syver!
I was looking for this quote not too long ago Imrisk, thanks for posting it!
Syver, when I started learning back in April '11, I made the mistake of trying to learn how to idle first. Then my friend said to scratch idling since it was supposedly a level 2 or 3 skill; he said to just go for it and ride straight. Taking his advice and learning to ride straight first helped me the most…with the help of our long hallway. In my opinion, if you have access to a long hallway that you can reach both walls on, this is ideal…that and don’t look straight down at the floor (yet) when you ride; kinda like a canoe.
Cheers and HAVE FUN!
I had been doing pretty well, I thought. Then Thursday night came and I fell on my side and twisted a rib, so I have been pretty sore for a few days. I did take some time off, but soon it will be time to get back out there. It really only hurts now when I breathe so I guess I know what to do to make it not hurt. 
I’ve been known to walk a little funny. People have stopped asking why, and just assume its that crazy unicycle thing. Rest well, but don’t wait too long!
I’ve hurt my ribs 3 times 
. The first time was from riding on my belly while pedaling with my hands. The other two times were falls. It took between 4 an 6 weeks to heal, though I continued to ride. Rib pain doesn’t hurt when riding. It hurts when sitting up in bed, climbing on a stand up paddle board, and, like you said, breathing.
Sorry to hear about the fall Syver, heal well.
I’d personally go with 5% Inspiration and 95% Perspiration, but I think we’re saying the same thing.
The unicycle itself is probably fine, but your circa-1985 Cyclepro seat–depends on the variation–could be a torture device, especially for full-grown adults. If it’s the same width front and back, seriously consider a seat upgrade. You’ll have to measure your seatpost (in mm) and buy a seat and post. It’s safe to splurge on it, as you’ll be able to keep that seat for years, and future unicycles. It won’t be destroyed like the seats of yesteryear; at most you might decide to replace the plastic bumpers after a few years.
To not break the bank, try one of these. I used one of those on a 72-mile ride a few years ago. The pricier Kris Holm seats are also great, but I don’t want this thread to turn into one about seat preference (there are plenty of those already). The matching post is a Schwinn or Kris Holm style, like this one. NOTE: You’ll need to get the right width and length. Your width is probably 7/8" (22.2mm) like that one, but check to be sure. And 300mm is probably long enough also. Better to buy too long than too short! Cut it down if needed, with pipe-cutter or hacksaw. In fact, if it’s an original CyclePro from the 80s, it’s possible you don’t even have enough post to raise the seat to properly fit you. Another excuse to upgrade.
I’d stick with that one for now. It seems the best path is to learn on a “learner” type uni, which will take a lot of punishment in the process, then later, when you have a better idea of where you’d like to go next, choose your specific weapon. But definitely consider a seat upgrade.
I used to have a set of percentages like that; wish I could remember them (they’re in these forums someplace). Something like 90% inspiration, 18% perspiration and 2% not worrying about what other people think. Maybe that last number should be higher for learners over the age of 30.
But it’s inspiration that’s the key. For many, it doesn’t matter how much you perspire, if you don’t stick with it you might just have a unicycle hanging around your garage for 25 years…
So don’t quit now!
Thanks for the encouragement
Wow! Riding on your belly and pedaling with your hands. I wish I could just stay upright! I am impressed. I did take a week off from riding, then I picked up an old 24 in that seems to work well. So now I have to really get to practicing to make up for lost time.