Desperate for Help

General
21

Make sure you’re sitting up straight on the seat, too. If you’re bent too far forwards then you have extra weight pulling you forward, and you have to compensate by pedalling faster; which results in a upd. Try leaning a bit further backward. You’ll find that if you are seated properly, and focused on a static point (maybe a lamp in the distance), you will be more steadily balanced and able to pedal forward without much difficulty.

Everything became much easier once I started focusing on distant objects.

Remember to keep your head up - look where you want to go.

22

And that reminds me, make sure the seat is straight. Repeated UPDs can knock it off center and that can make riding it a bit more difficult. Just check every now and then that the seat is still straight when compared to the wheel.
If you have a quick-release clamp on your seatpost, it makes more sense to loosen and correct than to force it back to being straight.

23

Keep practising!

It took me a couple of months, doing an hour, five days a week before it “clicked”!

I’m still very much a beginner, but after six months, I can go out with my son on jaunts along the seafront and other places and it’s fun!.

good luck,

Hooked

24

Keep trying. It took me about 80 hours over 8 months to do 50 meters. One day it just ‘clicked’ and I could ride. No matter how long it takes, don’t give up. It caused me a lot of frustration but it has been so worth it. This is so much fun.

25

Just thought I’d add some more !!! :roll_eyes:

26

One thing that helped me out when I first was able to achieve a carlength or two:
As soon as I was underway, I would pick a pebble or blade of grass at the opposite end of my riding space, and lock eyes on it. By intently staring at an object, often enough it would result in my head travelling in a straight line while the uni swerved wildly below.
Keep at it, it takes a long time to perfect falling off! Once that’s done, riding comes easy.

27

Keep it up, duderideswithsocks! It took me three weeks of daily practice to be able to ride up and down the street… turning, well, that’s another chapter in my book. Don’t worry too much about all the advice you hear, except to endure the pain and keep on practicing!

You have the ability in you, your task is to find that ability. Keep on truckin’!

28

The Maestro is correct, it took me that long too; just keep at it and don’t give up!

29

ok am i the only one who noticed the website??? Thats really good klass bil. How long did the spreadsheet take you??

Mike

30

Keep trying. Don’t compete against others, or against an imaginary normal level of progress. For everyone ahead of you, there is someone behind you.

Relax. It is a game. It can be hard work and frustrating, but anything worthwhile demands effort.

Here’s a common problem: trying to remain in control at every moment of the ride.

Try this experiment: take a long handled broom, and balance it on your finger, so that the broom head is in the air. Now, walk 5 metres.

There are two ways to do this. You can take a step, regain your balance, take another step, regain your balance, take a step, regain tyour balance…

Or you can let the broom start to fall, and then keep up with it, never quite regaining your balance.

The second is the right way.

If you get on your unicycle and go: pedal, balance, pedal, balance… you will tiure yourself out.

If you get on your unicycle, let it start to fall, then pedal smoothly after it, it will be easier.

The only problem then is making sure you don’t fall faster than you can pedal smoothly.

Smooooooooooooooooooooooth

Good luck.

Remember Mr. and Mrs Vere, and their son, Percy.

31

Believe you can do it. And one day you will.

It took me about 6 weeks of daily practice to ride 50yards. The more difficult it is to learn the more of an achievement it is when you get there. If I can do it (being totally balancly challenged) then anyone can.

Cathy

32

I actually find myself forced to do this pretty much every fall, but luckily I have a quick release clamp like you mentioned, and can straighten the seat out pretty easily.

Thanks again for all the support guys :slight_smile:

33

sounds like ur doin fine to me…it took me a month to learn to ride and a nother week to freemount. you will get it with time and practice

34

Re: Desperate for Help

On Mon, 28 Nov 2005 16:08:52 -0600, dudewithasock wrote:

>I actually find myself forced to do this pretty much every fall, but
>luckily I have a quick release clamp like you mentioned, and can
>straighten the seat out pretty easily.

Maybe the quick release isn’t tight enough. Many types of quick
release can be adjusted (sort of pre-tensioned) while they are undone,
by turning a nut or ring at the other side as where the lever is.

Klaas Bil - Newsgroup Addict

“erectile function trumps public image - David Stone, commenting on the importance of seat comfort”

35

Re: Desperate for Help

On Mon, 28 Nov 2005 12:16:15 -0600, swarbrim wrote:

>ok am i the only one who noticed the website??? Thats really good klass
>bil. How long did the spreadsheet take you??

Thanks. The analysis, the spreadsheets (also the talent.xls one) and
the web pages took me many a night. Oh and the translation (it is
available in English and Dutch). But this was quite some time ago, I
think in 2003. I have a lot of new data since that time, and need to
find a good time slot to add those and come up with broader-based
predictions.

Klaas Bil - Newsgroup Addict

“erectile function trumps public image - David Stone, commenting on the importance of seat comfort”

36

I’ve actually already discovered that, too, and have tightened it to the point where I only need to restraighten the saddle post when I fall victim to a particularly nasty fall. Luckily, those are becoming rare, as I’m learning to control my falls and grab my uni fast enough as I fall to minimize the damage.

37

pm me when you get the new data on, I like it i think it is interesting. Good work klass bil.

Mike

38

Klaas does all this work as a service to the uni-community and I’m sure he’ll post a thread with a link to the new data when he gets around to finalising it.
Asking him to PM you when it’s ready might be a little presumptuous.
Just keep your eyes on the board.

39

This may sounds odd but it actually helped me when i was learning to ride. Flail your arms. Just stick them in the air and wave them round erratically! not only do you look stupid, but its fun!

40

IF your gonna fall to the side, try to turn your whole unicycle to the side, so that you stay on top of it, never stop pedaling, until you are at a 45 degree angle to the ground i think, but dont hurt yourself