First year of uniing

General
1

First year of serious unicycling.

this is my annual report, it’s about a year since I started to take my underused 20" onto the roads and discovered on the internet the ‘new’ unicycling (‘Nuni’?) i.e. Muni, Tuni(Trials) and, of course, Cokeruni.

Towards the end of last summer I bought the nimbus 24" with a 3" tyre (from unicycle.uk.com, cheers Roger Davies for making this kind of quality equipment easily available), made an airseat and haven’t looked back- definatly one of the best purchases I ever made.

I was on a ride today and the difference from a year ago is amazing, I’ve done little in the way of tricks (apart from learning to idle both sides, hopping and a little backwards riding) but the fluidity, speed etc of riding are in a different league.

I was in a good mood as I’ve finalised arranging a race against some members of the local juggling club who think they can beat my Muni up a hill with them on bicycles! I’ve been wanting to try this for some time as I know how hard I used to find steep hills on a cycle.

My theory is that now I’m pretty accomplished at getting up steep hills on the Muni, that I will have the advantage in terms of better riding position, less mechanism(no chain/gears) and especially in the fact that my Muni is half the weight of a bike.

The hill is one of my choice, it’s fairly short and very steep!

Initially the cyclists thought I had no chance and saw it as a joke, but today their morale seemed a little down as they see that I’m actually serious about it.

Of everyone I’ve mentioned this to, not one believes I can win- that’s the kind of odds I like!

As for me, I really do consider myself to be in with a good chance, but mainly I just want to get on with it, theories are all well and good, but it will only be after the race that solid, hard fact will rear its head.

I fully expect that some of you have actually raced a cyclist up a steep hill- if so please don’t tell me who has the advantage till after the race (it’s on Wednesday).

Anyway, inspired by this, I bombed into town. I find that occasionally I have the ability to really spin the pedals and get up some impressive speed(for a 24" muni) and it was one of those days-perfect!

Recently I’ve got the hang of holding onto the saddle (another reason for my confidence about the hill race) and today I realised that by pulling up on the seat on a fast corner you can get round it in a most impressive fashion i.e. faster and tighter.

So, a really good year, and hopefully the first of many.

Another really good thing has been this forum, I’ve never been a big one for internet forums, but this one is exceptional, the enthusiasm of its members really comes across both in the vast amount of posts, technical information and the friendliness of you all.

At one point last year I started to think that Muni and the other new uni stuff was pretty big, on the strengh of the vitality of unicyclist.com; I can now see that it’s actually quote small in terms of the number of people doing it, but that just makes it more amazing.

So cheers to you all and to unicyclist.com!

2

Well said, and I’ll second all that.

Just over a year ago, I had an old 20 that I used to ride now and again. I discovered more about unicycling on the internet and got into the sport in a big way. Now I’m riding serious distances and terrain which I considered to be impossible a year ago.

This forum is exceptional. No flame wars, no religion, little politics, and lots of help and encouragement from and for everyone. Long may it continue.

Good luck on the hill climb.

Mike

3

I must agree with both of you. I’ve been riding just over 4 months as of this week and doubt if I would have gotten this far without all the advice from the members of this forum. However, along with all the help, comes a big dose of “I’ve got to get one of those!” I started out with a piece of crap 24", bought a 20" Stealth Torker to quicken the “learnig curve” Then I decided that MUni was my calling and bought a 24x3 Yuni MUni. After riding the 24x3 on the road a few times (and listening to the Gazz complain), I find myself in need of a 28 or 29’r. and will be purchasing one in the near future! Coker, you’re next!!!
Thanks to all of ya’ll for the support and guidance!!!

4

Gearlust finds its way into almost all activities.

When I was a kid, I rode an el cheapo 20" for a couple years not knowing there was anything better.

Now, five months into the adult phase of my uni riding, I “need” a coker, a 24x3, a 24" freestyle for indoor, and a 20" for my wife to learn on (this can wait until she admits she needs to learn).

Oh well, the whole lot will cost less than one convertible sportscar.

5

My first year of unicyling is still pretty rough.there isnt alot of room on Howland and half the time its partly under water anyway…

May your one wheel bring you many rotations…

6

and if u could share any insights on how to speed up this process i, for one, will be highly appreciative

7

GILD quote:

Originally posted by cjd
and a 20" for my wife to learn on (this can wait until she admits she needs to learn).

and if u could share any insights on how to speed up this process i, for one, will be highly appreciative

Never try to convince anyone to take up unicycling, simply let the joy of it fill your soul to overbrimming so that it spills out over those around you in a totally genuine manner.
Words cannot compete with the smile of a satisfied rider.

8

I started to unicycle as something to do to keep me active during the winter for cycling. Well, spring came and the bkes never saw light again. Also, what had been a specially designed room at the back of my house to keep my bikes has turned into the “Uni-Vault.” Gear-itious has captured my attention, too. I have a beautiful and diverse stable of rides. Each one brings me joy. My abilities have increased too. If you had told be how I would be now riding after just over a year I would have never believed it. The friends that I’ve made through this uni-process have been wonderful. Unicycling has brought me more joy than I could have imagined!

Tommy

9

My long term plan is to teach my daughter to ride, but as she’s still learning to walk, it will be some years before she’s ready for even that 12" dodger.