I’m sure this topic has been done before, but I’m new here so I’d like to here from some of you.
For me, I always wanted to learn because I thought since I was so good at doing wheelies on a bicycle, I could probably pick it up pretty fast. (wheelies and unicycling are totaly different!) When I was 16, I found a cheap 16" unicycle with a hard tire in the trash. I was riding it in about 2 days. It lasted about a week, and then fell apart. My parents weren’t very supportive of my BMX riding, so they wouldn’t buy me a new unicycle. I never bothered to get one until about 5 years ago (I’m 39 now) when my wife bought me one for Christmas. I rode it a few times and then lost interest. Well, a couple of months ago, I saw a really good unicyclist at a local Labor day festival, and he told me about this group that meets once a week. So I started going right after that and my riding been improving each week! I hope to stay interested in it, it is alot better to have others to ride with and learn from.
I am 41 and just learned last year in November. I got a new Coker for Xmas last year. I have 1400+ miles on the Coker from this summer alone. Unicycling is awesome. I spend anywhere from 6-10 hours a week riding. I learned on a torker 24. Once I could go 5 miles on that, I knew I wanted a Coker.
Good Luck
i learned this past summer…im 16 now almost 17 and i lovee it…i picked it up cuzz my buddy could do it and i wanted to learn so i did…
a couple friends of mine thought that the idea of riding one would be pretty cool/turdy so they decided to get one, and i figured it sounded like fun. that was two months ago and now i have my muni and am unicycling about 10 hours a week, and my shins are ground meat so i’m now saving up for some pads.
I got a Unicycle for my 12th B-day and practiced on and off for a month or more in the garage holding onto my dads boat and one day yhere was a bike show at my school and I wanted to bring the Uni so that morning my Mom opened the garage door and I rode all the way to school (about 2 blocks first time out ) then after a year or so I met a girl that also rode that lived on the street behind mine and she taught me how to freemount, I eventually destroyed my first Uni cause all my friends that were into BMX bikes would talk smack and so I would ride my Uni on there bmx tracks and go off there jumps to show em they aint $*** then I p.u. a 20" Schwin from a friend that didnt want it and rode that on and off for 25 years ( I did not know I could get something better ) at one time I did not ride for 5-6 years then one day just hopped on and started going again. Then about 3 years ago I was at a National night out neighborhood party here in Roseville Ca. and This guy starts telling me he rides and about UDC and a few other sites so then I realized how much more was availiable and boy do I wish I had my Qu-ax Muni 25 years ago, so a while back I was looking at road bikes and figured I could buy a few Uni’s for that kind of money and I enjoy the uni more anyways so now I have a Qu-ax 24 muni - a Coker - a Torker 24" LX - A Torker 26" LX - a Torker Giraffe TX and I still have my old 20" Schwinn
So now I ride daily for a minimum of 3-5 miles and wish I could get more people in my area to try it
I was 6 years old when my dad got me a used bike… my first wheels! It was yellow and had a banana seat and a coaster brake. Since I hadn’t ridden before, he would hold the seat, and I would ride up and down the street in front of our house. One day he let go of the seat without me knowing it and I was riding all by myself! Unfortunately I didn’t know how to turn and I ran straight into a curb and fell off.
I’ve been riding ever since. My 2nd wheel fell off when I was 24. I didn’t notice. Actually, I ride better now.
I stole my first uni form my buddy and got better then him then got a real uni … 1.5 years ago
Over the summer I broke my bike doing stupid stuff, got pissed and abandoned it on campus, decided that it would be more cool/fun to buy and learn to ride a unicycle instead of another bike, so I did so and am quite happy with that decision.
I’ve since convinced three of my friends of the superiority of the unicycle. It’s fun making converts of people and sucking them into a cult.
well with me it was like this at a Friends house he had a 20"inch sun so pay day i bought a 24" sun rode it for a month bent the rim on a three stare and wensday i will have my QU-AX but all together about a month
when-i decided when i was in 7th grade i wanted a uni and in 8th grade at christmas, i got my first torker. im now in tenth so almost two yrs.
how-i saw a learner uni in the back of a danscomp magazine. i used to be in to flatland biking (still kinda am) and so i used to get that magazine. i saw the pic and wanted one immediately. i wanted to have another skill cuz i already had 3.
Got my b*ki stolen, got to litlte to buy a new bike from inssurance, så i used the money on a 20" trainer instead…
Got it 17th of October last year.
I celibrated my unibirthday last monday, didn’t do much though.
One year, over $1000 and 6 unicycles later, i feel it was a good choice taking the sparewheel off…
I learned in 1961 when I was 10. My Dad got me a unicycle (12") pneumatic tire and I rode it until about the time I could drive. Had a 40 year layoff. Decided to start again. I got a Torker 24 earlier this year and recently upgraded to a KF29 because I find I like speed and distance.
Carey
I learned to juggle 10 years ago and was a casual juggler for about 8 years. Then I decided to go for 5 balls and to accomplish this one of the things I did was to join a circus club. I was very enthusiastic and learnt most of the stuff that went on there. Even spinning fire. Unicycling was the last and ‘hardest’ thing to learn. (I’m never going to do stilts).
This year I in January I decided to accomplish this last great challenge by the time I was 40. Job done. I’m 40 in November and have descovered (as have we all) the greatest hobby of all.
Cathy
I learned a couple years ago…right after I turned 15, and I’m almost 17 now. I learned because I heard about someone who solved a rubiks cube on a unicycle, and I thought, cool, I wanna do that! so I got one, and learned to do it. the end.
That was my primary motivator too, although you brought it in a little bit further ahead of schedule. I think I made it with only two months to spare.
I started unicycling two months ago. But I have been planning to give it a go a long time.
I have sh*t for knees, and bicycling has been the best way to keep my legs strong enough to overcome that issue. For a long time, I have been thinking that unicycling would be more fun than biking, and just as good for my legs.
Also, I have been paddling whitewater for a few years, and had always thought that unicycling would be a great way to develop balance and lower torso strength during the ‘dry season.’
A few months ago I surfed the internet to find out which uni was the best one to buy. A week later I had a Semcycle xl/Kovachi 29 on order. My wife got the fever when she heard I had ordered one, and we purchased a Yuni 26 for her. We are having a great time at learninng to uni. This forum has been a great part of our success.
I started unicycling two months ago. I had been planning to give it a go a long time.
I have sh*t for knees, and bicycling has been the best way to keep my legs strong enough to overcome that issue. For a long time, I have been thinking that unicycling would be more fun than biking, and just as good for my legs.
Also, I have been paddling whitewater for a few years, and had always thought that unicycling would be a great way to develop balance and lower torso strength during the ‘dry season.’
A few months ago I surfed the internet to find out which uni was the best one to buy. A week later I had a Semcycle xl/Kovachi 29 on order. My wife got the fever when she heard I had ordered one, and we purchased a Yuni 26 for her. We are having a great time at learning to uni. This forum has been a big part of our success.
Hi Icycle,
Quick comments to each of your points in order: Yes, it is more fun than bicycling, and really good for your legs, and will also develop your core in a way that bicycling can’t do. There are a few whitewater enthusiasts on the fora who feel the same way re: the cross-training. One is ratherbekayaking, who posts from time to time. True the fora are a big help in learing to ride and getting encouragement…and the other big help is riding with other folks. There’s a strong riding contingent in the Seattle area, so if you ever have reason to stray up this way from Oly, post some advance notice and we can probably get some riding organized while you’re here.
Welcome to the growing State of WA riding community.
TB
whoa you go carey. are you from anywhere near eglin, pensacola, navarre, niceville, destin or anywhere around there. i heard there was a unicyclist, girl, about your age who lived near me. if so i m me.
Tom,
Thanks for the input, and the invite. I will drop you a line if I am hanging in Seattle one of these days…