yeah dude i dont really have much to say… but congrats… and yes keep it cuase ive read everyday youve put on here and its cool
Chase
Please keep journalling for us! Now that you’ve “turned the corner” I’m wondering what the next move will be. I’m curious to hear your progression through freestyle tricks… not many people post about progression and I’d love to hear how you get along through the levels.
Rock on!
Learning to Unicycle: Day 15
If I wasn’t officially a unicycler on day 13, I certainly am one now.
I went out at 3:15 today and started in my driveway/alley again. I was trying to practice my right turns again, but for some reason, I still was having trouble unconsciously using the fence as my guide. It eventually got to the point where I just forced myself to fall (a PD? :p) if I started touching the fence. I decided that the only way to solve this problem was to literally move as far away from the fence as I could while still being able to use my fingertips to mount, and then riding at least a foot to the left. I would then ride down and make my turn unassisted. This took a while to get used too, but I finally did it, and I became even more proficent than before at recovering from my turns. I practiced it for a while and was actually reaching the point at the alley that I was before, but I realized that I would simply not make it any further without learning to turn left more proficiently, because I would try to move to the center of the alley and just turn left and not be able to turn back.
I went about this process of learning to turn left by starting at the same right side of the driveway as usual but just forcing myself down the left side of the alley as opposed to the right. This seemed incredibly difficult at first because I literally had absolutely no way to support myself, and I just fell for a while. But, as usual, I got the hang of it and starting being able to turn left in a very wide arc, not nearly enough to make the full turn but enough for me to grasp the concept. It didn’t take long to be able to sharpen that turn enough to make it down.
Before long, I was mastering it enough to even out and recover from my turn, and on one run, I literally rode at least twice as far as I did on day 13. I was of course stoked by now, and for the next ~30 minutes or so, I practiced turning both directions, actually making it great distances, and on one run, I actually rode out of the alleyway and into the street, around to the side near area ‘B’. I UPDed and stopped for a second, looking at area ‘B’ - that one strip of sidewalk that has been my enemy for almost 2 weeks.
I decided to go for it.
I walked my unicycle up to the fence, mounted, breathed in, looked straight ahead, and started pedaling. I fell after about 20 feet, walked back and tried again. This time, my entire focus was on unicycling. Every other sound around me stopped for an instant, and I set off. I started veering to the right, but I pulled back to the left. I overdid it a little and pulled slightly to the right. I stayed straight for little while, then corrected myself again, and before I knew it, I was at the end of the sidewalk.
The corner of my sidewalk is one of those that slopes down and sort of spills into the street intersection. Well, I made a quick decision in my head to keep going. I reached the slope and felt myself speed up. I stayed stable and slid down it easily, finding my pedal rhythm again. There was a car on the other side of the street, so I utilized my training from the past couple of days and quickly veered to the right just enough to bypass it and even out on the street. I looked up while riding and saw the long street in front of me. I picked up my pedaling pace a little and actually rode straight for another couple house lengths before UPDing from overdoing it a little on speed.
I was extremely excited at this point and ran back to the fence, practicing this for quite a while until I actually became proficient at it. As far as I can tell, I was riding at least 100-150 feet on good runs. I got a little tired after these 2 full hours of practicing and decided to go inside.
I was tiring greatly of walking back to my support each time, so it looks like next practice will consist of learning to freemount. I really can’t wait to start that; I feel like my hours of endless UPDing and hours of endless 5-10 foot runs are finally paying off. I’m truly enjoying myself.
Honestly, I can’t think of any new tips that haven’t been said in the previous 14 days, just the typical idea of practicing until you get it, because believe me, it pays off when you finally get it.
I’m glad to finally be a real unicyclist.
Excellent! This is also about the same point as when I forced myself to learn to freemount, when walking became a serious interruption. Just watch out for the pedal that you’ll be stepping onto, sometimes it will swing up and around to grab your stepping-up foot; aka faceplant!
Keep it up!
Wow. I was on the edge of my seat reading that. It totally brought back the feeling and the thrill of learning. It feels like achieving the impossible. Thanks for sharing.
You should put these into a word document, it wil make a great project for a class down the road. You are a good writer.
Congrats on your affirming rides today. Turning so early is something of an accomplishment beyond riding itself!
Sorry, no practice day today - my stepdad was at a heart specialist gettin’ some things checked out and my mom went with him, I had to watch after my little sister for a few hours, then I was really tired and took a nap, and now we’re going out to eat.
It’s only been months since I started, and I sure remember the first few days that I could cover 100+feet. The unicycler inside pours out, and everything takes off from here. Great accomplishment man.
I’m just curious… but how did you find out about this site if you werent a unicyclist in the first place?
Actually by using the FireFox extension called StumbleUpon. If you’re not familiar with it, you basically just tell it a few of your interests and it tries to locate web sites that will fit said interests. I think I put extreme sports as one of mine, and it brought me to this site one day. I started reading the forums and I was hooked before I started.
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Learning to Unicycle: Day 16
I started out today loosening up in my driveway just riding down for a bit, then turning some. It had been a couple days, and I was sort of stiff from work, so I did this for 15-20 minutes. I then decided I would go over to the front yard and area ‘B’ to do some 150-200 foot rides before learning to freemount.
Well, to put it quite plainly, I got extremely caught up in just riding and practicing various basic maneuvers, and never ended up practicing freemounting at all. Instead, I mastered some other techniques.
First, I got a lot better at riding straight on the sidewalk. I’m not veering as much, and when I do, I can lean slightly to the necessary side to correct myself. I’ll admit I haven’t nearly gotten this down perfectly yet, but I’m well on my way.
I practiced some speed riding down my street 3-4 houses. This was probably the most fun thing I have done to date; it’s just so exhilirating to be zooming down the concrete, the wind in my face, and nothing impeding my vision - no handlebars, extra wheel, nothing. It’s also apparently great exercise, because it made me a little sore after a while. I did this probably 15-20 times today, just because it was so fun.
I also worked on my sharper turns. Instead of just riding off the corner of my sidewalk, I practiced making 90 degree angle turns and just continue riding on the sidewalk. This took a while to work on, because I had to learn to control my a speed a great deal more than I have been, but I was actually quite pleased with my ability to slow down as I approach the corner, make the turn, straighten out again, and speed up for a couple house-lengths.
Another thing I did that I enjoyed a great deal was learning to make U-turns in the street. This was not exhilirating in the same way that raw speed riding was, but in that it was probably one of the most difficult things I’ve done yet. I rode off the sidewalk into the street, turned and rode down a couple houses, then I had to ride over to the left side and start a slight turn to the right. I sharpened my turn as I went, and my entire body actually made a 70-75 degree angle with the street. Surprisingly, though, I think it was my fear of falling off that kept me going, even when I had to slow down a lot to complete the sharp turn.
I also turned left a couple times as I rode off the sidewalk and rode up into someone’s driveway, which was fun because it gave me a chance to experience a little uphill riding.
So I didn’t start learning to freemount yet, but hey, I taught myself a lot of other necessary skills, and today was undoubtedly my most fun, exhilirating, tiring day yet.
I’ll say one thing, though; my 24" doesn’t give me the speed I crave. I’m already thinking about my next unicycle in a couple months…maybe a 29er or a Coker. 
Few tips from today:
- To turn a lot sharper, you need to slow yourself down. This will take a good amount of practice, as it requires a lot of control over the unicycle, but it’s necessary if you want to make those turns cleanly without UPDing.
- If you just want to ride fast as a new unicycler, be sure you’re wearing pads and a helmet. This presented more of a danger to me than anything I’ve done, mainly because when I UPDed, I sort of flew forward and landed on my knees. Luckily I wear knee pads on under my jeans, so it didn’t hurt. Of course, this is largely a personal preference thing, but I like my body, and it didn’t do anything to deserve being beaten up.
3. Don’t let fear stop you from trying something new. You ever heard the saying, “You never know what you’re capable of until you’re in danger”? Probably not, because I made it up. But still, it applies to unicycling, in that if you’re afraid something will happen to you before you even try it, chances are you’ll fail. But if you just get on and go and let the fear manifest itself during the trick, chances are that fear will give you the dexterity needed to pull it off. I know that sounds sort of weird, but I’m not sure how else to word it.
Sounds like you’re developing a real command over your riding. Your attention to detail probably has helped you a greta deal! Enjoy the feeling of being a rider and rest on your laurels for a spell!
And go with the coker…
Learning to Unicycle: Day 17
I spent the first 15-20 minutes today warming my legs up by doing the same things as my last practice, just riding around in the street, doing some turns, working on controlling my speed, etc. But then I wasted no time in starting to learn how to freemount.
I considered how to learn from a number of different angles, but I eventually decided on first learning in my most comfortable zone, the driveway, and learning the roll-back mount.
For the first, oh, I don’t know, 45 minutes, I was basically stepping on the unicycle, then stepping right back off. Sometimes, I wouldn’t even make it on the unicycle, but when I did, a number of different things would potentially happen:
-My second foot would overstep the pedal, making me look like I was just stepping over the wheel.
-My second foot would understep the pedal, making the unicycle sort of shoot out from under me and clatter to the ground.
-I would put my second foot up onto the pedal but then unconsciously take it back off, resulting in a UPD.
-My second foot would successfully make it onto the pedal, but I would be leaning backwards and would be forced off.
-I would make it onto both pedals and be leaning forward, but my second foot would be on the pedal with the middle of the foot or the heel, which would result in a UPD.
There’s really not a whole lot to say about the next 25-30 minutes after that, except I finally began to pedal a few feet after mounting. This was still rare, though. I would also, at times, be in that last position in the above list, and manage to keep pedaling, but it would just feel so awkward that I sometimes made myself fall off because I saw it coming anyway.
I began to actually mount and then ride some with more frequency, but at a very slow rate, until on one try I managed to ride down the driveway and the alley and out near area ‘B’. I decided to see if I would have any luck on a flat surface, so I tried it there for a while, falling into the same situations as my driveway. I mounted with the fence and rode back to my driveway (actually the first time I’ve done that particular path, which I was proud of, because it required a left U-turn) to practice there some more.
I kept practicing, getting better and better, slowly but surely, until I actually did it 3-4 times in a row. I wanted to try area ‘B’ again, so I rode back over there (I’m trying to avoid just walking everywhere, I’m forcing myself to get better at riding, plus it’s more fun :D) to try some more. I actually got it a couple times, so I rode out into the street, purposely fell, and tried to freemount in the middle of the street, since that is where I will probably be needing to freemount the most in my future rides around the neighborhood. I got it a couple times, but I wasn’t quite as successful as on the sidewalk.
It was getting dark by now (all that practicing had added up to at least two hours), so I just rode around, practicing my sharp turns a bit before calling it a day.
Couple tips from today:
- You must learn to freemount. To put it quite bluntly, learning to freemount is, indeed, quite boring, but it is a hurdle that must be passed. Besides, if you can make it through those few hours of boring learning, you’ll unlock the door to thousands upon thousands of hours of endless fun and exhiliration.
- This isn’t so much a tip as a warning, but guys, learning to freemount will be brutal on your testicles. I know I said back in Day 2 or 3 that you should wear briefs instead of boxers, but I seriously want to stress that now that you’ve gotten this far, your balls will only be taking more punishment. I’m gonna be in the market for some real biking shorts over the holidays.
The sooner the better.
i concur. the sooner you can get in the habit of wearing bike shorts, the better.
on a different subject, i really really like this journal. I look forward to your entries because it reminds me of learning, and that time was pretty fun for me, even though i had a hard square sharp metal seat on which the padding was almost nonexistant.
dudewithasock…thank you so much for doing this. I just got my unicycle yesterday and I am having a lot of the problems that you are having. This is very helpful and I will be sure to keep reading this. I love your final tip section at the bottom. This whole journal is a work of a genious. thanks a bunch. I’m going to go unicycle now!!!
Great progress! Keep up with the freemounts… it’s going to give you the independence to start and stop at will, which will take you on your biggest adventure yet… away from the fence!
It’s good to hear your U-turning… this is a skill I use a lot when trying to clear a particular obstacle… I ride it over, and over, and over, incurring many a U-turn in the process. Welcome to the U-turn club!
It’s also an ingenious work. And quite possibly written by a genius.
Where’s Miss A when you need her most?
Learning to Unicycle: Day 18
Still having some trouble freemounting. I really didn’t advance much compared to day 17, so there’s not a whole lot to tell, although I think I’ve pinpointed a couple of my main problems:
-
When I move my body forwards to get onto the seat, my feet push the pedals into a 180 degree vertical lock, making it hard to get that momentum I need to start pedaling.
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When I get on, all of my weight is on the pedals, and I’m having trouble transferring that weight back to the seat where it belongs. Aside from causing a great deal of balance problems, this also adds to my inability to start pedaling again because it keeps the pedals even more locked than they would be otherwise.
I practiced for about an hour out at the sidewalk in my front yard, but it just wasn’t happening for me, so I moved back to my driveway and got a couple successful tries. But I can’t seem to easily make it past those couple of aforementioned hurdles.
No tips today, since I didn’t really do anything new. I wouldn’t shy away from any tips from you guys, though. 
Sounds to me like you’re pressing to much on the back pedal. This is how I learned to freemount, and I’m not sure it’s a good idea. It gets the unicycle to stay still while you try to get yor other foot on the pedal, but you don’t have enough leverage to get out of the “dead spot”. What you need to end up doing, and I know it probably seems hard, is to get it so that you have the ability to put a fine amount of pressure on the rear pedal, so that you can keep the uni stationary while you step on the other pedal without you moving. This is what I ended up doing. Another option is the rollback mount, which seems to give you the ability to learn to idle and ride backwards more easily, but I don’t really know about that. In order to rollback mount you put more pressure on the pedal than with a stationary mount, and put your foot on the pedal BEFORE the front pedal reaches thetop of its circle. Then when you reach the top of the circle you will be more in control and more likely to be albe to get out of the dead spot. All in all, the key is having a really fine and precise control on how much pressure you’re putting on the rear pedal.
Learning to Unicycle: Day 19
I went out in late morning today, around 10:00. It was nice because the sun was still high overhead, it was a little warmer than usual, and there was a nice breeze; plus, there wasn’t a whole lot of other people outside like there is in the evening time, so it was calmer.
I did a couple runs with my support, but then went immediately back to freemounting on the sidewalk. For probably 30 minutes, I kept having the same problems I had been having the past two days. I kept trying to analyze every little thing I was doing, and I noticed that I was sort of involuntarily looking at my feet to make sure I was doing everything right. I tried on my next attempt looking straight ahead, and, sure enough, I nailed it! It was extremely sloppy - it took a couple seconds of maneuvering on the spot to straighten myself out and start pedaling - but it was a freemount nonetheless. I did this for probably another 20 or 30 minutes, making sure to look forward every time, and by golly, it was working. I was almost at a 40 or 50% rate of success, which is much better than I’ve been doing.
I had to go inside for a little bit because my stepdad went to go get his oil changed and no one else was home, but I went back outside at around 11:30 and practiced some more. I did it successfully a few times in the street, and also managed to ride a couple streets down, which is farther than I’ve gone so far, but at that point I realized that I was incredibly hungry and felt a bit weakened, so I went back inside to eat after another 30-40 minutes.
This post might be edited later today if I practice some more.
Tip from today:
- Look straight ahead when freemounting. You’ll most likely have a bad tendency to look down at the pedals, but from my own experience, I advise that you get out of that habit as quickly as possible.
Sounds like you’re making progress on the freemount. A good goal to work towards is freemounting without moving the wheel. It is an essential skill to have when mounting in tight spaces or on rails.
Put most of your weight on the seat… imagine the unicycle is fixed in the ground and you’re just hopping up onto the seat (of course, you start with the seat leaning against your crotch, holding onto the handle / front of the seat). You wouldn’t want to hop too high 'cause you’d come down on your crotch, and you wouldn’t want to hop too low 'cause you’d miss the seat. Try to make the hop such that it puts you right on the seat with your frame perfectly vertical.
Put but a tiny amount of pressure on the back pedal… just enough to keep the wheel in place while you hop. Treat that back pedal tenderly, as if it were an eggshell. To progress towards this, just work in intervals, putting less and less pressure on the pedal, moving the wheel less and less.
Eventually the movement will be like a step onto the uni. Instead of a mount, you’ll just be stepping up, sitting in the saddle, and putting your front foot on the other pedal. Try and pause just a split second before pedaling off… this will solidify the skill, as well as allow you to be perfectly balanced when you ride away. When you get really good you will be able to mount this way, into a stillstand. Then you’re ready to do some Kris Holm style rail mounts!
Good progress, rideswithsocks! Keep on truckin’!