I’m shorter than you!! The 36" wheel would be like 5 cm above my butt, if I can ride one. Lol!
Treating a tiny plantar wart on the ball of my left foot… and it hurts when I walk… may not get any riding this week =(
Had some spectacular free mounts this evening!, i had probably 80% success rate! I did a 270 degree turn in about 4 feet… it was pretty awesome… It was a good night =D
Great thread…I was searching for a learners progress sharing thread…is this meant to be that?
After fooling around on my daughter’s 20" Torker last winter for a total of maybe an hour I picked up a used Nimbus II last night.
Just in from my first hour on the Nimbus with pretty good results. Road 20-30 ft several times. Also road off a 5 inch drop off the patio onto grass and kept going for at least anther rev. My 10 yr old daughter also joined in the hour session and she road a max distance of 23 ft (we used the tape measure often.) This is great because I’m usually playing baseball/football/lacrosse with my 8 yr old son, but now I’m learning to uni with my daughter. Man, I love things with wheels. 
Welcome, miktco! Yes, you are definitely in the right place! My first post here was this year, March 19, page 23. I could ride 3 house lengths before my legs gave out. Last week, I did 10 miles on my 24. Lots of good information, Key Learning Points, and a whole lotta people having a whole lotta fun learning to one-wheel it! Don’t be intimidated by some of the successes you read about, this is definitely a Learning Journal. We were all in your place, and it wasn’t that long ago. Soon, newbies will be reading about your accomplishments!
It was a odd day and ti came in waves…
Morning - took my car in because it was having a few small issues.
Late Morning - Found out that my car needed $3500 i repairs… i paid $3300 for the car 2 3/4 years ago…
Lunch - Went car shopping…
Afternoon - Nap
Evening - Went out on the uni to relieve some stress.
Night - Went back out car shopping…
It was just an unexpected thing… But my uni ride was kind of mind boggling as well… I was doing my usual riding and i got the itch to go some where on it, so i headed off, my free mounting was not going as well as it has been with about 40-50% success rate but it was riding well. I got to a section where the path running along a school went 45 degrees left and i want to go right but it was a 5" drop onto a rough walking path. “I AM ON A MUNI AND I WAS BORN FOR THIS!” was my only thought so i grabbing the handle, peddled a little faster, landing the drop, rocked the path, and then made a 45 dregree turn from the walking path over a 1 1/2" lip back onto the side walk and rode down the sidewalk =D I was speechless… I rode for about 1 1/2 blocks to my local bike shop with 2 upds at intersections, and was thrilled to actually get somewhere on it =D
@ Animal cage - love the sig! I cannot stress this enough with people!
@ Miktco - Welcome! Family time is important!
You’re almost there to riding around the neighborhood! 
I bought a nimbus too, it arrived today and I stopped whatever I was doing to fix it up. From Korea to Singapore in 2 days, I’m impressed. Shipping was 50+USD though, from Unicycle.kr.
Only rode it at home for a few meters, can’t imagine scratching it up!! 
A uni without scratches is like a soldier without scars. Tame and wasted.
Hee hee. This will be my skill learning uni, so it will definitely be all banged up. And I’m sure after some time, I won’t really care anymore. But you know what’s it like with new and shiny stuff. The first scratch is the most painful
if you don’t like the seat feel free to ship it to canada =D haha nice machine!
Welcome
+1
If you roll your wheel across the ground 1 revolution and measure the distance then you can easily count the distance by just counting the number of times the crank goes around. I always knew about where I started, and of course where I UPD’d, so I could just grab the uni and roll it back on the course I just rode, and quickly figure the distance. On my 20" it was almost exactly 5 feet for one tire rotation, so the calculation was super easy. It made it really fun and quick.
Keep us posted on your progress!
Its interesting that some of us, when we start the uni learning process, take the time to count pedal revolutions to determine distance and progress. Like others on the forum, I measured in estimations and houses past while riding. I did use the odometer in my car to measure the block length at one point.
Measuring progress and adjusting our technique as we go is an important part of the learning process. I’m currently vacationing in Yosemite and have faced a new challenge-freemounting on an incline. Normally during a static mount, I placed my left pedal at 2 o’clock (using my right, dominant, foot to prep for the hop up) then after setting the angle of the left pedal, I would look forward and hop up and place my left foot on the pedal and ride forward.
The other day, I noticed this freemounting strategy was not satisfactory. I changed two things: First, I moved the left pedal to about 2:30 and Second, when hopping up I kept my eye on my left pedal to insure correct foot placement. This small change made freemounting on an incline very successful. Things may change a little as I keep practicing, but for now this has made a big difference for me.
A long road ahead
So I got a 20" recently, and changed the cranks of the 24" from 150mm to 125mm.
I tried holding on to a wall and hopping on the 20"… and then tried to do it while moving forward. Tried twice, fell off twice. Think I’ll focus on turning first before hopping. 
Also tried going up sidewalks (1/2" curbs) and it seems harder than on the 24". Fell backwards and landed on my tailbone. Will wear my camelback from now on ~_~
After about 40mins I took the 24". Tried to ride it before trying to freemount, and man it feels so different. It’s like I’m 2 gears higher now. Took me 3 tries before I could start moving around, for a moment it was like learning how to ride all over again.
The 125mm cranks also made cycling uphill, or slowing down while downhill, much harder. Went for a 4km ride and headed home for dinner.
Big Surprise
Went out with my eldest son today and we accopanied my wife on her walk along the river tow path, so after the harder terran we get back on the tarmac and my wife has been having ago on the uni and holds my hand for support while I walk allong side, today she when about five metres with my support let go of my hand and rode 35 or 40 metres down the road 
we are surprised but extremly proud of her, thats now 4 riders in the family!
It’s awesome to have a whole family of unicyclist. So far I have not been able to convince anyone to try unicycling.
Still trying to get used to the shorter cranks. It feels like 1-2 gears higher, and going up or down slopes require more leg strength now.
My freemounting still sucks, about 20-30% success rate. The main problem is I don’t throw myself forward far enough. Hopefully with time, I will get used to it and commit better when jumping up.
Did 10.7km today. The goal was to reach the underpass to a nearby park, then come back home. Near the end I was getting tired and it was harder to keep a constant speed.
Maybe don’t think “throw weight forward”. Maybe think “Jump Up and Over!”
I will try your jedi mind trick
So my assault on Greylock ended with me getting my a** handed to me by a mountain. Of the 8.5 miles, I only did 2.5, and there was a bit of walking up the steep parts. The write-up is in RSU.
Key Learning Points:
- If you’re gonna race up a mountain, practice riding up a mountain. That detail was lacking in my preparation.
- If you know there’s no way you’re gonna do it, do it anyways!!
- Eat lots of pasta the night before. Good carbs! Make sure your potassium is good to prevent cramps. Eat well, sleep well. (I should feel worse than I do…)
Take every opportunity to push yourself further. I promise you the hills around my house will look PUNY the next time I go out!!!
Hey - congratulations on your attempt! Just trying to do a ride like that is something to be proud of. At least you have good weather, hopefully had fun, and got just a little bit better. My hat’s off to you.
2.5miles up a mountain is impressive!
On my usual (if you can count the 3rd time as usual) ride on park connectors today, I stopped to rest at my checkpoint (the underpass). An American guy (based on looks and accent) with 2 of his kids on a bicycle stopped and told his daughter, “look, he’s missing a wheel!”. I’ve read about this “original” comment many times on the forums, but this is the first time I’ve heard it from someone. Unicyclists in America probably get it 10 times each ride. I told him I only learned to ride about a month ago, and he asked what kind of distance I planned to ride. I told him I planned to do 10km.
Oh the way back home, I decided to go for a while longer, since I wasn’t that tired yet. So I did a few slopes, and took a detour by going off the bicycle path and onto the sidewalk. On the way home, there was a lady who was going to walk into my path while I was still 5 meters away, so I said “excuse me”. Instead of getting out of my way, she came to a complete stop right in front of me. Thankfully I was able to squeeze past her instead of having to dismount. In total I did 12.95km. Near the end I UPDed a few times from the fatigue. Doing better on the freemounts, about 30-40% success.
Nice job LoneReaction.
Several weeks ago you commented on my writing style over in the 57 thread.
You have a rather comfortable way with words yourself.
The underpass picture is pretty interesting. I’ve been trying to imagine what the path does before and after the picture.
Pretty neat that you were able to dodge the lady in your way rather than having to dismount.
I’m beginning to notice the ability to dodge obstacles also.
Keep up the good work.