HEY AnimalCage!!!
Way to go on Greylock!
You will beat it for sure next time!!!
Talk about one heck of an effort!
Can you believe you practically just started trying to ride that crazy one wheel contraption!!!.. only a few months ago!
Yay AnimalCage!!
Nice to see you around again 57UniRider! (See what I just did?? :))
It’s just a normal bicycle path. The government here calls it “Park connectors”. You can see some photos here.
This is fun
Wow, this is fun to check in on the Learning Journal thread once in a while. I have been so busy I don’t check it as often as I would like. But there are so many people doing so many things! All I can do is offer my encouragement to everyone – keep it up!! It keeps me motivated, and I appreciate reading all the cool posts. This also a very international thread, and I think that is so cool too.
I haven’t been out much lately, but I did have a good 36er ride the other evening. It was the best I have had, and gave me some confidence to keep trying to learn to ride the big beast. I went for a HUGE muni ride several weekends ago with 3 others (who were all much better riders) for 13 miles on some very challenging mountain trails. I somehow survived, but I completely ran out of strength near the end, and it was well beyond anything I have attempted. It will be quite a while before I do THAT again! 
Hopefully I will get more riding time this fall. For now I am content to enjoy reading the posts whenever I can here on my favorite thread 
Keep up the great work everyone!!
NSYO aka Brian
Me too, I check it out daily. Though I don’t post often 
Helloooo Jojoxie !
Hey Jojoxie!
Haven’t seen a post from you in a l-o-n-g time!
You were one of my first inspirations with the video of you riding along that wonderful road in the country.
I believe there was a large boat in the picture.
You were showing off a freemount and some smooth riding.
I hit some snags, but I am back and hope to be posting an “improvement” video some time in the next few weeks.
You should post more often.
I’m sure everyone enjoys seeing you around!
It’s always great to see you too NSYO!
I really love this thread!
Thanks for the pictures LoneReaction.
What a NICE place to uni!
You are welcome.
After my last ride 2 days ago, my right ankle felt weird. Yesterday I tried rotating it, and felt a sudden pain. The pain only comes when I use some strength to rotate, I think it’s a strained tendon or something.
I guess my ankle sprain from nearly 2 months ago while I was still learning to ride, has not recovered. 
Not much to say…I just plug away riding my 29er daily with nothing other than slight improvement. I still manage to muff controlled dismounts off the back:( Perhaps I’m just not trying hard enough. I keep telling myself that things (stalling, hopping, idling)will just come naturally…:D…whatever, I love riding and miss it on the odd day that events conspire against it. I’ve been really getting off on hill climbing and strong winds, about a 26mph wind is my limit.
It will be great to see your ‘improvement’ video, I’m looking forward to it.
All you guys here are great, I feed off the enthusiasm.
Still alive >_<
So its been a weird few weeks…
september 3rd - did a huge mountain bike ride! 25 kms in 3 1/2 hours of almost complete single track and it was amazing!
Sept 5th - Another huge ride but on a less technical course of the same length and time, but… i had a slight wipe out just over 1/2 way… i was rocketing through the trail and just mowing over EVERYTHING and we got into a section that was more swampy… coming out of a decently sharp right my back wheel took off out from under me to the left, and my bars turned right left… my 2.5" downhill tire grabbed a root while turned and ejected me forward… and caught the end of the bars 2 inches shy of my “junk” and bruised up my left leg pretty bad. My leg was extremely sore, twitchy and bruised for the rest of the week…
I did not get any riding in all week, and spent as much time with my girlfriend as i could before she moved 3 1/2 hours away for school, i have not been handling her leaving well at all… been very depressed and un ambitious… But i have kept up my schedule with the gym even adding more days a week in (actually just going every day now) and have had 2 days on the uni in the past 3. My riding has been going well although my free mounting is pretty terrible again… It’s going to be interesting over the next bit >_<
tried to edit this in but i was to late…
Forgot the biggest news, i took ym car in because it need some work… well it needed a lot of work… A LOT. I paid $3300 for it e tested and certified, drove it for 3 3/4 years, put 28 000 kms and i did not spend a dime on repairs, it was going to cost me about $3500 to fix it up to run good again… So i traded it in for a whopping $300, and bought myself a 2006 Envoy which leather interior =D its pretty awesome =D But i was going to go buy Ally’s hot pink 36er but i really don’t have the money now =( my girlfriend told me i should still go buy it but i just couldn’t scrape up the money…
Hi Jojoxie - I thought the same. But it hasn’t turned out that way! It all takes work. Makes you wonder why any of us take up riding this crazy thing at all.
TPH - sounds like the big crash, your sweetheart moving away, car blues, are enough to put anyone in the dumps for a while. Hope you bounce back soon. That sounds like a pretty scary MTB crash! As for the 36er, I ended up buying mine too soon I think. I got all on fire for it, but in the end I should have waited a while. And there will always be a cool one to buy if you just keep surfing the trading post.
After slicing my hand open 5 weeks ago, I stayed off the rough trails for a while.
I’m happy to report that my hand has healed nicely and I’m ‘back in the saddle’
I’m visiting family in CA; I had my MUNI shipped to me out here and am loving it:
To quote AC, I’m getting my ‘a** handed to me’ out here; soft sand, very steep ascents up the beach cliff trails, and plenty of rocks. The heavy downhill tire was the right choice!
All great training for a MUNI event I’d like to ride in, Oct 7-9 in Auburn, CA:
I hope I’ll be out here long enough, looks like fun riding and some good company will be there!
As always I love following and interacting with all of you in this thread, stick with it! 11 months since I started, I’m still loving the challenge
A keeper.
Hello TopHotPlus.
Several weeks ago, I noticed your conversation about the pink 36er when you first learned it was for sale. I thought, well who else would be a better fit for that huge PINK unicycle!!! I was about to post a “buy it anyway” comment, when I read NSYO’s post…
I too bought my second uni way too soon, and it was only a 24". I should have mastered the 20" first, but that is just my own situation. NSYO has a good point. Still, I’m thinking about that pink. We already know how much you like pink. I guess it might boil down to thinking with your head vs. your heart. It would be logical to wait for a 36er, but how many times are you going to run into a PINK one. But Alley painted it pink. You could always look forward to buying a 36er later… and then paint it PINK! NYSO is probably right. Just thinking. Enjoy your new car.
Nice video MAW!
Looks like fun!
Why do you feel that way? I got a 24" first and then 20", and feel that I have less control over the smaller wheel. Could it be a case of the “first wheel syndrome”? 
Although I must admit that I have only spent like 2 hours on it, trying to hop/idle. It’s so slow and jerky compared to the 24", but much easier to mount.
Oh and TopHatPlus, I can’t imagine other people’s reaction when they see a giant pink unicycle approaching them!
Probably because as soon as I got the 24" I lost the momentum as far as making any progress. Falling off the 24" was more traumatic, and the longer cranks (150) on the 24" hurt my knees and were just not comfortable. I finally went back to the 20" and intend to stay with that one for a while longer. Eventually I will go back to the 24" with shorter cranks (125).
I want to try an even bigger wheel, but I won’t be in a hurry. I think being in too big a rush may have been part of my problem. I plan to make two miles without a dismount by May, but I will certainly be pleased if it happens sooner. I’m just not going to kill myself trying to make it happen in the next week or two.
You are probably correct LoneReaction. Whatever you start with is what feels right for awhile. When I was trying to switch back and forth between the 20" and the 24" neither one of them felt right.
Make sure to get safety gear for every body part you ever bruised. That will take the edge of things. Wearing back armor or even full chest armor feels ridiculous, shin guards, knee and elbow pads … it all makes you feel ridiculous. But it does wonders when learning. You’ll commit more to everything you attempt and thus succeed faster.
You normally know instinctively which armor is needed, depending on what you’re trying to do.
For road rides, knee and elbow pads, gloves and a helmet do wonders.
This was June 24th. Did the same ride today, but with a new perspective. The Greylock Beatdown has me assaulting every ride I do now. Today was a race, but not about time. Or distance. It was just me pushing as hard as I could until I got to where I was going. It didn’t take long, the legs weren’t on fire, and there was no sweat. A little heavy breathing on the last hill, which is now a joke! Didn’t even stand up.
Key Learning Point:
Side note: When I first attempted to freemount at my house, I missed the first one. Something was amiss… The seatpost was waaaay down, much too low for me. This only means one thing: My 17yo son has been secretly practicing! Can you say, “Riding Buddy”? Can you? I sure can!
I saw that one, unfortunately I don’t have the money either, and I’d have to have a much longer seatpost. Besides, I’m thinking pink isn’t my thing. But it looks like a great uni at a great price.
I also thought the same thing. I don’t think its true anymore. Although, I think with improved riding, the learning becomes easier, it just doesn’t come without practice.
Glad to hear the hand has healed. Loved the video, and the “keep hitting it until you nail it” attitude. That sand must’ve been a killer to ride through.
There may be a lot of truth in this, but I only have my 24. I know I am approaching my limit on the 24 where speed is concerned. I want to go FASTER! But there’s still a lot I have to learn, like hopping/idling/backwards, plus fine tuning my turning/figure 8s and such.
MORE! I NEED MORE!!
Heck AnimalCage!
You can do ANYTHING!
Go for a 36er, or anything you want!
By now, you have that 24" down so well, you deserve to get another one…
and get the one you really want!
Beach
Does that video make anyone else want to ride on the beach? That was awesome, and looked like a blast!
I took the 36er out this evening for a 2 mile ride and it went great. No UPD’s, and no scary moments when I felt like I was losing control. I recently posted a long post on the Learning the 36er thread, after deciding to give it another try before giving up. That is a good thread for you if you start working on riding the big wheel.
I hope to get out on the muni tomorrow up on some trails above the University of Utah. It is beautiful up there and there are a variety of trails to test oneself on. Rocky, Rooty, Gravelly, Smooth, Wide, Narrow, Barren, Bushy. It rained a couple times today so it won’t be dusty and may even be muddy in some places! Yeah, get some dirt on ya! If I am able to get out for a ride I will post the results and maybe a photo or two.