My five year son started to free mount today. It was fantastic! He free mounted the very first time this afternoon, and did it a dozen times or so during our 3/4 hour practice. (It’s all the more impressive when one considers that he has still never ridden more than about 40 meters without coming off.)
My daughter, who also learned to ride this year, free mounted in the spring, but she’s 2 1/2 years older and no longer falls off the uni (during “normal street riding”).
My kids inspire me!
Youth Sucks!
er…um… CONGRAT’S! That’s really cool.
Isn’t it great? Congrats to your kids! Good thing they’re too young to take advantage of the power they have to please us! Once that happens, they’ll either stop riding, or stop riding with a helmet…whichever bugs you the most.
Heh, shweet.
That’s great! Do they ride bicycles yet?
Re: My 5 year old free-mounts!
That’s great!
“dit dit diddle diddle dit dit did-it, dit dit diddle diddle dit dit did-it, dit diddle dit dit dit diddle dit dit, diddle-diddle-diddle-diddle-dit dit diddle diddle dit dit did-it,… - Spudman”
So your 5 year old is ridig street!! 
I can’t wait for that!!
My son will be 1 year old within 10 days and I can’t wait to see him riding a unicycle, though I know it won’t happen tomorrow.
I’ve heard about a young puertorican who rode at 3 and 1/2 years old (I saw a picture of him aged about 4 years old). Breaking this kind of record is clueless but, without puting too much pressure on my little boy, I hope he won’t wait till he’s 5 to begin riding.
I’m interested by the answer to U-turn’s question:
“Do they ride bicycles yet?”
I’m used to saying that riding a bike ain’t no pre-requisit for riding a unicycle but I don’t know of any example:( .
Did your son ask you to teach him, or was it your idea?
Well, I hope that if my son does like yours I will succeed in keeping cool and not believing that “my son will be a unicycle world champion!”…
…not even one year old and the poor boy must deal with his father’s dreams… what a shame!
well I have the same dream as you … but with my grand-children!
I decided firmly never even suggesting that they should ride a unicycle.
So I will stoically wait until they ask… and GrandPa will oblige 
(and be so proud as to post this here 
)
easy, ZZAGG, easy.
he have to walk properly first!
God i misread the first post this morning and thought you said that your daughter was 2 1/2 years old (rather than “older”) and could ride without falling off. Still, 5 y/o riding is pretty sweet.
Yeah, they both do. My son learned to bicycle last fall when he was not quite 4 1/2. Stephanie learned just before her sixth birthday. But we live on a steep hill, and I have to drive them someplace more suitable to ride bikes. (There are some easy trails close by.)
The trick with unicycles I think is that I don’t push – which is very hard for me, because I’m pushy – but that we let them ride unicycles in the house anytime they want, without asking. They each have their own, so it’s free access with no pressure. And they ride them every day. They sit on them and watch the Munsters DVD, wheel into the bathroom to brush their teeth, etc. I periodically take them outdoors to ride so they can practice on a stretch longer than the 20’ hallway-to-dining-room run. The walls and furniture take a beating, but it’s a small price to pay to see a dedicated five year old really who wants to “do it by myself.”
P.S. Dave, I still owe you some cranks. Sorry for the tardiness. How’re the new digs? Did you see the post on my course in the mountains a while back? (Topos on my web site.) Your wheel is smooth! I’m going to try that course with 125s first chance I get.
That is very impressive, now, do you have a video camera ?
I would love to see and show a video of that (maybe because I learnt to ride a bicycle when I was 11)
wow. thats amazing. he could be in Unicon when he’s 10 
my sister is ten and i taught her to ride
Awesome!
Ain’t it the truth!
Re: My 5 year old free-mounts!
On Tue, 11 Oct 2005 06:11:09 -0500, Zzagg wrote:
>I’ve heard about a young puertorican who rode at 3 and 1/2 years old (I
>saw a picture of him aged about 4 years old). Breaking this kind of
>record is clueless
Allegedly the youngest person ever to unicycle (ride across a stage)
was 18 months old. See http://www.unicycling.org/btdt/fhs.html (bottom
of the page).
“dit dit diddle diddle dit dit did-it, dit dit diddle diddle dit dit did-it, dit diddle dit dit dit diddle dit dit, diddle-diddle-diddle-diddle-dit dit diddle diddle dit dit did-it,… - Spudman”
Video
I finally got a video. It’s only phone quality.
Michael Freemounts - (Quicktime .3g2)
He climbs a quite steep hill after he mounts to get to the car. The video doesn’t capture the steep rise.
what is the actually url for that movie my comp wont load it like this. or is it in a gallery…someone give me directions to find this
Not playing for me either.