I don’t golf, but one comment that I’ve heard a few times is that once you’ve
had the satisfaction of a truly perfect shot, you’re hooked for life.
I think that I can appreciate that comment a lot more now that I am learning to
ride a unicycle. I had my first successful “long” ride of about 20 feet last
night, reasonably controlled and with a decent dismount (i.e., I didn’t fall!)
and it was incredible. All I could think to myself as I was moving was “I’M
DOING IT!”. And then, of course, I wasn’t. But the thrill of the success was so
addicting that I found myself trying again and again - to go a bit farther, or
straighter, or more in control. Definitely no problem in getting the motivation
to practice. Before I knew it, it was 11:30 pm and I was still out in the
driveway wobbling around under the light of the streetlamps. I can see that a
major element of the appeal of unicycling is the never-ending challenge of
learning a new trick, or just perfecting something that you already know, and
feeling the rush of satisfaction when you do it just right. I think I’m hooked!
Anyhow, I was wondering how many other people on this list are just beginning to
learn to ride as I am. I don’t want to bore the experts with my tales of riding
the length of the driveway or learning to turn, but I think it would be fun and
motivational to share experiences with other newbies. So if anyone is interested
in swapping small tales of woe and victory, feel free to drop me a line.
Rick Bissell wrote: >Anyhow, I was wondering how many other people on this list are just beginning >to learn to ride as I am. I don’t want to bore the experts with my tales of >riding the length of the driveway or learning to turn, but I think it would be >fun and motivational to share experiences with other newbies.
A lot of us talk about high level stuff here, and it probably gets intimidating.
But this newsgroup exists for you. If we can’t help people getting started in
our sport, what good are we?
I think a lot of newbies are lurking out there, afraid to ask basic questions.
Sure, read the FAQs first, http://unicycling.org/unicycling/faqs.html but don’t
be afraid to ask questions!
Congrats Rick on your first “floating” ride. I can still remember the feeling
myself, though it’s starting to fade into history. I hope your equipment is
better than what I was using then… (a picture of it) http://unicycling.org/unicycling/Unidb/qdesc/troxel.html
Congratulations…I’m still at an early stage as well and my 8 year old son has
also just started getting beyond the 20 foot barrier. I also play golf and I
think your analogy is spot on.
I’m trying to learn to idle. Each time it gets that little bit better and I even
managed about 3 seconds last night !
Keep practicing.
Tim
From: Rick Bissell[SMTP:rick@tridelta.com] Sent: 06 October 1998 10:59 To: unicycling@winternet.com Subject: newbie stuff
I don’t golf, but one comment that I’ve heard a few times is that once you’ve
had the satisfaction of a truly perfect shot, you’re hooked for life.
I think that I can appreciate that comment a lot more now that I am learning to
ride a unicycle. I had my first successful “long” ride of about 20 feet last
night, reasonably controlled and with a decent dismount (i.e., I didn’t fall!)
and it was incredible. All I could think to myself as I was moving was “I’M
DOING IT!”. And then, of course, I wasn’t. But the thrill of the success was so
addicting that I found myself trying again and again - to go a bit farther, or
straighter, or more in control. Definitely no problem in getting the motivation
to practice. Before I knew it, it was 11:30 pm and I was still out in the
driveway wobbling around under the light of the streetlamps. I can see that a
major element of the appeal of unicycling is the never-ending challenge of
learning a new trick, or just perfecting something that you already know, and
feeling the rush of satisfaction when you do it just right. I think I’m hooked!
Anyhow, I was wondering how many other people on this list are just beginning to
learn to ride as I am. I don’t want to bore the experts with my tales of riding
the length of the driveway or learning to turn, but I think it would be fun and
motivational to share experiences with other newbies. So if anyone is interested
in swapping small tales of woe and victory, feel free to drop me a line.