Hello! I decided that this summer was the summer I was finally going to learn how to ride one-wheeled, and after falling a lot I now fall down a lot less. I have enjoyed lurking this forum for tips, advice and the vibes of this place, but I figured it now became my time to introduce myself and ask for some help.
I am finding myself in Oslo for July and I brought my unicycle with me. I want to keep riding and improve, but I want to know if there’s any locals here that know some good routes. While I can ride upright for a good little while I am not comfortable with doing it in heavily trafficked or congested areas, and I have no need to challenge myself with steep hills yet. I know that this might be a tall order, but is there any area that’s has its own little safe bike path I can ride in? The furtherst I’ve ridden thus far is 3km, with a few little voluntary and involuntary breaks, so I do not need a big stretch of asphalt to keep me entertained!
Where are you staying? I would recommend to ride along Akerselva (the main river, although that is inclined), or along the shore from the city hall past the fortress. You can find many nice and flat places to ride all over the city. How big is your wheel? Are you staying here all July?
I’m staying in Grünerløkka. Akerselva is a good tip I’ve only walked short distanced along it, but I will definitely scout it out! The parts I’ve walked only has a very narrow footpath, but maybe there’s areas where it opens up? I’ve walked by it around Schous to feed the ducks.
I’ve got an 24" so I won’t get anywhere fast, but I’m still working on the getting there part so I don’t mind it at all. I will be here for all of July yes. My goal for the summer is to get to a stage where I feel “comfortable” riding the uni in varied but normal street conditions and I won’t let 4 weeks in Oslo stop me from that!
If you think the path along Akerselva is narrow, and want to be undisturbed by pedestrians, I am not sure you will find any suitable stretches nearby, at least any stretches more than 200 m long.
While learning unicycling, I would by far prefer pedestrians over a bike lane with hurrying cyclists. You will not find any bike lanes without bikes.
I know the feeling that pedestrians are in the way when learning. Either preventing you to do a proper mount or just blocking the path somehow. You will get used to this. The path along Akerselva is your best alternative from where you live. If you go a bit further up, to Mathallen, you will find some open spaces where you can practice a bit:
Those spots are all really close by. I’ll be sure to check them out today. While I am not opposed to carrying the uni with me on the rail it’s nice to have some decent options in my “backyard”
I see your point. The cyclists, and worse the scooter riders, do have a less relaxed attitude in Oslo than out in the district. The amount of people here is also a bit of a hurdle in my head, but I’ll get over that.
The route by the coast also looked great on google maps and the tram stops right by. Seems like it could get crowded, but I will scout it out. Thanks for the tip! I am definitely not starved for options anymore and I can’t wait to get back in the saddle now! Thanks again!
The route by the coast is really crowded in front of the city hall, but as soon as you get below the foretress much fewer people are there, and you have some choices in where to ride. When you come to the end of the foretress and the ferry terminal, it might get crowded again. I have ridden a lot in that area. and the scenery is really nice with island and fjord view.
The tips were fantastic. On friday evening I went to Nedre foss gård. It had a wide open walking path, but also a little gravel path that wasn’t used by pedestrians. Even though the weather was a bit bipolar and I was randomly attacked by rainfalls I eventually realised that this was a great little spot for me to do laps. I overcame my fear of crashing into pedestrians and got comfortable swinging around them and challenged myself with a slight uphill on the gravel path with a finish of getting up and down from a small curb. Excactly the type of “real road condition” training I’d wanted
On saturday noon I went out again and I felt quite comfortable. I remembered what you wrote about Akerselva and I realised Nedre Foss connected to Akerselva so I just went for it. What a beautiful lovely trip! The Oslo scenery can be quite stunning. The path was a bit to narrow for me to be super comfortable, but the practice the day before had me feeling brave, and I managed to get the feel for swinging around people and trying to time when to pass by tactically moving slow or fast. Only once did I have to jump off due to a kid crossing the path looking down at his phone. Maybe in a few days I’ll get comfortable enough on the grass that I can just swing out there and overtake.
The reactions from people have been quite nice. The good weather probably put everyone in a good mood. I’m excited to try the fortress path now, but Akerselva being so close by was a great idea!
I’ve gotten the confidence to also try cycling by some of the roads and cycle paths around Løkka. All it took was realising I could do this after all, as it is with most things I guess.
As I said to my girlfriend as we rode to the store “mirror mirror on the wall. Who’s the biggest Løkka hipster of them all?”
That might be my favorite spot along Akerselva, and I love trying to ride up that hill, half revs at a time, on my unicycle. You should give that a go by the end of summer.
I am happy to hear that you are doing heaps of progress Such a wonderful feeling.
If you are also into juggling and passing (as many unicyclists are) I can tell you when we are meeting up in a park around 17th-23th of July, when we decide for a date.
If not, I am likely to do a ride along Akerselva anyways those days.
Since you’re looking for flat, chill spots with zero traffic pressure, you should definitely check out Sognsvann. It’s a lake just at the end of metro line 5. There is a wide, completely flat gravel path that loops all the way around it (about 3.2km total). It’s incredibly scenic and totally free of cars. Just a heads up that it can get a bit busy with walkers on nice weekend afternoons, but if you go on a weekday or earlier in the day, it’s the perfect training ground.
Another solid option is the path out towards Bygdøy. Parts of it are paved, very flat, and you get some great coastal views without dealing with inner-city congestion.
I turned around just before that hill. It looked just too menacing to me. The few hills before it were plenty enough hill for me, but I learned just today some new techniques for climbing so maybe I’ll try it soon. It’s good exercise anyway.
I don’t know how to juggle nor pass, but I actually have been thinking about getting into it. I guess I’m not that original.. I’m always up for something new to do!
I’ve actually considered Songsvann. I’ve never been there (except for the free parking), but I thought it was more hilly or offroady. Nice to know it’s actually somewhat easy. I want to do some light trails eventually and thought Sognsvann was going to be that. Maybe I’ll go during the football match tonight it definetly will be quite empty then ha-ha! Thanks for the tip!
Such a wonderful feeling.