What is the record low time for learning how to ride a unicycle?
OK, first we need to agree on what “ride a unicyle” means. How about riding 100 meters forward without assistance? I just saw something amazing last night. One of our neighbors, Theo Takeda, taught himself to ride, and rode 100 meters unassisted (with turns!) in 1.5 hours. Let me fill you in on Theo, he is an expert trials biker;
and we have been hanging out riding trials on our MUnis with him and his tribe (good people!) He taught himself the unicycle last night using a pair of crutches, adjusted so he could ride my son’s 24" Stealth Torker. He just started riding forward (sort of skipped the balancing in place step) and he would just use the crutches to check himself slightly. Anyway, in 1.5 hours he put down the crutches and rode almost around the block, about 100meters. Amazing. So I was just wondering if anyone else had ever seen anything like it?
one of my mtbiker friends who can wheelie extremely well spent 20 minutes on my uni untill he rode about 30-40m! he hasn’t had another go but he can freemount and everything. it took me months to ride and even longer to freemount!
A flatland bike rider I met last year was able to wobble a good few metres on his first go, from starting by leaning on a fence.
I suppose people with excellent balance from doing something similar have a distinct advantage… shortly after this rider tried he was back on his bike, rolling along while standing straight up on the seat…
It was the rsu poster ‘djm’ who appears to have learned the fastest and
could ride 50 meters in something like 0.17 hours practice. Checkout the
stats, they’re great!
>So I was just wondering if anyone else
>had ever seen anything like it?
As Jason pointed out, one person featuring in my latest stats
endeavour claimed to be faster. I’ve tried to enter Theo’s results in
the brand new Unicycling Talent-o-meter but I’m missing a few data.
<www.xs4all.nl/~klaasbil/talent.htm>
(I’m really plugging tonight, aint I?)
Klaas Bil - Newsgroup Addict
Your secrets are safe with me and all of my friends.
I have a friend who got on to his sisters 16" wheel and wobbled across his girage on his first or second try. He probably could have made it farther if there was more room. He also skateboards.
I know of two bike trials riders who learnt to ride 50m or so in 30 minutes or less. I witnessed one of them, and the other says he could hop down stairs after 1 hour’s practise!
Seems to be a common theme so far that flatlanders and bike trials riders are some of the quickest unicycle learners. I guess they have fairly well developed balance skills and also the inclination to try something perceived as hard to do. So go and seek out these people in your city and teach 'em to ride! Go mine the rich vein of flatlander/bike trials talent - convert them to one wheel!
very impressive
while out at emmarentia dam recently,
we ran into some poi-swingers (we’re not proud of it, we weren’t carefull!) and got chatting about juggling and uni’ing and the like
one kid (17) wanted to have a go and i offered to give him the basics of weight on the bottom pedal and stuff like that
he refused prefering to figure it out as he went along
he spent about 45 minutes falling off my 24’ before he nailed a static mount and wobbled about 25 m
it wasn’t the most gracefull ride but u could definately see some major corrections being made to stay up
he got a uni shortly after that but we’ve lost touch and i never found out how far he made it into the world of trials
