Soon-to-be new learner wants advice on expectations

Riding Advice
1

All,

Hi. I am new to unicycles, and I am 6’1 and 240 lbs, pretty muscular,
maybe 15-20 pounds overweight, and I’m 34 years old. I cannot yet ride a
unicycle, but I intend to try. I got a unicycle as a graduation present in
highschool, but I never learned more than to get up on it, ride awkwardly
a wee bit, and then fall off. Basically, I had no attention span for it,
and I doubt I did anything on that uni for more than 3 or 4 days. However,
now, I have the attention span to do it, and the desire to do it thanks to
a local friend, Chris Lefay. Chris mentioned that I should always refer to
the object of desire as a “Bike” whenever possible on this forum, but I
think he is trying to trick me. Anyway, I know I dont retain any primal
memories of that time, just a faint vision of me dorking around on one
when I was 18.

So, with that in mind, I went to unicycle.com and I got the United
Unicycle Trainer for Large Adults, and I got the 400 mm post, and I
upgraded the seat to the Miyata seat, and I got the full leg, wrist, and
head protection recommended by the owner (who kindly chatted with me and
helped me with what I needed). It all arrives friday.

Also, my mom thought she gave my original Schwinn 24" unicycle (new in
1985) away to her friend who runs a thrift shop, but it turned out she
gave away an old bike wheel, or possibly a whole bike, but the
unicycle was still in the attic. It apparently has no damage, its
not rusted, the seat is fine, and it only has a flat, so it turns
out I may have 2 to work with. Hurrah!

So, Chris is going to help me learn as best I can this weekend, once the
armor arrives (I’m not dumb enough to try without the protection and/or
without somebody around in case I take a bad fall).

I am wondering at what kind of time frames might be involved, and how
somebody of my height (6’1) and weight (240) and age (34) might fare.
Obviously, it could be anything, nobody can really be sure, it might take
6 months at 5 hours a day just to mount it, or maybe i’ll be hesitantly
riding in a month.

I’m just wondering if, over and above the normal level of challenge that
learning to ride would be for anybody, if my age and weight will
significantly impede the learning process.

What has been your experience when learning or teaching others who are
learning at this age, or at this weight, or both?

Lewis W. Beard, lewis@lwb.org, #1362 “Can you spell ‘guest’? It has a ‘u’
in it!” - U.S. Bill, The Specials

2

lewis@lwb.org (Lewis W Beard) wrote in
<c581d835.0112051249.53fe135b@posting.google.com>:

>All,
>
>Hi. I am new to unicycles, and I am 6’1 and 240 lbs, pretty muscular,
>maybe 15-20 pounds overweight, and I’m 34 years old. I cannot yet ride a
>unicycle, but I intend to try. I got a unicycle as a graduation present
>in highschool, but I never learned more than to get up on it, ride
>awkwardly a wee bit, and then fall off.

SNIP
>
>I am wondering at what kind of time frames might be involved, and how
>somebody of my height (6’1) and weight (240) and age (34) might fare.
>Obviously, it could be anything, nobody can really be sure, it might take
>6 months at 5 hours a day just to mount it, or maybe i’ll be hesitantly
>riding in a month.
>
>I’m just wondering if, over and above the normal level of challenge that
>learning to ride would be for anybody, if my age and weight will
>significantly impede the learning process.
>
>What has been your experience when learning or teaching others who are
>learning at this age, or at this weight, or both?
>
>Lewis W. Beard, lewis@lwb.org, #1362 "Can you spell ‘guest’? It has a ‘u’
>in it!" - U.S. Bill, The Specials
>

Hi

I’m 6’, 255lb and 40+ age, so go for it. The big problems I found were
finding the time, and continuing to find the motivation to practice (when
it gets to the stage that you can go places and see things it sort of
stops being practice and becomes an activity in it’s own right).

The things I found that helped were:

  • practicing with my brother (having someone else around makes me
    work harder)
  • riding home from work - getting the distance up (even when the
    mounts weren’t working I could still do the ditance and get the
    hours on the uni)
  • reading the posts in this newsgroup (and watching the videos that jeff
    and others post to their web sites)
  • having someone around who is better than you (by a couple of skill
    levels at least) to point you in the right direction).
  • becoming slightly obsessive

Go for it - it is fun.

Regards

Phil

3

> Hi. I am new to unicycles, and I am 6’1 and 240 lbs, pretty muscular,
> maybe 15-20 pounds overweight, and I’m 34 years old. I cannot yet ride a
> unicycle, but I intend to try.

I’m 6’, 240 lbs, somewhat overweight and 35 years old. I started learning
2 years or so ago. Don’t waste any more time - just go for it.

> “Bike” whenever possible on this forum, but I think he is trying to
> trick me.

He is. I prefer “uni” or “wheel” but some people say “yike”. The “bi-” in
“bike”, if my Greek serves me well, means “two”, so that is plain wrong.
My favourite variant of this (almost always from non-riders) is
“one-wheeled bike” :slight_smile:

> I’m just wondering if, over and above the normal level of challenge that
> learning to ride would be for anybody, if my age and weight will
> significantly impede the learning process.

You’ll quickly realise that children can learn in a single day the skills
you have fought for six months to master. Well, that’s been my experience
anyway. Don’t let that put you off, you get to go to the bar afterwards,
and you can always sit on the cheeky ones.

Arnold the Aardvark

4

Lewis-

Do it. You are not too big or too old. I have limited experience teaching people to ride. One was a 21 year old male with moderate balance at best. He was 6’3" and 190 lbs. He learned in 3 days practicing 3-4 hours a day. While he took breaks I learned to ride backwards. Another was a 30 year old female, 5’2", 110 lbs who was somewhat balance impaired. She struggled in bad weather to learn in about a month and still is fairly wobbly.

I learned when I was 11 years old in 3 days of summer weather but that doesn’t tell you anything about being older and larger (and differently equipped) while learning. I am now 49 years old and recently took the skill level 1, 2, and 3 tests, so at least you don’t forget.

Chris lied to you about the bicycle part. Don’t turn your back on him. Don’t loan him any money even if he begs.

5

In article <c581d835.0112051249.53fe135b@posting.google.com>, Lewis W
Beard <lewis@lwb.org> wrote: )maybe 15-20 pounds overweight, and I’m 34
years old. I cannot yet ride )a unicycle, but I intend to try. I got a
unicycle as a graduation )present in highschool, but I never learned more
than to get up on it, )ride awkwardly a wee bit, and then fall off. )…
)trick me. Anyway, I know I dont retain any primal memories of that )time,
just a faint vision of me dorking around on one when I was 18.

You’ll probably be surprised. They say you never forget how to ride a
bike; that’s because the sensation of balancing on a bike is not
“remembered” consciously, but rather kinesthetically. It’s like
walking–once your body has figured out how to do it, it just does it,
even though in reality it requires constant balancing adjustments.

So even the small bit you learned while 18 will make things easier for
you.

)So, Chris is going to help me learn as best I can this weekend, once )the
armor arrives (I’m not dumb enough to try without the protection )and/or
without somebody around in case I take a bad fall).

You probably won’t take many actual falls while learning; you’re only a
few inches above the ground, and as long as you’re willing to let the
unicycle fall, almost every time you’ll wind up on your feet. You might do
a couple pitches forward to be caught by your hands (hence the wrist
guards), and maybe one or two backwards falls onto the butt. At least,
that was my experience.

Ankles, shins and thighs will be quite battered by the learning process.

)What has been your experience when learning or teaching others who are
)learning at this age, or at this weight, or both?

It was probably 5 hours of practice before I could get a couple of meters,
10 before I could consistently ride 20 meters. That was with 1-2 hour
practice sessions on weekends; it was maybe a month overall.

Good luck, and have fun! The first time I got a really good wobble going
was an exhilirating experience, after hours of futile attempts. It’s a
magical thing. -Tom

6

34 Years is a perfect age to learn. I am 6’, 180 lbs and 48 years old. I
learned to ride last year. It took me 20 - 30 hours of solid practice to
be able to ride reliably for, say, 100 meters. I think I am on the slow
side of learners if I read how others in this group fared. That may be
mostly age-related, children usually learn a lot faster. I don’t think
height is a factor. Weight is probably not significant either, especially
if you are muscular rather than overweight.

What helps in learning is encouragement preferably from other riders, as
well as an attitude to just “go for it” as opposed to being overly careful
and risk-avoiding. Learning to ride is not a very dangerous activity. I
don’t want to talk you away from any safety gear, but I never used any
when learning to ride on a flat surface. So don your full gear and just
“bang on it”!

The word “bike” is barely tolerated by the friendly folks in here when if
refers to a two-wheeled contraption. Once someone here referred to his
unicycle as “bike”… man did he get reaxions!

Happy practicing! Klaas Bil

On 5 Dec 2001 12:49:01 -0800, lewis@lwb.org (Lewis W Beard) wrote:

>All,
>
>Hi. I am new to unicycles, and I am 6’1 and 240 lbs, pretty muscular,
>maybe 15-20 pounds overweight, and I’m 34 years old. I cannot yet ride a
>unicycle, but I intend to try.
<snip>
>I am wondering at what kind of time frames might be involved, and how
>somebody of my height (6’1) and weight (240) and age (34) might fare.
>Obviously, it could be anything, nobody can really be sure, it might take
>6 months at 5 hours a day just to mount it, or maybe i’ll be hesitantly
>riding in a month.
>
>I’m just wondering if, over and above the normal level of challenge that
>learning to ride would be for anybody, if my age and weight will
>significantly impede the learning process.
>
>What has been your experience when learning or teaching others who are
>learning at this age, or at this weight, or both?
>
>Lewis W. Beard, lewis@lwb.org, #1362 "Can you spell ‘guest’? It has a ‘u’
>in it!" - U.S. Bill, The Specials

–
“To trigger/fool/saturate/overload Echelon, the following has been picked
automagically from a database:” “BECCA, IWG, RG”

7

On 5 Dec 2001 12:49:01 -0800, lewis@lwb.org (Lewis W Beard) wrote:

lots of stuff.

Just do it or not okay. I’ve had my Uni for about 18 months and
haven’t practised much so well hey I can’t ride it. Quit talking and
you’ll be fine.

(oops sorry, I probably shouldn’t post after a few pints)

Cheers,

Jim.

–
http://www.javery.demon.co.uk/
I.C.Q. 27906259

8

In article <c581d835.0112051249.53fe135b@posting.google.com>, “Lewis W
Beard” <lewis@lwb.org> wrote:

> Also, my mom thought she gave my original Schwinn 24" unicycle (new in
> 1985) away to her friend who runs a thrift shop, but it turned out she
> gave away an old bike wheel, or possibly a whole bike, but the
> unicycle was still in the attic. It apparently has no damage, its
> not rusted, the seat is fine, and it only has a flat, so it turns
> out I may have 2 to work with. Hurrah!
Great! Get another friend to learn too! Or remove the cranks, then take
out the seat post and replace it with some handlebars and have yourself
an Eric The Half A Bike. (name from “How to ride your Unicycle” by
Charlie Dancey)

> … and I got the full leg, wrist, and head protection recommended by
> the owner (who kindly chatted with me and helped me with what I needed).
> It all arrives friday.

(not wishing to get flamed) that lot of safety equipment for a learner
isn’t all that necessary.

Kneepads and wrist protection might help (when you land on your hands and
knees) though rather than restrictive wristguards you might just try a
pair of gloves to escape scraped paws. A helmet (usenet fire department on
standby) isn’t, IMHO, necessary for a learner on flat and level ground.
For Trials, Muni, Racing and generally dangerous stuff, a helmet is pretty
much necessary.

When I learned (18) I had no safety equipment. The only safety equipment
I’ve ever wished I had (and recently invested in after getting a 28"
Nimbus commuting unicycle) is knee pads - not to avoid knee injury, just
to prevent trouser damage.

Kindly don’t leave this post smoldering.

Andrew xADF

9

The fear of failure really helped me learn to unicycle. What I mean is, I
knew I would mess up, and certainly not ride properly on my first attempt,
but it didn’t matter. No one who saw me practicing was any better than I
was, and therefore had no right to make fun of me. (Ok, on a tangent of
making fun, I know people don’t care if they have a “right” to or not…
but if someone were to make fun of me for doing something they can’t, it’d
roll off a lot easier.)

> What helps in learning is encouragement preferably from other riders, as
> well as an attitude to just “go for it” as opposed to being overly
> careful and risk-avoiding. Learning to ride is not a very dangerous
> activity. I don’t want to talk you away from any safety gear, but I
> never used any when learning to ride on a flat surface. So don your full
> gear and just “bang on it”!

Sent via the Unicyclist Community - http://Unicyclist.com

10

I’m a 6foot, 190pound, 32yr-old male [1 month riding]

Just get on and go, fall off [step off usually], get back on and go again… repeat… some time later [less than you think]… you will be riding along and some kid on a BMX will do that “thumb & little finger” gesture and say “respect! man, you da bomb” [or some such thing] and you will be one very happy old dude [i sure am].

The first time I free-mounted, it felt like… mmm… sweet freemounting…

After learing to “yike” i feel like i can learn anything!
[the steeper the learning curve the further you go in a shorter time]

You will sweat more in the next few weeks [try to practice an hour a day if you can - i did it by night so no-one would see] than you have in a long time, it gets easier [did 20kms on my 20inch the other day!]

Stay on top!

richardg.

11

Jeff,

Talking about “rights”: after having seen (and enjoyed!) the documentary
about you (and most of your other vids) I’d say you certainly have a right
to speak :slight_smile: But re fear of failure it worked differently for me, e.g. I
felt held-back to venture away from a wall-rack or railing out of fear to
fall. The people I witnessed learning that were the boldest were also the
quickest (but this may be a chicken-and-egg issue). Most of my practicing
was in a unicycling club where everyone was better than me but no one had
the desire to make fun of me (except in friendly ways). I felt a bit less
secure clinging to the railing of a bridge in the park where passers-by
observed my clumsy attempts.

Klaas Bil

On Wed, 5 Dec 2001 18:00:51 -0600 (CST), “Jeff Lutkus”
<lutkus@unicyclist.com> wrote:

>The fear of failure really helped me learn to unicycle. What I mean is, I
>knew I would mess up, and certainly not ride properly on my first
>attempt, but it didn’t matter. No one who saw me practicing was any
>better than I was, and therefore had no right to make fun of me. (Ok, on
>a tangent of making fun, I know people don’t care if they have a “right”
>to or not… but if someone were to make fun of me for doing something
>they can’t, it’d roll off a lot easier.)
>
>
>> What helps in learning is encouragement preferably from other riders,
>> as well as an attitude to just “go for it” as opposed to being overly
>> careful and risk-avoiding. Learning to ride is not a very dangerous
>> activity. I don’t want to talk you away from any safety gear, but I
>> never used any when learning to ride on a flat surface. So don your
>> full gear and just “bang on it”!
>
>

>Sent via the Unicyclist Community - http://Unicyclist.com
>
>

–
“To trigger/fool/saturate/overload Echelon, the following has been picked
automagically from a database:” “BECCA, IWG, RG”

12

Hi,
I’m another would-be learner, and I’m such a newbie here I had to register to post this. I have read a number of responses about what it takes to get to the point of riding a few hundred meters (in some cases less).

My question is what it takes to be better than that and how realistic some things are. More specifically, if I want to be able to ride on the neighborhood sidewalks for a quarter mile or so reliably. How difficult will that be. Also, how stable is a unicyclist? For instance, will I ever be able to walk/jog a dog while I ride? Does it matter if the dog is 70 lbs or 20 lbs?

When I think of a unicycle I think of something that goes in any direction on a dime – forwards, backwards, angling off and back again. Am I looking at years of practice?

I have looked around the web, read the FAQ’s I could find, etc. I have found a lot of information on how to start. I haven’t found anything that gives this kind of feel for what to expect.

Thanks,
Elaine
Norman, OK

13

Elaine-

Many people learn by flailing madly about as they ride for 10 meters (or some distance where one actually believes one is riding more than keeping from falling). Then something clicks and they just go…and go and go and go. At that point the problem is not going 1/4 mile it’s selecting real destinations for long rides. I think that’s why you read so many posts that begin, “I can reliably ride (pick your number) meters and then…”

When you are able to “ride” indefinitely on a “smooth” surface you will begin to discover hills, curves, bumps, small dips that occur at the bottom (dead spot) of the pedal cycle and a variety of other “obstacles” that make you “fall” off. At this point, you are developing some of the finer correction skills and probably scanning (looking ahead for these “obstacles” then looking around at the big picture). You also learn the importance of reliably “free-mounting” (getting on the unicycle without holding onto anything).

In my opinion (perhaps shared by few others) there is a world of difference between the floor of a gymnasium and a city sidewalk. There is also a world of difference between a city sidewalk and a rutted, dirt road.

The size of your dog matters very little with respect to its level of obedience. A leash trained, 80 lb dog can be walked by a child on a unicycle. An unruly, toy dog will quickly find its way in front of the wheel of a large, adult rider and injure both of them.

Keep practicing and something will “click” and you will see that 1/4 mile is suddenly not so far.

14

Thanks,you told me exactly what I wanted to know; and I really have looked. BTW, all of my dogs are obedience trained, but that doesn’t make them unicycle trained. If I can manage the riding part, though, I can manage the dog training part.

Elaine
Norman, OK

15

Elaine-

I have a 75 lb lab-Great Dane mix and a 35 lb sharpei-golden retriever mix. The lab mix is extremely powerful but fairly calm and the wheel never bothered her. The sharpei mix was a bit apprehensive at first but will now hold still and not try to react to the wheel motion when I idle. I can also cheat and use the leash tension to maintain balance so, in that way, GOOD dogs can become USEFUL dogs.

Remember, the command becomes, “WHEEL”, not, “HEEL”.

16

Hi,

I recently saw a guy riding along the sidewalk on a 20" Uni walking not one, but two midsized dogs, one on either side and in back of him. I shuttered at that, considering my dog weighs in at 100lbs and would dart at the sight of a cat or a squirrel. If that isn’t a problem, then go and walk the dogs with your uni.

But, you will have to first get real smooth and comfortable on the Uni. It took me around 13 hours to learn to ride that magic 50 ft. I broke it up with 15 minutes, 30 minutes here and there. Learned in the bedroom while watching TV as a matter of fact. I think the literature out there indicates most people take anywhere from 12 - 16 hours to learn. If you can learn faster, terrific. If it is longer, no problem - you will ride.

The hardest part is the very beginning, with time, it all works out. Don’t expect in 16 hours to be ready to walk the dogs, that will take more time. You will then learn to deal with the nuances of the sidewalk and root uplift of the sidewalk and whatever you come in contact with. Dropping off of a curb takes time if you don’t want to dismount.

It all depends on how intense you try to learn. I suggest breaking it up over maybe 2 weeks give or take a few days, if you have the time. It took me I think a total of about a month. Like the previous responses have said, it will happen for you, but it does take dedication and time. Work until your tired and take a break. You might even get a little frustrated, but push just a little past the frustration and then break. For walking the dog, if you can practice every day for 30 minutes to 45 minutes, give your self several months.

If you have to ride on the side of a city street, be prepared for the uni to tilt to the right. The arching of the street for runnoff creates a push to that side. Lower your tire pressure early on and this will help even from minute 1. Try around 30 psi if you have a 20" to start out with. The tire on my 20" goes up to 80 psi. I have never had it that high, but even at 50 psi, I get the wobbles and it’s harder to control. I started in May.

Leave the dreaded freemount til later, practice by just getting your balance in a stationary spot but hold on to a pole. Then move slightly back and forth. You will twist around and fall off the Uni. This is normal. Keep at it and then eventually go for a forward lean and let go of the wall and pedal. You might go one revolution, and dump it. Set up and try again. Eventually, you get to 2 revolutions, and so on. It really is great fun to see your progress in those early days. It happens quickly enough for you to see it.

Have fun.

Keep it up.:smiley:

17

> I am wondering at what kind of time frames might be involved, and how
> somebody of my height (6’1) and weight (240) and age (34) might fare.

I find age is a factor, especially in the over-or-under 30 area. Younger
riders have more of that “go for it” gene, but as we get older we tend to
be more cautious. But even this is an individual thing, demonstrated best
by guys like Bruce Bundy.

Since you learned to ride in your youth, you should retain some of that.
You didn’t ride much, but you definitely should get return on your
investment. I have met people who haven’t ridden in 10-15 years, who can
ride around again after less than five minutes.

Learning the unicycle is probably more a factor of motivation than
anything else. If you want it, you’ll get it.

Good luck, John Foss, the Uni-Cyclone jfoss@unicycling.com
www.unicycling.com

“If it weren’t for the last minute, nothing would get done.” - Kevin
“Gilby” Gilbertson

18

> Eric The Half A Bike. (name from “How to ride your Unicycle” by
> Charlie Dancey)

Charlie got the name from “Eric the Half a Bee,” a Monty Python song and
sketch by Eric Idle.

Stay on top, John Foss, the Uni-Cyclone jfoss@unicycling.com
www.unicycling.com

“If it weren’t for the last minute, nothing would get done.” - Kevin
“Gilby” Gilbertson

19

I learned to ride, even though I’m somewhere between 40 and 100 years old,
and I weigh a tiny bit more than I did when I was 25, which was 101 lbs.

The good news is I think it’s easier for men to learn, because women are
generally more cautious. The bad news is it’s taken me nearly three years
of constant practice to learn what my teenage daughter and son learned in
about 3 months.

However, here’s my advice. I think one reason I was an extremely slow
learner was that when I felt I was losing my balance, I fell off. Took me
forever to figure out that I could fight that feeling, compensate, and
actually stay on!

My other suggestion, besides determination and a ridiculous amount of
practice, is confidence. I had very little. I was so discouraged by how
difficult it was that I think I made it even more difficult.

I can remember trying so hard to learn to freemount that I thought someone
would have to call the paramedics. I kept switching from the right foot to
the left foot, thinking that something would finally click. (That ended up
being a big help. Eventually, I could freemount with either one.)

One more memory. One night, when I could ride very short distances, I
drove home from a practice. I realized my hands were tightly gripped
to the steering wheel, and I was really tense, because I was
struggling to keep my car balanced as I was driving it! Maybe it helps
to relax a little.

Oh, and set goals too. That really helps.

By the way, some friends have promised me a case of beer if . . . uh, that
is, when . . . I pass Level 3. How about if I invite you all over if . . .
uh, I mean when . . . that happens? (Don’t worry if you’re underage now.
There’s a good chance you won’t be by then.)

Stay balanced and keep on riding!

Carol M. of Minnesota Overheard quote from a friend: “If you can’t do
something well, enjoy doing it poorly.”

Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com/intl.asp

20

Carol McLean wrote…
>
>
>I learned to ride, even though I’m somewhere between 40 and 100
>years old, and I weigh a tiny bit more than I did when I was 25,
>which was 101 lbs.
>
>The good news is I think it’s easier for men to learn, because women are
>generally more cautious. The bad news is it’s taken me nearly three
>years of constant practice to learn what my teenage daughter and son
>learned in about 3 months.

HOW you practice is of crucial importance. I don’t mean to discourage
you, but I have rarely encoutered anyone whom I couldn’t teach to ride at
least three turns of the wheel in an hour or so (usually less). The
essence of the method we use was developed by Bill Jenack, “the Father of
Modern Unicycling”, who claimed that he can teach people in 15 minutes.
For me, 15 minutes is rare – 30 to 40 is more common.

Unicycling does seems impossible to the complete beginner, but believe me
once you can ride it feels real easy. (If you need more information on the
method we use, it is described in my booklet “Anyone Can Ride A
Unicycle”).

Stay on top, Jack Halpern Executive Director for International Development
International Unicycling Federation, Inc. Website: http://www.kanji.org