The trick I found for backwards riding, was really to lean back more than my body wanted to. I also found that it’s easier for me to dismount while riding backwards than forwards, which I think had been frightening me.
As for hopping, you need one hand on the seat and you need your pedals parallel to the ground. You can do them either by rolling and hopping when your pedals line up, or you can roll and stop, then do little balance hops, and then do side hops and stuff.
Today I decided to ride to the servo (gas station for non aussies) to pump my tyre up, and discovered that I can now freemount moderately consistently. And on top of that I’m able to ride out a lot more too-much-lean moments rather than end in a upd.
Next stop, focus on lighter pedalling to save my poor legs.
Two days on and I’ve now learned to static/rolling freemount which I now find easier than the rollback I was first trying.
Had my first shot at riding around a rough grass park today and finished it off with my first 3 successive idles 
This uni riding is addictive and wicked fun!
Nice work. And I agree, I’m glad I’ve gotten back into it
Last 2 days
Yesterday I worked a lot on hopping on the 20". Successfully hopped forward onto a 3" platform, then continued and hopped forward up another 3" to a 6" platform. Did it 3 times and stuck the landing off the 6" platform the the floor both riding off and hopping off. Also successfully hopped up sideways onto the 6" platform twice. I like the forward hop better, but the lateral hop seems easier to get up on something higher. Still not very brave, but I just went for it on the 6" hop, and made it! Don’t think I could do it on my heavier muni, but with the little 20" I am a little more willing to go for it.
Today I had a great ride on my new 36er. I had ridden it very short distances twice, but today took it out for a few miles riding around a park. Had good success with static, rolling, and tire-grab mounts (my first ever tries on this mount). The 36er is a completely different experience than any smaller wheel. I love how smooth it is. I also really like the tire-grab mount. Takes only a couple tries to get a feel for it.
Going further…
And it hasn’t got easier! 
I rode most of the way down to the bay along the river bike path. Haven’t done much riding for the last two weeks except a bit of backing practice. I’ve had to replace a crank too, it had got loose and disfigured? so that I couldn’t get it tight. The 150mm spanner that came with the wrench I bought didn’t really do the job with the new crank either. Had to stop after every upd as the crank would come loose. When I got home I took to the crank nut with a 20mm spanner on the wrench. Hope that fixes it! As it was I still can’t seem to get a nice spinning action going reliably. I get it for 10 seconds and then seem to slow down and slump back on the seat, I can feel it moving behind the wheel, I’m trying to sit up straight, straight back and all but it just isn’t happening for me.
Using a ruler on the map about 20km in 2 hours 55minutes… Admittedly about 6 crank tightening stops and one 5 minute rest stop at the far end… So possibly 2:30 riding time. At the moment I couldn’t go much further, I was pretty dead when I got home. Actually had a bit of wet snow fall for the last 20 minutes. Still either way I look at it, that’s a new distance record 
Got a record 6 revs backwards this week too, so a good week all things considered.
Cheers
James
yesterday I replaced the cranks my 29in came with with 114mm cranks (bought them before i really knew what i was doing). I promptly wrecked HARD. Spent the rest of the day practicing rolling freemounts (I have it down to about 80% of the time now), and today, with my new tiny cranks and ability to mount confidently, i took a little cruise down to the coast. LOVED IT! Why more people dont do this i dont know.
Hi Aaron,
Out of interest what size cranks did your 29 come with and how much riding had you done with the original cranks? Interested because I plan to get a 29 soon. Also do you find spinning the pedals easier or harder with the shorter cranks?
Am wondering about getting some 114s for my 24 just for fun but I am concentrating on learning to go backwards, can get up to 6 revs backwards now, even feeling like I sometimes have a little control, not often though 
Not sure playing with cranks will improve my slow learner capabilities 
Cheers
My 29 came with 150mm… I bought the 114 cranks when I was learning how to ride on my 24. I tried putting em on when I was confidently riding around the block but was unable to control the uni. I got the 29 and practiced for a few weeks before putting the 114s on yesterday. It took a bit of getting used too, but I have better control now (I practice and ride a lot). I Really like the shorter cranks…I move quite a bit faster and feel more stable at speed…that being said, climbing hills is a bit tougher, but my handlebars help immensely with that, and going downhill requires a bit more strength. I don’t do any other type of riding besides road,no tricks, no Muni, just ride for distance and exercise really, so I don’t know if 114s will help you,but for me they made a big difference.
That’s the kinda route I’m taking too. Not interested in tricks or any serious muni. Mainly want a different way to commute and get exercise. I just got 114s today for the 24" and after a brief familiarization period I think they’re excellent.
A tiny hop for most of you, but a giant leap for me:
Yesterday I jumped over a hockey stick lying on the floor and nicely continued riding on the other side
And I did it something like 10 times! - - Wheeee!
Best regards,
Sanne
First of all, hi, im new in the forum, and this is my first post! i began unicycling 1 month ago, i´m so happy cause im enjoying this a lot. yesterday i could idle 100 times, and each day riding backwards a few revolutions become easier. today the left crank become loose, and i couldnt fix it so im waiting for monday to get my 24’’ uni to the bicycle shop when i bought it to make them repair it. in my country this sport is not any popular at all, so is hard to get a uni store, because that, most of the parts came from a bike (2 left pedals, 2 175mm left cranks, saddle (wtf??, so uncomfortable lol, so i use bike pants when riding, )),i think i’m buying a better uni on internet on the next months, while then i hope to get my actual one repaired and fully functional again cause is so addicting, and im thinking about changing the cranks for a shorter ones, but im afraid of loosing the progres ive made with the long ones cause i found it easy to manouver the uni with them.
Longest ride so far
Today I went out on the 36er for 11 miles :D. My previous longest ride was on my 26" muni @ 6 miles.
That is so cool! Hopping is a lot of fun, and doing it without coming to a stop is really fun. Nice work!
Wow, you are making really fast progress! I think you will be happy with shorter cranks when you get a new uni. On a 24" the 150 cranks feel great, then going down to 125’s is a pretty easy change.
Welcome to the forum, and this fun world of uni riding! Thanks for sharing 
I did not jump forward, but rode along the stick and made a sidewards jump, but a forward jump would be cooler. Thanks anyway
Best regards,
Sanne
Sanne, it’s still twice as high as I can hop! 
Well done
Failed in my goal of being able to ride backwards confidently for a reasonable distance by the end of the month. I have definitely improved but only to getting 6 or 7 revs on very odd occasions, mostly just 2 or 3 
Oh well, here’s hoping for a better result by the end of Feb… and I should have a 29 by then to confuse the issue as well!
Cheers
James
Today I went all out and actually rocked it 21 miles (even though I’m still new to this, and can’t do much more than free mount and ride on and on, I’m thinking 21 miles no longer count me as “beginner”). And tonight, I just got back from “Bike Happening” in San Luis Obispo where I finally got to meet other uni riders! Yay! I’m not the only one around here!
That’s impressive. Idling took me more than a month to learn all by itself. It sounds like you have a knack for unicycling. I doubt you’ll lose much with shorter cranks. I switched from 150mm to 125mm to 114mm and adjusted almost immediately. Freemounting was a little tricky each time, but that’s about it.
WOW thats very impressive, i’m 14 months in and I can still only manage about 20 idles and maybe 20 revolutions backwards. Guess I’m not try hard enough.
Yesterday I rode down some stairs and then hopped back up. It was pretty easy with my right hand holding the seat, but harder with my left. I also got my feet back on the pedals and rode away after wheel walking. So… yeah
Today I landed several 180 unispins. I got 3 or 4 good ones spinning to the right, and one sketchy one spinning to the left. The left one as really bad. It might have been some sort of varial unispin mix. But what the hell. I landed it.