Thanks mbalmer - I’ll try and lean back a little. Me, dumb a$$, was leaning forward to compensate. Totally backwards. The driveway is pretty level as it enters the garage. I have about 100’ of hill in my driveway that goes down to the road from the area I practice in. I still can’t manage to ride all the way down - I start going too fast & bail after about 50’.
That’s funny, I tend to lean forward when I see a bump coming up. Although now that I’m thinking about it, the lean forward might just be pre-bump to speed up a little for momentum to get over the obstacle. I’ll have to pay more attention to what I actually do at the bump.
This weekend I finally figured out some new mounts. I’ve been using a rollback mount, and now I can also do a static and rolling mount with some predictability. For me, these two mounts feel almost the same. Credit and thanks to muniaddict (unigeezer) for his video on mounting a 36" – watching him helped me visualize just sort of quick walking my two feet on in rapid succession, whereas before I’d put the first foot solidly on then tried to jump up all with the second foot, which never worked. Watching him hop his 36er also encouraged me to work on hopping a bit, and it is coming along. I’ve got to say that watching the crazy things that guy does on a 36 have reduced my hesitation to learn new things on my 29 (my 20 is no longer available for training since I cut down the seatpost for one of my kids).
I also got out and did some wuni on snow trails that started out as xc ski trails, but have been packed down by dog walkers. All snow, too deep for rocks, as I found any time I wandered a little of the beaten path. It became increasingly difficult as the sun softened up the snow, and the new mounts were much easier in these conditions than a rollback mount, which was nearly impossible (at least for me 
).
I’ve got a Big One arriving tomorrow – new challenges ahead, and hopefully a more consistent and faster commute. 
Interesting point. When is one no longer a beginner? I’ve had my unicycle since July and been getting regular practice since October. I still feel like I am learning basic skills (although with extra props). Maybe once I achieve most of the skill levels I will no longer be a beginner, but I think I’ll always have the beginner’s mentality. I hope that my posts do not discourage anyone in this thread and they are not meant to show off, but to record my progress.
I think beginnerhood is relative. I will always be a beginner when it comes to free mounting the 36", trying to hop up a curb, or doing technical MUni. I don’t believe I am a beginner for riding distances including hills. Whenever you are learning something new you are a beginner at that thing. I don’t think anyone cares if you post in this thread when progressing.
uniShark and JoeBike, I was thinking about the bump thing. I do lean into it, but that is on impact. I lean back a little in preparation for a bump. That probably doesn’t make sense but everyone figures it out. It’s the unexpected/unnoticed “bump” that can still throw me.
“In the beginner’s mind there are many possibilities, in the expert’s mind there are few.” - Shunryu Suzuki
Embrace beginner-ness!
That’s a good point - I guess it’s all a matter of perspective.
I think I saw another post about jumping a 4 foot wall or something like that,
and thought “In a beginner thread?”
I suppose that’s a beginning for someone. 
Very well put, mbalmer.
The very first time I tried to mount my 24, I thought I was 10 ft. off the ground and it was scary and difficult. Sitting up there now, it’s “Meh, what’s the big deal.” Well, it’s not a big deal anymore–but, at present, trying to idle is a little scary, difficult and frustrating. I feel like a beginner.
And speaking of beginners, today I…
–spent a lot of my practice time trying to keep my weight down on the seat. Doing this and using my butt and hips more to steer, I was able to cut down on the left veer problem I’ve been having. Tho, I’m still having a problem with using my legs so much for the turns that I can’t get past the .25 mile distance–just too tired. But I’m working on it.
–tried riding a slalom course using the concrete tire stops that are lined up in the parking lot where I practice. I was able to do 3 to 6 ins and outs consistently before losing it. Will try again next time.
–found consistency and comfort with my left and right static mounts. After a lot of failed attempts, I made one physical and one mental adjustment and it started happening. Woohoo! Hope it is not a fluke.
Today I:
Received my Coker!
. . . but it’s dark, cold, and a bit icy out, so I’m resisting the urge to (try to) ride it until tomorrow. 
Congrats! Have fun with that 
I desperately want a 36" wheel too…they look so much fun.
Oh, and on behalf of a friend of mine who isn’t on the forums (yet): Today, he learnt how to ride!!
It’s so exciting watching another person shed their training wheel and metamorphose into a beautiful unicyclist
In addition to the advice of others, (speed, confidence, anticipating the “tripping” effect with a slight lean-back as you hit it) I would suggest you also try to slightly un-weight the seat as you hit the bump. Not enough to hop, but an almost-hop that doesn’t leave the ground. This seems to help me with getting over 2-3" tree roots when doing MUni (not all of them - I have the bruised knees that go with failure). :o
Today I rode my Coker for the first time. Took a couple tries to get the feel for it, but then I managed to do 10 successful free mounts and work a little on turning before it got dark. Wasn’t quite able to turn around in the street, but I feel like it’s coming pretty quickly. I’m 6’4", so the height difference between riding the 36 vs my 29 didn’t really seem like that much. Actually, the extra height helped a bit for upd’s, because it gave me more time to land on my feet. The bigger difference for me was the inertia from the weight of the wheel, combined with 125 cranks (I’ve still been riding with 150’s on the 29).
Big and Fast and Smooth; I likey.
That’s cool that you can free mount with the 125 mm cranks. I can only free mount on a downhill. Luckily I’ve never had issue finding something to hold on to to get on. That is one reason I am looking forward to a Schlumph for my 29". Free mounting will be a non-issue.
Do you have or will you get a handle? I want one but I have NO extra seatpost for the handle I already have. I guess I can order the KH handle, but I hate to spend the money while saving for a geared hub. I wish I would win the lottery (but, I’ve never purchased a ticket).
I saw a unigeezer video on mounting the 36 about two weeks ago, and it just kindof clicked for me. I was able to get a static and rolling mount on my 29 for the first time last weekend, and that’s what worked on the 36 (actually in a way easier for me on the 36, because the weight of the wheel helps avoid inadvertent roll-back). Just a quick two-step up, as opposed to putting one foot on and trying not to weight it. In other words, I do it too fast to put much weight on the first foot, rather than trying to do a one footed jump up.
My height also probably helps; if you’ve got no seatpost showing, I’m quite a bit taller than you.
I actually have two handles – a KH T-bar I got for Christmas, and a Coker pi bar that came with my Big One. I haven’t felt quite confident enough to try riding with either one, though. Still working on being able to ride using the seat handle, with hands in pockets, or behind my back, etc., before I try a handle bar. Once I do, I’ll probably compare the two bars. My 29 is likely going to become more muni-oriented, so I doubt I’ll need a handle on it. Another factor for me is whether I’ll keep the Coker seat, or upgrade to a KH (probably street, if I’m planning to use a handle). It does sound like the KH T-bar would be the best option for you, but I agree they’re not cheap – I wouldn’t have one but for my father wanting to get me something uni for Christmas.
Sooo, if you end up selling your KH36, keep me in mind, and maybe we can get you my T-bar as part of the deal. . . .
Off topic, but I also agree with the lottery ticket strategy – better to save pennies than buy tickets.
So your chance of winning the lottery is reduced by about one part in a hundred million. There was a great Dilbert cartoon with Dogbert selling day-old lottery tickets for 50% off. He pointed out that your chances of winning were only reduced by about one part in 100,000,000!
I am jealous that unishark has had such an easy time mounting a Coker with 125 mm cranks. I can do it, but I have had to work at it a long time to develop any consistency. Of course, he is 9" tall than I am, so a better comparison would be my mounting a 32" unicycle. For comparison, I have no trouble mounting a 29".
Scott
Haha, well, I didn’t mention how many attempts it took to get 10 good ones.
mbalmer, another thought on handlebars: check out unigeezer’s Instructible video on his extension for the pi bar. You might be able to get a mount that would go over the main part of the frame. There are also some threads about home-made handlebars – again, if you could get something that would fit around the full frame upright, you may be in business.
Today I…
–practiced veering the uni left and right using my hips and shifting my weight while riding in a straight line (mostly)
–practiced my turns using my hips and weight shift and less of my legs. Still a bit frustrated with the too large turn radius.
–managed to make about 50% of my static freemounts (left and right)
–doubled the length of my distance ride to .65 mile on my .1 mile practice track. It’s still the turns that are killing me.
Today I
-
Completed a 7.5 mile trail ride with Tak on much more difficult trails than I am used to and didn’t feel like I was going to die at the end
-
Did most of my off-road mounting as freemounts (rather than using a tree or my husband’s hand)
-
Finally stopped twisting the unicycle 90 degrees to the left when I free-mount on dirt (I haven’t had this problem on concrete for quite some time, but my off-road freemounting has been limping along very slowly).
I still have some difficulty doing sharp, tight turns too. I found slaloming helped a lot towards smoothing them out, and it’s a good way of getting yourself to relax your hips so you can shift weight easier.
Today I:
-wheel walked 1m
-one-foot idled 5 times
-held a stillstand for 3 seconds
:o
A journey of a thousand miles…
Today I managed my first unsupported ride. 28 feet on carpet using a Qu-ax 20" Profi with 100mm cranks. It took me one and a half hours and I fell four times. My straight lines are very wibbly!
Another first today was getting the uni to fit inside the cab of my velomobile (some disassembly) so that I could transport it to the big carpeted room.
I’ve learnt that smiling helps me ride better
Congrats! Isn’t it such a great feeling?
And yeah, manic grinning whilst riding is totally the way to go