I am seriously thinking about not riding for a long while. My main problem is I have nothing really in the area to challenge me to become a better rider. Charleston is really flat. There isn’t many areas where I can work on my stairs, hopping, or anythig of that nature (street). We are in the low country, which is exactly what the name states. No forested areas, mountains, or even decent hills (there goes trials and muni). I could ride distance, but I know I can ride distance realitively ok. Noone else in the area rides, so I’m not really pushed to learn new tricks.
I almost refuse to go out in the street, as there are a shit load of little kids who swamp me when I bring my uni out to practice. And the backyard is infested with mosquitoes. Maybe I’m just trying to find an excuse to stop riding. I dunno. I will head out tomorrow and ride my 29er around on a bike path to think about stuff. Maybe I just need a small break…or a swift kick in the ass to get going again.
Maybe you need to think about moving - if your occupation allows. Or, if you have a family, plan for a longer vacation (I know in the US you don’t get much) in an area with mountains, ideally where you can find other riders (use the forum to ask). You are welcome to visit Germany - we have a lot of riders and mountains / forrests here.
I get the impression that you are not happy where you live right now anyway - talking about the mosquitos and the “shit load of little kids”.
Maybe you need to change something in your life for a better future
believe me, if i could move to Germany, i would be there in a heartbeat. You are right, I don’t care too much for the place i’m at now. Right now I really have nothing holding me here. But I have nothign waiting on me anywhere else. Either way, i want to be in a place where I can muni, as that is really appealing to me. I’ve thought about going extreme, saving what money I can, and move to Washington or Oregon. Never been out west past Kansas, but from what I’ve seen, you are in the mountains. Hell, at this point, I’d opt to go to North Dakota, just to ride the farm roads for miles and miles. Yes, I’ve been to NoDak, i know how brutal the winters are, but the warming up and summer months make up for it.
I hear ya, Might be the heat. I’ve been to the Charleston area. Nice place to visit. I wouldn’t want to live there. I’m up in Charlotte, N.C. and it is hot up here which takes all the fun out of mUni riding. I tend to do more bike riding, road and Mountain, during the hotter times,plus the flies can’t keep up with you. We built a freeride/ trails area to ride on at one of the local mtb trails. It gives us something to play on when it is too hot to ride Uni. I would suggest trying that. Here is a link of mtb trails in your area. Some of them I rode my MTB on , Harbinson is a good place, Columbia is not too far from you is it? Would be great on a mUni. Ride early when it is cooler.
At best the Euro will catch up, but that’s not happening either. It’s getting stronger. A bunch of the other’s, Pound for example, are dropping too though.
You don’t necessarily need to be constantly learning new things, as eventually it becomes a slow learning curve. I was very inspired to ride at first but after a while other things got in the way, mostly my lack of money meaning I couldn’t go anywhere to ride, so now I just ride when I feel like it. I still consider myself a unicyclist, although I do not ride offen at all. I still love my unicycles, and I think of them as works of art. And one day I know I will want to get out there and start riding more seriously again!
You should unicycle because it’s fun, not because it is some deed that needs to be accomplished. Different people enjoy different things, so it’s good either way. Personally, the idea of riding distance on a 36" appeals to me, and a lot of the muni stuff just doesn’t (not that I can do it anyway, just I don’t want to be using a unicycle for a pogo stick).
As far as challenges go, you might check into the ultimate wheel or a giraffe or a BC wheel if you haven’t already tried them. If you enjoy riding distances, you might enjoy biking more than unicycling, for that matter.
East coast humidity is brutal. I visited my Mom in Boston where she is getting her masters last July/August. I don’t know how people there can function w/o AC. During one mild day it was 89 w/ 100% humidity. I had a hard time doing anything other just laying around. On one hot day I spent the entire time at her school’s library w/ AC, that night I was sweating w/ just underwear and a sheet.
Set up a trials/northshore course (see Trials Course Love 99 and check my signature) in your backyard and practice in the mornings when it’s cooler (here mosquitoes are only bad in the evenings). Take your car out and your garage can turn it into a decent compactable course. You could even set up some stuff in your house.
Learn a long list of unicycle comebacks.
Hook up w/ other local riders.
Take a few weekend trips to places w/ different terrain.
I have entertained the idea of a 36" UW. I talked to Brian Mac about his, and got all the specifics. All I need is some time and money and I will have one as well. As I said before, I am the only rider around my area that I know of. Many people I meet used to ride, and I ask them if they still do, and they just laugh and walk off. Maybe I just need some time off for a bit.
I was thinking about getting some cinder blocks and 2x4 to set up some skinnies to practice on. That way, I can learn some fine balance, and practice hopping up something a bit higher than a curb.
And yes, the heat and humidity is brutal down here. Its normal for the temp to be in the high 90s and humidity just as high. Mornings and evenings here are the prime times for the skeeters. I will figure something out to keep me riding.
Building your own trials course is both easy and fun to do. And once you’ve built it, you can change it to accommodate your skills as they grow. Simple things like pallets or wood planks are both easily found and are real easy to put together.
I hear ya, I live in a very mountainous region so munis okay, but I can’t do as much trials as I’d like. What I can do is make do with what I have, rocks, pallets. etc.
Pallets are awesome, you can take them from behind home depot. I’d ask though before you do. My home depot is okay with it, your might not be.
