I am going to buy my first unicycle soon. I really want to do this! My question is, should I try to find a teacher of unicycle? Do people give unicycle lessons? Or should I just “wing it” and keep trying.
I’m a college student (and I’m very broke because of the expenses of living in New York) so I don’t think I can afford private lessons, but has any one ever taken unicycle lessons at a YMCA or Adult Ed?
Karl
Re: unicycle lessons
You absolutely do not need “lessons” in the sense that you pay an instructor.
There are a few riders around the NYU area who may chime in an offer to get together with you. That said, you should also check out the New York Unicycle Club which meets twice monthly up at Grant’s Tomb. There you will find numerous riders many of whom will be more than happy to give you pointers and help you progress.
All that said, many of us learned completely on our own and there’s no reason why you can’t, too.
Good luck,
Raphael Lasar
Matawan, NJ
Wing it! Wing it!
My vote’s always for the “keep on plugging away on your own” method. The feeling when you finally nail it is the best.
My only other piece of advice is that when you think you’ll never get it, keep going till you are sure it’s impossible, then keep going. Checking tips on this forum can help, and there are some vids and pics on the unicyle2ya site (hope that’s the right name)that help you get the finer points when you’ve nearly got it.
Never say die!
I agree with Raphael–the New York Unicycle Club is a great way to check out what it is to unicycle first hand, and the variety of people who show up there with every type of unicycle imagineable is astounding. You don’t need to bring one–there are always a few extras lying around. I’ve only been there a couple of times, but both of these times were excellent.
I always go down to the downtown west side highway to get my chops together–I’ve met a couple of other unicyclers there as well–there is a cool place just north of the skatepark, (around canal street) south of the trapeze school–it’s away from the walking zone (the cops don’t bother anyone there)and it doesn’t have the distraction of the bike riders wizzing past.
Actually, if you are totally new to this, you might try the area north of the trapeze school–there is this section of the road where the cops left out a few barriers–perfect for those first few tries on the uni. I have already met a couple of new unicyclists using them.
Also, in central park, there is always the option of the dirt area around the baseball cage. When I was learning, I always liked riding on dirt–it was less scary than concrete.
I reccomend you check out a website called Muniac Manor– click on the “Tips and Techniques” link–a lot of excellent unicycle information right there.
This forum itself is a great place to get tips on the unicycle–any question you might have gets answered by 10 or more people world wide who know what they’re talking about.
But be careful with unicyclist.com! It is unbelieveably addictive–especially the political battles!
When you get your unicycle, send me a PM–I try to ride over on the west side every day–perhaps we can meet up there.
Cheers, and good luck