I was hoping there might be some people on here in Houston/Tomball/etc… If so does anyone know of any unicycling classes near Tomball?
I found one in Conroe. Unfortunately, he closed his doors to adults. If any of you know of any place else, please let me know. All I can get my unicycle to do is body slam me
Jimmy
Jimmy,
It is a bit of a drive for you, but the DFW Unicycle Club is meeting tomorrow at 6pm in Plano, TX. If you use Facebook, you should be able to find the group and the event there. If you don’t, feel free to PM me.
To get many possible useful ideas, do a Google video search for “how to ride unicycle”. In the end it is not really the teacher that matters but the time and persistence that a new rider puts into riding that counts.
Dallas/Plano are too far away. If I was willing to drive long distance, there is a Unicycle School in Austin I could go to. Dang. 
2 unicycles. Not exactly a home decor statement. 
Oh, well.
I did all of that a long time ago. It didn’t solve my problem.
Practice ,crash, repeat. You will get it.
Oh ya use a few broom handles.
I have more to add here, but a lack of time at the moment. My one request is “Please don’t give up.” There are very helpful people here, and everyone really does want to see you succeed. That being said, use the “Today I (Brag)” thread to post your accomplishments, however small they may seem to be.
What do you think you will get if you go to unicycle school?
a.) An expert telling you to raise your seat, sit up straight, all your weight on your saddle. Now look at a fixed object in front of you and pedal? This only works for the “rarest” in the population. As most of us can attest "if you can remember back ", we learn by starting with a “sloppy and inefficient” but over use of all our body, limbs, muscles to be able to stay up and on. Only, later can we ride like tight rope walkers.
b.) Watch other people who “can ride” and try to emulate what they are doing? As a beginner can we “actually” see the minute details of balancing, pedaling,…etc. as it’s actually happening in front of you? Live? I watch musicians all the time, but I can’t follow the guitar players finger and picking. I learn nothing.
c.) An instructor physically holding you up as you are pedaling. Manipulating your arms, shoulders, hips, body,…etc. This usually works. Many children of unicycle parents learn this way. However, some of “us” learn the hard way. Experiment. Research. Listen to our bodies. Do what somebody tells us. Do the opposite. Pay attention to how we “fall”. Try this try that? Same thing over/over. Yes. Madness. Continue this? Quit?
welcome to the sport of unicycling…slam
I learnt by being next to a long railing with flat ground till I felt I could ride away. Wear whatever safety equipment you think is necessary. Could take under an hour, could take 10 hours, could take longer. Just use the railing as little as you need.
Slam dance made some good points.
My invitation was driven by the hope that camaraderie, support, motivation, and the desire to keep going would be provided, and be helpful.
Those things were provided to me by my son. Not to bore anyone with my story again, but I bought a unicycle 2 weeks after major spine surgery, as a motivator to do everything I could to rehabilitate, and learn to walk and move and ambulate correctly again. In short, to work on proprioception to the point that I could learn to ride the unicycle I bought. My son taught himself to ride it while I recovered.
10 months after my first surgery, after learning to walk correctly again, and after my son had patiently answered my every question, and communicated very well how it felt to encounter the different aspects of learning to balance on and ride a unicycle, he ultimately ended up walking away from me one afternoon after saying, “You can do this. You are riding 10-15-25 feet. You can balance. But, you are afraid of falling. You might fall. But, you are going really slow. You will most likely just step off awkwardly. You can do this. But, You Need To WANT To. (Check out my User ID) He said that last bit after turning his back and walking back to his unicycle in the street, AND HE RODE AWAY, leaving me to try, try, and try again. The next day, I rode 30 feet. Then soon after, 30 yards. Then, in the span of an hour, 100 yards. (My son captured it on video.) 
That 100 yards wasn’t pretty. And, my legs were toast. I didn’t yet know how to pedal efficiently. That piece of advice was provided by @Duff . He said, “Focus on lifting your back foot instead of pushing the front pedal down.” Genius advice.
Last summer, I had progressed to the point that I could ride 200 yards at a time. Then, further. Then further again. Then I learned, “Who cares if I have to dismount? Just get back on and keep going.” I started riding further.
Now, I ride 2 - 3 miles with my dog on a retractable leash, and I track how many UPDs I have, but I don’t get caught up in it. I mean, my dog having to poop counts as a UPD!
So, please don’t give up.
If you can’t find someone to ride with, PM me. I will meet you halfway off of I45 (Madisonville), or I will meet you in College Station. If necessary and/or beneficial, I will bring three different 24 inch unicycles, all with different crank lengths (In case that allows you to find a combination that feels more comfortable).
Cheers!
When I learned unicycling I did it on my own but had the feeling it could have been quicker than 10-15 hours till I made it up the driveway if:
I had the strong feeling that help from someone experienced would have been great, although I made it in the end. Still today advice would be helpful for learning new tricks like riding backwards. I have the same problem, I seem to be the only uni rider in the whole area…
Good thing is that you can learn it either way, it only takes longer.
That’s my point exactly. Sometimes you can’t see everything, and you need an instructor who can.
Sometimes you think you are doing the moves correctly and you are not; and, you need an instructor who can point that out.
Sometimes your interpretation of what they are saying in the video, has been interpreted incorrectly; and, you need an instructor to point that out. I had a hard time in school, because, of the last reason alone.
Yeah, a rail to hold on to would come in handy. I found one place. Unfortunately, if you do fall, you and your unicycle have a 3 story drop. At 57 I am sure the impact would be terminal.
Yes, of course, having an experienced unicycle rider in real life helping would be amazing.
However, that’s even x^2 more rare than a single unicycle rider. That’s 2 “potential” unicycle rider occupying the same time and space.
However, there’s no curriculum for riding a unicycle. (unless you’re in certain country where it’s a requirement during 2nd grade)
Here’s how most of “us” learn to ride:
1.) You see a unicycle rider on youtube or IRL.
2.) You buy a unicycle.
3.) You get on it and try it out.
Nowhere, between steps 1 and 3 should you be thinking “where do I sign up for classes”.
The logical approach would be get instructions, get on, fall off,…quit.
Also, same as “hipster logic”, ride unicycle=look cool, try it, too hard…quit.
The punk rock attitude. Just do it, no matter what anyone says, or how much you hurt yourself is key.
Remember, what all the non-riders told us while they laughed and watched us struggle trying to learn? Break your head. Impossible. Too old. Too young. Get an EUC!!!
Although, I should mention step 4.). Without this I would have quit, also.
4.) Research, research, research…
damn science!!
…slam…
I think he made it through steps 1-3. Step 4 would be youtube vids and the like, and for some individuals of us it is simply better to interact with actual people. More fun, more appropriate feedback and so on. I see nothing wrong with him asking, if there is someone around why not get in touch with him?
Surely, you should not lose interest just because there is no other, but that is a different thing.