if u do go shopping, it makes life a bit easier if u have a small backpag to carry your purchases in
holding them in one hand gets to be a bit of a drag after a while
You should be able to do 1/4 mile easy. Going 3/4 of a mile on a 20" is doable but more tedious. Wait, I think you have a 24". Go for it.
I don’t like riding on roads that might be considered “busy”. I can make it about 2 miles to town on my 26" but I ride on the sidewalk. Even riding on the sidewalk is a bit un-nerving because traffic 10 feet away is going 40+ miles per hour.
Any place that is pedestrian friendly (lots of sidewalks) is a great place to ride your unicycle. Look for church or school campuses, shopping centers, parks, etc.
The idea of carrying a small backpack to carry your purchases is a good thing.
Backpacks
I do ride on streets around town as long as there is a big enough shoulder but you should wait until you’re fairly comfortable with traffic whizzing by.
For backpacks, I use one that incorporates a CamelBak hydration system because I’ve never figured out an easy way to carry a water bottle. In the backpack I carry wrenches, spare tube, plastic tire removal tools, a very small pump, a cell phone, a Powerbar or two, and, when the wife requests, a half dozen eggs.
Made a good 20’ a couple of times tonight, and could have gone further but ran out of real estate. My wife was able to come to the window and watch. She was impressed 
I talked to my son tonight on cell phone and he was standing in front of a 20" Toker LX at his LBS in Alaska. I have a hunch … 
It is about time to find a area with more room so I can keep growing
Just had to share the good news with you all.
nice job. i remember back when i first started i would get about 50 feet down my road or so and then fall off. But then one day i was riding and then suddenly i had rode over 200 feet and i was still going. It just kind of clicked. Just keep practicing and it should happen. It is a great feeling when it does.
Then you can tackle the next challenges. Turning and freemounting.
Good luck
I do grocery runs on mine regularly and about 2 years ago I rode to the store and got a 6 pack of MGD and proceeded to ride home drinking 1 and carrying the now 5 pack under my arm, and half way home a Sheriff pulls up next to me and ask if all is ok then before I answered he said must be and drove off
Rupert…Idaho…my spanish teacher grew up there! Boy does she have some good stories.
or learn how to turn
but i think it might be time to get to the tennis club
Learn how to turn???
Man, I am all over the place on the sidewalk. I can turn on a dime! 
I’m working my tail off learning not to turn! he-he
I wonder if when I am a good unicyclist if I will be able to ride like I ride now? Not that I really want to, mind you, what with almost throwing my shoulders out of joint or hyper-extending a knee, etc.
Now to get away from my sick sense of humor, you are correct. That will be a great day when I can go where I want to go.
something to bear in mind
that side-to-side wobble, so typical of riding a unicycle, is amplified when u r sitting a lil’ bit too upright
(and when i say ‘lil’ bit’, i mean ‘smidgen’)
if u find yourself turning from side-to-side rather sharply with every turn of the pedals while riding, u can smooth your ride out by leaning forward an (aforementioned) smidgen
u may also want to look at the way u’re pedalling and try n imagine a smoother, ‘rounder’ pedalling motion as opposed to just stomping on the pedal when it comes over the top
(sitting up straight, stomping on the pedal when it comes over the top and looking in the direction of said stomped pedal are all bits of advice u’ll receive when u want to learn how to turn)
for now, work on smoothening your ride
I understand the theory that way:
as we grow old we tend to loose inner ear ability
so our balance relies more on visual informations
so your eyes need something to evaluate your imbalance
I am not sure your eyes should be in line with the horizon but anything that can help your inner GPS is ok!
(I tend to have one eye towards the horizon and one watching for pebbles on the trail )
we are with you!!!
bear (who learned the hard way for a long time)
I don’t know that this has anything to do with age. Even our young learners make noticeable improvement when they keep their heads up and ride to some distant point instead of watching the ground just ahead of the wheel. I agree, it has something to do with visual information to the brain. This is a good tool when learning on a smooth, level surface.
With experience and improved riding, when riding rough locations, we do have to go back to the head down position to watch for rocks, tree roots, steps, etc.
dont forget those pesky branches now…
Thanks for all the input.
Now that I have been on the uni for three weeks (since Aug24), my legs started feeling uncomfortable or tight. I raised the seat about 1 inch and it seems to have really made a difference. I kept the last piece of shaft that I cut off, so I will keep it in case I need to place it back in the uni frame. Would that be ok to do?
Before cutting that piece, my legs would fully extend to reach the pedals. It may not be much, but I can definitely feel the change in the inch (don’t know metric measurement).
Every so often I get a nice straight smooth run. At least for now, I do a lot more cycles without holding anything. If anything, I push-off the handrail if I start leaning.
Oh well, may be slow, but I am definitely improving
Now that my neighbor is finished water spraying his trailer-house, it is time to head back out and practice, practice, practice
That’s right. When riding off-road, you have to look down, forward and up all at the same time. 
… and you have to watch side to side so you will always know of a convenient place to fall should that occasion arise. Watch out for the poison ivy.
I am not sure what good it would do to “place it back” in the frame. Have never heard of doing that.
It’s good that you are adjusting the seat height. Being able to extend your legs will help them feel relaxed. Changing the seat height a whole inch is a lot. Eventually, you will find yourself adjusting by a 1/2 inch or even a 1/4 inch and that will feel like a lot.
I was just thinking it might be nice for the post to be bottomed out or touching the frame. Just a thought with not much to it
I just came back in and it does feel better on the legs, I just have to get used to the added height. I almost feel like I am standing up when the legs are extended. Just a beginner learning.
I was having trouble balancing and going straight. It was like I lost all my balance that I had yesterday. It started get frustrating. I finally got off the uni and looked it over. The seat was about 1/2" out of alignment with the wheel! Big change when I got that fixed!
Boy did it feel good when I got back on.
Hey everybody, great news
35+ft today and had to stop there because I ran out of real estate (sidewalk)! I was going good so continued out to the lamp-post and stopped there. The post is actually in the lawn, so I went to the end of concrete. I couldn’t get around the lamp-post anyway and wasn’t about to try a 3 inch drop to the lawn
Also, and it looks like I didn’t post it, but I was talked into buying a 20" Torker LX, so I already have 2 unicycles!! I did the 35 ft on the 20".
It’s a long story about estate money, but I said ok (I honestly was against spending money), and ordered it.
Sure different than riding a 24" (from a newbie viewpoint).
Any way, just wanted to tell you all the good news.
Thanks for all your help and encouragement (that makes it hard to quit but I don’t want to or intend to anyway!).
just remember to keep your weight on the seat, despite the ‘standing up’ feeling
remember that 3" drop
guaranteed u’ll go flying off there before X-mas
35 feet is really good man. keep it up and youll be ridin all over real soon.