Question for other old beginners!

[Tet]

Can I ask those of you who are just 'beginners', have only a very basic
skills level - forward, left, right, stop, and only learned later in
life (after 30) what are you doing/what did you do to try to advance
your skill level? I know obviously practise and hours in the saddle
count but what things do/did you specifically try out - do you just try
to cover distance, aim to master a particular obstacle (a curb, ramp)
or particular skill - bunny hopping, etc? Have you found you plateau?
I don't get much time to practise (just an hour or two at weekends) and
I am frustrated now by my lack of progress. I find trying new things
scary and being in my late 30s my sense of self-preservation seems a
bit too well developed!!

I'd love to hear others' experiences.

Tet


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[olwyn]

Hi tet,
I often think the same thing, oh I'm not improving, I can't freemount
well enough....ect, I then try to shake it off by going to a completely
different area to uni, change your enviroment (go and uni next to a
kids ramp area... it's amazing what you can do if you think you're
going to face plant infront of a bunch of teenagers! :) ). I think
concerntrating on one aspect of riding and the feeling of not
progressing...failing to do the thing your trying to do causes you to
fail in your head and when you think you've failed you have. Go and try
something completely different. Watch one of the other guys videos from
the forum and learn from them, imagine yourself doing what they are. I
have found this a real help, and I hope this helps.
P.S body armour can also give you that extra comfort to try new things

[joemarshall]

If you're only riding a couple of hours a week, then it'll take you a
long time to learn. It only seems like you're learning slowly because
you're comparing to kids on here who'll be able to spend 20 hours a
week riding.

Once you've got freemounting and general riding down, you can do a lot
of things with that, without having to develop any new tricks like
bunny hopping, one footed etc. Distance riding or muni are great,
because you can learn the skills for them just by riding, rather than
having to spend hours practicing tricks which is annoying if you have
limited time.

The best way to learn to ride well as a person with a proper job and no
time is to use a unicycle for your commute, although if you live more
than a few miles away, that may be impractical.

Joe


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[bungalistic]

I just ride every night I can with a friend and try different sorts of
things. We push each other by having ideas and trying various things
and them egging each other on to do the same trick or something
similar.
I didn't really progress much until I started to ride with this friend
and more often and in the last 2 months I feel i've progressed really
well in some areas.


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*A common mistake that people make when trying to design something
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[cathwood]

Tet wrote:
> Out of interest, what sort of uni and wheel size are you all riding? I
> ride a 24" Nimbus and it just occured to me while watching some video
> clips online that I would probably need a smaller wheel size and may be
> trials style uni to reasonably attempt some of the more adventurous
> moves like hopping up and down steps etc. Am I right - 24" maybe a bit
> on the large size for this kind of thing (clearly I am just looking for
> an excuse to buy another uni but .....)
>
>
> Tet



I ride a 20" freestyle in the gym and for unihockey, I also most
regularly ride a xc 29er and a road 29er. I also have a trials uni and
24" muni, niether of which I ride very much but are there if I want to.


I may not be able to ride them very well but I'm fab at buying
unicycles. You don't need an excuse - it's only fighting the
inevitable.

Cathy


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Say no to unicycle genre discrimination! - MrBoogiejuice

http://www.chuckingandtwirling.co.uk
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[abridged]

Tet wrote:
> Out of interest, what sort of uni and wheel size are you all riding?
> ...
>
>
> Tet



I started with a Sun 24-inch and early last month, I treated myself to
a Nimbus 29er. I want to agree with you about the 24-inch wheel being
somewhat more difficult for some maneuvers, but that's based only on
watching my 9-year-old daughter on her 20-inch (which is too short for
me to try). We're pretty well matched in overall riding skills. I can
go distances with hills and she prefers level ground. However, she can
do three things that are impossible for me: ride around in really
tight circles, pick objects up off the ground, and do some of her upper
body karate moves while unicycling.


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[Wheel Rider]

Tet wrote:
> Out of interest, what sort of uni and wheel size are you all riding?
> Tet


20" Summit for urban riding and trials
24" Yuni MUni for off-road
20" Torker LX with short cranks for freestyle
26" something (that does not get riden much)
29" Yuni(?) that I ride around the neighborhood streets
20" Schwinn (this was my first which is now a loaner)


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[oldfatboy]

Tet, I am a beginner unicycler :)
I have a Torker LX20" and Torker LX24".
My dream/desire/wishful-thinking is a 36". As slow as I am learning, I
will probably settle for a 29er right now.
I can't freemount yet nor can I go in circles. I just go up and down
the street, dismount at the highway, and walk back a 100yds to my car,
mount again and go some more. I do practice mounting from either the
curb or a 6" block of wood, but it is slow going for me :(
Because of the situation I am in, I sit almost from the time I get up
the morning till I go to bed at night, so I'm not in good shape at all.
If I can learn and ride a unicycle..... ;)
Good luck and have fun.

Mike


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"I have got to get me one of these!"
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[Into the blue]

Still learning here also.
Been up in the saddle for the last two weeks or so, but took a bad fall
last Wednesday and bruised some ribs, which has meant a week more or
less of doing no riding. Us oldies don't tend to bounce off pavements
like 14-year olds do.
I'm learning on a 24" and using the tennis court method.
Clinging onto the fence and gradually moving away.
Getting there slowly.
Once I managed the length of the tennis court, I found I could quite
easily do my first 50 yards, but I get the occasional infuriating
hiccup where I can't seem to go 5 yards, let alone 50.
Good luck mate.
Blue.


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Into the blue

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[wobbling bear]

oldfatboy wrote:
>
> My dream/desire/wishful-thinking is a 36". As slow as I am learning, I
> will probably settle for a 29er right now.
>


good point: I bought a Coker a bit too early in my progression. I had
to go back to a 29" to learn proper handling of big wheels. So for
clumsy old geezers I would recommend starting with a 29er and switch to
36" later.
(after all when you get older budget is less a problem -unless your
significant other is frowning upon your habit of buying expensive
"toys":D -)


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One Wheel : bear necessity
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