What inspired you to learn



My 12 year old daughter asked for one for her birthday
last year, and I thought it looked like a really
interesting thing to do. I found a beater Schwinn and
after about four hours of trying I was hooked. Now my 12
year old twins and I find any excuse we can to go riding
together. Just a great sport - and a killer workout that
can be done almost anywhere.

--
uni_bear
------------------------------------------------------------------------
uni_bear's Profile: http://www.unicyclist.com/profile/6516
View this thread: http://www.unicyclist.com/thread/32395
 
wobbling bear wrote:
> *he started performing with a rope he secured between
> two trees.
>
> ever received a coin that went 10 storeys down?-)
>
> *
I used to sit up in one of the trees in the park Petit used
to secure his rope. I threw money down to him, although I
wasn't up that high.
:)

Raphael Lasar Matawan, NJ

--
JJuggle - Last of the Dogmato-Revisionists

'6th Annual LBI Unithon - Sat, June 5, 2004'
(http://jjuggle.unicyclist.com/lbiunithon)

*Do Not Taunt Happy Fun Ball!*
------------------------------------------------------------------------
JJuggle's Profile: http://www.unicyclist.com/profile/24
View this thread: http://www.unicyclist.com/thread/32395
 
Scott Kurland, RMT wrote:
> *If were to vote on which comes next, I don't think lace
> would make the cut.* -Originally posted by harper- *Jayne,
> I'm going to go with Scott on this one. Skip the tatting
> and go straight to the shaking.* -Originally posted by U-Turn-
> *I'll vote too to make 3.*

I thought I'd let you know that I went to my first bely
dancing lesson last night. What can I say but OW! I
obviously made more use of certain bits than I have in a
long time. If I keep this up I should have buns of steel
within a few months. Learning to unicycle wasn't nearly as
painful as this! They are both lots of fun though. :D

On a unicycling note I found a basketball court! Once it
stops getting dark so early I'll take the coker along when
Michael goes to his karate lessons. The classes are in the
same Recreation Centre. I didn't actually know where it was
(it's about 3km from where I live, but kind of secluded
behind an enclosed suburb and one way streets).

Jayne

--
Jayne ZA - Learning to ride on a Coker

Being a statistician means never having to say you're certain

------------------------------------------------------------------------
Jayne ZA's Profile: http://www.unicyclist.com/profile/4878
View this thread: http://www.unicyclist.com/thread/32395
 
Klaas Bil wrote:
> *On Thu, 20 May 2004 12:35:24 -0500, "Jayne ZA" wrote:
>
> >my first bely dancing lesson
> If that should read *belly dancing*, that's what my
> brother does semi-professionally. But he's careful never
> to call it that, he says "Oriental dancing".
>
> >Learning to unicycle wasn't
> Another typo? *isn't*?
>
> >Once it stops getting dark so early
> Ha, now you live on the wrong hemisphere. *

OK. The first one was a typo, it should be belly dancing.
That's what the teacher calls it and who am I to argue? The
second wasn't a typo. I meant that I was in no pain at all
after my first go on the coker and have yet to be in as much
discomfort as I was yesterday due to unicycling. Cut me some
slack on the typo - I wrote this at 5:30 in the morning -
I'd just woken up!

I might be in the wrong hemisphere as far as getting dark
early goes, but at least my midday temperatures are still 21
deg C. :cool:

Jayne

--
Jayne ZA - Learning to ride on a Coker

Being a statistician means never having to say you're certain

------------------------------------------------------------------------
Jayne ZA's Profile: http://www.unicyclist.com/profile/4878
View this thread: http://www.unicyclist.com/thread/32395
 
I decided to learn because I need something productive to
occupy my time. Also, it seems like there are a lot of
unicyclists in Washington, so by the time I get back,
assuming I finally get it down somewhat, I can go riding
with others in the area.

--
kraze - Army Of One Wheel

Post proelia praemia.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
kraze's Profile: http://www.unicyclist.com/profile/6583
View this thread: http://www.unicyclist.com/thread/32395
 
Jayne ZA wrote:

> Since my divorce I have tried to learn something new every
> year and I still needed to fit in my "new thing" for 2003.
> I actually wound up learning to juggle (sort of) and
> unicycling became my "new thing" to learn for this year.
> It was either that or belly dancing or bobbin lace making
> but I might fit those in later.

If were to vote on which comes next, I don't think lace
would make the cut.

> What inspired me to learn on a Coker - Sheer Bloody
> Mindedness!

I was tricked by Darren Peterson.

> he told me that no woman had learned to ride on one and
> that he knew of only one other person who had learned on
> one, Scott Kurland. What sane person could turn down such
> a challenge?

All of the sane ones turned down the challenge, Jayne. ;-)

> seems a good point to mention that I have red hair and my
> starsign is Taurus - everybody seems to think that they
> both have some bearing on my decision)

I'm Taurus.

> The rest, as they say, is history. I still can't ride the
> Coker, but I'm getting there, and now my 4YO daughter
> wants to learn to ride too.

My huskies watch from a safe distance, like behind the
fence.
 
Jayne ZA wrote:
> Scott Kurland, RMT wrote:
>> *All of the sane ones turned down the challenge,
>> Jayne. ;-)*
>
> That's what they TELL themselves, but we know better! ;)

> Scott Kurland, RMT wrote:
>> *My huskies watch from a safe distance, like behind the
>> fence. *
>
> OK - am I the only one getting a vision of Scott, on the
> Coker, being pulled along by a team of sled dogs while
> yelling "Mush"?
>
> Jayne

No, but I'm not that crazy yet. I don't think I'll ever be
crazy enough to yell "MUSH!" to them while on a unicycle.
30 mph, anyone? Taking them out for a 10 mph stroll,
though... someday, if they can get over their not
unreasonable fear of Grendel.
 
On Thu, 20 May 2004 12:35:24 -0500, "Jayne ZA" wrote:

>my first bely dancing lesson
If that should read *belly dancing*, that's what my brother
does semi-professionally. But he's careful never to call it
that, he says "Oriental dancing".

>Learning to unicycle wasn't
Another typo? *isn't*?

>Once it stops getting dark so early
Ha, now you live on the wrong hemisphere.

Klaas Bil - Newsgroup Addict
--
be sure to remove the saddle and simply sit on the seat
post. this is far more comfortable - tennisgh22 on the
comfort of Savage unis
 
I can't remember exactly why I decided I wanted to learn to
ride a unicycle. The credits for the TV show "Welcome Back
Kotter" most likely got the idea in my head. The credits
show a kid riding a unicycle down the street. Other than
"Welcome Back Kotter" I hadn't really seen any unicycling by
anyone who was not a professional performer. Welcome Back
Kotter was one of my favorite sitcoms of that era
(Gilligan's Island was of course my most favorite even
though it was in reruns for 13 years at that point).

Anyways, I ended up asking for a unicycle for Christmas way
back when I was 13. I didn't get one because dad thought I
would never learn to ride it. I kept asking for one and
found a used Schwinn for sale in the Nickel Ads classifieds.
A couple weeks after Christmas I finally got my unicycle --
A used 20" Schwinn with cottered cranks.

I'm going to have to find "Welcome Back Kotter" on DVD so I
can watch the credits again and say thanks to the kid on
the unicycle.

--
john_childs - Guinness Mojo

john_childs (at) hotmail (dot) com
Gallery: '' (http://www.unicyclist.com/gallery/john_childs)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
john_childs's Profile: http://www.unicyclist.com/profile/449
View this thread: http://www.unicyclist.com/thread/32395
 
john_childs wrote:
> *I'm going to have to find "Welcome Back Kotter" on DVD so
> I can watch the credits again and say thanks to the kid on
> the unicycle. *
John, as you may recall, David Stone actually got to do that
in person. 'Here' (http://tinyurl.com/342oc).

Cheers, Raphael Lasar Matawan, NJ

--
JJuggle - Last of the Dogmato-Revisionists

'6th Annual LBI Unithon - Sat, June 5, 2004'
(http://jjuggle.unicyclist.com/lbiunithon)

*Do Not Taunt Happy Fun Ball!*
------------------------------------------------------------------------
JJuggle's Profile: http://www.unicyclist.com/profile/24
View this thread: http://www.unicyclist.com/thread/32395
 
The Welcome Back Kotter guy may have had some influence
on me as well. I don't remember if that show came before
or after the time period where I was attempting to ride
the Troxel.

--
johnfoss - Walkin' on the edge

John Foss, the Uni-Cyclone
"jfoss" at "unicycling.com"
www.unicycling.com

"We choose to go to the Moon in this decade and do the other things, not
because they are easy, but because they are hard." -- John F. Kennedy,
1961
------------------------------------------------------------------------
johnfoss's Profile: http://www.unicyclist.com/profile/832
View this thread: http://www.unicyclist.com/thread/32395
 
JJuggle wrote:
> *John, as you may recall, David Stone actually got to do
> that in person. 'Here' (http://tinyurl.com/342oc).
>
> Cheers, Raphael Lasar Matawan, NJ *

Cool! Now I can say thanks to Thomas Pennell by name. :)

--
john_childs - Guinness Mojo

john_childs (at) hotmail (dot) com
Gallery: '' (http://www.unicyclist.com/gallery/john_childs)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
john_childs's Profile: http://www.unicyclist.com/profile/449
View this thread: http://www.unicyclist.com/thread/32395
 
I have to answer this question in two parts.

What inspired me to learn to unicycle - In about October
last year I was driving to work, listening to the radio.
They were doing some silly "swap shop" thing and Dave (GILD)
phoned in to ask if anybody had any unicycles lying round as
they are pretty hard to get hold of here in South Africa. I
didn't catch his phone number but finally managed to track
him down via the internet, mostly due to this board. Since
my divorce I have tried to learn something new every year
and I still needed to fit in my "new thing" for 2003. I
actually wound up learning to juggle (sort of) and
unicycling became my "new thing" to learn for this year. It
was either that or belly dancing or bobbin lace making but I
might fit those in later.

What inspired me to learn on a coker - Sheer Bloody
Mindedness! When I started looking for a unicycle (Nov / Dec
2003) nowhere had any. After some nasty experiences with
bike shop clerks who don't understand the meaning of "in
stock" and the "due date" for the arrival of new stock
moving later and later I was just about ready to call it
quits when I had a dual stroke of good fortune. I was
promoted at work and Dave's friend Craig put his second hand
coker up for sale. I had enough spare cash that first month
to buy the coker, so I did. I was going to lend it to Dave
and borrow his 20 to learn on, but then he told me that no
woman had learned to ride on one and that he knew of only
one other person who had learned on one, Scott Kurland. What
sane person could turn down such a challenge? (This seems a
good point to mention that I have red hair and my starsign
is Taurus - everybody seems to think that they both have
some bearing on my decision)

The rest, as they say, is history. I still can't ride the
coker, but I'm getting there, and now my 4YO daughter wants
to learn to ride too.

Jayne

--
Jayne ZA - Learning to ride on a Coker

Being a statistician means never having to say you're certain

------------------------------------------------------------------------
Jayne ZA's Profile: http://www.unicyclist.com/profile/4878
View this thread: http://www.unicyclist.com/thread/32395
 
In 1963, I read an article in Popular Mechanics or Mechanics
Illustrated entitled, "How to Build and Ride a Unicycle." I
got one for my 11th birthday in 1963. Now, if I could just
learn to ride the thing(s).

--
harper - Statuesque

-Greg Harper

B L U E S H I F T

"Stoke your own thread as much as you see fit, no problem." - Klaas
Bil

"Ugh, the Harpers; The worst neighbours in the world" - Tony Micelli
------------------------------------------------------------------------
harper's Profile: http://www.unicyclist.com/profile/426
View this thread: http://www.unicyclist.com/thread/32395
 
harper wrote:
> *Jayne, I'm going to go with Scott on this one. Skip the
> tatting and go straight to the shaking. *
I'll vote too to make 3.

--
U-Turn - Member of Generation XO

Weep in the dojo... laugh on the battlefield.

'29er Tire Study' (http://u-turn.unicyclist.com/29erTireStudy/)

'Strongest Coker Wheel in the World'
(http://www.unicyclist.com/gallery/albup39)

'New York Unicycle Club' (http://www.newyorkunicycle.com)

-- Dave Stockton
------------------------------------------------------------------------
U-Turn's Profile: http://www.unicyclist.com/profile/691
View this thread: http://www.unicyclist.com/thread/32395
 
I always get some cash at christmas, even the one before
last at the ripe old age of 28. I thought that that year, I
would buy something a bit silly instead of slowly drinking
away the cash.

One thng that sprang to mind was a power kite, but when I
went to the shop I found that they seemed a bit pricey for
my christmas cash budget. They did however have a couple of
unis in the shop, so I came home, did some interwebnet
research, and bought my first one from Roger.

Bought the second one a month or so ago.

So, 17 months or so down the line I'm loving it.

I'm also Taurus, cue a poll to see if a pattern on
that emerges.

--
Gumbo
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Gumbo's Profile: http://www.unicyclist.com/profile/3258
View this thread: http://www.unicyclist.com/thread/32395
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top Bottom Back