Leaning on the support

I would say you are fine using the wall. Eventually you will probably
get tired of using it (it will get boring), but I don't think it hurts
anything. You might end up with a tendency to fall or turn in one
direction. To prevent this keep switching which side the wall is on.
Keep at it, unicycling is well worth the time it takes to learn.

--
sevenasterisks - Mediocre Unicyclist
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Thanks for the reply! Good to know I'm not hurting myself. I was doing
it some more just now and took notice that I'm kind of slanted on the
Uni.

if the "I" is the wall, and I'm the slash I'm kind of like this:

I\ but not so extreme. This will go away with time?

Thanks,

Mike

--
bohh - Riding the floor more than the Uni
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I am all for using whatever method works best for you to learn to ride.
Generally it's very helpful to use a wall for the first little while to
get the pressure you need to put on the pedals right, before you can
start learning side to side balance, which is the really tricky part.
Any bad habits you might pick up in the real beginner stages should wear
off once you get better, and if they do remain, I'm sure that training
yourself off them is entirely possible, though an unlikely scenario.

So the best advice I can give you when you're learning is to keep
trying! I don't know _how_ many times I pushed off from my front patio
before I could even get my feet over the top part of the wheel. All it
takes is patience.

of course, having fun while your at it doesn't hurt either 😄

--
flyer - Level 4 Unicyclist
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Thanks a lot. It makes me more comfortable to know I'm doign it right.

Sorry for all the questions, but the more I do it - I see something I
think I could be doing wrong.

When I'm riding, the hand that's not on the wall, is on the seat,
holding the unicycle. Like I said I can get a half revolution, while
holding it. However, when I try to go with that hand off of the seat
sticking out to keep balance, I feel I have less control and I can't do
the revolution.

Is this common?

Thanks,

Mike

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bohh - Riding the floor more than the Uni
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first of all, don't worry about the questions, that's what we're here
for 🙂

From what you're telling me, it sounds like you should just try getting
on while holding onto your favourite support and trying to get the
cranks level. After you get this down, try just rocking back and forth
gently to get a feel of how much pressure is required to move the wheel
under you, until you're very comfortable with it.

The seat on a uni will twist back and forth a lot, especially for a
beginner, and in fact just feeling the movement of the seat really helps
in keeping balance. When you're beginning, you don't really have a feel
for how much you must counterbalance your pedal strokes to keep the seat
from twisting to side to side.

More than likely, however, you're just as well keeping at it the way you
are, and eventually you'll find you don't need the hand on the seat to
keep you going. You'll start to learn the delicate balance, which is
really learned more by your muscles than by your brain.

Just give your body time to learn what it's dealing with, and it should
begin to adapt the more you try.

--
flyer - Level 4 Unicyclist
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I suggest that you leave the wall as soon as you are able. My daughter
learned to ride in the house. She used the wall for much longer than
was necessary just because it was there. As soon as I took her outside
away from any support, I noticed a huge leap in her progress.

So use it as long as you really need it. But you need to move away from
it sometimes to test your true ability and progress.

Mostly, have fun.

--
munipsycho - Sometimes I fall down.

=====================
Yoopers on family: "Happy wife, happy life."

'Stories' (http://munipsycho.com/stories/)
'The UniSkills Assessment' (http://www.munipsycho.com/uniskills_2.jsp)

I can fly too. But I can only fly down.
-Little Bear

Imagine all the people
Riding on one wheel.
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Well, just for the heck of it, ill tell you how i learned. When I was
learning I tried the wall, but just couldn't let go.

I set up 2 chairs back to back, held on tight, and pedaled backwards to
get the unicyle under me. This was on the grass. I put the pedals in
the horizontal position, and just let go, flailed my arms like crazy to
balance, and checked how far i got. I quickly learned to fall on my
feet. In aobut a day, I was able to get about 10 feet on grass. Now
that I could land on my feet, I set up the chairs on pavement and did
the same thing. It was wobbly, but I could go pretty far. Easier than
on grass. I just kept doing that, soon i dind't need chairs, and just
use a wall or a chair to mount. Once I could stay up until tiring out,
I worked on turning and freemounting. I also found out its really easy
to rride over curbs, you just sorda go. Right now Im working on going
backwards, so I pulled out the chairs again.

Anyway, I started with a wall, but it just didn't work for me, and I
picked up the chair tip here. So give it go and see what happens, maybe
you'll like it better. I just felt like i made a lot more progress.

e39m5

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e39m5
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I learned when I was a kid on a picket fence.

Letting go, once you can keep the wheel underneath you, is really a
matter of mental focus and comittment to the action. I just dealt with
the same thing learning to freemount my 36" coker.

Every mount where I baulked, I didn't make. If I just jump up, cleanly
and without the hesitation it happens, and feels smooth

I think there's a bit of zen involved in unicycling, honestly.

Great you're learning. It's an important life skill as far as I'm
concerned. I still have a feeling that I'm doing something impossible
for the average mortal every time I ride although I know that's not
really the case, the feeling is there!

Keep at it!
Blake

--
podzol - AKA Dr. BoBo
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bohh said:

*if the "I" is the wall, and I'm the slash I'm kind of like this:

I\ *

Hi, Mike.

I initially pictured you on the other side of your basement, like
this...

/I

but I guess you have a table or something over there that gets in your
way.

Everybody learns differently. I was a big baby and used a railing for a
long, long time. I think a railing is best, because you can't grab
ahold of a wall, so you tend to lean against it (I'm guessing, because I
never tried a wall). With a railing, you can grab it if you need it
(and it helps whichever way you are tipping). Eventually, I weaned
myself from the railing, but by that time, I wasn't using it for much
anyway.

Good luck!

--
uni57 - David C. Lowell

dave lowell (uni57)
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Well my method , which worked wonders for me and 3 of my friends,

step 1. is to use the wall for your first days of practice, once you
are able to get on the uni and sit pretty well and stable on the wall,
use that for about a day or two untill you are able to ride say 3-4
revs.

step 2. find a trash can, stick, post, anything that you wont be able to
ride with and start with that, and practice with that, while doing this
dabble with freemounting.

step 3. once you are able to ride abut 10+ revs fairly consistantly take
away all means of support, and make yourself learn how to free mount, it
will be frustrating at first, but you will learn much faster how to free
mount.

* note all time depends on learning speed.

Now I am not saying this is the right way, but all three of my friends
including myself became a level one with no more than a week of
practice, and one became one in 4 days, so id try it out my way for
kicks and if you dont like it than go back to your normal way to learn.

Happy riding!

Chase

--
Unitik908 - The Lone Clothespin....

All hail the exhaulted Sigpoose, for he is forever king...
R.I.P Unibiker
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R.I.P Paul Hester
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R.I.P Pope John Paul II
R.I.P James_Potters_Cat
YAMS
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Unitik908 said:

*Well my method , which worked wonders for me and 3 of my friends,

step 1. is to use the wall for your first days of practice, once you
are able to get on the uni and sit pretty well and stable on the wall,
use that for about a day or two untill you are able to ride say 3-4
revs.

step 2. find a trash can, stick, post, anything that you wont be able
to ride with and start with that, and practice with that, while doing
this dabble with freemounting.

step 3. once you are able to ride abut 10+ revs fairly consistantly
take away all means of support, and make yourself learn how to free
mount, it will be frustrating at first, but you will learn much faster
how to free mount.

* note all time depends on learning speed.

Happy riding!

Chase *

this is pretty much exactly what my friend and i did to get the hang of
it, except we had 3 trash cans set up with a bit of space between them
and we would just try to ride off the end, after practising a bit with
wall or another person helping along.

i'd reccomend not trying to go TOO fast... i was using a wall for a bit
and tried to ride off the end once and took a pretty nasty spill... just
let yourself work up to it

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j.shurtz
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Try different things. Poles, chairs, walls, trash cans, people. Use
whatever works. As you get more comfortable with riding, you will be
able to let go of whatever you are holding onto.

If you have access to a tennis court with a chain-link fence around it
that is also a good place for early practice. It is flat, very smooth
and you can hold onto the fence.

Hang in there. Good luck

--
mucRider - From the Over 50 Group

It is wise to invest in your happiness. - Harper
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Everybody learns differently and at different speeds. Kids usually learn
faster than 'oldies' like me.
It took me a month to get over the fear and I didn't learn anything
until then.
Cathy

--
cathwood - Lunicyclist

A thought is just a thought.

http://www.chuckingandtwirling.co.uk
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