Ponderings from a very slow learner

Keep going mate!

I'm just moving up to late 40s myself and enduring an enforced break due
to knee problems (done rolling up a bouncy castle of all things:o ).

I keep thinking back to the summer when I first started though, and the
gazillions of times I attempted freemounting. Those who I was camping
with at the time are thoroughly astonished now when I hop on and ride.

You owe it to yourself to do it! I'd say especially if you are an
introvert!

Let us know about your progress.

--
s7ev0 - level 1 and proud of it

s7ev0

Where there's a wheel there's a way
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Underdog,

Stick with it. When we started (3 months ago) me and my son took to
going down to the promenade at the seashore near our house at 6.30am so
noone would see us. We're introverted. Now we can do it a bit, we don;t
mind the attention so much.

But we envy the people who rode 50m thirty minutes after they got their
unis.

Practice is the key. It WILL come together. Just practice often and not
too long and enjoy it. The more laughs you get, the more time you'll be
able to spend.

As I say to my kids, if it was easy, EVERYONE would be riding a
unicycle!

Good luck

FatDave

--
FatDave - Approaching Level 1
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Don't be discouraged! frustration will make you lose focus and mess up
even more. The first 50 feet are the hardest. After that you'll wonder
why it took so long to learn in the firstplace. Just keep your head high
and make sure you get back on every time you fall. I'm quite an
introvert myself, but im in a small town so everyone has seen me ride
by now and i dont get the funny looks or stupid jokes. Just make sure
you have a witty comeback for the dumb circus and missing wheel jokes
and you'll be fine.

--
Antimatter - Tetris Master

"I drink a whisky drink, I drink a vodka drink, and when I have to pee,
I use the kitchen sink"
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[temporary threadjack]

Hey antimatter what is your avatar...it looks very very familiar...

[/temporary threadjack]

--
TheObieOne3226 - Owns you, SWAT does, mmmm

http://gallery.unicyclist.com/SWAT
singlewheeledattackteam.1hwy.com
AIM/ICQ:TheObieOne3226---Yahoo:TheObieOne3226---MSN:[email hidden]

"Obie is definately a trend setter, I got in to unicycling because of
him, and came here because of him"

-KJ-52
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cover of a dragonlance book, cant remember which one tho

--
Antimatter - Tetris Master

"I drink a whisky drink, I drink a vodka drink, and when I have to pee,
I use the kitchen sink"
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cover of a dragonlance book, cant remember which one tho

--
Antimatter - Tetris Master

"I drink a whisky drink, I drink a vodka drink, and when I have to pee,
I use the kitchen sink"
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Keep Going, It is worth every moment of riding.

This is a little off subject, One of the reasons I joined unicyclist.com
is because all the people were so nice. I have read a few threads like
this, were people wanted to vent or get some encuragment. I am pretty
sure that a lot of people who were going to quit read some of these
threads and decided to go on and learn, because there was a wonderful
comunity out there were they can get help, learn things new, and just
talk to someone who knows.

Thanks everyone who has helped me with my quistions I am now riding.

Underdog keep going, you will learn to ride. Just keep on trying.

Juggling_Arcs

--
Juggling_Arcs
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The people here may be able to help. You gave your age. How about
weight, previous athletic experience, fitness level, and what you are
riding?

Possible problem areas:
- Seat too low (knees almost straight with pedal down)
- Not sitting down while riding (legs tire out fast)
- Poor posture (sit up straight)

Try to get out to watch more unicyclists if there are any in your area.

--
johnfoss - Walkin' on the edge

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

"It's good to find something that makes boys into men and men into boys,
my opinion is that unicycling fits the bill." -- Lloyd Johnson

"Read the rules!" -- 'IUF Rulebook'
(http://www.unicycling.org/iuf/rulebook/) -- 'USA Rulebook'
(http://www.unicycling.org/usa/competition/)
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Has anyone ever posted a video of their riding for experienced riders to
critique? Might be a way to get some help.

I've been thinking about doing that with a few skills that I am working
on learning.

--
billham

On my way to starting a local unicycle club!
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I used to be fairly introverted, and never liked social situations at
all and feared the thought of people looking at me and judging me. But
after riding for a few years I've gotten used to the attention and now I
can ride anywhere without feeling anxious.

If you feel anxious while riding, I would find a secluded spot to ride
and practice there. If what you're doing doesn't work and you can't
ride far, try altering your technique slightly each time, and remember
what works and what didn't. Eventually you will gain confidence as you
improve your skills and the attention wil not be so troublesome.

--
ProudYankee
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Dont' feel bad buddy, i'm in the same boat as you. I'm 45 and I have
been working on riding on a daily basis for 2 months. My longest ride is
only about 40 feet. I'm riding a 20" uni which is a bit small for me as
I am 6'4", I am going to get a 24" soon however. I share in your
determination however, I will not give up. I know how frustrating this
is. Imagine this , my 14 son started the day I did and could ride in 2
hours, he can now bunny hop, jump over small obstacles and idle. You
wanna talk about envy?

--
draino3
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billham said:

*Has anyone ever posted a video of their riding for experienced riders
to critique? Might be a way to get some help.

I've been thinking about doing that with a few skills that I am
working on learning. *

That's a good idea. When I'm having trouble with something sometimes I
will film myself trying it and compare myself to people who can do it.
It can be helpful.

--
TheObieOne3226 - Owns you, SWAT does, mmmm

http://gallery.unicyclist.com/SWAT
singlewheeledattackteam.1hwy.com
AIM/ICQ:TheObieOne3226---Yahoo:TheObieOne3226---MSN:[email hidden]

"Obie is definately a trend setter, I got in to unicycling because of
him, and came here because of him"

-KJ-52
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Glad your not giving up. I got my first uni about 3 weeks ago. Before it
arrived i was sure i would be able to pick it up in about a week or so
because thats what ussualy happens with any object manipulation i start
to learn. Then it got here and i tried and i was sure it was gonna take
me months to learn how to competenty ride. Since then ive been riding
for an hour or 2 almost every day. In just the past few days ive been
going about 60 feet and im so glad i stuck with it because when your
leaning forward just right and pedaling at the right speed, you feel
like your just gliding across the ground. Its an amazing feeling, must
of been kinda what Harry Potter felt like when he first got on the
broom.

Anywho, the thing that really helped me was that i kept telling myself
to lean forward and put as much weight as possible on the seat.
Otherwise i will try to sit straight up and put pressure on the pedals
and then i can only go a few feet. Keep at it

Twisthem488

--
Twisthem488 - i OWN you (one wheel noob)

i mei pantaloni sono so fuco!

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Yes.....returning wawe of unicycling IGNORANCE :p !
This happens to me. I keep gaining and loosing various skills.
My ego is battered to pulp. I am intro-extrovert so, nothing is stable
with me. HOVEVER thanks to the steatement of People like YOU I deciced
to keep my flag up and not to justify my unsteadiness with creeping
age.
THE GOODNESS I AM GETTING FROM THIS VENTURE IS WORTH PERSEVERANCE EVEN
IF THERE WILL BE NO PROGRESS I'v concluded.
Epilogue. Inspite assuming of having 'silent' stroke (and trying to sell
my trophy unicycle) the trend is reversing😄 !
Thanks 4 your courrage SUPERdog 😄

--
Uniwitold

Veni !Vidi !Mount ! ' Public does not perceive it reacts'. Greg
Harper.
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doggiedog

It took me an awfully long time to learn
and like Witold says skills come and go
I suspect that some of us ("mature folks"😉 have inner ear problems

nonetheless it's worth it! the only problem is riding withdrawal
when the doctor says "you should not ride by now"

relax, enjoy,

bear (extrovert)

--
wobbling bear - GranPa goes-a-wobblin'
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wobbling bear said:

*

when the doctor says "you should not ride by now"

*

Disregard this sort of advices.Ha!Life is 4 living.U cannot uni after
extinction. I am a doctor WB and........a hell of a lot better than
unicyclist😄😄 After bilateral arhroscopies and seen,by me, some degree
of wear and tear + partial meniscectomies(right and left) my knees
stopped to be a problem due to unicycling.😄
All the best
Witold.

--
Uniwitold

Veni !Vidi !Mount ! ' Public does not perceive it reacts'. Greg
Harper.
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underdog said:

*Sometimes I really gotta wonder why I’m still at it.*

The important thing is that you ARE still at it - nobody is making you
do it (presumably), so you must be enjoying the challenge.

Quoted message said:

*Anybody on this forum taken this long?*

I've been at it for ten months (on and off, more continuously since
about July) and although I can mount, ride and steer pretty well now I'm
finding it very slow (slower than most others I think) to pick up skills
like idling and riding backwards.

Quoted message said:

*Another question, are any of you introverts who don’t like being the
center of attention (I’m a little bit this way)? *

Yes, most of the time, but oddly I don't mind the attention that the
unicycle attracts - perhaps I'm just used to the abuse from years of
cycling - the unicycle seems to attract more favourable attention, apart
from the "where's the other half of the bike" muppets.

If you're still enjoying it then stick at it mate - it'll be worth it.

Oh, BTW, I'm a decade or so younger than you and s7ev0 (35).

Rob

--
rob.northcott - Unofficial level 2, on a good day
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the kewlest thing about threads like this one is a couple of weeks after
they're originally posted, the poster returns with this radiantly
triumphant post, something along the lines of IDIDIT!!!
it reminds me of my own joy at managing to get across the parking lot of
the complex i stayed in at the time
it's the kind of feeling that can only be shared with people that have
experienced it for themselves
it is also one of the few examples of the kind of feeling that is
vividly reexperienced everytime u're in the company of someone who's
just recently experienced it
it's worth it
hang in there

thanx for trusting us enough to vent your frustration here
and put your weigh on the seat

--
GILD - Waffle-[censored] and Time-bider

if you can't say anything good about someone, sit right here by me.--
alice 'roosevelt' (http://tinyurl.com/5ngze) longworth
i'm going to memorize your name and throw my head away.-- oscar levant
'NAMASTE!' (http://tinyurl.com/4qcxw)
'Dave' (http://tinyurl.com/ywxgb)
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the kewlest thing about threads like this one is a couple of weeks after
they're originally posted, the poster returns with this radiantly
triumphant post, something along the lines of IDIDIT!!!
it reminds me of my own joy at managing to get across the parking lot of
the complex i stayed in at the time
it's the kind of feeling that can only be shared with people that have
experienced it for themselves
it is also one of the few examples of the kind of feeling that is
vividly reexperienced everytime u're in the company of someone who's
just recently experienced it
it's worth it
hang in there

thanx for trusting us enough to vent your frustration here
and put your weigh on the seat

--
GILD - Waffle-[censored] and Time-bider

if you can't say anything good about someone, sit right here by me.--
alice 'roosevelt' (http://tinyurl.com/5ngze) longworth
i'm going to memorize your name and throw my head away.-- oscar levant
'NAMASTE!' (http://tinyurl.com/4qcxw)
'Dave' (http://tinyurl.com/ywxgb)
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