Unicyling and me

Recently I have been attempting to pick up Unicycling again after about a half year. I was surprised at how little I had forgotten, considering I had barely managed to cycle 10 meters without falling at my previous best. Thats all changed now. I can manage around 30 or 40 meters now, and could probably go more, but I am confined by my lack of turning ability, which is still quite rudimentary, and my driveway doesn't stretch any further, so I suspect if I want to get much better, I shall simply have to go find a parking lot somewhere, and spend a lot of time looking like an idiot some more while I get better. Nevertheless, I am still quite proud of my accomplishment so far, because unicycling is exactly as hard as it looks or you could think.

When I first started, I thought I had an advantage over most starting out, as I can ride a normal bike with no hands almost indefinitely, but the help was negligible, and barely noticeable, if there at all. With a bike you are at least stabilised from canting forwards and back, and if you can balance from side to side, the bike is already designed to have a low center of gravity, so it takes care of the rest. With a Unicycle, there is no balance whatsoever other than what you impose with your hips, and with no aids and no way to help balance, its quite ridiculous how much you will fall off the first time you try, should you be so inclined. I believe it took me nearly an hour to get myself properly astride the first time, and then promptly fell off.

One good thing though, that while the learning curve is steep at first, it gets much much easier if you spend a good 5 hours or so of actual effort on it, though it doesnt all have to be at once. You quickly learn the best way to start off (at least if you are a beginner, which I still am) is to have support on both sides when getting on.(say a friend or two, or some chair backs to grab onto)`. To actually move, you kinda lean forward a little, and then peddle like mad to catch up with yourself. To balance, if you can already get on the damn thing, you are already doing pretty good. You mostly learn balance when actually riding when doing it. Flail your arms. A lot. It will improve your balancing technique no end.

Speaking of which, I had better get practicing a lot more soon, as by the end of the week I am performing as a clown in a womans mini-marathon for charity. The end goal is either be able to juggle or plate spin while riding, but I doubt that will happen for a while yet. Either way, I want to aim high. :)

See you next week!

Judah Rush