Sort-of an into, sort of a question..

Hello!

I've been lurking these forums on and off for quite some time. Since
last spring? A couple of years ago I somehow stumbled upon the sport of
unicycling. I thought it was interesting. I kept coming back to the
idea of doing it, but never made the plunge to get into it. I taught
myself to ride a bike at a young age and am looking into it again.
There are somethings I'm a little concerned about. One, I've read a few
tips for getting started and it says to start out in grass. Only
problem is, I live in an apartment surrounded by concrete. I'm not sure
where some grass is with a surface to help me mount onto it. Is there
any chance to work around this? Another thing, what to actually buy? A
unicycle obviously, but what else? Tennessee is very hilly, will this
be a problem? Thanks! This seems like a friendly forum...


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Learning on grass sounds like hard work. I'd start on concrete,
find a fence/wall to hang on to and work you way down the fence.
Gradually push off from the fence. You will fall off, but eventually
you will get farther and farther away from the fence before you do so.

I think Klass Bil (one of our regular posters) did a survey a few years
back on learning to ride a unicycle. From memory, the average time to
learn was something like 10-20hrs, the fastest to pick it up were
people in their teens, followed by twenties, and then I think the
easiest to learn on was a 20" followed by a 24". Hopefully he'll pick
up on this thread and make a post.


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GizmoDuck

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The Monguni tour 2008....
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Ken Looi speaks the truth. Grass is alot of friction with an irregular
surface beneath. It's hard to get hurt falling off of a unicycle while
learning. Concrete, a tennis court, or a gymnasium all are good
surfaces. How tall are you and how much do you weigh? Big boys might
want 24" wheels on which to learn. You can get a cheap learner for
under $100 to see if you like it. If you're close to Memphis, maybe
Tommy Thompson would loan you one. You might want to go to one of his
club meetings anyway if you're in the area. Sounds like you're in
Nashville, though. Contact him through the 'Memphis Unicycle Club'
(http://www.memphisunicycleclub.com/) and see if he knows of riders in
your area.


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harper

-Greg Harper

B L U E S H I F T

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I did a little learning on concrete, but most of my learning was on
grass. It is more challenging, but I was thankful for the grass when I
body slammed myself a few times.


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ChangingLINKS.com

Wishing you Happiness, Joy and Laughter,
Drew Brown
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harper wrote:
If you're close to Memphis, maybe Tommy Thompson would loan you one.
You might want to go to one of his club meetings anyway if you're in
the area. Sounds like you're in Nashville, though. Contact him through
the 'Memphis Unicycle Club' (http://www.memphisunicycleclub.com/) and
see if he knows of riders in your area.




Nashville is quite a drive from Memphis, but you are more than welcome
to come out and visit us on Tuesday nights at Overton Park if you
happen to be in the area. We've been having some pretty good turn outs
lately.

There are a few people listed from Nashville at 'Unicycling.org'
(http://www.unicycling.org/roster/index.php?state=tn) . You may want
to try contacting one or all of them. I am convinced that I would have
been riding much sooner had I known someone who knew how to ride who
could have coached me and given me feedback. This forum is great, but
nothing like having immediate feedback when you are actually trying to
ride.

As for learning on grass versus a hard/smooth surface, I would pick the
hard/smooth surface. Get some safety gear if you are worried about
falling and getting injured. Generally though, it doesn't take long to
learn how to fall on to your feet. Just remember to not worry about the
unicycle. If you are falling, worry about landing safely and not about
what will happen to the unicycle.

Hugh
MUC Member


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Thanks. I was wondering if there is actually any kind-of physical
meet-up club here in Nashville like there is in Memphis? That is quite
the drive and I don't really have that kind of money or time to do
that. There is a shop here that sells unicycles so that could help a
little in helping me choose the right one. But just to answer someones
question; I'm 5' 1" 160 lbs.


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Grass = bad idea. You may want to try it just the first or second day to
figure out how to mount the uni in the first place, but I wouldn't
worry about trying to scope out any grass purely for that. Concrete is
better in the long run.

If you want any tips about learning to ride, check out the unicycling
journal in my signature - it details my first 35 days learning to ride,
and a lot of people have found it helpful.


--
dudewithasock

'My Unicycling Journal'
(http://www.unicyclist.com/forums/showthread.php?t=44950)
officially ended.


trials_uni wrote:
Ha Quebec...Is that place still there?
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dudewithasock wrote:
Grass = bad idea. You may want to try it just the first or second day to
figure out how to mount the uni in the first place, but I wouldn't
worry about trying to scope out any grass purely for that. Concrete is
better in the long run.

If you want any tips about learning to ride, check out the unicycling
journal in my signature - it details my first 35 days learning to ride,
and a lot of people have found it helpful.



I did read the journal. Very well written and informative. I'm glad you
wrote it. I haven't read the entire thing, but I'll be sure to do that.
Thanks! Where can I find "Klaas Bill and Andrew Carter's online guide",
by the way?


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'I think this is one one your talking about.'
(http://www.xs4all.nl/~klaasbil/Learn_unicycling.pdf)


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The Transporter wrote:
I did read the journal. Very well written and informative. I'm glad you
wrote it. I haven't read the entire thing, but I'll be sure to do that.
Thanks! Where can I find "Klaas Bill and Andrew Carter's online guide",
by the way?



'Unicycle Tips.' (http://www.unicycletips.com/)

If you're 5'1" I'd go for a 20" wheel for a learner unicycle.


--
harper

-Greg Harper

B L U E S H I F T

*jc is the only main man. there can be no other.*

This is still my nth post....*AWESOME!!!*
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