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How to Ride a Unicycle
Riding a unicycle may take a while to learn, but anyone can do it with some determination and practice.
Mounting
Wall Mounting 1
1. Find a wall outside, the side of the house or garage, and set your unicycle about a foot away from it, a little more if you want. Now to get on
your unicycle, (if you are right handed), put the right pedal facing forward and halfway up, if you want, you can adjust the height of the pedal a little bit, but this works for me.
2. Keep your left foot on the ground while you get mounted on the saddle.
Keep the right pedal facing forward and halfway up. Hold on to the wall while you put you right foot on the pedal. Get situated.
Wall Mounting 2
1. Put one foot (the foot away from the wall) all the way down. Then pick up your inside foot and put it on the inside pedal. You have to push forward
not just down on the high pedal. If you push down and not forward, nothing will happen or you will go backward.
Hallway/Cars Mounting
1. For an even easier beginning, try starting in a hallway, or between two cars parked next to each other in a driveway or parking lot. You can hold
yourself up from both sides, and go short distances without fear of falling either way.
Walless mounting 1
1. To mount the unicycle without holding on to anything, start in your original position and push hard on your right foot. Don't do it too fast or you'll lose your footing.
2. Push up on the right pedal and get your left foot on the left pedal and
get your butt on the seat while it's lifting up, all at the same time. Then just start to pedal.
Walless Mounting
1. Put one foot (whichever one you feel comfortable with -- usually your original outside foot from starting with the wall) all the way down on the pedal.
2. Put your butt on the seat and get balanced. Lift your other foot and
push forward and down and keep pedaling. Starting without hands is really frustrating, but it's worth it.
Get Moving
1. Grab a few hiking sticks that are about as tall as you are while you are standing up. Grab one in each hand and support yourself with them while
you start to petal slowly. Once you are good at that, then try lift one or both the sticks off the ground for a little bit while riding.
2. After you can ride long distances with the sticks lifting off the ground,
drop them altogether. It's a little tricky to ride with no sticks, but you'll get the hang of it.
Get Moving 2
If you have someone too help you (a person to help you balance) get some
spotters. They will stand on either side of you. Put a hand on each of their shoulders. Look straight ahead, find something to focus on and keep
looking at it. Do not put you weight on the spotters shoulders. Just keep them their for support. Keep you weight on the seat, or your feet will wobble
up and down and you will fall off. Most people can learn to ride forward on a unicycle using the method described in this writing with a couple hours of
practice a day in a week. So, unicycles up dudes! And remember never never ever ever ever give up!
Get Moving 3
If you don't have sticks or no one wants to help you learn you could just
start going along the wall with your hands on it. Then take them off but stay neer the wall so that you can use it if you need to. In a little wile you should
be able to go a few feet off the wall. You will star by going 3 feet then it will be 5 then 10 then after 10 or 15 feet you'll be going until your legs get too tired.
Tips
* Make sure that you are riding on cement of concrete in a low traffic area
its a lot easier the grass dirt and sand and cars make you stop and get off.
* You can turn by moving your shoulders in the direction that you want to
go, but you should have good balance before you try this. You sort of just have to shift your weight. It sort of comes naturally. Sometimes it takes
movement from the hips to get a sharp turn.
* One of the hardest parts of unicycling after you can go for a while is the
lack of gears. your legs may get really tired but your quads will build up.
* Unlike a bike, the unicycle rider needs to be balanced in every direction
(left, right, front, back). The left, right balance is the same as it is on a bike and it doesn't need much thought when you are riding a unicycle. The front,
back balance is more tricky. Balance in these directions is controlled by both leaning and pedaling. Lean in the direction you want to go, and pedal
enough that you won't fall over. Once you speed up you will be able to straighten out and sit up.
* When many people think of unicyclers they think of clowns and circus
performers, but things a lot cooler than juggling can be done on a unicycle. Try taking the unicycle off-road or to an urban area where you can find tricks.
* Look straight ahead and look down as little as possible. When you look
down it sticks your butt out. This tilts your weight too far back and makes you fall backwards.
* Once you can regularly get more than a few pedal revolutions, you
should begin to try to free mount (mounting without holding anything). Learning this skill early will increase your confidence.
* Night riding is harder than day riding, but will often give you more
privacy than day riding. Try to locate a well lit tennis or basketball court for practice.
Warnings
* Most people would think that a unicycle would be more dangerous than a bike, but it is not the case. The reason is that for someone to ride a
unicycle, they have to always be in control. It is possible at any time to jump off the unicycle in any direction. There are two things you should watch out for to not get hurt:
* Tie your shoes well. If your shoelaces get caught in the hub, you can
get very hurt.
* The axle end of a Unicycle passes very close to the ankle bone on
every revolution, and it's very common for beginners to lose skin at that spot. Find some way to armor the ankle bone while learning and you will be much happier.
* Don't try drops until you can ride standing up. The impact of doing a
drop can hurt.
* Also, if you go faster than you can handle, most all of the time, you will
fall forwards. If you go too slow to keep balanced, you will most likely fall backwards. Just so you're prepared.
* Be sure to wear protective items like a helmet or knee pads.
* Definitely, definitely, definitely wear shin guards if you are a beginner.
You might lose your footing a lot, and it really, really hurts to get slapped in the shin with a unicycle pedal.
* Don't be afraid to fall, if you do lose your balance, you'll realize that 90
% of the time the unicycle will just kick out from underneath you and you'll land on your feet.
* If you do find yourself falling forward, stop peddling and let the unicycle
fall. If you try and pedal forward faster to catch up, that's when you'll do a face plant!
* Join your local juggling and unicycle club for further instruction. They
can teach you more in a few hours.
Things You'll Need
* Unicycle
* Helmet
* Shin guards if you need them
* Grippy shoes
* A lot a open space to ride in
* Gloves ( If you are doing tricks )
Article Source: wikiHow
Authors: Paul, Anonymous, Memeluke, Ben Rubenstein, Mark Andrews,
Jack H, Tom Viren, Versageek, Flickety, Sondra C, Pineapplenewton, Rob S, Jonathan E., Eric Wester, 1guitarhero2
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