Riding unicycle at the beach last weekend

I had an enjoyable ride with some friends from the Singapore unicycling community. Thanks to Rachelle (blue T-shirt) for organizing the trip.

Buy unicycle? Beginner's option A, B, C, D

Generally, the bigger the tyre of a unicycle, the harder it is to ride it. Thus a beginner's unicycle is typically small-wheeled, 20" or smaller. And a very basic one.

I often ride at a nearby park and a reservoir near that park. I rode a 24" unicycle. But the big, fat tyre turn it into a 26". The ride is relaxing and comfortable.

I once tried riding a 20" uni at the park. The amount of pedaling is unbelievable. A lot of pedaling. The ride is a pain. Even the ride from the park to my house was damn tiring.

So my opinion for people who want to learn unicycling (residing in Singapore) is:

Option A
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If you want to do tricks and stunts on a unicycle in the future, and have no interest to ride long distance at the park, then go ahead and buy a nice, new "Trial" unicycle. Learn to ride on it and later on learn whatever tricks that you fancy. You can find inspiration from youtube.

Option B
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Don't buy unicycle. The Bedok South group has many spare unicycles for beginners to use for free. Use them to learn riding weekly. When you can ride around the hockey court comfortably, then consider buying a 24" or bigger unicycle (used/new).

Option C
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If you feel that practicing once a week is not enough and hope to practice more often, or to practice at a more convenient location or during weekends. Then consider buying a used beginner's unicycle. Ask around at the forum. Many will sell them at very low price. Don't worry about the quality of the unicycle. Most of the time, beginners can't even pedal a full rotation. Even after the beginner can ride a few metres, the speed will be slow. Beginners simply lack the strength to destroy a unicycle. So don't worry too much about the durability of the unicycle.
After you can comfortably ride the unicycle, then consider buying bigger wheel unicycle (used/new).

Option D
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You want to play hockey with a 20" unicycle. You have plenty of storage space at home. You have lots of spare cash. You are a sentimental person who wish to keep your first unicycle. You feel that new unicycle is more hygienic. You wish to pass on the unicycle to your sibling, children, grand-children etc... By all means, buy a new 20" unicycle that please you. And get a bigger unicycle for the ride at the park or beach.
But just be aware that you will have to give a Big discount if you are going to sell it in future.

https://groups.google.com/forum/?hl=en#!forum/singaporeunicyclists

See my other post that list out the shops and suppliers in Singapore.

How not to catch a cold if you wish to ride on a windy day.

Ride on another day when it is not windy. Gotcha ...

Otherwise what I do is wear a quick-dry sports T-shirt as inner wear and wear a cotton T-shirt as outer wear. No more sneezing while riding and I get to enjoy the wind too :)

My unicycle wear branded clothing while traveling .. just kidding ;)

This is how I clothes my unicycle when I am traveling between Singapore and Batam. I worry that my unicycle will catch a cold otherwise.

I removed the seat post and the pedals and cover it with XXL T-shirt. The strap is from a guitar bag. I later discover that it is more sturdy when the crank is tied to the frame with a string.

The width of the fat wheel is 21" and it is 2.5" thick, only a huge T-shirt can accommodate the wheel.

Maybe I should buy a used unicycle. I am going to check out the forum for some cheap used unicycle that might be on offer from time to time.

Attending a circus school in Batam?

My brother-in-law and my niece visited me last weekend. My brother-in-law was bragging about his successful business... and when my niece saw my unicycle, he ask me if i am attending the circus school.

Btw, I am the best unicyclist in Batam... errr... I mean I am the only unicyclist on the island. So, I can describe myself in anyway that I like :)

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There was a time when a young girl described my unicycle as a tricycle. And another time when a neighborhood kid whistle out the circus tune and make funny faces at me. And another occasion when a boy asked me if I know how to juggle like a clown. And the recent one where I was asked if I had lost a wheel.

When I played ping pong, I don't experienced getting interesting comments from strangers.

But I am not alone ... read this thread:

http://www.unicyclist.com/forums/showthread.php?t=38668

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If you are interested in juggling or circus stuffs, there is a juggling group in Singapore.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/bccig/

Good unicyclist out there

Here is a list of amazing and popular unicyclist.

Other great unicyclist include:
Shaun Johanneson
Mike Padial
Cody Williams
Tim Desmet

Chris Huriwai

Lutz Eichholz

Jakub Jojak Nowak

Spencer DeGrandpre

Linus Henriksson

Adam Franzen

Pau Suria

Rocco Schulz

Axel Ahlman

Mike Taylor

and many more...

And not forgetting the experienced and helpful people from the Singapore unicyclist community.
You can chat with them and ask all the beginners' question about unicycling in Singapore.
The forum is at https://groups.google.com/forum/?hl=en#!forum/singaporeunicyclists

I stopped the traffic ... again

I went for a unicycle ride at the park on a Wednesday afternoon last week, hoping to avoid any crowd and catching unwanted attention.

But still I get some incidental spectators whom included 4 cyclist, 3 park workers, a group of tourists and a group of students.

One of the cyclist asked if I had lost a wheel. Quite nice when stranger care to strike a conversation.

The 3 park workers were watching me practising free-mounting technique. They were standing at about a metre away from. Too close for my comfort. I offered them to try my unicycle but they did not take up the offer. No play during working hour for them???

I have no idea why the tourists visited the park. Maybe they are well-dressed local? But why are they taking pictures at the park?

The students were from a neighborhood school. They watched me ride down the hill, fall 3 times and climb back up 3 times, and when I finally ride up the hill on the other side, they clapped their hands and cheer me on. Very encouraging moment.

I am still not used to getting the attention from strangers but I am slowly beginning to feel comfortable entertaining the crowd.

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I can still remember the time when I would fall whenever I ride over the road humps at the park. After weeks and weeks of riding, I overcame this obstacle!

At one time there was a park worker who screamed at me as I was approaching the road hump, hoping to give me a good scare and causing a big fall... and a good laugh after that.

But like what I have said, I have overcome this obstacle and thus deny that idiot a good laugh.

Not all unicycle free-mount techniques are made equal, and they have different name too.

When I am riding my 24" unicycle, I will use static mount most of the time. But if I became very tired from riding and there is a lamp post or sign post a few steps away, I will use it to mount the unicycle.

When I am using my 19" unicycle, I prefer the rollback mount which I find easier. I have tried to use rollback mount on the 24" unicycle but I couldn't do it successfully. The success rate on the 19" is pretty high (100 % hehehe....)

I discover that the success rate is the highest when the ground is down-sloping. I find it impossible to mount on an uphill.

And it seemed easier to mount when the path is wider (psychological??).

For my static mount, the success rate had increased after I got a tip from Geoffrey Tay. He told me to try to freeze for a moment after mounting the unicycle instead of trying to ride off immediately. That really helps to regain balance and improve stability.

I remember spending several weeks to learn to free-mount without success. It was very frustrating.

But after watching this video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eah8y8uzNf0

the magic was revealed at 2:15 mark. I tried that technique and within half hour, I managed to freemount successfully for the first time. And the rest is history :)

Pöham brothers have not yet read my unicycle blog.

The Pöham brothers amazed me with their magical unicycling tricks.

They have produced lots of amazing youtube videos.

Check out the Pöham brothers

Terry Peterson read my unicycle blog ...i am overjoyed ...

Terry Peterson in Ford Fiesta ads

I enjoy watching Terry Peterson's unicycling video. He has produced hundreds of mountain unicycling videos. He is a great inspiration to me.

Here is a video where he appeared in Ford Fiesta commercial ads:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-SOrQPaRApo&feature=player_embedded

No wonder I drive a Ford Fiesta too.

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Btw, while I am out riding my unicycle, I will avoid riding uphill and will get off (dismount) from my unicycle and push it up the hill. But this 57 years old grand-daddy, Mr. Terry Peterson, have the habit of riding his unicycle uphill and even challenged the steep uphill! Maybe I should start doing that too in order to improve my legs' strength.

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I like the green Nimbus unicycle that Terry owned.

Can someone who is good at riding bicycle automatically know how to ride a unicycle?

Personally I am good at riding bicycle. I can ride the bike hands-free while cruising/coasting (not pedaling) and turning.

I don't know about other riders. But for the first time (and second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth ... time) when I tried to ride the unicycle, I simply failed. Can't even sit on the saddle and relax and ride a few meters without falling down...

Riding unicycle require a complete set of new skills which are unique, though unicycle looks like half-bike!

While a tennis player can transfer some of his/her skill when learning to play badminton, a biker has to learn a completely new set of unique skill.

When a person is learning how to bowl, the skill can be divided into holding the ball, making a few steps forward, throwing the ball. These steps can be practice separately. But a unicyclist has to learn moving forward, turning and slowing down while balancing on a moving unicycle ALL at the same time.

Learning a whole set of new and unique skills will simply require a longer period of time.

So, is it difficult to learn to ride a unicycle?

Yes.
From day 1, I use the word "impossible" to describe every single skill that is required to ride on this dead horse. I continue to learn riding because I have nothing better to do during my free time.

No.
My body somehow learn those skills on its own without me realizing it. Quite mysterious. I guess the human body is pre-built with unicycling skill. All I need to do is bring myself to sit on the unicycle. The body can adapt and learn to balance on the unicycle on its own.

..........~*~..........

To be fair, I don't quite believe that all unicyclist can ride their bikes hands-free. And I am still quite lousy in doing wheelie on my bike. They require different skill set, so let's not mock each other and co-exist peacefully.

How to learn turning direction while riding a unicyle?

I learn to ride the unicycle at a street soccer court, a basketball court or a small multi-purpose court while outdoor.

Initially my plan is to:

(1) learn to ride (whatever distance or direction) and try my best to stay on the unicycle without falling off for as long as possible, then 

(2)learn to ride in a straight line, and after that 

(3)learn to turn direction.

While practicing (1) at the small multi-purpose court I tried to stay within the court. I can't control the direction of my riding since I was still at the very beginning stage. But whenever I was about to ride out of the court, I would try whatever to turn direction and stay within the court. Most of the time I would fall. 

A few sessions later, I "suddenly" realized that I had been successfully turning right and left in order to stay within the court. My conscious mind is not aware that I am able to turn direction. I had not consciously and purposely tried to learn to turn direction.

My conclusion is that the body can learn new skill and adapt to a new situation (for survival?) without the conscious mind knowing it. 

So, I don't have many tips in this area other than stretching out your arm fully and imagine you are hugging a big KFC bucket while riding. If you want to turn left, then turn your shoulder to the left and imagine that you are going to carry the giant KFC bucket to the left. 

Continue riding and don't slow down. Maintain a reasonable speed before you enter the turn and during the turn. Don't slow down coz u will lose your momentum and fall.

There might be better learning methods out there but I really don't know coz I never intentionally practice on how to turn direction.

You might want to do some research at http://www.unicyclist.com/forums/index.php

Have fun and stay safe!

How long does it take to learn to ride a unicycle?

Someone had done a poll on this. See http://klaasbil.home.xs4all.nl/agelearn_short.htm

Based on the chart shown on the web page, it is quite safe to say that typically it is very possible to learn riding in less than 30 hours.

I spent more hours than the average people to learn. I believe it is due to the following reasons:

• While learning to ride (practicing in the house), I was leaning to the wall, cupboard etc. Instead of learning to balance and center myself on the unicycle, I am tilting towards the side due to fear of falling. It would be wonderful if there was a coach or friend to hold on to while he/she walk alongside me, then I wouldn't be leaning to one side.
• While practicing at the basketball court, the furthest distance that I could travel is the width of the court. I would fall if I tried to turn and ride the length of the court. My mind had the impression that I was unable to travel longer distance. But the fact is that I haven't master the skill of turning. I discover this when I went to practice at the park. Suddenly I could ride very long distance in a straight line without falling. I only fell when trying to make a turn!
• The seats on my unicycle is hard as a brick, after less than half an hour on it, I would feel soreness. My mobility/flexibility became affected as I tried to avoid more pain to the crotch area. Talk about poor learning quality.

I believe if the above 3 problems were to be avoided, it is achievable for anyone to learn riding within 10 hours!

Painful crotch (family jewel)??? Yes, No, Nooooo

Causes of painful crotch:
-You are riding a beginner's unicycle with a saddle(seats) made of brick.
-You are not wearing padded cycling shorts.
-You do not know how to ride and accidentally rammed your crotch against the saddle.

Solution:
-Buy a better quality unicycle or just replace the saddle(*see below) with a better quality one.
-Wear a padded cycling shorts(**see below) and adjust your crotch to the front. Wear a tight cycling shorts so that the crotch won't slip back down. Since there is little padding on the front part of the cycling shorts, you might consider wearing the shorts front-side back. This offer maximum protection.
-Be careful when you are riding over obstacle, or hopping on the unicycle.

For the first 3 months when I was learning to ride, my crotch felt uncomfortable and I couldn't practice beyond 1 hour.

After I am able to ride, I bought cycling shorts and better quality unicycle. I could ride leisurely for longer hours (with breaks in between) and there is little trace of crotch discomfort.

I refuse to ride if I am not wearing a cycling shorts.

*Saddle with thicker, softer cushion is available at about $30 from:
EverythingBikez bicycle shop

**Buy at lower price from http://qoo10.sg/
 (I've told you that online store sell things cheaper ... )


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Saddle modification ... I've never tried that ... but looks interesting though

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8cJQ4j5KOis



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Interesting post from https://www.facebook.com/groups/bccig/

??? If you want to NOT feel any discomfort down there, endure all the pain and ride on ... after a few years you will lose sensitivity to that area down there ...make sense ???

Or would you consider Trial Bike? Avoiding problematic crotch discomfort...
See action in Singapore http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LsZ6496hH30

Desperate to be able to free-mount your unicycle and ride off immediately

There are 2 non-conventional methods that work but which I won't recommend to you.

1.) Carry a retractable light-weight aluminum trekking pole (or walking stick or umbrella or ski pole). Use it to assist you to mount your unicycle anywhere and ride off. You can also use it to regain your balance while riding.

2.) A normal free mount except that you place the toe of your dominant foot on the crank HUB. By doing so, the rear pedal (and the crank) become like a step on the stairs. You don't have to step on the 'air' anymore!

Wear a shin guard, high-cut boots, knee pad, gloves and helmet when learning to free-mount!

It is less painful to fall on grass than tarmac or cement.

Have fun :)

You are the reason

Seriously giving u a reason why u should learn riding while u still can -
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SpLXx8Jogzs


otherwise ...

To be fair, there are actually many interesting things to try in Singapore.

For example join a group of friends for a session of night time kite flying where you will be flying a remote-control kite that is decorated with beautiful LED lights. Check out http://www.goflykite.com/

Or perhaps go skate and savor food with people from http://www.meetup.com/Urban-Inline-Skating/
Their cool inline skates: http://skatewlights.blogspot.sg/

Or join the group that perform choreographed stunt kite flying weekly at East Coast Park and Marina Bay Sand. (I don't know their web link)

There is another interesting group which I find interesting. Check them out at
https://www.facebook.com/thewheelies

Find something that suit your current health condition!

Unicycle ride at East Coast Park, Singapore with "Terry Peterson"

Last Sunday I went riding with a group of unicyclist from the Singapore unicyclist Google group ( https://groups.google.com/forum/?hl=en#!forum/singaporeunicyclists )

They are really friendly people and at this session, many senior riders turn up. They are like the Singapore version of Terry “UniGeezer” Peterson:“Over 50…and not ‘2′ Tired! “

These senior warrior actually can out-ride me with ease! I am literally the slowest rider in the pack. I felt so embarrassed :P

If you want to see the youtube videos of some of the rides organized by the group, check out this site: http://www.youtube.com/user/eagle88889999/videos

Btw there are many youngster in the group too.

A young guy turn up with a Self Balancing Unicycle (electric) on that Sunday morning. It is relaxing and fun to ride on the SBU. I feel that SBU is a totally different sports from pedal unicycling. Both are nice in a different way. They can co-exist and form a bigger family.

 

https://www.facebook.com/focusdesignsinc

It turn out that the sports of riding unicycle is active in Singapore and it is also a wonderful social sports.

You can't ride ride a unicycle? Sure?

"Riding a unicycle" can have several meaning.

1. Able to free-mount a unicycle (climb onto and sit on the unicycle without any assistance) and then ride off.
2. [Unable to free-mount] Riding the unicycle after mounting a unicycle with the assistance of the wall/fence/rail/lamp-post/tree/friend.

If you can't free-mount and your freedom to roam the park is limited, then try the "wheel-grab" mounting which is fairly easy to learn.

You can search youtube for instructional video. Read this thread which discuss on it:
http://www.unicyclist.com/forums/showthread.php?t=78310

The ability to mount without assistance and ride off will give you the freedom to explore and ride anywhere!

Beginner-unicycling-related info.

Here are 2 forum threads that I enjoy reading:

Learning Journal - http://www.unicyclist.com/forums/showthread.php?t=86016
and
Progress diary - http://www.unicyclist.com/forums/showthread.php?t=91495

I will encourage you to write your progress report there because you will get lots of useful tips and encouragement from the community.

I discover them only AFTER I have learned how to ride my unicycle. It was too late for me to write down my learning progress on that forum :(

I notice that beginner unicyclist face similar difficulties. Quite a nice read. Inspiring and motivational.

Here is a blog that try to guide beginner with How-to-unicycle videos.

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Join the Singapore unicycle FORUM

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