As the cranks turn

Finally! A day without rain! Not only that, but we actually saw the SUN!!

So there I was, in the backyard, hopping on my unicycle, pedaling, and falling off. Well, not actually "falling," it was more like starting to fall and then stepping down, I never actually made contact with the pavement with anything other than my feet.

I started by using my good friend the patio chair for support. Then, after getting tired of hearing my nutty neighbor yelling profanities at me, or her other neighbors, or the voices in her head, I decided to move to the other side of the patio. This turned out to be a good move, as I started out using a different chair, but soon found that the narrow gate in the middle of our yard made for a better starting point: since there are supports on both sides, I could get up and balanced more quickly, and since it's farther away from the fence, I'd have a little more room to ride (if I was lucky).

I ended up progressing, if only slightly: on several occasions, I got through two full crank revolutions before falling. That was just enough time/distance to actually feel like I was "riding," if only for the briefest of moments. But that feeling was great! I look forward to encountering it more often in the days and weeks ahead.

Assuming I continue to progress, I'll be looking for a better place to practice soon. I think I'll only be able to make about three revolutions before hitting the fence going the direction I'm going. I could turn around, but the walkway I'd have to stay on is somewhat narrow (besides, that would also take me onto the side of the yard next to Nutty Nora's house). So I'll be investigating a couple of local parks soon. While I'd rather be comfortable riding before riding in public, I don't think I'll be able to reach that level in my backyard, and the only other option is waiting until I buy a house with acres of land -- which translates roughly to "never."