Day 6

Taking my cue from the pain in my thigh and the palms of my hands, I geared up before going outside today: bike shorts, knee pads (one down around my left shin, take that, you stupid pedal!), helmet, and leather gloves. Then I practiced: hold onto chair; hop up on the unicycle; put weight on seat, not on pedals; pedal; fall; repeat.

The process was a little discouraging, in that the farthest I ever got before bailing out was about 5 or 6 feet. But it was encouraging as well, because I started to feel "ready" sooner: when I started, it would take me 30-60 seconds to get on the seat and feel "centered"; by the time I stopped and came inside, it was only taking 10-30 seconds.

Later that day, I went to Big 5 Sporting Goods and bought a set of BoneShieldz wrist, elbow, and knee pads. Hard stuff, designed for skaters. Since the thought of falling tends to make one more cautious, but sometimes caution can inhibit learning, I figure anything I can do to feel more comfortable with the thought of falling will be beneficial.

One of the highlights of the day came later, as I was sitting at my desk typing: for a split second, I felt like I was balancing on my unicycle. I remember this type of feeling from when I was learning how to snow ski: all of a sudden, at some random time, I would feel as if I was skiing. I believe this is known as "kinesthetic memory," or "muscle memory," and I believe it's a very good sign that something is taking hold.

By this time, someone who I think is around my age posted at unicyclist.com that it took her six weeks to learn how to ride. Knowing that I'm not the only one who couldn't just hop on and ride away was comforting.