UNICYCLE -

MY ADVENTURE WITH THE UNICYCLE

The idea of riding a unicycle had been in the back of my mind for a long time. A few weeks ago, I found one that someone was giving away in front of their garden and, as it was practically intact, I decided to try it.

In this experiment initiated on 11.06.26, I try to apply the idea that governs this page: The brain learns not because one wants to or decides so, but to save energy. And this can only happen if the task is repeated, if possible daily. Then the brain ‘understands’ that it is relevant and will begin to automate movements to achieve that energy saving. I imagine that is why a routine is important, not so much because it guarantees daily practice, but because it systematically repeats the relevance of the task.

On the other hand, to be able to guide us through the world, the brain creates models of it. In this case, I confront it with a high number of possibilities (movements in different directions) that it must perform or avoid so that I don’t fall.

That number of possibilities is not only high, it is also chaotic and hypercomplex, as it depends on many variables: position of the body, the unicycle, the wheel, the pedals, inertia, each change of position, etc. It is something that requires high energy consumption and, therefore, something the brain detests.

If the task disappears, the brain will not learn. If the task persists, the brain will be forced to organize itself in such a way that it can meet its energy expenses, including those necessary to maintain balance. Succeeding results, thus, not in a matter of talent or intelligence. It is a simple matter of energy saving.

My suspicion is that this principle applies to everything. That is, the brain learns thanks to a sufficient number of experiences with which it discovers regularities that will allow it to automate the task in question. But it needs a large enough sample of experiences, because with very few, the conclusions would be as unreliable as a survey conducted on only five people. Only with hundreds or thousands of attempts will it begin to recognize patterns that will allow it to build a more precise model of how to maintain balance.

This means that any person can learn more or less anything at any age, if they create the conditions for that high number of experiences to occur.

UNICYCLE LOGBOOK

07.07.26:

I did it! My initial estimate had been just a couple of weeks, which I then revised to 1–2 months, so less than a month falls right in the middle. I had just noted that I already feel confident in the saddle, perhaps because I already know how to fall, which is the most important thing. As you can see in the video from this day (24), I fell at first. But then, noticing that I was trying to steer my movements out of fear (of falling), I let my balance‑trained brain take control. And now I was actually able to ride my first few seconds hands‑free on the unicycle. I must confess that I am glad, but not surprised, because it was what I expected: for the brain to do its job, just as I had trained it. It was only a matter of time. To what extent I could have achieved it in less time is another matter. Now the task will be to stabilize what has been achieved, until I can move freely on the unicycle. I estimate it will take about two weeks.

Week 5: 06.-11.07.26:

This is the first time I feel confident and secure that I can achieve my goal, not just capable. It feels as if the two-day break allowed my brain to better reorganize what I’ve learned. In fact, that’s how everything is learned: not only during practice, but also during breaks and sleep, which is when the brain consolidates what has been learned. I think that if I had practiced in other facilities, since I’ve adapted to what is available, I would have done better; but that’s just an assumption. On the other hand, I’ve followed a kind of «natural» progression: first practicing balance and then safety when falling. Now I still need to practice moving forward and knowing how to fall when things don’t work out.

Week 4: 01.-05.07.26:

This week I want to start moving forward several meters. I already feel capable. This is currently my maximum challenge. The good thing is that I already feel quite comfortable getting on and perhaps in the most important thing: knowing how to fall. Here I notice that this training has brought me that additional advantage, which was not in the initial plan: because knowing how to fall is extremely important. I noticed it recently when I was riding a bike: I fell twice when stopping at a corner and had no problem getting back up and going on. Many older adults do not survive a hip fracture not because of the fracture itself, but because of the devastating impact of prolonged immovability. In other words, as I usually say: «If there is no movement, there is only dying.» This experiment is giving me, thus, the possibility of demanding movements and possibilities from my body that I perhaps never used before, with all the mental benefit that implies.

Week 3: 25.-30.06.2026:

I already move with considerable confidence and I can mount and dismount as if I had been practicing for months. What I just noticed is a conceptual error, because the fact of holding onto the rope notably reduces my range of motion. That is, I have been practicing balance mainly and not moving forward, which is only about two meters. And that distance is too short to practice balance while moving. I think from next week I will ask someone to accompany me holding one hand. I already feel safe enough to try it.

Week 2: 18.-24.06.2026:

Little by little it is getting easier to get on and off the unicycle. The fear of falling is now almost zero, even though it has already happened to me, although I still cling tightly to the safety rope. I have started exploring what happens when I move forward and backward. It will take its time until I do it confidently, although in the last few days I notice that the rope has faded into the background.

Week 1: 11.-17.06.2026:

The first sensation on the unicycle is that of a man who does not seem to have control over his body at all, almost as if he were drunk or quadriplegic. Luckily, I already know that perceiving a certain helplessness is common to all learning when beginning and, besides, I hold onto a rope fixed to the ceiling. Still, I notice all the possibilities that exist of falling as if I myself were only a piece of gelatin. During the next few days I will limit myself to letting my brain explore those possibilities. I will be like a baby exploring its environment crawling, but without moving too far from its mother. Seen like this, it’s fun. Like regaining childhood.