BALANCING ACT:
Practice Makes Perfect

By Tanya Marsh

    The first time I was on a uni was actually quite humorous. Or at least it would have been to an observer. I was at my uncle's house in Minneapolis. It was actually his uni, but he let our family borrow it.
    I needed two people to support me while I sat in one spot. My cousin once removed or something held me over the seat while my sister, Tammy, held the seat over the uni. I didn't move and was on it for about thirty seconds.
    The next day, and what I consider to be my first day of riding, Tammy and were at our aunt's house in Iowa. She lives directly across the street from a single tennis court. It was very shaded and quiet. After trying various posts and such, Tammy and I made our way over there. We started going around the fence. It worked really well and after a bit, we were going pretty good. First one of us would walk with the other while she rode, but pretty soon we could go only using only the fence.
    When we left our aunt's to go home, we discovered we would have to go almost a mile to find a tennis court. We did go to that one several times, but soon we just started leaning on each other and going around the block. After one week, we could ride with a person, then let go and ride for a pretty decent distance. From there, we just kept working. We learned to freemount, ride for a mile or so, I suppose, pick tallish things up, weave in and out of things, turn corners, juggle on the uni, spin in circles, and then we worked on idling and going backwards. I've ridden almost every day since we first borrowed our uncle's. Now Tammy and I each have our own uni and ride them with three of our friends which we have recruited and taught. I also often ride to school.

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