*THE OUTDOORS ALMANAC; MIGRATIONS; Just out spinning their wheel*
Bill Becher
286 words
11 October 2005
Los Angeles Times
Home Edition
F-8
English
Copyright 2005 The Los Angeles Times
WHAT is the sound of one-wheel mountain biking? Sometimes it's an oops,
followed by a thud. That's because riding rocky trails, difficult on a
regular bike, is a whole lot harder when balanced on a single wheel.
Eyal Aharoni, a graduate student at UC Santa Barbara, found this out
when he started riding his father's unicycle on mountain bike trails.
He thought he'd invented a new sport until a friend introduced him to
others who ride trails on one wheel. Now Aharoni is helping organize
the 10th annual California Mountain Unicycle Weekend. About 50 riders
are expected to show up from across the country for the trail riding
and trials competition in Santa Barbara, including world champion Kris
Holm of Vancouver and unicycle video maker Dan Heaton. Rocky sections,
roots and stream crossings will spice up the trail rides, says Aharoni.
The cycles have a hydraulic brake but no gears, so the ride -- down the
five or six miles of trail, with a 3,000-foot drop -- is grueling.
The trials competition tests riders' ability to stay balanced while
negotiating wooden ramps, bridges, stairs and a teeter-totter. The
California Mountain Unicycle Weekend 2005 will be held Friday through
Sunday at locations near Santa Barbara. The spectator-friendly trials
competition is Saturday at Summerland Preserve in Summerland, starting
at 2 p.m. For more information go to www.sbuni.org/2005cmw/ . Aharoni
says the weekend is more about bringing together members of the tiny,
scattered tribe of mountain unicyclists than it is about competition.
Woo-hoo! Thud.
-- Bill Becher
--
JJuggle
Raphael Lasar
Matawan, NJ
I could be happy the rest of my life with a cinnamon girl.
(Do-do-do-dooo)
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