I found this while surfing around:
One-wheeled wonders are growing in numbers
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By Cristina Cardoze
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2002-04-10
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Unicycling -- the *---s-p-o-r-t---*- of riding a single wheel with
pedals and a seat -- is gaining popularity all over the world. There
are about a million unicyclists in the United States alone. Contrary to
popular perceptions, they are not all juggling circus clowns. Most
unicyclists are ordinary people who love the challenge of balancing on
one wheel.
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No brakes. No gears. No handlebars.
"No problem," says John Foss, President of the International Unicycling
Federation and three-time world champion unicyclist. "Unicycling is not
as dangerous as it looks," he said. "Anyone can learn."
Unicycling -- the sport of riding a single wheel with pedals and a seat
-- is gaining popularity all over the world. According to Foss, the
Internet's ability to disseminate information about the sport and the
rise of innovative disciplines like mountain unicycling, have increased
curiosity and awareness.
John Drummond, who started the first and only online unicycle
department store three years ago, says that most of his sales are to
first-time buyers.
"New unicyclists are our bread and butter," said Drummond, whose
company's revenues topped $700,000 last year.
Drummond estimates that there are about a million unicyclists in the
United States, and they are not all juggling circus clowns. Most
unicyclists are ordinary people who love the challenge of balancing on
one wheel. They unicycle to stay in shape, socialize, play games, run
errands, walk their dogs and commute to work. And their numbers are
growing.
Joe Merrill, 38, and David Stone, 35, founded Unatics of New York, the
first unicycling club in New York City, about a year ago. The club
started with 15 members and has since ballooned to 110 men and women,
ranging 5 five to 50 years of age.
"There are times when we get 10 new members a week," Merrill said.
Unatics of New York meets twice a month by a band shell in Central
Park. Members practice skills and ride around the bike paths. Sometimes
they try different types of unicycles, including one that spins in the
middle, one that has a 46-inch wheel (nicknamed Godzilla) and a few
6-foot-high "giraffes."
"It's quite a scene to see 30 unicyclists riding around Central Park,"
Merrill said.
The scene is good for recruiting. "There's always someone that says 'I
want to learn to do that,'" Merrill added.
But learning to ride a unicycle is much harder than mastering a
traditional two-wheeler. It takes about two weeks of practice to learn
to ride and a few more weeks to do turns and basic tricks. Both Foss
and Merrill say the degree of difficulty works against the sport ever
gaining mass appeal.
"Most people will look at a unicyclist and say, 'I could never do
that,' Merrill said, "but there's a small group of people that say,
'that's possible, and if he can do it, so can I."
Merrill learned to ride a unicycle when he was growing up in Maine. His
grandfather saw him trying to balance on a single tricycle wheel and
got him a unicycle. Merrill fell in love with it. He rode his unicycle
through high school and college but stopped when he moved to New York
to become a computer networking professional.
Then he met David Stone at their daughters' gymnastics class. Stone was
not easy to miss. He rode his unicycle to the gym with his son in a
stroller on one side and his daughter on a skateboard-like contraption
in the back.
"I immediately fell in love with it again," Merrill said. "I said to
myself, 'this is what I've been missing all this years.'"
According to Merrill, unicycling is great exercise because you can
never stop pedaling. It's fun, extremely challenging and it's something
most people can't do.
Merrill and Stone started unicycling together on a regular basis and
later formed Unatics of NY. Since then, Merrill's love of the sport has
escalated. He practices at least 90 minutes a day, rides his unicycle
to work on sunny mornings and has picked up mountain unicycling, the
newest fad in the unicycling world.
Mountain unicycling combines elements of mountain biking and downhill
skiing. "You get the same level of excitement as in downhill skiing,
but it's not as dangerous," Merrill said. On a unicycle, you can go
only as fast as you can pedal (about 8 miles an hour), you can't coast,
and if you lose your balance, all you have to do is jump off.
Mountain unicycling is the trend now, but the sport's evolution is
continuing. There are unicycle aficionados all over the world who think
there's no limit to the things that can be done on one wheel.
Clubs in Minnesota, Michigan and Quebec play unicycle basketball. A
club in New Orleans focuses on unicycle polo. Unicycle hockey is
popular in California and abroad. Australia, China, Denmark, Great
Britain, Switzerland and New Zealand have active unicycle hockey teams.
Germany has a full-blown unicycle hockey league. And a group of people
in England use unicycles instead of flying broomsticks to play
Quidditch, the famous Harry Potter sport.
The World Unicycling Championships will be held in Seattle this summer.
According to Foss, about 600 unicyclists are expected to attend. The
next step is to make unicycling into an Olympic sport.
"After all," said Merrill, "it's definitely more fun than curling."
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Joe Merrill, left, and David Stone founded Unatics of New York, New
York City's first unicycle club, a year ago.
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Alison Devine
--
terrybigwheel
Impotence: Nature's Way Of Saying "No Hard Feelings".
Uni is just a cycle I'm going through. 😎
You -can- "Tune a fish". You simply adjust their "scales"! 😄
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