| One-wheeled wonders are growing in numbers -!-!- By Cristina Cardoze -!-!- 2002-04-10 -!-!- Unicycling the sport 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. -!-!- 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." -!-!- Joe Merrill, left, and David Stone founded Unatics of New York, New York City's first unicycle club, a year ago. -!-!- Alison Devine | |
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