The other day I turned on my TV to find a wonderful show that features elementary school kids competing in a national 31-legged race, with some more details over on my site.
I figured that the type of person who likes a sport like unicycling should most certainly appreciate the absurdity taking 3-legged racing to the extreme by adding 28 more people to the mix.
Now then, I’m trying to think of a good way to do that with unicyclists. I’d definitely love to see two teams of 30 unicyclists racing with their legs somehow connected.
I wonder if anyone has made a novelty unicycle that consists of two unicycles side by side with the inside pedals connected. Would likely be somewhat of a challenge for a pair of riders to ride. That would be the unicycle equivalent of a 3-legged race.
Not exactly, cause Im sure the riders want to ride straight,a nd not to the side, and there has to be two riders, not just one.
And John, I think it would be pretty easy for a welder to take some cheap/extra pedals they have and chop them up a little and weld them together so you have something to connect the two unis together at the crank.
If I knew how to weld, id try it myself, cause I have 5 extra pairs of pedals in my room.
Yup. You could weld an aluminum plate to the two inside pedals. Or do a bolt on plate similar to how some grind plates attach to pedals.
I think it would be a rather interesting novelty unicycle to ride. It would require some cooperation between the two riders. But if one rider did the other just completely soft pedaled (or took their feet off the pedals completely) it would be easier.
Maybe instead of a rigid connection you could use a short flexible connection (like a hose or a rubber strap). That would prevent the second rider from being able to soft pedal. That way both riders would have to actively ride and cooperate.
Tying the riders legs together like is done in a three-legged running race would probably be a bit painful for the riders. The other riders pedal would probably be hitting you in the shin or ankle at some point.
I was thinking that tying the legs together with a slightly loose yet rigid stick-thing would probably be the best solution. You don’t get the extreme rigitidy of having the pedals connected and you don’t kill the other guy’s shins.
Either way, I don’t really see myself ever trying it.
Having ridden a dicycle, I know how easy it is to just sit on and not pedal. You don’t even have to idle. Even non-unicyclists could do that (I have a picture of Dora Hemminger, Teresa Abrahams’ mom, on one). It would be pretty easy to ride, but probably more of a bitch to steer!
lol. i saw this like 31 legged racing stuff ages ago, its really entertaining.
i saw another video ages ago where like an african team did it but tripped over so they lost. all the kids were crying because they didnt come first and stuff, apparently its pretty competitive?
I ended up watching that show for about an hour or so, and every once in awhile a team would trip and fall all over each other. Heck, once it happened to both teams.
This particular competition was against all of the prefectures in Japan, and it was highly competitive. Heck, I owe my girlfriend dinner now because my chosen prefecture lost
Here, club activities are king. Many schools require students to be in clubs, and what club you’re in plays a large part in determining your identity. It isn’t quite as big a deal in elementary school like these kids, but they’re still pushed very, very hard to win. And when they lose, well, you have scenes where all of the kids break down completely bawling. That team is no exception, as almost every team broke down wildly in tears after losing.
