I was calmly walking down the sidewalk, looking across the four lane street next
to Iowa State University, one of the most beautiful land grant universities in
the US. I was enjoying the peaceful, late spring scene of two swans swimming
around and nuzzling each other in the lake across the road. The scene of the
playful swans in their lake was so tranquil, that time seemed to slow to a stop.
Then abruptly time snapped back to full speed, as something approached me from
behind. As I turned back to see who or what it was, in the corner of my eyes, I
could make out the very vague image of a bicyclist as he whizzed pass me. But
something didn’t seem right about what I saw, so I turned around to look
straight at him. My feelings of tranquility turned to absolute amazement, as I
observed only one wheel on the “bicycle” this person was riding, gentlely
wobbling to and fro as he receded into the distance. After staring at him for
about 5 seconds, I realized that he was wearing an ordinary shirt and blue
jeans. I began to think about what I saw as I turned back to continue my walk.
“I’d never seen a unicycle ridden outside of a circus, but this fellow was
dressed in ordinary street clothes and I wasn’t aware of there being a circus
near Ames now. So clearly this guy was ordinary person, not a circus person with
extraordinary skills. Riding that unicycle looked like a lot of fun and I saw an
ordinary person ride, so why shouldn’t I try it? I have a pretty good sense of
balance. I think I’ll buy my own unicycle, and learn to ride it. That fellow
learned to ride, so why can’t I?”
If any wants to hear the rest of this true story, please let me know and I’ll
write and post it to the list.
My thanks go to everyone who has accepted the UNICYCLING MAILING LIST
CHALLENGE! I encourage everyone who hasn’t, to consider it now. It doesn’t have
to be a story about your involvement with unicycling, although a unique story
about yourself and unicycling can be an excellent contribution to list members.
Maybe you’d like to try your hand at poetry, a short story about another
unicyclist, a short article about a unicycling event, or pose a question or
questions to members of the list. Let some of your creative energy flow into
the unicycling list!
Stay on Top,
Ken. kfuchs@winternet.com