>On Thu, 2 Feb 1995, Jimmy Brokaw wrote: > >> I realize that unicycling on streets and/or sidewalks is illegal here in >> Britain, but I do it all the time (staying away from major roads of course, I >> live in a Hick town!) The policemen around here must not be aware of the law, >> they’ve driven by and taunted me about the missing wheel before, etc. Anyone >> ever have any trouble conforming to civic laws? > > Well, that depends what you mean by streets. Pavements or roads? Anywhere > it’s legal to ride a bicycle it’s also legal to ride a unicycle, but as it’s > often been said the law is an ass. > > I pretty well always ride on the pavement. Whenever I pass a > policeman I feel a faint sense of dread that they may question my right
Holy smokes - never realized that it would be illegal to ride a unicycle in
other countries (effectively illegal from the sounds of it anyway). As an
american joe, I’m not sure of the differences between pavement, streets and
roads, but I’m sure I’ve been on all of it, at least when there wasn’t traffic.
Interstates would not be legal to ride on here (unless you can go 40 mph!
(47kmh) ), but that’d be suicidal anyway. I actually learned to ride on a state
highway, but that is in a truly hick town. (pop.300, nearest fast food joint, 40
miles - our school district was larger than Rhode Island, but we only graduated
40 people a year).
I guess the closest I’ve been to illegally riding my unicycle is when my car was
ticketed because the meter ran out while I was off practicing with the D.C.
Dept. of Juggling group. /
> >>On Thu, 2 Feb 1995, Jimmy Brokaw wrote: >> >>> I realize that unicycling on streets and/or sidewalks is illegal here in >>> Britain, but I do it all the time (staying away from major roads of course, >>> I live in a Hick town!) The policemen around here must not be aware of the >>> law, they’ve driven by and taunted me about the missing wheel before, etc. >>> Anyone ever have any trouble conforming to civic laws? > [deleted stuff]
>Holy smokes - never realized that it would be illegal to ride a unicycle in >other countries (effectively illegal from the sounds of it anyway).
I’m not so sure it’s illegal to unicycle in Britain. Maybe I’m just blithely
ignorant, but I’ve uni’d everywhere with no trouble at all. That includes on
main city roads amongst heavy traffic, pavements, and inside shops (the
assistants just get puzzled when a rather tall man smoothly glides past behind
the stands). I live in Bristol just a few miles from Jimmy above. Of course we
do have an extremely high unicycle-per-head-of-population ratio here because of
the late lamented circus school Fooltime. So many unicyclists have come to
Bristol and never left, and so many more have attended various workshops, that
it’s not at all uncommon to see someone unicycling by on the road.
My impression has always been that a uni may not be stricly legal (lack of
brakes, MOT etc) on the actual road, but it falls so much out of the
conventional categories that it isn’t really covered by the obvious rules in the
minds of law enforcers. Besides they just register us as ‘harmless loonies’ and
are more concerned with trying to pretend they can’t see us and haven’t noticed
us. (How embarrassing to be caught looking at someone so blatantly idiotic and
clownish.)
> I’m not so sure it’s illegal to unicycle in Britain. Maybe I’m just blithely > ignorant, but I’ve uni’d everywhere with no trouble at
Well, I just read it in some UK-written book, while browsing in a shop… I’ve
never had troubles, expect when I was on one of those British
‘one-lane-hedges-on-both-sides-back-up-half-a-mile-if-you-want-
to-even-try-to-pass-me-but-I-doubt-it-will-work-who-designed-these-
roads-anyway’ roads, unicycling merrily, when a police car raced down at full
speed. I had to jump into the pricklies to avoid it, whew. I can just imagine
them talking, standing over the criminal they had just captured, saying, “Was
that half a bike that kid was humping in the woods on the way over here?”
> a rather tall man smoothly glides past behind the stands). I live in Bristol > just a few miles from Jimmy above. Of course we do have an
Er. Too far to uni. Er, do I know you? How do you know where I live? And are you SURE they don’t mind you unicycling in stores?
> >Er. Too far to uni. Er, do I know you? How do you know where I live? And are > >you SURE they don’t mind you unicycling in stores? > > Um, I don’t know if you know me by sight, it’s quite possible, and vice versa, > but I only know you live in Bath because you said so in a posting of yours. As > for unicycling in stores, I’ve done it
Errrrrrrrrrrrrr. Harefield. Inside the M25. London. Cheers!
> briefly a few times, mostly in a hit and run way. The assistants, if they > realise, are so stunned they don’t know what to do or say, especially if > you’re dressed clownishly. In the great English tradition they usually try and > pretend everything is quite normal.
I ride mine down the the library, they find it funny. Other than that I usually
just leave it inside the door of the shops… the storeowners look at it enough
it’d be easier for me to rob the place than have someone take my uni without
being stopped!
>And are you SURE they don’t mind you unicycling in stores?
Try a 12 inch wheel unicycle with or without a full height seat. The shop
keepers will most likely get a chuckle out of it and have little concern about
the potential damage it may make. This reminds me of a chap who had a golf bag
unicycle back in the 40s, I believe (It’s in an old issue of On One Wheel). It
was actually a short giraffe unicycle with perhaps a six inch wheel with short
pedals and crankarms sticking out of the golf bag. It actually appeared as if he
was floating along on top of his golf bag since the uni including wheel was
completely hidden from view being inside the golf bag and the pedals and
crankarms were mostly obscured by his feet and legs.