I finished school early because it was my last day so me and a couple of other friends went out riding untill the buses came.When mine came I walked onto it carying my uni like I always do. I put it on the seat and sat down waiting to leave. I then saw my bus driver coming down the isle, he stopped by my seat and this is the conversation we had…
him: uh could you keep that on the floor please, its bound to have oil on the chain isnt it?
me: um it doesnt have a chain
him: uh well im sure it has grease or oil on it somewere
me: no actuly its pretty clean
he then walked back down the isle and we all had a good laugh out of it. he seriously thought it would have a chain, what does he think it is? a bike?
I personally wouldn’t dream of putting a unicycle on a surface that people are expected to sit on (i.e. a seat), because there’s likely to be dirt on the tyre. It’s like putting your feet on the bus seat - no-one with any manners would do it.
You should also bear in mind that the bus driver is responsible for his vehicle and is perfectly entitled to ask you to put your unicycle on the floor. He shouldn’t have to give you a reason, and there’s no excuse to laugh at him for his polite request.
today i was riding at a college campus and a security guy came up to me and said “you probably shouldn’t be doing that… it looks like you could damge your genetiles”
seriously! he ACTUALLY said that!
i tried to explain to him how you stand up on the pedals and all but it didn’t look like he believed me…
went for a huge ride today.
Just as i was going through a school 3 bogans were standing there… i had a beanie on with the ear flaps and pom poms.
Bogan boy: Nice bike;
Me: thanks, its not a bike though mate;
Bogan chick 1: Nice beanie;
Bogan chick 2: can you ride that?
Me: Yeah, its nice and warm, and yeah,i rode the length of the bike track.
Bogans all together: HOLY F*CK! Ride it for us.
I hopped on, rode off and could hear them in the distance loving it.
On my way back through the school i went round the other way and this group of chicks wanted me to stop until they got their camera phones out to take pics of me as i rode away.
All in all a very rewarding ride… i love it when people smile and cheer as i ride past, i think that may be one of the main reasons i ride, i love making people smile:)
i finally heard “your other wheel is missing” today, but in german.
regarding this whole comments-from-non-riders issue i am in the ahem beneficial position of living in a country where i don’t natively speak the language. when someone shouts something at me while unicycling it takes a few seconds for my brain to switch into bad-german-mode and by then i am long gone.
additionally, the random comments that i do understand are resoundingly positive. ahh, you gotta love selective hearing.
anyhow, after about 6 months of unicycling in the same park near my house, i finally had an older guy say “das zweites rad ist weg”. i rode off muttering “ho, ho, ho”, but i’m pretty sure sarcasm doesn’t really work the same in german.
I’m scooting about in the dingey lane behind my flat when a guy comes by and says “You’re really lucky to be able to ride that.”
It confused me and so I just looked at him dumbfounded, struggling to respond. “Lucky?!” I think to myself, I didn’t say it because I’ve a habit of sounding rude.
I wanted to ask how luck came into it, but I just couldn’t find the words.
He repeats “Yeah. Really lucky. There’s many that can’t.” and continues on his way.
I’m pretty sure that the encounter is going to nag at my mind for the rest of my life.
I haven’t, but it’s a comment that ‘works’ on so many levels.
You are fortunate (lucky) that you are not physically disabled in any way that would prevent you from learning to ride a unicycle.
His comment seems like a compliment, suggesting that you are fortunate to be ‘blessed’ with exceptional levels of physical prowess, or powers of perseverance, to learn such an impressive skill.
The longer I do this, the shorter my responses become.
I think I may have finally found the fit-all response to unicycling comments.
i got alot yesterday, so im only gonna put down a few.
first was a guy who used toride. he said the unicyclist dont get enough respect, that were not all clowns. also h liked the addition of jump handles to teh uni
the second was two guys playing basketball that go to my school
1st guy: UNICYCLE!!!
2nd guy: i know him hes so gay, i hate that kid
1st guy: Shut up i know him hes so cool your just jelous he can ride a unicycle
(I’m just going to do this to practice a new skill that gkmac taught me last month and I’ve been looking for an opportunity to practice - so here it is…)
