Now I know that many of you have insisted that unicycles/ clowns and Circuses are three entirely different things: unrelated completely. You are all TOTALLY WRONG!! This video clip clearly demonstrates that unicycles have been part of circus since, well, prehistoric times.
Maybe not quite clearly, as the clarity seems to have diminished whilst the video has been languishing for so many years, unloved and unwatched.
Aw, the video is fine… if you like eyestrain.
It’s cute enough for what it is. I doubt most folks on this forum are really in it’s target audience.
Anyhow, I knew a clown once who rode a unicycle. He was a Ringling clown and his dad had built the thing he rode. It looked like a bike and rode like a bike, but the routine involved the thing coming to pieces, revealing itself to be a unicycle. Kids loved it. Man, that guy could ride.
Long time ago, and far away. He’s probably a jedi by now.
You’re fired! Clean out your desk; security will escort you from the building. IT will be resetting your passwords… we don’t want you spreading any more of your slanderous messages.
Everybody has a different opinion of that. I thought it was cute, but awfully long for a “demo” with kind of a one-joke theme.
Yes, the picture was so tiny I had a hard time telling if any of those cycles were unicycles, because a number of them were bikes (penny farthings). I’m sure there were unicycles in there as well. Not bad for a bunch of ani-dinos.
But that music about killed me.
Of course there have been unicycles in the circus for as long as there have been unicycles. But rarely do you see “interesting” unicycling in the circus. I agree I don’t know if I’ve ever seen a clown, riding a unicycle, in a full-on circus. Not counting people I worked with at the National Circus Project, but we were hardly ever in full-on “ring” circuses (In other words, this counts; Greg Milstein and me in the Riga Circus, Latvia, 1990).
Hey Podzol, don’t worry, I took all but one of those as intelligent meaningful replies. I expected some not to like the video, but thought it worth the post because it was a little different. Most of you that replied also appreciated that the thread title was a mickey take. Apologies to Fossie for the music, I should have warned you…but hey! I had to suffer it earlier. I admitted that the optical quality was dreadful, but if I find a better version I’ll add it to the thread later
The other poster appeared to completely misunderstand the post, but when he is old enough for kindergarten he could perhaps ask his teacher to explain both humour, and some of the longer words used. Nice to see that the constant practice is improving his spelling of some 4 letter words, although others, and indeed some of the 3 letter ones still require much hard work.
Unicyclist.com is not really scary at all, most people are very helpful, no matter how inexperienced the newbie is. Most people who post a question seem to be attacked by useful replies from all directions as soon as they raise their head. Such replies are needed, both for newbies and for more experienced riders, with some of those needing assistance with the technical detail and usually getting it.
I post fairly infrequently because I simply do not have the time most weeks.
I think the only reason I rarely see “interesting” unicycling in circuses is cos I only rarely go to a circus and I miss out on their interesting unicycle tricks. I think to say unicycles are circus is a compliment cos circus people are talented and probably do better tricks than me. I just unicycle for fun and the circus people unicycle as professionals- so surely they have the motivation to be better.
I was once unloading some stuff from my car at the drop zone at Langar Airfield in Nottinghamshire, when a random passing skydiver spotted the 20" unicycle that also happened to be in my boot (US trunk). He asked if he could have a go and rode off for quite some distance on a poor quality, pot-holed car park. As I stood there with my jaw on the tarmac, another skydiver said - “Yeah, he used to be a clown in the circus.”. Turns out he really actually was an ex-circus-clown who rode a unicycle as part of his act. Unicycles REALLY ARE CIRCUS !!! whether we like it or not.
Do “serious” bicycle riders worry about whether their own particular chosen mode of transport and fun has been used in a perhaps more flippant manner ? Of course they don’t. It’s just one wheel guys !!! Get used to it.
First of all, none of us denys that unicycles has been used in circus performances…
But is all unicycling a circus-prop for that?
Isn’t that up to the rider to decide?
But if i’m out riding my 29er for pizza, or meets someone out in the woods riding my muni, or even practising seatdrag, wheelwalk, gliding in the street by my house, is that circus? NO.
I ride because i love it, not to cheer up people around me.
Circus is something performed for people (often paying) to see “impossible” stunts been made, or simply be amused…
As long as I don’t ride my unicycle for the joy of others, i do not think it’s a circus prop.
If they enjoy watching it, i’m glad for them, but it’s not any of mine priorities.
What gives people the right to say what i’m doing is a circus stunt?
I don’t come up to someone and say their clothes look funny, or that they are bad drivers, that they are fat or if they disgust me…
And that is the very reason they shouldn’t come with comments on my prefered way to spend my time and money.
Unicycles can be a circus prop…
But so can dogs, elephants, bikes, juggling, poor singing, tigers and acrobatics…
I would argue that there is a big difference between unicycling (juggling, poi spinning and so on) being circus skills and actually ‘being in the circus’. Actually, modern circus is a highly skilled occupation involving dance, arial acts, gymnastics and so on. It would be no shame to be compared to these highly skilled and very fit people. But the problem is that people who ask if we are part of the circus are probably referring to a stereo type of an old fashioned ramshackle circus of unskilled clowns and performing elephants (and so are you that react ‘violently’ to suggestions of uniycles being part of the circus.
Well it was short but not all circuses have unicycles…None that I have seen have had them…well cept for circus circus tehre was a pic of one in a poster… but thas it…
