RE: Today Show unicyclist
> I received a call today requesting that I appear on the Today
> Show on NBC this coming Monday morning at around 8-10am EST
That’s BIG PRESS for unicycling! I hope you have said yes.
> to demonstrate the unicycle part of that
> bike-that-becomes-a-unicycle thing which is on sale
> at Hammacher Schlemmer or some other fancy retailer.
I looked it up in their online catalog:
http://tinyurl.com/7hi
As for the vehicle, I am way not-impressed. Anything you don’t show a
picture of in your catalog, nobody should ever be fooled into buying. Notice
they don’t show the whole thing. I suspect this is because it’s not a
“bike”, but more likely something like two unicycles connected by a
cross-bar. Sounds like a vehicle with a high fun-potential, but it should
not be described as a “bicycle” and a more accurate description (read:
picture) should be provided.
I have ridden similar vehicles, in the form of one that Tom Miller made in
the 80s, and the Super Trick Cycle which came out a few years later. They
can be cool for shows or playing around on. However, aside from the presence
of two wheels, they are not bicycles.
> Anyway, I will apparently get a few moments to show a few
> tricks on the unicycle. Just wanted to mention it in case
> anyone is interested.
Hopefully you will have plenty of time to play with the thing to work out
some stuff. Assuming it’s the vehicle I’m thinking of, you can do some neat
stuff with the whole cycle together, such as really tight circles (almost a
spin), riding with one wheel on and one off the curb (hard to show in the
studio), and riding it on an angle (both wheels turned to one side. On the
unicycle part, you’ll probably look like an adult trying to ride a kid’s
unicycle, probably with a lovely Savage seat.
To help prepare, practice on a 20" unicycle with the seat as low as
possible. I think it’s a 20" wheel, they left that out of the product’s
description as well…
$149 is quite a decent price for such a vehicle, assuming it works. I’m
interested to see what one actually looks like…
> The showis allowing meto provide a few web-links. I thought
> it made the most sense to include:
> 1. The USA website link (www.unicycling.org/usa/)
> 2. UNICYCLE.COM
> 3. The burgeoning Unatics webpage (www.newyorkuniycle.com).
As the President of the Unicycling Society of America, I highly recommend
you list your sites in this order:
- www.unicycle.com
-
www.unicycling.org/usa/
and I don’t recommend
www.newyorkunicycle.com
Remember you are going on a national TV show. The Unatics site is almost
devoid of content at this point, and does not link to the other sites. It
would only appeal to local riders. The Unicycle.com site is what the most
people are probably looking for, and does include links to the USA and other
sites. The USA site does not link to Unicycle.com.
Have a great time on the show! I hope we get a chance to tape it.
Stay on top,
John Foss
President, Unicycling Society of America
President, International Unicycling Federation
jfoss@unicycling.com
