i know this must be tragic to unibiker’s family and friends. its hard to lose someone that is close, no matter how they die. often people see suicide as nothing more than a person trying to find an easy way out of a hard problem but in many cases, and very likely in unibiker’s case, it is the result of much thought and planning. if unibiker decided that he no longer wanted to be a part of this world, no one can say that he made the wrong decision. i feel very sorry for his friends and family, but am happy to know that unibiker found a way out of the suffering he was going through and that he is no longer confined in a world that could not make him happy. unibiker will be greatly missed.
Unibiker was kind happyy and always contributing to the forums in a pleasant manner:
We should all aspire to be as good a fellow unicyclist, forum contributer, and friend as he was. He will be missed.
We shouldn’t take happiness for granted.
Re: unibiker
Very saddening and shocking news indeed. I haven’t met unibiker
personally but his posts to this newsgroup were always very thoughtful
and interesting to read, the more so since he did a unique thing on
one wheel. My thoughts go out to his relatives and friends.
Thanks Jeff (Myers) for the courage to let us know.
Klaas Bil - Newsgroup Addict
Today (4 January) is the first day this year that is neither the first day this year nor the first day this year that is not the first day this year nor the first day this year that is neither the first day this year nor the first day this year that is
not the first day this year.
i do recall going through his gallery many times to look in awe at his 1 wheeled contraption. he will be missed by the community for his high spirits and innovative ideas.
-grant
I was fortunate to meet unibiker once when, while passing thru Memphis, he came to a MUC thursday night practice. He rode that contraption of his quickly around the room. It yearned for the open road.
You know that look of awe and amazement you get from non-uniers who see you effortlessly riding by. That look of “that’s soooo cool”. Well, this guy ratcheted that up a notch and was able to amaze us unicyclers. He dismounted gracefully with a big “How Bout That” grin on his face.
We tip our hats to Jeff “Unibiker” Baker.
I hope he knows that he’s touched us all. I hope he finds what he’s looking for.
I agree with this , but I know that depression can be managed with drugs and therapy.
That’s ashame.
I was hoping to meet him. I remember he was saying he wanted to come to Austin to ride.
-Eric
Over the last 24 hours it has become quite apparent why jeff thought so much of this fourm. I want to thank everybody for your thoughts and kind words, it’s nice to know that there are other people that think as much of him as I do.
Many of you may not know how good of a motorcycle rider he was.
I would like to share just one of my two wheel stories with you.
Jeff could ride anything with amassing balance and grace; one time at a motorcross where I met him he told me he would race me on one wheel. I was only about 12 or so but I had been racing since I was 8 and I thought I was pretty good. I had a lot of trophies and could out run a lot of grown up’s. Well we took off and that guy never put the front wheel down. I know this because I had the best view (from behind) of the whole race, I was crushed. We all figured after that the only way to make the racing even was to take the front wheel of his bike. Although he’d probably still beat us. I think I finally got fast enough to keep up with him, although it was hard to tell he may have just slowed down so I wouldn’t feel bad. And we had many year of fun.
Thanks again for letting me ramble and putting up with my spelling and grammar errors.
Jeff Myers.
rest in peace, unibiker
Goodbye, Unibiker, you will be missed.
And if nothing else good comes from it, let it be a lesson about mental health and meds. I know many people, including unicyclists, who need mental health meds to help them live a normal, productive life. My wife’s company provides services for people, many of which have mental health issues. She sees firsthand how essential meds are for some of these people to even just get by.
Going off one’s meds can be very dangerous, and is a constant thing to worry about as the people using the meds are often aware of their side-effects and feel better when they stop taking them. But all too often, bad things subsequently happen.
The story about Unibiker’s situation was not provided in detail, and I don’t intend to pry. But if I knew him better I would inquire as to why the meds were stopped, and by whom. Obviously it was a mistake, unless there were other factors involved which we are not being told. And should not be told, as it is not our business.
But people, if you have friends or family members who use mental health meds, please try to be aware of changes in behavior that may indicate there is a problem with them. When caught in time, tragedies such as this can be prevented.
I know of three unicyclists who have committed suicide now. Unibiker counts, even if he only rode stuff that was supposed to have a front wheel. One of these people hosted a huge group of people at his house for a cycling festival in Canada in 1985. The other one had a Guinness record or two. We miss them all.
I admit that after reading about his unibike thing,I thought it was so cool that i went out and practiced and practiced and practiced riding wheelies on my bike,i even took off the front wheel.I gave up eventually,wondering how he did that.I still cant do it.
R.I.P unibiker.
I have decided to make a memorial video of Unibiker. I want to make it for us riding in remembrance to him, so if you ant to contribute email me or PM me.
AIM: MM Catboy
email: catboy (at) gmail (dot) com
I picked up on this thread a wee bit late, but that is really sad news 
Unibikers ability to ride a ‘unibike’ certainly has a place in unicycle history.
Rest in Peace
Ken
someone should make a vid comemerating his life
im going to suggest using the song tears in heaven
This forum is an intersting place. For me, it’s filled with two kinds of people. Friends I have met, and friends I haven’t met.
I never met Jeff, but I did read all of his posts. He seemed like a very interested person. I’m very sad to learn of his death, and I’m also sad that I will never have the privilage of riding with him.
My sentiments exactly. I scanned throught 10+ thread titles before opening this first. I knew from his posts that he was having back problems, and was likely in a lot of pain. My prayers go out to him and his family and friends. My heart just sank when I read the first post.
i remember shortly after i was able to ride my uni i saw a post by unibiker and saw his avatar and naturally i immediately went out and tried it myself, i figured that if i could now ride a unicycle surely i could hold a wheely on my mountain bike. it was not the case.
i am sorry the hear the manor of his death, suicide has hit close to home for me a couple times in the past so i can imagine a little bit of what his friends and family are going through
RIP Unibiker
The same exact thing happened to me.I still cant do a wheely.I thuoght it would be easy.Boy was i wrong.
Re: unibiker
It was very distressed to hear about unibiker’s last few days with us.
Please allow me to say a few words about Jeff Baker aka unibiker:
He was a unicyclist in a class by himself. His long distance unibike
ride stories were well read and respected. He rode his unibike faster
than any unicyclist ever rode a unicycle and was a extremely interesting
writer by any measure.
With his passing there is one less unibiker and unicyclist, but we will
never, ever completely forget him and his stories.
Anyone who hasn’t read unibiker’s posts should do so now, as you don’t
know what you’re missing.
We will all miss unibiker …
Sincerely,
Ken Fuchs <kfuchs@winternet.com>
I was always hopeful that Unibiker would set the official 25K or one hour time trial record and hold it long enough to get in the Guinness Book Of World Records. That would have given the geared Coker riders a time to shoot for. But it also would have been a controversial record. Is the unibike a unicycle? Should it be allowed to hold a unicycle record? It would have been so fun to see that play out. And I’d like to think that Unibiker would have found it to be fun too.
It only has one wheel. Unlike a Bicycle riding a wheelie.
No parachute. No safety net.