Unicycle articles (but wait there's more...)

General
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INNOVATIVE, PIONEERING JUDGE TRADES BENCH FOR NEW FRONTIERS ; JUDGE DIANE STRICKLAND BROUGHT DRUG COURT TO ROANOKE VALLEY

KIMBERLY O’BRIEN THE ROANOKE TIMES
1,614 words
27 October 2002
Roanoke Times & World News
METRO
A1
English
(Copyright 2002)

Diane McQuade Strickland wanted to be a schoolteacher…

…On October 31, the Roanoke County Circuit Court judge will retire.

The naked truth: Strickland once joked that as the lawyer for the student body at the University of Virginia, she probably represented more streakers than any other attorney in the United States. She suspects she can still claim that. She remembers one client who was caught after riding a unicycle - naked. She got an indecent exposure charge knocked down to disorderly conduct.

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Study small details, Gemini

635 words
22 October 2002
The Toronto Star
Ontario
E03
English
Copyright © 2002 The Toronto Star

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 20)

Image: A juggler on unicycle

Message: Quick reactions

Home planning may present rare difficulties today. Expect loved ones to soon introduce revised family schedules or new social obligations. Accommodate all as best as possible.

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Licence to drive - Motor Bond - James Bond Special.

By Jeremy Clarkson.
1,379 words
20 October 2002
The Sunday Times
English
© 2002 Times Newspapers Ltd Not Available for Re-dissemination.

James Bond’s cars are usually just as eye-catching as his women. but sometimes 007’s choice of wheels suggests he’s had a few too many martinis, says Jeremy Clarkson.

James Bond, in the books, has a blower Bentley. A big old truck with the engine from a Spitfire and the wheels from a unicycle. The sort of car where you had to go outside to change gear or blow the horn. This is fine for Mr Toad, all goggles and earflaps. But it’s not so good for the most suave secret agent the world has ever seen. So when he’d found his feet in the films, they gave him an Aston Martin.

Am I on top of things or what? - RL

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Philippine Daily Inquirer - Postures of risk and bravura.

By Constantino C. Tejero.
825 words
20 October 2002
Philippine Daily Inquirer
4
English
Financial Times Information Ltd

In “Improvisations,” the dominant hues are brown and blue. A half-naked man in gray tights on a unicycle has his outstretched arms leaning on a blue wall or sky. Another man in blue long-sleeve shirt and ochre pants, one foot naked and the other in semi-transparent shoe, sits on a reddish-brown chest. A woman in ochre long dress, sitting in an antique chair in a corner, holds up a bow.

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A wheelie good paperboy.

236 words
18 October 2002
The Lancaster Guardian
English
© 2002 Johnston Publishing Limited

IT MAY look like something straight out of a circus, but Lancaster Guardian paperboy Matthew Hart is deadly serious about his unicycle.

Matthew, 17, certainly turns heads when he rides past delivering the Guardian on his paper round.

After borrowing the unicycle from a friend this summer, Matthew mastered the art of riding the machine within a month and can even go down steps on it.

He admits, however, it’s difficult to ride with a paperbag because it throws his balance out.

The only thing that really stops him riding is the rainy weather - because his feet slip off the pedals!

“People ask me if I want to join the circus but it is a serious sport to me,” said Matthew.

Unicycles start from about £60 in the shops and he is saving up to buy a special off-road version, which can cost up to £700, so that he can go on the hills and maybe even do the coast-to-coast route.

He hopes to start a club for unicyclists locally and is attending a unicycle convention in the south of England next month.

Matthew’s employer Linda Taylor, of Clapham Village Store, North Yorks, said: “Customers are quite taken aback when Matthew rides into the shop for his bag of papers in the morning, but I explain to them there’s no extra charge for the special delivery.”

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Raphael Lasar
Matawan, NJ

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Unicycle articles

Year we go - True fiction.

By Edward Docx.
582 words
31 December 2002
The Times
English
© 2002 Times Newspapers Ltd.

EDWARD DOCX REVEALS THE NEW YEAR RESOLUTIONS OF THE RICH AND FAMOUS

ALISTAIR DARLING

My resolution (so I am informed) will be to sell to the public the new “Congestion Pays” national transport solution: the punt/unicycle. “No problem to park and handy on canals.”

Alistair Darling is (so I am informed) the Secretary of State for Transport in the UK

Raphael Lasar
Matawan, NJ

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More for you edification, amusement, perusal, ire…

Six Americans, one Israeli rocket into orbit aboard shuttle Columbia

By The Associated Press
1,237 words
16 January 2003
12:08
Associated Press Newswires
English
Copyright 2003. The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.

Six Americans and Israel’s first astronaut rocketed into orbit aboard shuttle Columbia. A brief look at each:

David Brown is a Navy novelty: He’s both a pilot and a doctor. He’s also probably the only NASA astronaut to have worked as a circus performer.

Brown was a varsity gymnast at the College of William and Mary when he got a phone call one day: Would he like to join the circus? So during the summer of 1976, he was an acrobat, tumbler, stilt walker and 7-foot unicycle rider.

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Balancing act

69 words
17 January 2003
The Baton Rouge Advocate
5-B;1-B
English
(Copyright 2003 by Capital City Press)

Wally Pierce rolls around Parc Sans Souci Park on Wednesday in Lafayette. Pierce had business downtown while on his lunch break and decided to spend the remainder of the time riding around the new park. Asked about the secret to riding a unicycle, Pierce said it is ‘all in the hips.’

Photo: Wally Pierce rolls around Parc Sans Souci Park on a unicycle (By Bryan Tuck)

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A RIOT OF COLOUR IN A GREY WORLD.

By LAURA CRAIK.
646 words
23 January 2003
The Evening Standard
English
© 2003

WHEN a man spends upwards of 10 grand on a car, nobody bats an eyelid. But when a woman spends 10 grand on a dress, the knives are out. I have even heard the word “immoral” used in relation to couture - the argument being that it is immoral to waste such a vast sum of money on frivolities when there are people starving in the world. But there is nothing immoral about keeping an atelier of skilled crafts people in a job they have loved their whole life. Couture may be a crazy spectacle of wealth and hubris, but it is also a cottage industry, beset by the same problems as any cottage industry.

Outside Monday’s Dior show, couture workers waved banners protesting about redundancies. They had no quarrel with rich women buying 10-grand dresses, keeping poorer women in jobs.

With war looming ever closer, Paris couture week seemed particularly surreal this January. At Dior, watching a four-year-old girl in blue eye shadow ride a unicycle around a parasol, held up by her father’s strong arms, only a cretin could not draw an analogy between the couture and the circus.

Paradoxically, couture’s role as a good-time girl really comes into its own in times of uncertainty. The gloomier the world, the greater the need for entertainment.

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Raphael Lasar
Matawan, NJ

4

Interesting analogy

LEGISLATIVE FORUM: Lawmakers hear educators’, nurses’ concerns about bills By Tu-Uyen Tran

699 words
26 January 2003
Grand Forks Herald
English
© Copyright 2003, Grand Forks Herald. All Rights Reserved.

Herald Staff Writer

Citizens involved in health care and education gathered at Saturday’s legislative forum in Grand Forks City Hall to lobby some state lawmakers.

…

Cutting income tax

The issue of taxes came up when KNOX talk show host McNamara asked what the lawmakers thought of SB2314, proposed by Sen. Randy Schobinger, R-Minot.

If passed, this would eliminate the state corporate and income taxes. Some argue this would make the state’s business climate more competitive, but others say it would only lead to a huge sales tax hike to replace lost revenue. Grand Forks legislators present Saturday either said they thought this was a bad idea or that it was likely to be a bad idea.

Holmberg said the state taxing scheme is balanced, with the budget being supported by three kinds of taxes. The bill, he said, would “trade a tricycle for a unicycle” and balancing on one wheel could prove dangerous.

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Apparently paperboy Matthew Hart (see above “A wheelie good paperboy”) has moved well beyond his route. Cheers to him!

Raphael Lasar
Matawan, NJ

Unicyclists trains for Ingleborough challenge

153 words
14 March 2003
Newsquest Media Group Newspapers: This is Skipton,The Dales
English
c Copyright 2003 Newsquest Digital Media.

FEARLESS teenager Matthew Hart is practising his mountain unicycling skills in preparation for a charity ride.

The 17-year-old Settle High School student, who lives in Clapham, is aiming to either unicycle up and down Ingleborough or tackle a challenging cross country ride on one wheel.

“It depends how my training goes as to which I decide to do,” said Matthew, who started unicycling seven months ago.

"A friend had a unicycle and I’ve always wanted to have a go so I learnt how to ride one. Then I found out about mountain unicycling on the internet.

"There are no brakes so you have to be quite strong as well.

“There’s quite a few people do this here and in America - I’m not the only crazy person,” Matthew added.

Matthew does his daily paper round by unicycle so he gets plenty of practice.

1 Like
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I like that quote. I use variations of that theme when people ask me about mountain unicycling. Somehow saying that I’m not the only one doing this odd activity makes it more legitimate.

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Somehow this is deeply disturbing…

:frowning:

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safety in numbers?
method in the madness?
these expressions share a root?

btw, thanx for posting all these articles JJ, they make for a fun read

9

Ditto. I especially like the follow-up article on Matthew Hart.

10

those was prettier cool stuffs

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Principal sets a fast pace

603 words
4 May 2003
Charlotte Observer (NC)
3rd
2L
English
© Copyright 2003, The Charlotte Observer. All Rights Reserved.

It’s not every day you see a high school principal riding a unicycle through the halls of his school – that is, unless you’re a student at Hunter Huss High. Principal Hugh Wallace used to speed past students and faculty on a scooter because he’s “old and it’s a big school.” But now he has graduated to a unicycle.

Tell the truth, Mr. Wallace, you do it because it’s fun, right? That and maybe you want to stay a step ahead of your assistant principals?

They ride scooters now, too. – KAREN CIMINO

PEDAL TRICKS

BARRY FINNEMORE - Special Writer, The Oregonian
673 words
2 May 2003
The Oregonian
SUNRISE
B02
English
Copyright © 2003 Bell & Howell Information and Learning Company. All rights reserved.

FAIRVIEW

Summary: Mastering the art of riding on one wheel helps students at Woodland Elementary build maturity and confidence

Have wheel, will travel.

As pop music reverberates through the gymnasium, students zip across the floor in every direction. Others clasp hands and move in circles, occasionally tumbling to the floor with smiles on their faces. One student navigates the length of the room while playing a trombone.

Welcome to a meeting of the Woodland Elementary School unicycle club, which celebrates the one-wheeled, pedal-powered mode of transportation. The club has attracted more than 100 members since its founding in early 2001.

First- through fifth-graders make up most of the club, which performs in parades, during halftime at high school games and at other events.

Tori Boyd has been riding a unicycle for more than two years.

“It took me two months to learn how to ride,” the 11-year-old says. “It was something new that I could do.”

Now, she can carry a tune on the trombone while pedaling a unicycle.

What’s the secret to riding a unicycle?

“Practice, I guess,” says Christine Jacobsen, 11, who started riding to keep up with a friend. “I thought I could do anything she could.”

Adds Matt Green, also 11: “You can’t give up, and you have to have good balance.”

Midway through a recent after-school club meeting, a group of students trekked outdoors to ride their unicycles down a soggy, grassy hill on the school playground.

Erich Schneider, Woodland’s librarian and the club’s driving force, says the goal is to build a sense of responsibility and confidence among students. Club members attend a handful of weekday meetings and practice sessions outside of school hours. One of the rewards is the opportunity to ride during recess.

“They know that if they take (unicycles) out on the playground it’s a privilege,” he said as a group of riders made their way up and down the hill.

The club got its start with one unicycle supplied by Pam Grahn, Woodland’s physical education teacher.

"We started asking the kids here, ‘If we organized something, would you be interested?’ " Grahn says.

Shortly after Grahn’s donation, a couple of youngsters got their own unicycles. The club applied for and received a $750 grant from the Reynolds Education Foundation, then struck a deal with a local business to buy 11 cycles for the price of 10. Fund-raising has built the club’s inventory to more than 20 unicycles.

“I have coached for many years and enjoyed it, but these little guys are so motivated,” Grahn says. "You probably heard the kids say, ‘I got it! I did it!’

“(Riding) builds their confidence. They realize they are doing something that is a unique skill among their peers. They tutor each other a lot . . . and are working independently the whole time.”

Grahn says some riders like the finesse stuff while others gravitate toward the extreme.

Whatever their leanings, “It looks like fun, and it is fun,” she says.

Many of the riders can “free mount,” or get on a unicycle without help. Some can idle, using the pedals for balance. Others can perform pinwheels, in which riders clasp hands and ride in a circle. The club has a 5-foot-tall unicycle, called a “giraffe,” that many of the students can ride.

The club uses standards set by the International Unicycling Federation to encourage goal setting and learning.

“It’s all based on how hard you are willing to work,” Grahn says.

The club received a standing ovation for a halftime performance during a Reynolds High School basketball game this year.

“They got constant applause after doing their tricks,” Schneider says.

Unicycle performance

The Woodland Elementary School unicycle club will perform Saturday, May 17, at the Gateway Fun-O-Rama, held in Portland’s Gateway area, near Interstate 205.

Happy Reading,
Raphael Lasar
Matawan, NJ

12

how many school-based unicycle programs do we know of?

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Don’t know, but there is a group in North Carolina (that’s the North Carolina on the eastern coast of the United States) that promotes this very idea:

Raphael Lasar
Matawan, NJ

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Re: Unicycle articles (but wait there’s more…)

On Tue, 6 May 2003 04:19:37 -0500, GILD
<GILD.n034b@timelimit.unicyclist.com> wrote:

>how many school-based unicycle programs do we know of?
There used to be a national school-based program in Japan; don’t know
the current status. In the Netherlands there’s this:
<www.xs4all.nl/~klaasbil/leeuwarden.htm>, maybe not exactly
school-based but it seems to be a craze at that school. I heard of
another school-based program in the Netherlands, forgot where.

Klaas Bil - Newsgroup Addict

A snail can sleep for three years.

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Where I work we have schools come in from time to time, always bringing their own phys ed staff. Once I had a guy, a huge jock PE teacher, telling me how to ride my muni. He said he had taught children how to ride them for phys. ed. for ten years…he said basic stuff - keep your back straight, head up, look straight ahead…
then came the bombshell - he couldnt actually ride a unicycle! It blew me away! Here I was doing crank grabs, riding down stairs, one foot riding, trick mounts, and this goon is telling me how to ride in a straight line when he couldnt, and actually never could, ride one himself!
He kept giving me advice till the kids started to badger him to ride it, instead of telling me how to. he shut his mouth after that.

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Arrrugh. That’s terrible Samuel. What Idiot he is. Teaching Children learn to ride the unicycle and he CAN’T ride a UNI-CYCLE.
That’s Insane. Yeah, I bet he shut his mouth up after that too. The kids telling him “Go on Teacher, Show us your skills.” Good on them. Yeah really. I love to see that myself. Arrrugh. I still can’t believe that. Oh my gosh. corr blimey. Oh $%%@$#.

David.

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those who can, do
those who can’t, teach

it’s an old saying and it’s seems rather true

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I agree with you there Dave. I agree.

David.:wink:

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Or, as the British Government will have us believe, “Those who can, teach”. A rather unsubtle twist…

Phil

20

Lao Tze -
“Those who know; dont say. Those who say; don’t know.”