That is certainly a possible interpretation. I’m suppose I’m reading into it that of all the possible ways to combat a weight and cholesterol problem, unicycling is a fun way to do it; but I also don’t think that is a difficult connection to make. And it is a health and fitness column and that aspect would be expected to be stressed.
Do you think this piece was bad exposure for unicycling?
Raphael Lasar
Matawan, NJ
Geeze,talk about taking something literally. I do enjoy unicycling very much,or else I wouldn’t do it!! I know it is possible to coast and freestyle and mountain etc. Although I have been riding alot of years,my skills are not as advanced as most of you. I don’t know anyone else who rides unicycles so I have always been on my own, I would love to learn more stuff,but it’s kinda hard on your own,besides I’ll be 40 next week,stuff hurts alot more than it used too. I live in the New Orleans area where we have storm levee’s, and I routinely ride up and down them,not quit Mountain like,but have you ever seen a mountain in New Orleans,I didn’t think so. I am very proud of my acomplishment in just riding and the health benefits I have recieved. Yes I do feel great when I am done,and I am always glad that I went. As I said I do enjoy riding just to ride,but would it be such a crime if I only rode for health benefits?? Am I not allowed to be part of the unicycle crowd because I dont mountain ride,or freestyle? I am looking very much forward to learning more of that stuff. No,unicyling is not my life and I don’t “live to ride”,I do however “ride to live”.I am pretty dissapointed in your response,so much for the family friendly welcome to our hobby I thought I might get. I hope your response is not what I can expect from this forum. JJuggle,thanks for your support. It’s luch time now so I’m for my daily Fitness routine,5 miles of healthy unicycling!!
BTW,I don’t hhave a weight problem,and my cholestrol is way in the normal range. I am 5’9" and weight 170lbs. If the picture that was in the paper had posted you could see.
Mike
Mike,
I tried to find the article on the Times-Picayune website, but couldn’t.
As for Klaas’ response, I can assure you, and he’ll chime in I’m sure, that he meant no disrespect. You can expect lots of support here on the forum, but you can also expect opinions, too.
As for unicycling alone, this appears regularly in the Venture Calendar section of the Times-Picayune. Perhaps you will be able to find some people to ride with. Try giving them a call because July 7 is the last time it appeared.
UNICYCLING
NEW ORLEANS CLUB
Sundays, 4 p.m to 6 p.m. Norman Playground in Algiers. Call (504) 392-5647.
Cheers,
Raphael Lasar
Matawan, NJ
Yea,after looking back over our comments his and mine I should not have been so offended. I do ride for fun and always have,why else would you learn to unicycle when your 12? There are many ways to stay fit,I figured why not do it while doing something I enjoy. So to clear things up,here I go. I ride unicycles because I enjoy it and it also provides cardio excersise. Even though I have made it a point to ride 5 days a week on my lunch hour,I still ride around the neighborhood for kicks. When I said that I "I’m always glad I rode when I return,I just meant that sometimes I don’t necessarily feel like riding my 5 miles that I have commited to. I am an auto technician,and I work in a non airconditioned shop. Here in the area is is common place to have a 90+ degree with 100 % humidity,so when 1:00 pm rolls around and my shirt is like a wet bath towel,I don’t necessarily feel like riding,but I do beacuse I am committed to staying healthy. I could go to a gym,ride a bike,etc,etc,but unicycling is what I decided to do. I ride at lunch time for two reasons,1 it keeps me from eating fast food with my friends,2-I have two boys 7&9 who play every sport the the playground has to offer plus Karate 2 times a week,so my evenings are pretty full. I simply told the interviewer that “I” don’t coast and pedal constantly,unfortunatley that’s not the way it came out in the article.
So,Klass,I’m sorry for my quick judgement,and that should about clear things up.
Mike
I think this is a worthy discussion, but we’re in the wrong place. I’m going to start a new thread about judging and copy our two posts there.
My comment did not just aply to this latest article. I just looked back through page ten of this thread and found the same comment about seven times. It irritates me because I like accuracy. Of course no one regularly uses coasting while getting from point A to point B by unicycle, but in a few months I will probably regularly glide down hills instead of riding. I think some people may already do this.
There is a simple reason why many articles about unicyclists mention that they cannot coast. The reason is that most people don’t know this unless you tell them. They do not understand that (other) major difference between us and bikes. A unicyclist riding over a big hill pedals twice as much as a bicyclist. Non-riders need to know this to comprehend what the unicyclist is up against.
Please excuse the unicyclists here, sometimes they are a way-too-literal bunch, but they mean well. It appeared that your article was focused on exercise and fitness, so your explanationa made perfect sense. If it’s any help, you ride a lot more than I do!
This place has been mentioned here a few times, but always bears repeating.
CITY OF SURPRISES A NEW SLANT ON BANGKOK
JOHN BORTHWICK
951 words
5 September 2004
Sunday Herald Sun
1 - FIRST
V10
English
Copyright 2004 News Ltd. All Rights Reserved
1 Flying Chicken Restaurant
Seeing is believing: your cooked chook can still fly. You are sitting in the garden restaurant Suan Arahan Kratorn. A bell rings. A waiter loads a flambe chicken on to a hefty metal catapult. From the other side of the restaurant another waiter enters, pedalling furiously on a unicycle and wearing a helmet topped with a spike. The chicken sails into orbit. The helmeted waiter stabs it in mid-flight with his spike. Voila! One flying chicken is delivered to your table.
Details: 99/1 Bangna-Trad Rd, Bangna
This is somewhat overdue for a variety of reasons, but Greg Harpers’ VeloVision article on geared hubs, Hope for a Hub, is now available on this forum.
Raphael Lasar
Matawan, NJ
Raphael-
Thanks for posting the link here. (Hope we don’t get arrested.) I would like to mention that the article covers Frank Bonsch’s design as well.
You look GREAT in red!
Did you also have trouble reading the fine print? I did some graphical trickery to help my old eyes. Could make it even better but felt constricted by filesize and image size considerations.
Hey, how to attach multiple images in one post?
Klaas Bil
Third and last page of fine print, well not so fine anymore. Sorry that you’ll probably have to scroll.
Klaas Bil
That stuff about school? Just skip it!
James Lileks; Staff Writer
1,132 words
21 September 2004
Star-Tribune
METRO
2E
English
Copyright 2004. Star-Tribune. All Rights Reserved.
…
Incidentally, it’s my theory that every college campus has one guy who rides a unicycle. And it’s always one of those redheaded guys with a scraggy beard. If you struck up a conversation, and he said ``I’m
really into kites,‘’ you wouldn’t be a bit surprised. When he shows up 15 years later as a magician at your kid’s birthday party, you want to ask what happened to the unicycle. But of course you don’t.
…
Fluff, but wonder if she plays and rides.
DON’T FORGET
131 words
22 September 2004
The Dallas Morning News
SECOND
1Q
English
Copyright 2004 The Dallas Morning News. All Rights Reserved.
Young musician is
coming to town
Sixteen-year-old violinist Caitlin Tully will play Beethoven’s Violin Concerto in D Minor with the Lewisville Lake Symphony at 8 p.m. Oct. 1. Caitlin made her debut with the Vancouver Symphony at age 10 and has since performed with symphonies throughout the United States and Canada. The young musician also enjoys studying languages, competing in 10K races, paragliding and designing clothing. Her most recent challenge is learning how to ride a unicycle. The concert is at Lakeland Baptist Church, 397 S. Stemmons Freeway in Lewisville. Tickets are $18 for adults; $15 for seniors age 60 and up; and $8 for students. Visit www.lewisvillesymphony.org or call 972-874-9087.
It’s simply not true. None of the redheaded unicyclists on our campus had beards (it’s against the dress code).
The only redheaded unicyclist at UPenn is female, and she’s really more of a dirty blond than a redhead. But the guys mostly have scraggly beards, if that counts.
A free-wheeling fund-raiser; The 520-mile, eight-day event entered SLO County this week; some 160 participants expect to raise more than $650,000
Nathan Welton
The Tribune
538 words
7 October 2004
The San Luis Obispo Tribune
English
(c) Copyright 2004, The San Luis Obispo Tribune. All Rights Reserved.
SAN LUIS OBISPO
When distance cyclist Jeff Bass visited a Big Sur gallery Tuesday en route to San Luis Obispo, he wanted to look at art.
But he soon found himself pouring self-serve lattes for a busload of elderly tourists, talking about the unicyclists riding along with him from San Francisco to Los Angeles on a ride to raise money for the Arthritis Foundation.
“Darned if these elder gentlemen took off their hats and wandered through the audience and in the end they collected $130,” explained the Thousand Oaks native. “When I told this exact story at a gas station later on, another woman came up and gave in $20 – so we passed the $150 mark.”
That’s exactly the type of enthusiasm organizers hoped to capture during the fourth annual Amgen California Coast Classic, a 520-mile, eight-day event that entered the county this week.
This year, about 160 participants expect to raise more than $650,000 for arthritis-related efforts. Bass has been the most prolific; he’ll pull in nearly $30,000 alone.
But all participants have to come up with at least $2,900 – including unicyclists Scot Cooper of Capitola and Mike Scalisi of Oakland, the subjects of much attention through their journey.
“Yesterday about 100 people stopped to take my picture,” Scalisi said.
Along with cyclists and tandem riders of all ages, they’re averaging 65 miles a day – but they’re on one wheel, and a big one at that.
Each man pedals away above a 3-foot tire – the same kind used on antique autos --around 12 mph. They both arrive at camp hours behind everyone else.
“I’ve done about 10,000 miles in the last four years,” Cooper said, “and this is still the hardest tour.”
But they’re making an effort to make life more comfortable. Cooper’s decked out his rig with a water mister – to keep him cool – and aerobars.
“And this is totally key,” said Scalisi, pointing to his seat. “Inside it (hidden beneath the seat cover) is a 36-inch inner tube folded in half.”
That added padding has come in handy during the trip, but it’s not what keeps them going.
“I’m drawn to the arthritis ride for personal reasons and the fact that it’s a challenging and beautiful ride,” said Cooper, who has family suffering from the condition.
According to experts, around 70 million Americans have arthritis, including 300,000 children who suffer from problems related not only to joints, but to internal organs.
“The biggest thing we ride for are the children – it’s particularly devastating for them,” said four-time ride veteran Darren Gonser of Glendora, whose mother has rheumatoid arthritis and whose sister has lupus.
He said two years ago he cycled with the mother of a child who had recently been diagnosed with a form of arthritis that left him legally blind.
Once people begin the ride, they see other participants and realize the condition affects more than just seniors, event organizers said.
TEN QUESTIONS; 1st-place unicyclist is no clown
Shruti L. Mathur; Staff Writer
388 words
6 October 2004
Star-Tribune
METRO
3W
English
Copyright 2004. Star-Tribune. All Rights Reserved.
When most people think of unicycles, they think clowns and juggling. But present that image to Christy Grider of Hopkins, and she is likely to laugh in your face. Grider, 16, took first place recently in the Individual Artistic category for 15 to 18 year olds at the International Unicycling Competition in Tokyo. Grider said an artistic routine for unicyclists is similar to figure-skating routines performed to music. She currently is working on skill level nine out of 10 for unicycling.
.
Why is one wheel better than two?
Because with the unicycle it’s like a sport. You just practice tricks, and it’s all about challenging yourself and makes you more of an individual.
.
What is people’s first reaction when they hear that you unicycle?
They’re like, ``Oh, can you go off a jump? Oh, can you go backwards? Are you a clown? Or do you juggle too?‘’ And I’m thinking, you have no idea how hard a trick I can do compared to going backwards.
.
What is your hardest trick?
Stand up backwards. It’s where you put your feet on the frame, not on the pedals, above the wheel. You then stand with your right foot on the frame, hold the seat between your legs and push the wheel backwards with your foot, so you’re moving while standing on the frame.
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What was your favorite part about Tokyo?
The squatty toilets. They were fun.
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What book are you reading right now?
``Christy,‘’ the book I was named after.
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Quote that guides you?
Deuteronomy 31:6 - ``Be strong and courageous, do not be afraid, for the Lord your God goes with you, He will never leave you nor forsake you.‘’
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Favorite store?
I make a lot of my clothes, so I guess I would be my favorite store. I like buying cheap, used things in thrift stores and making them cool.
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Worst smell?
If you’ve left your unicycles in a car all day after they’ve been baking in the heat - burnt rubber.
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Favorite restaurant?
Kinhdo in Uptown.
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If I had a million dollars, I would …
Buy a bunch of unicycles and then buy a car
.
Shruti L. Mathur is at smathur@startribune.com
FUND-RAISING: One-wheeled way to say a uni-que thank-you
376 words
5 October 2004
Peterborough Evening Telegraph
English
© Johnston Publishing Limited
A FUN-loving father has come up with a “wheelie” great idea to thank the medical staff who saved his son’s life.
Richard Gedney has set himself a marathon challenge - to ride a unicycle 26 miles for a cause that is very close to his heart.
Richard’s son Ricky was born 25 weeks premature in June 1996, and was cared for at Peterborough’s Special Care Baby Unit.
Ricky was delivered by emergency ceasarean section after his mother Serena Reed (28) contracted pre-eclampsia during pregnancy. He was at the unit for nearly four months, and is now a very healthy eight-year-old.
The couple previously held two charity auctions in aid of the baby unit at the Norfolk Pub, which has now closed.
Richard (32), said: “The first auction was while Ricky was in hospital and raised £1,500. We repeated it the following year and raised £2,000. It was a way of saying thank you to the staff, who were absolutely brilliant.”
Richard, who had never ridden a unicycle until a month ago, said: "It’s like riding a bike but a bit harder on the legs.
I’ve been putting in plenty of physical training.
Although I haven’t mastered it yet, I will be ready by the time I set off."
“I’m going to start at 6am in the morning, as it could take a while. I expect to be saddle sore for a few days, but I’m going to take my time. I’m not out to kill myself!”
The intrepid engineer, who works for Geest in Spalding, has planned his route to start near his home in Pinchbeck, near Spalding.
He will unicycle through Market Deeping and along the city’s Bourges Boulevard before arriving at the baby unit, based in Peterborough District Hospital, although he has yet to finalise the route.
Richard, who has since separated from Ricky’s mother, plans to distribute sponsorship forms this week, and hopes to raise hundreds of pounds.
He will set off on his epic self-styled “unithon” on Sunday, November 7.
>>If you would like to sponsor Richard, call him direct on 07791 574759.
