http://www.xsport-magazine.com/
Pg 39.
Rather than just post a link, also put in a description of what the link goes to, please. If it’s an article, then indicate the topic, who it’s about (you, a friend, a famous rider). Just a short synopsis would be helpful. If it’s an article about skateboarding I might not care. If it’s an article about you doing a performance it starts to become interesting. I’m just getting tired of seeing links with no reason to follow them. It works for the kiddies…they’ll click on
http://karen-cross-art.home.comcast.net/~karen-cross-art/
but I need more motivation.
You GO, Bondo. You’re the author? Great article!
Yes, Thank you!!
They are looking for more articles on “extreme unicycling/Muni.”
If you have something send it to them, I am sure they would love to see it!
I have reported this post. This guy has 5 posts, all SPAM just like this one.
Unicyclist rides success
Margaret de Silva margaret.desilva @dailyexaminer.com.au
15 May 2009
www.dailyexaminer.com.au Copyright 2009 APN Newspapers Pty Ltd. All Rights Reserved
WHEN Rachel Mackey gets on her bike in Grafton, she tends to get a few stares.
As one of the few dedicated unicyclists in town, the 12-year-old can attract attention with her impressive array of tricks, as well simply cruising down the street.
Over Easter, Rachel met other unicycle enthusiasts and tested her skills when she competed in Uninats, the unicycle national championships, in Wollongong.
Rachel came first in the slow boarding events, which required her to pedal very slowly down a long board.
“It’s really hard to go slow on a unicycle,” she said.
She also came third in the 400 metres and third in the obstacle event.
Rachel competed in the girls’ under-15 years and despite competing against some older girls, she said she was not intimidated and enjoyed meeting fellow unicycle buffs.
“Here in Grafton no one really rides unicycles,” she said.
Rachel picked up a few tips along the way and said she planned to keep cycling.
In the heights: Denis Frisoli and the ‘Tower of Death’
Home News Tribune
13 May 2009
Home News Tribune
You might be forgiven for believing Denis Frisoli is touching the sky. He is drifting, drifting, a tiny white figure planted atop a unicycle more than 35 feet tall, balancing above the ground, threading through eight orange cones.
He is a natural.
Thirty-five feet above the ground, Frisoli was in his glory.
On the ground, things were more complicated.
As a young man in the early 1980s, the Edison native whipped up a daredevil unicycling act. The newspapers called him the “cyclist of death” and the “Evil Knievel” of unicycling. Reporters referred to his unicycle as the “Tower of Death.”
Frisoli teetered high above the ground, performing during halftime at New York Cosmos soccer games at Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, entertaining fans during a break in the action at Philadelphia 76ers basketball games at the Spectrum. Frisoli presented his act at Old Bridge Township Raceway Park, got his picture in The New York Post, nabbed local and national TV gigs.
But in June 1982, the “Tower of Death” became too dangerous, even for Frisoli: As his brothers tell it, Frisoli got the wheel stuck and tumbled to the AstroTurf at Giants Stadium, fracturing his pelvis and suffering broken bones in his arm, back, foot and legs. Family members say doctors predicted Frisoli would never walk again, but he did.
Two of Frisoli’s older brothers say now that Denis never recovered emotionally from that injury all those years ago. Bob and David Frisoli say Denis was on the cusp of something big, and he couldn’t let go.
On New Year’s Day 2009, Bob found Denis dead in the basement of the family home in North Edison, where they lived together with their mother, Louise. A police investigation determined that his death was a suicide. Frisoli was 49.
“He was different from the rest of the people in the world,” says David Frisoli, 66. “He never showed (any) fear. It should have been a signal.” Still, David says, Denis “had all the courage in the family. . . . He was depressed. He came close to being a star, and it never came to realization.”
Frisoli did not touch the sky alone; the Frisoli family helped him. David was a whiz at designing unicycles; Bob, now 58, promoted the act, and Mark, now 53 and living in North Brunswick, helped finance it. (Brother Patrick, 71, lives in Alabama.) The family ran DMF Cycles in Avenel until about five years ago.
“I worried about him,” Bob says. But Denis “wanted to do it. We made sure he could do it.”
Shortly after Frisoli’s death, I observe him on a DVD recording of a television show called “You Asked For it,” hosted by Rich Little.
“It’s amazing to see what people will do to get up in the world,” Little wisecracks, commenting on Frisoli’s 1981 “Tower of Death” demonstration at Old Bridge Township Raceway Park.
“I want to do something no one else in the world is doing,” a handsome, curly-haired Denis says to the “You Asked For It” reporter. The reporter tells the TV audience the feat is so perilous the “Guinness Book of World Records” (now known as Guinness World Records) refuses to record it.
David and Bob claim their brother set the world record for riding the tallest unicycle unassisted, at 35 1/2 feet, in 1981, when he was 21 years old. An article published at the time in the Courier News details the controversy, stating: “The Guinness Book will not recognize Frisoli’s feat because the stunt was performed without the use of safety belts or harnesses.”
Bob and David say their younger brother went on to try his hand at professional kickboxing in the 1990s, then taught karate in South River. But he was never the same.
David likens his little brother to big-screen boxer Rocky Balboa.
“Denis was the real Rocky Balboa because he had courage and nerves of steel,” David tells me. “He wasn’t afraid of injury or death. It should have been a signal.”
Laurie Granieri: 732-565-7333; lgranieri@MyCentralJersey.com
That’s ME yay
Very cool. That article showed up in a number of different places.
Crazy idea, serious message
Samantha Maciag
The Leader-Post
21 May 2009
Regina Leader Post
It might be a quirky mode of transportation, but Philip Schleihauf’s unicycle is garnering the kind of attention Invisible Children needs.
To bring awareness to the charity, the 18-year-old Ottawa native started unicycling across Canada on April 11 in Victoria.
Through his social justice group in high school, Schleihauf became aware of Invisible Children, an organization that works mostly in northern Uganda to help stop a long-running war in Africa.
Joseph Koney’s Lord’s Resistance Army – known as the LRA – is what Schleihauf describes as the warring rebel group in Uganda. Ninety per cent of the LRA is made up of child soldiers. Invisible Children is working to stop the war and get the children away from the violence.
“(Invisible Children) really made an impression on me because I hadn’t heard of any of that before finding out about that organization,” he said, adding that he considers himself a reasonably informed person.
He said that through this trip, he wants to help Invisible Children get its message out and to help put an end to the war.
“Unicycling across (Canada) is a way for me to see my country, do something crazy and help out some people at the same time,” he said.
A unicycler for the last seven years, Schleihauf said he aims to travel 100 kilometres each day, cruising at speeds around 20 kilometres per hour. He said 100 kilometres takes him approximately five hours of riding. For accommodations, Schleihauf has been camping and staying with people he’s met through connections.
“(Tuesday) night I stayed at my mom’s friend’s aunt’s house, so I’ve been getting lots of places like that through connections,” he said.
Schleihauf hopes to reach his final destination, Ottawa, by the end of June.
Though he’s only been travelling for just over a month, Schleihauf said his biggest lesson was unexpected.
“The world is not nearly as cynical as I thought it was,” he said. "For example, occasionally I’ll walk into a store and they’ll just offer me a place to stay and I’ve never even met them before … I wasn’t expecting that. I’m the kind of person who likes to make sure everything is legitimate and make sure there’s all the paper work and everything.
“By and large, I find people are just really, really trusting and that’s a really good thing.”
Schleihauf said his goal is not only to focus on Invisible Children, but also to get people to notice what is going on outside of North America.
“We have it pretty good here, even through a recession and everything. North Americans sort of take for granted the social safety net that they have. In a lot of other places in the world, there isn’t really that social safety net,” he said.
People can donate to Invisible Children and follow Schleihauf’s journey through blog posts and photos posted on his website (www.unicycleacrosscanada.ca).
Unicycle Story
There is a unicycle story on Page 3 of this newsletter:
http://www.santacruzcycling.org/roadrunner/roadrunner0905.pdf
It is the May-June eidtion. The list of newsletters may be found at this address:
Woah! I just read the MUni article, man that is frickin GREAT!!
Great article Bondo - keep scaring those MTBers:D
nice writeup Bondo!
Bits ‘n’ Pieces: Camas man hops a ride to MythBusters
527 words
18 May 2009
The Columbian
It typically takes people 45 minutes to get the hang of the Self- Balancing Unicycle, a motorized unicycle created by Camas entrepreneur Daniel Wood of Focus Designs. But Adam Savage, co-host of the Discovery Channel show MythBusters, took to it right away.
He did great, Wood said. Hes been unicycling since he was a kid. He didnt really have any learning curve.
Wood, along with brother Bobby Wood of Battle Ground and Vancouver videographer Jordan Thompson, travelled to San Francisco in January to meet Savage and Jamie Hyneman, another MythBusters host, and bring them one of 30-year-old Woods unicycles. Woods invention could appear on MythBusters, he said.
Wood said Savage had contacted him after seeing a video he put on YouTube of himself riding a Self-Balancing Unicycle.
Hes geeky. Hes a big kid. He likes to try new things, Wood said.
Wood designs and builds the unicycles himself. They retail for $1,890 and are sold through Focus Designs Web site, focusdesigns.com. Wood hopes to lower the price as production ramps up.
Unlike traditional unicycles, riders do not peddle Woods creation. Its battery-powered, which takes care of forward and backwards movement. So all people have to do is twist their bodies as they ride to balance from side to side.
Its like a trainer for a regular unicycle, Wood said.
Thanks again everyone.
Looking forward to the endurance-uni article soon!!
Apparently they were right. I recognized the name Denis Frisoli, but couldn’t place it until I read further down the article. Ouch! Say whatever you want, all you kids riding backward down concrete stairs with bare heads, Guinness has its limits. In fact, they mention it in the book when they talk about the tallest unicycle record.
That 35-footer may be the tallest unicycle to be ridden out in the open. Everything taller was done in limited spaces with harnesses or other equipment to protect the rider (and usually the unicycle) from falling. Though Sem Abrahams has the record for the tallest unicycle ridden, Denis Frisoli may have the record for the tallest unicycle ridden in the open, with turns and no limit on distance. RIP.
I’ve got an article on our Panama ride called “Camino de Muni” in this month’s Breathe Magazine. I’ve just got a paper copy now, if I can get it digitally I’ll post it. Till then, check your news stand.
-Roland
GOING FOR A RECORD JUMP
356 words
23 May 2009
Manawatu Standard
© 2009 Fairfax New Zealand Limited. All Rights Reserved.
One guy, one wheel. Freyberg High School’s Jesse Traill has been riding a unicycle for three years, and is in hard training for the Unicycle Nationals next weekend.
The 16-year-old wants to break the world record for long jump on a unicycle - 2.8m. He’s routinely jumping 2.65m now, and thinks he has a chance. He came second at the last national competition.
The nationals will see hundreds of one-wheelers converge on Palmerston North. Just about anything can be done on a unicycle - long jumping, stunts, off-roading, team sports such as hockey, speed sprints and long-distance endurance rides.
Jessie said it took him about six hours to master the unicycle. His best helper was a fence to clutch.
“You start rocking backwards and forwards, then you start moving along the fence.”
Unicycles come in all sizes and shapes. Jesse’s currently using a 19-inch wheel, with a tyre 2-and-a- quarter inches wide, at pressure of between 35 and 50 psi. He’s got another 24-inch wheel. Road commuters use a 36-inch wheel.
Unicycles start at about $200 and go up to as much as enthusiasts are prepared to spend. Safety gear helps. Jesse wears leg armour, knee and shin guards and some people use helmets and gloves.
Palmerston North Unicycle Club member Steve Pavarno said highlights of the nationals would be unicycle hockey at Memorial Park on Saturday, followed by a “round the lake” relay using the park’s duckpond.
“It’s pretty rough round there, somebody’s bound to fall in,” he said, grinning.
Unicyclists planned to use the bike trails at the Awapuni landfill park on Sunday, and planned a trick competition for The Plaza around lunchtime. Monday would see off- road work in the Kahuterawa Valley.
Event times and venues would depend on the weather, but more information was available at the website puni.org.nz Anyone interested was welcome to attend. The club meets at Memorial Park most Saturdays from 10am.
Wellington will host the world unicycle championships from December 27 to January 10.
This weekend a few friends and I had a stand at the Outdoors Festival of Montreal, were we showed all kind of unicycles and did 3 days of teaching for anyone who wanted to learn. There was also a Breathe Magazine stand, and the rep was really excited to show us your article in this month’s issue, and even more when he realized he had in front of him one of the guys who did the trip! I took a few copies to give, it’s a great article and it’s even annonced on the cover page. Good job Roland!