Frontpage (ok it’s a local paper…):
Pictures only
OK, this one is strange. Here is a financial report by Ernst and Young with unicyclist on the cover. Is it a picture of Kris Holm? There are a few more pictures of the unicyclist scattered in the report.
Scott
I don’t see a unicyclist. And… a financial report on pcmag.com? Is your url correct?
Here is the correct link:
I have no idea where I got the other one.
Here is an online uni article from the Twin Cities, Minnesota from last weekish.
I thought this post by BillyTheMountain should also appear here.
Unicycles and the law - #20 by BillyTheMountain
Or saved for eternity:
One-wheelin’: The Twin Cities are a Mecca for urban unicyclists
Chris Steller
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
You’ve heard the bikers’ adage “Four wheels bad, two wheels good,” adapted from a sheep’s bleat in George Orwell’s novel Animal Farm. Unicyclists sometimes reduce the math of that maxim to “Two wheels bad, one wheel good.”
Most unicyclists aren’t as exclusive or moralistic as the saying suggests; they also ride bicycles and even own cars. But there is something special about unicycling, according to local enthusiasts who say they find cruising or cavorting atop a single, whirring wheel to be an unmatched form of exercise, an irreducible thrill, and an unparalleled mode of commuting.
Their ranks may be tiny compared to the legions who last spring put Minneapolis on the map as the nation’s best bike city, according to Bicycling magazine’s reckoning. Yet the small but influential local unicycling community has also put the Twin Cities on the one-wheel world map.
Some are lone wolves who rack up thousands of miles in the saddles of their big wheels, crisscrossing the urban street grid and circumnavigating city lakes. Many are members of the Twin Cities Unicycle Club (TCUC) who gather for group rides or to teach each other tricks in snowbound gymnasiums.
Minnesota a Mecca
Consider that all 12 people who have mastered skills up to Level 10–unicycling’s black belt–have come from the Twin Cities club, which offers rides, classes and practice sessions most days of the week. The national championships that the TCUC hosted last year were an occasion for one East Coast commenter to lament at Unicyclist.com, “Why does it seem like there are more unicycle riders and activities in Minnesota than anywhere else in the US?” In international circles, Minnesota is considered something of a unicycling Mecca.
“Unicycling is still small enough that you can experience the worldwide culture,” says Constance Cotter, who last month was elected TCUC president. “I can go anywhere in the world and stay on someone’s couch, even though I’ve never met them. I don’t know very many bicyclists [who can say that].”
Cotter (who says she doesn’t own any two-wheeled contraptions) is also president of the Unicycle Society of America and executive vice president of the International Unicycle Federation (IUF). (The IUF’s current president, Ryan Woessner, got his training from Cotter at the TCUC.)
A Family Affair
Perhaps more significantly, Cotter comes from a well-known unicycling clan based in Hutchinson, Minn., where her brother Andy, another unicycle overachiever, farms and hosts off-road unicycle events. Another relative, Joe Lind (whom Cotter calls a cousin-in-law), recently opened the Twin Cities’ first storefront unicycle shop, Compulsion Cycle, in the West Seventh neighborhood of St. Paul.
Indeed, unicycling often spreads within families, across generations. Currently the TCUC boasts more than 100 enrolled families to fill a roster of more than 300 individual members. The club encourages people of different ages to mix and share skills, says Cotter: “Kids teach adults. Teens teach each other.”
That was the case for Gus Dingemans, who started riding unicycles 12 years ago at age 48, alongside his son, Max, then 12. “We learned pretty much evenly,” Dingemans says. Max now teaches unicycling at Circus Juventas in St. Paul, and the elder Dingemans, a bike mechanic-turned-bus driver and self-described tinkerer, crafts unicycles for sale at his home in Minneapolis’ Prospect Park neighborhood. He has built nearly 100 unicycles, but these days specializes in manufacturing handles that allow long-distance big-wheel riders to shift weight from their seats to their arms.
Big Wheel Keep On Turnin’
But the urge to ride on one wheel didn’t come to Dan Hansen via bloodlines. The northeast Minneapolis resident says his compulsion came by way of a chance, high-speed encounter a decade ago.
“One day on my way to work I was just stepping off my stair onto the sidewalk and this young woman goes blasting by in front of my house on this enormous unicycle,” Hansen recalls. “My jaw dropped. I had never seen anything like it.”
Indeed, big-wheel unicycles had then been on the market only a short time. The Coker Tire Company of Chattanooga, Tenn., a manufacturer of specialty tires for classic-car collectors, introduced the first unicycle with a 36-inch wheel in 1998. Hansen called around town in search of a cycle with a single big wheel, but “Cokers” weren’t yet in local stores. So he made do with an old 24-inch unicycle (dredged from the basement of the newly opened One on One Bicycle Studio [see the accompanying feature] in Minneapolis’ Warehouse District) until he found a used Coker on eBay.
Now Hansen rides a 36-incher nearly every day, year-round. He says a unicycle performs better than a bicycle in most winter weather, providing a highly responsive ride with a more direct connection to the road. And it’s simply the best workout experience available, in his view.
Hansen is also an early adopter of the latest innovation in one-wheeled transport: geared unicycles. Riders kick it up a notch with a foot-controlled gear changer, allowing previously unheard-of speeds approaching 30 miles per hour. “When I’m out on the trails, people [on bikes] don’t typically pass me–unless they have Lycra,” he says.
Hansen put the innovation to the test two years ago at Ride the Lobster, the world’s first and so far only multi-day, staged unicycle race–like the Tour de France, but in Nova Scotia and on one wheel. (The half-dozen Minnesotans who participated in Ride the Lobster included Irene Genelin, the young woman who rode by Hansen’s house that fateful day and who is now married to Andy Cotter.)
But Hansen figures he could count the number of regular big-wheel riders in Minneapolis and St. Paul on both of his (free) hands. “It seems to minimize the big-wheel unicycle movement to say there are so few, but really, nationally or internationally, it’s getting to be a fairly big thing,” he says. “It’s been around for a really short time. Germany is the big country right now.”
Nationally, Hansen looks west for a simpatico scene. “Portland, [Ore.], has a weird group called Unicycle Bastards. They’re a rough bunch,” he says admiringly of a group that specializes in sporadic off-road and off-color shenanigans, even if mostly on smaller wheels. “It’s some of that rough bike culture but put on a unicycle. That kind of rough-and-tumble unicycle culture here would be really great. It doesn’t exist.”
Unicycling to Work
The 36-inch-unicycle revolution has opened up a new world of commuting to one-wheel riders. Gus Dingemans often commutes downtown to Metro Transit, a regular ride that helped him hit the 12,000-mile mark last summer. An inveterate record-keeper, he says he logged 101 commutes this year before retiring his unicycle for the winter.
Eagan resident Bob Clark followed plowed, suburban bike trails to keep up a year-round big-wheel commute for three years until his employer, Cray Inc., moved to downtown St. Paul, increasing his one-way trip from five to 12.5 miles. He now relies on a bicycle to get to work but still takes his one-wheeler on occasion. “I like beating the heat/cold/snow/rain, especially on a unicycle,” he says.
Hansen needs his pickup for work most days, but takes his unicycle out on the equivalent of a daily work-commute anyway. “I tell you, the greatest amenity of a city are these roadways that go everywhere,” he says. “There’s tar every place. You could think of it as a horrible drawback to city living–a concrete jungle. Or you can consider it a gigantic playground for vehicles like bicycles or unicycles. It’s like, I can go any place I want.”
The fat wheels on his 36-inch unicycle handle urban bumps and potholes with aplomb, and the lack of wide handlebars lets him maneuver through tight city spots that bicyclists shy away from.
“I feel like the city is basically a playground for unicycles and there are only a few of us who actually use it,” Hansen says. “It’s so incredible.”
Chris Steller is the former Development Editor of The Line.
Photos, top to bottom:
Dan Hansen on his monster one-wheeler
Hansen’s 36-inch unicycle can handle all the challenges of urban cycling.
Constance Cotter leads a unicycling class at Jenny Lind Elementary School in North Minneapolis.
Cotter’s class getting the hang of one-wheeling
The Twin Cities Unicycle Club offers classes like Cotter’s all year round.
All photos by Bill Kelley
(Here’s the full text for preservation)
Lawsuit nothing to laugh at as circus performer files $3 million suit over summons for unicycling
BY John Marzulli
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER
Friday, November 19th 2010, 4:00 AM
Kyle Peterson, 26, shows off some of his tricks in Coney Island. Cops weren’t so appreciative when he rode his unicycle on a sidewalk.
A circus performer slapped with a summons for riding his unicycle on a Brooklyn sidewalk is suing some cops for acting like a bunch of clowns.
Kyle Peterson, a trained acrobat who has performed in the Big Apple Circus, was pulled over at 3 a.m. on Dec. 4, 2007, on Classon Ave. in Bedford-Stuyvesant by NYPD officers in plainclothes, he claims in legal papers filed in Brooklyn Federal Court.
Peterson, 26, contends he was legally riding his unicycle on the sidewalk - and it appears the New York City administrative code backs him up.
The cops asked him to hand over identification, and he was detained “for approximately 30 minutes in the dead of winter while the summons was written,” the complaint says.
Whether the cops read the section that prohibits bicycle riding on the sidewalk is unknown - but maybe they should.
The code defines a bicycle as a “two- or three-wheeled device” propelled by human power - that’s at least one wheel more than a unicycle has, the suit says.
Peterson claims the cops also taunted him for riding the unicycle and at one point “began singing circus music” at him, the suit says.
The summons was promptly dismissed. Peterson is demanding $3 million in damages for the violation of his constitutional rights.
NYPD Deputy Commissioner Paul Browne said, “For beleaguered pedestrians, they prefer circus acts off the sidewalk and under a tent.”
But the cops might be wising up: Peterson recently was busted again while riding on the sidewalk - and given a disorderly conduct ticket.
Former city Department of Transportation Deputy Commissioner Sam Schwartz sided with the cops, even if the letter of the law is not on their side.
“I cannot condone unicycling, bicycling or tricycling by adults on the sidewalk,” said Schwartz, who writes the Gridlock Sam column for the Daily News. “Unicycling - even by an expert - on the sidewalk is particularly dangerous.”
Peterson could not be reached. In an interview with The News in August, he bragged about his expertise on the single wheelie.
“I do a lot of variety: spinning plates, cigar box juggling and ball juggling while on the bike,” he said. “I’m really known for doing the jump rope on the unicycle.”
Fortunately, he’s not texting or talking on his cell phone.
Anybody know who the unicyclist is?
Earnst-Young.bmp (1.42 MB)
probably KH?!
I just flipped through the gallery on his website, and although that shot is not there, the profile does look similar to other shots, not to mention the altitude. If it is him, I hope they got his permission (or would that make him a corporate sell-out? 
:D).
We are all in our first year of unicycling and had never ridden more than 12km so we thought 20km was going to be a stretch but our 26” QU-AX Munis ate up the kilometres easily. We started at Cooran at 700am and we were graced with a beautiful sunny SE Queensland spring day. After 45min after we found ourselves at the half way point, Pomona, too early to start collecting donations and selling tickets so we had a leisurely break on a grassy verge for about 45min. At 0830 we road into town too much cheering and fanfare. We spent a couple of hours on our 20” unis selling tickets and collecting donations from the wonderfully generous Pomonians then headed off on the final leg to Cooroy. Not sure of the total money raised but it was significant. Lots of donations and about 200 raffle tickets were sold for a QU-AX unicycle generously donated by Mark and Kevin at Unicycle Online. A great day had by all, big thanks to all participants!!!
A not so positive unicycle story from Australia’s Herald Sun …
[I]Herald Sun
Teens in 1271m cliffhanger unicycle stunt
By Danielle McKay From: The Mercury December 02, 2010 11:23AM
A unicyclist on top of the observation station on Mt Wellington. Picture: Robert Bell. Source: The Mercury
Teens ride unicyle atop mountain Doctor snaps pics of dangerous stunt Police slam stunt as selfish
DAREDEVIL youths have been photographed skylarking on a unicycle within metres of Tasmania’s deadly Mt Wellington cliffs.
Five teens were photographed atop the mountain’s observation shelter just days ago, clowning around on the circus prop and kicking a soccer ball in World Cup advertisement style, The Mercury reported.
The unicyclists repeatedly circled the edge of the 10m high lookout and were seen losing balance and falling on to the roof several times.
The dangerous stunt comes less than 18 months after a Hobart university student was publicly criticised for using the lookout’s roof as a skateboard ramp.
Police have labelled the youths selfish and issued a stern warning that the offenders and any copycats could be charged.
Inspector Glenn Woolley said: "They’re not only putting their lives on the line but also emergency workers who have to rescue them and any onlookers who try to help when things go wrong. “And eventually they will go wrong. It’s a dangerous act that’s very selfish and immature.”
Queensland doctor Robert Bell said it appeared the boys were showing off when he snapped the picture while checking out the views of Hobart on November 20 during a holiday.[/I]
Source (with picture): http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/breaking-news/teens-in-1271m-cliffhanger-unicycle-stunt/story-e6frf7jx-1225964437770
Well, if anyone is paying attention, this article should get a few comments.
Opua School pedals to first prize
by Peter de Graaf
13 December 2010
Northern Advocate
Children at a Bay of Islands school have won a nationwide competition for inventing a new sport combining their two favourite pastimes - playing hockey and riding unicycles.
The new sport of unicycle hockey was invented by the kids of Opua School’s Room 4 for a Newspapers in Education video challenge. The contest called on children nationwide to make a news clip reporting on a new sport for the 2010 Commonwealth Games held in India.
The entries were judged on the sport - including its flow, originality, appeal and teamwork - and the quality of the videography.
Tom Heapy, 10, who starred as the news anchor, said the win had stunned him. I was very surprised, and quite thrilled.'' Inventing the sport had been simple. We like unicycling and hockey - so we decided to combine them.’’
Classmate Rebecca Gmuer Hornell, 10, listed some of the reasons for Opua’s victory. ``We had a really good camera guy and Mrs Shortland [class teacher Barbara Shortland] is a really good director - and we practised our script for a whole weekend.’’
The prizes of a video camera and Commonwealth Games bags and clothing were presented by Danyon Loader, an ambassador for the New Zealand Olympic Committee and one of the greatest swimmers New Zealand has produced. His medal haul includes two golds from the 1996 Atlanta Olympics.
In a speech to the children before announcing they had won the top prize, Loader said he had been ``useless’’ when he started swimming. It was a training camp at the age of 12, then dedicating part of every day to swimming for 10 years that had made him a champion.
Becky Hare, of Newspapers in Education, said Opua’s sport stood out for being completely outside the box'' and for its teamwork and participation. Those who could not ride a unicycle, for example, were still needed as pole people’’ to help teammates up on to their wheels.
The video was also entertaining, well written and well thought out, she said.
Newspapers in Education runs in the Advocate every Tuesday.
To see Opua’s winning video in the Year 4-6 category, go to www.nieonline.co.nz/nietv click on ``Your Views’’. The Year 7-8 winner was Otumoetai Intermediate, Tauranga.
LOL, they invented unicycle hockey. Someone should get a dvd of the 2010 UNICON hockey finals to these folks, they’d be in for a surprise. They came up with a fun way of starting the game though.
Oh dear, if only they’d made it down to Unicon. We’re not that far away
MY VERY BRIEF CAREER AS A CIRCUS PERFORMER
3 January 2011
Manawatu Standard
© 2011 Fairfax New Zealand Limited. All Rights Reserved.
In the first of the Manawatu Standard’s ‘Give it a Go’ series, reporter Bronwyn Torrie finds out that she’s a natural at unicycling, but has a long way to go before she masters the art of rolling on one wheel. --------------------
Had I kept cranking the pedals on the one-pronged beast for another 30 minutes I would have tamed it, according to Palmerston North’s unicycle master Steve Pavarno.
“It can take people up to 10 hours to learn. You must be a sporty type,” he says as I grip the rail for dear life.
I have to admit, wobbling furiously on one wheel did not instil feelings of athleticism.
I felt like a carnie, minus the freakshow tattoos, piercings or clown costume.
My balance was out of kilter and my free arm kept flailing about.
It was awkward and slightly ridiculous, but once you start it’s quite addictive - the geek in me had been unleashed.
This is clearly not how the cool kids roll, or do they?
More than a dozen daredevil unicyclists head down to Memorial Park most weekends to ride over the steel picnic tables, balance on the rail across the paddling pool and bounce their way along the steps, Steve tells me, as he pedals past.
Palmerston North Unicycling has about 30 members but Steve reckons there’s about 100 people who unicycle around the city.
After mastering how to mount the single-wheeled contraption, I put both feet on the pedals and look down.
“It’s a long way to fall,” I wail as the wheel slingshots from under me.
Steve is quick to put the kibosh on that claim: “Nah, not really, look where your lower foot is.”
“Oh” I reply sheepishly, before learning how to “rock” the pedals and keep my “pelvis straight like Elvis”.
The cushy banana shaped seat is quite comfortable, but Steve, who rides up to 50km in one stint, tells me otherwise.
“You get a bit numb from the waist down sometimes. It’s a guy thing.”
After riding unicycles for 20 years, Steve decided to take his hobby to the next level in 2003.
He is now the operations manager for unicycle.com NZ and the main driver, or should that be rider, behind the local unicycling club.
After about 20 minutes and a lot of wobbling and shrieking I finally let go of the rail and quickly put both hands in the air. But my bravery is short lived and my hand darts back to safety.
I decide to finish my unicycling lesson on a high note, plus I was exhausted from the nerves.
I think I’ll stick to the traditional two-wheeled bicycle.
z For more information go to www.unicycle.co.nz. Palmerston North Unicycling meets on Saturdays, next to the Memorial Park swimming pool at 10am.
Here is an article that discuss a new short film involving a Peck, Steward Alaska, and an ultimate wheel:
http://alaskadispatch.com/culture/arts/7725-movie-shows-seward-one-wheel-at-a-time
Scott
Local paper
Me and Ben Sarten had an article in the daily news today after going for a ride yesterday to do some filming. They captured some elements of truth and sounded positive so I thought it was quite good.
Unicyclists peddle stunts to receptive crowd
A couple of tricksters on unicycles were wowing crowds with acrobatic stunts at Puke Ariki Landing yesterday.
New Plymouth residents Ben Sarten and Rowan Chivers have both been unicycling for more than 10 years.
Ben said he first got into unicycling when he was given one as a Christmas present.
“I’m a slow learner but after 12 years I think I’ve become all right at it,” Ben said.
To become a skilled unicyclist required a lot of practice and the development of certain muscles, he said.
“Persistence is the key to it.”
Rowan said he started 15 years ago and owned about 15 unicycles.
“I like challenging myself and I just wondered if I could do it,” Rowan said.
Learning to balance was the most difficult part, he said.
New Plymouth was the perfect city for unicyclists because it was small in size and road users were generally courteous, he said.
"I love it.
"It’s the perfect city for it.
“Most of the traffic is friendly and lots of people toot.”
Later this month he would be competing in the 181km Round The Mountain Cycle Ride, he said.
Rowan, who competed in the unicycle world championships in Wellington last year, said New Plymouth had a thriving unicycling community.
"There are a lot of up-and- coming riders.
“We have a club which meets at 2pm every Saturday at the Wind Wand.” Riders of all levels were welcome, he said.
In his spare time he teaches children bicycle safety.
The public often stopped to watch the unicyclists play, he said.
“People definitely show an interest and it’s definitely a conversation starter.”
Ledgin Wetere, 11, said he was impressed with the unicyclists’ skill and speed.
“He’s got good-as balance,” Ledgin said.
HOP TO IT: Ben Sarten is captured in a computer-generated action sequence jumping from one seat to another at Puke Ariki Landing at lunchtime yesterday.
Not only is it a Peck, he’s the son of THE Peck. Scott, it’s good use to copy the text into this thread. Links like these tend to be short-lived although they are useful initially for pictures etc.