Hey,
I’ve seen this film and thought it was very well shot and edited. Besides being a uni film it somehow imparts a good feeling of what it’s like to live in a small Alaskan town - something that anyone could watch. As far as I know, Chris has so far kept it offline.
Kris
Big wheels, customization keep Coker unicylists happy
By Casey Phillips
8 January 2011
Chattanooga Times/Free Press (MCT)
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services
Jan. 08----What: Unicycles
–Company: Coker Cycle Co.
–Address: 1317 Chestnut St.
–Website: www.cokercycles.com
–Telephone: 265-6368
–Owner: Corky Coker
–What’s special: Both of Coker Cycle Co.'s unicycle models are built using a 36-inch diameter tire, giving it an advantage over standard unicycle tires, which are 20 to 24 inches, said Jess Hoodenpyle, Coker’s vice president of sales. “That is one of the biggest tires you can get on a unicycle,” he said. “It makes riding easier since … it rolls further per pedal than a smaller unicycle. It’s a great commuting unicycle.”
–The origin story: Coker Cycle Co.'s unicycles were developed out of the company’s Monster Cruiser bicycle, which uses the same 36-inch tire. Coker started with one model, The Big One, before adding its V-2 quad-design in 2007.
–How long does it take to make? Unicycle assembly takes about an hour. Powder coating for a custom paint job adds about a week.
–Where it’s sold: Coker Cycle’s headquarters (1317 Chestnut St.) and Suck Creek Cycle (319 Cherokee Blvd.).
–How long has Coker been making them? Coker began offering unicycles in 1998.
–Expansions planned: “Right now, we don’t have any,” Hoodenpyle said. “They’re selling pretty well. We’re happy with them, and we don’t know what our next move is.”
–Lessons of the trade: Hoodenpyle said the company has learned over the years that unicyclists often want more options than a simple stock configuration. As a result, the company has expanded its offerings to include after-market parts like handlebars, brakes, touring tires and specialized paint jobs. “We’ve continued to add other options to make it better and satisfy customer demands,” Hoodenpyle said.
Joe Myers clowning around
Video: http://www.news10.net/video/default.aspx?bctid=800365037001
Main: http://www.news10.net/news/story.aspx?storyid=124458
Just 25% of people on cell phones noticed the spectacle
Lorraine Blanco Last updated 4 days ago Posted: 2/23/2011
Comments (9)Recommend Print Email
BELLINGHAM, WA - How much do you miss right in front of you when you’re using your cell phone? It turns out you might even miss a spectacle. In a groundbreaking study out of Western Washington University, researchers wanted to see how distracting a cell phone can be with the help of a clown on a unicycle.
“It’s not a question of what your hands are doing. It’s a question of what your head is doing. And so when your head is engaged in that phone conversation, you become blind to some of the things happening around you,” said Dr. Ira Hyman of Western Washington University.
Translation: When people are on cell phones, hands-free or not, they can’t focus fully on driving or even walking. Doctor Hyman garners a lot attention for his research on the phenomena known as inattentional blindness.
In one study on the topic, he found that 75 percent of people in pairs noticed a clown on a unicycle riding through a busy area of campus. More than half walking alone saw him. But the cell phone users, no clowning around, just 25 percent noticed the guy with the big red nose.
“You’ve been walking since you were two, and if you can’t walk and talk on the cell phone… how much worse is it if you’re going to be driving a car?,” asked Dr. Hyman.
When we recreated the study, we saw much of the same results. Most people on cells passed the the clown’s polka dots. Chelsea Fauria was one of the students who overlooked the one-wheeled obstacle.
“Only when I got real close-up and he was coming towards me did i really see it,” admitted Fauria, “It’s pretty embarrassing. I’ll be honest.”
While walking with her friend, she said she’s had many near misses on two feet with one cell phone in hand.
“I’ve run into things before,” said Fauria with a smirk.
“We were just talking, and she completely missed my entire conversation because she was texting,” added her friend, Taylor Purkett.
The clown in our recreation, Joe Myers travels to and from work on his unicycle. And his trek feels like research everyday; people on cell phones don’t see him.
“I’ve got used to it. It’s part of our age… the time we live in. That’s the way people are… they’re into the instant thing… me, now,” offered Myers.
The problem with that is that it’s not just you on the roads.
“It may be that there’s another car moving through the lane that they’re late to become aware of. It may be that they’re not aware of the pedestrian crossing the street…” said Dr. Hyman.
You might even miss a clown on a unicycle.
By Lorraine Blanco, lblanco@news10.net
KXTV/News10
Some Good Info
It is really important to stay focused, especially driving and it is surprising how unaware people are on their phone.
The aspects of this article that don’t surprise me are everyone smiling when Joe Meyers is in the mix and the unicycle can’t take credit for that. People are quite the invention, some just have more fun factor
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
This wheel’s on fire
By Jim Caple
Page 2
Alberto Contador won the Tour de France last week, riding the 2,140 miles in 85 hours and 48 minutes, an average of nearly 25 miles per hour up towering mountains and across wind-swept fields and shores.
He used two wheels. The slacker.
If you want an impressive cyclist, check out Joe Myers on this video [
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0mCuR0zgv30
] of a ride up Washington’s Mount Baker (you can see him at the 2:07 and 5:53 points). Myers rode this weekend’s annual Cougar Mountain Climb for Cancer in 18 minutes, 42 seconds on a unicycle. The Cougar Mountain ride is about two miles long with an average gradient of nearly 7½ percent and some stretches as high as 16 percent. To give you some perspective, that’s almost as steep as the Tour’s legendary Alpe d’Huez. It’s not pleasant on two wheels, let alone one.
I know. I ride up Cougar every now and then when I do hill work, sweating up inclines so steep you can hear cars changing gears as they strain to climb them. I rode the Climb for Cancer time trial for the first time Sunday and finished in 15:32. I would have felt prouder of that time if it hadn’t been almost five minutes slower than Adam Fung’s winning time of 10:46, and slower than 63 other riders as well.
Of course, I was barely three minutes faster than Myers on his unicycle. In a single gear. With no brakes (I don’t think he went back down the course). At 52, he’s also five years older than me.
“I got into this six years ago for health reasons,” Myers said. “I have an office job and I was gaining weight and had high blood pressure. I bicycled, but that didn’t really have the challenge that I wanted. So I started this. I’ve lost 20 pounds and my blood pressure went down and I got healthier.”
Myers said he practiced on the unicycle for about 15 minutes a day to get the hang of it, and within six weeks he was riding up and down the block near his home in Bellingham, Wash. It wasn’t long before he was riding longer. Much longer. Up to 5,600 miles a year longer. He can cruise along at about 15 miles per hour on a flat road.
“I commute to work on it. It’s about four miles each way, and I commute in all weather – snow, wind and rain,” he said. “I had a stretch of 2½ years of car-less commutes.”
That streak ended last summer when he broke his leg in a crash while crossing a railroad track during the final day of the five-stage, 500-mile Ride the Lobster unicycle race in Nova Scotia (just when you think you’ve heard of every race, along comes something else). Doctors told him he could have the leg surgically repaired there, but he would have to remain in Nova Scotia for two weeks until the leg was stable, or he could have it done back home. Myers opted for the latter, though it required his wife to drive him across the continent. It took them four days.
Twelve weeks later, Myers was back on the unicycle. This past weekend, he was powering up a hill that left me and others gasping for air and ready to vomit.
People make a lot of excuses for not exercising. Not enough time. The weather is too hot or too cold or it’s raining. But after watching Myers, I don’t want to hear any excuses. He’s just an average guy doing something amazing. He’s not alone; you can find other unicyclists doing similar things. OK, we don’t have to ride unicycles up mountains, but it’s a beautiful summer, so let’s get out there and do something.
Me, I’m going to train to improve my time for next year, get it under 15 minutes, maybe closer to 14. I’m not sure what Joe will do. I mean, I don’t know what he could do that would be more impressive. Ride while juggling?
“Oh, I can juggle,” he said.
Take that, Alberto.
Jim Caple is a senior writer for ESPN.com
Our local paper, The Manly Daily, just did an article on me. Here is the online link. Below is the article. In the actual paper it had a much better photo of me on my 12 footer. Not a bad article but some funny quotes that they made up!
2 Mar 11 @ 04:32pm by Andrew Prentice
JAMEY Mossengren has achieved success internationally on one wheel via an unlikely source - his grandma.
As a youngster growing up in Minnesota, the North Balgowlah thrill seeker was always looking for off-the-wall sporting outlets and pursuits.
A garage sale when he was 10 provided an activity that changed his life.
``When my grandma walked in the room (with the unicycle), I didn’t know what to think,’’ Mossengren said.
``She figured it would keep me occupied - it was a little different.
``My brother Lonny had first go and, like in most sports, he was a natural definitely better than me.
``Eventually he grew tired of it, and from that moment I saw a chance.
``I devoted all my spare time into learning the basics and, once I had that sorted, I started entering local competitions before competing globally.’’
After finishing high school and completing a degree in mechanical engineering at the University of North Dakota, he spent four years working an office job and ``hated every second’‘.
Eventually, Mossengren packed his bags for California and took on a series of odd jobs to pay the bills. One day he ended up on Venice Beach and, after watching a street entertainer wow a startled crowd, he decided to follow suit.
I also know how to juggle, I have skills,’’ he said. I figured if I could do three or four shows each day; it was an easy way to make money while enjoying myself.’‘
A few months ago in Canberra, the 31-year-old won the mountain unicycling race at the Australian Championships, and is currently preparing himself for the world titles in Italy next year.
``I have been fortunate to travel the world because of unicycling,’’ he said.
``It is big in places like America, France and Germany, and the Japanese are incredibly gifted when competing indoors.”
Alex Romero: One-wheel wonder
By Dana Crooks
26 March 2011
Los Alamos Monitor
Learning to ride a bike is hard enough, but try riding one with no handlebars and one wheel missing. Alex Romero, a 17-year-old Los Alamos High School junior, enjoys the challenge of unicycling. In fact, he can often be found around town on his unicycle.
His interest in unicycling began in 2007 when he received his first unicycle from his uncle for Christmas.
He and his brother, LAHS sophomore Daniel Romero, attempted the sport but quit after a few days of frustration. Later in 2009, Romero and his brother gave unicycling another shot.
With a lot of practice, they taught themselves how to ride. Then, they met Max Schulze, 2010 Unicon XV Trials World Champion and former Los Alamos High School student. Schulze taught both of them tricks and continues to help them whenever he visits Los Alamos.
For now, unicycling is a hobby for Romero, but he wishes to compete in the future. He recently performed an act called “Not 2 Tired” in this year’s Topper Revue. He said that he likes to unicycle because it is a fun way to relieve stress and exercise. “It’s challenging. You always have something to improve on and something new to learn.”
Unicycling is a difficult sport to learn and it takes a considerable amount of time and effort. When asked how long it takes to learn, Romero said, “It depends on how much you practice.”
Unicycles aren’t cheap. Romero’s current unicycle cost him $600. He owns three and a half unicycles.
His favorite style to perform is called street unicycling, which includes rail grinds, flip tricks, tricks down stair sets and other common things you might find at a skate park. He also enjoys a flat land style, involving roll tricks and spins.
But his favorite trick is the hick flip, a move that involves becoming airborne momentarily in order to “flip” the direction of the unicycle. Some other favorites include the crank flip, rolling 36 and the double flip.
In addition to unicycling, Romero enjoys running, making and editing unicycle videos, skiing and other outdoor activities in his free time. He also enjoys eating and said health is important to him. When asked what kinds of foods he eats he said, “It depends on who’s asking.”
For example, if his cross-country coach Rob Hipwood asked Romero what he likes to eat, he would say processed food that has a shelf life of about four to five years.
However, if anyone else asked, Romero would say things like kiwis, pork chops, French toast, muffin tops, macaroni and cheese, popcorn and vegetables like carrots with ranch dressing.
In the fall, Romero runs on the high school cross country team; however, he does not run on the high school track team in the spring. Instead, he spends his spring unicycling.
“Running is like a prairie on fire, there are many flames involved that just keep burning year round,” he said. “I am like the flame that does not burn year round, but instead jumps to a new prairie every spring.”
After high school, Romero plans to attend college and is interested in computer science. He’s not sure whether unicycling is in his future or not, but he plans on buying a house and getting his own Canaan dog.
“He owns three and a half unicycles.”
Bet that got some readers wondering if he needs another wheel!
Sydney’s best street performers
http://www.cnngo.com/sydney/life/sydney-street-performer-busk-move-693315
Here is the text:
Sydney’s best street performers
From the harbor to underground tunnels, here’s where to find Sydney’s most change-worthy extroverts.
By Mitchell Jordan
11 March, 2011
Street performance by Mr Incredibubble, Hyde ParkNear St. Mary’s Cathedral, Mr. Incredibubble proves that busker bubbles are not easily burst.
Walking the streets of Sydney can feel like walking through an episode of “Australia’s Got Talent.” Some performers seem positively desperate for a chance at fame, while other buskers are just trying to pay the rent.
Sydney’s street performers may not have to endure the demoralizing criticism of Kyle Sandilands, but they do have to audition before being granted a busking license.
Licenses granted by the City of Sydney Council or state government agencies give performers two-hour slots at “busking spots.”
Of course, many red-tape-averse buskers just set up and drop their daks for a dollar.
Here’s a fast review of some of the places and street characters who have qualified in the city’s busking auditions.
Hyde Park:
Justin Maloney, better known as Mr. Incredibubble, blows human-sized bubbles from his own secret potion.
He is as much a part of the Hyde Park furniture as the benches, but there’s no way you’ll catch him singing.
“There’s too many musos out there already,” Mr. Incredibubble says. “I can play a few instruments, but only standard nursery rhymes.”
[B]Circular Quay:
Street performer Jamey Mossengren: For some performers, no spotlight is big enough.
At Circular Quay, Jamey Mossengren rides on a 12-foot unicycle while juggling knives and fire.
During two years of performances, nobody’s been hurt, meaning experience from his previous job – in a medical corporation – hasn’t been called upon.
“(My corporate job) was like being in jail from Monday to Friday,” Mossengren says. “Now I’m not rich, but at least I’m my own boss.”
He competes against the ever-present didgeridoos and theatrical types that line the ferry wharves.[/B]
Pitt Street Mall:
The three guys behind the rock band Night Owl busk several times a week at the recently opened Westfield on Pitt Street.
The gig has yet to earn them the perks of a high-flying rock-and-roll life.
“We make a meager living,” says guitarist, Daniel D’Arcy. “We just scrape by when it comes to paying the rent.”
They say the shopping mall is one of the better busking places, but they also play at Town Hall Station.
"The CityRail station manager told us we could play there because he likes us,” says banjo player, Matt Mason.
Town Hall:
The adrenaline-pumped skipping and dancing moves of Double Dutch team, Kanpai, draw a strong crowd outside Town Hall.
The trio, Mai, Aki and Kazuma – each in their twenties – met at a skipping club in Japan. From there, they competed in the Double Dutch Challenge in Kobe.
Now living in Australia, they support themselves through one-hour performances most days.
“Sydney is good for busking,” says Mai.
Central Station Tunnel, Broadway:
In Central Tunnel, just off Broadway, expect to hear buskers cranking out popular power ballads. The tunnel is packed with commuters during peak hours.
Twenty-year-old student, Rachael Helmore, plays her three-stringed guitar and flute regularly. The way to a listener’s wallet, she reckons, is by playing the Super Mario theme intertwined with Tetris-sounding music on the flute.
“Guys especially love that one,” she says, adding that John Lennon’s “Imagine” is another reliable change magnet.
Saddle sores just part of process on a unique journey for children with cancer
By Lindsay Murdoch
They admit it was a crazy, spur of the moment idea.
Suffering from saddle sores and mosquito bites, David Suede, 31, and his girlfriend Anna Taylor, 24, have ridden their unicycles almost 900 kilometres through the Northern Territory.
“We are feeling pretty good and are going really well…our legs are getting stronger,” Ms Taylor says during a stop on the Stuart Highway near the tiny settlement of Elliott, half-way between Darwin and Alice Springs.
The couple plan to ride the one-wheel contraptions 3500 kilometres from Darwin to Adelaide.
They are a strange sight, pedalling along the highway that carries the world’s longest road trains and increasing numbers of vehicles towing caravans.
“The caravans are the worst - they are wider than the road trains,” Ms Taylor says.
The couple hope to raise $10,000 for the Little Heroes Foundation for children with cancer. They plan to reach Adelaide, where they live, eight to nine weeks after leaving Darwin on March 12.
By Friday, their 20th day on the saddle, they needed to take two days rest “to let the bits heal”.
Ms Taylor wrote in a blog (unitramps.com), where she is recording their progress, that while camping near Elliott the “roar of the mozzies sounded like we were sleeping in an aerodrome”.
From The Age newspaper (Melbourne, Australia) 4/4/2011.
Page 3 with a huge photo too!
Hi uniShark. I’m also wondering if he has some wheels. I really like it. haha
Alex Romero: One-wheel wonder; By Dana Crooks
26 March 2011
Los Alamos Monitor
Learning to ride a bike is hard enough, but try riding one with no handlebars and one wheel missing. Alex Romero, a 17-year-old Los Alamos High School junior, enjoys the challenge of unicycling. In fact, he can often be found around town on his unicycle.
His interest in unicycling began in 2007 when he received his first unicycle from his uncle for Christmas.
He and his brother, LAHS sophomore Daniel Romero, attempted the sport but quit after a few days of frustration. Later in 2009, Romero and his brother gave unicycling another shot.
With a lot of practice, they taught themselves how to ride. Then, they met Max Schulze, 2010 Unicon XV Trials World Champion and former Los Alamos High School student. Schulze taught both of them tricks and continues to help them whenever he visits Los Alamos.
For now, unicycling is a hobby for Romero, but he wishes to compete in the future. He recently performed an act called “Not 2 Tired” in this year’s Topper Revue. He said that he likes to unicycle because it is a fun way to relieve stress and exercise. “It’s challenging. You always have something to improve on and something new to learn.”
Unicycling is a difficult sport to learn and it takes a considerable amount of time and effort. When asked how long it takes to learn, Romero said, “It depends on how much you practice.”
Unicycles aren’t cheap. Romero’s current unicycle cost him $600. He owns three and a half unicycles.
His favorite style to perform is called street unicycling, which includes rail grinds, flip tricks, tricks down stair sets and other common things you might find at a skate park. He also enjoys a flat land style, involving roll tricks and spins.
But his favorite trick is the hick flip, a move that involves becoming airborne momentarily in order to “flip” the direction of the unicycle. Some other favorites include the crank flip, rolling 36 and the double flip.
In addition to unicycling, Romero enjoys running, making and editing unicycle videos, skiing and other outdoor activities in his free time. He also enjoys eating and said health is important to him. When asked what kinds of foods he eats he said, “It depends on who’s asking.”
For example, if his cross-country coach Rob Hipwood asked Romero what he likes to eat, he would say processed food that has a shelf life of about four to five years.
However, if anyone else asked, Romero would say things like kiwis, pork chops, French toast, muffin tops, macaroni and cheese, popcorn and vegetables like carrots with ranch dressing.
In the fall, Romero runs on the high school cross country team; however, he does not run on the high school track team in the spring. Instead, he spends his spring unicycling.
“Running is like a prairie on fire, there are many flames involved that just keep burning year round,” he said. “I am like the flame that does not burn year round, but instead jumps to a new prairie every spring.”
After high school, Romero plans to attend college and is interested in computer science. He’s not sure whether unicycling is in his future or not, but he plans on buying a house and getting his own Canaan dog.
This one wins the world record for speed exaggeration:
Kris
Awesome writeup Kris, and I’ll be the first in line to snatch up your new book when it comes out! And if there’s anyone who could hit 50mph on a uni, it would be you! 
Thanks; more news on the book coming over the summer =)
I sent a note to Caters News Agency, who sold the story to that newspaper (plus others I imagine). Pretty cool - they got back to me right away and said they’d attempt to correct the speed quote. We’ll see if it actually happens.
Kris
It’s really only 40 mph, right? 
Off topic for this thread, but anyway: I never thought about speeds offroad until I did that BCBR race last year. It just wasn’t something I cared about.
In the BC Bike Race, my average speed over 7 days of racing was only 11 km/hr. My guess at a top speed would be about 25 km/hr, on doubletrack. For reference, the winner in my category’s average speed was 12 km/hr, and a 10 km/hr average for me, for 43 km on Day 5, was enough to be faster than 200 bike riders. The winners in the Epic category (Olympic Category racers) had averages of 15-18 km/hr.
A friend of mine who markets the race (former Olympian mountain biker himself) says that 14-18 km/hr averages are typical speeds for national level XC mountain bike races. I was surprised by that. It’s not really a fast sport! I think the gains are really made in things like not having mechanical issues, taking less breaks, always being consistent, etc, rather than having a fast top speed.
Kris
Very true! The tortoise & the hare! 
Here’s the text of that last article, preserved for posterity in case the link dies…
Where there’s a wheel there’s a way: Unicyclist who can reach 50mph and has ridden down 6000-metre volcano.
Trekking across the world’s harshest and most remote regions sounds like a tough enough challenge - but imagine doing the whole thing on a unicycle.
That’s what Canadian Kris Holm has been doing in an unbelievable career which has seen him traverse the Great Wall of China and descend a 6000-metre volcano while riding on a single wheel.
And in 2010 Holm, who can reach speeds of 50mph, became the first unicyclist to reach the podium in an event against his two-wheeled cousins in the gruelling seven-day mountain BC Bike Race.
As these breathtaking pictures show, he is not afraid of tackling any terrain - from perilous cliff edges to jagged mountain tops.
Mr Holm, 37, has travelled across some of the toughest terrains in the world, including Himalayan country Bhutan and the jungles of Bolivia.
Holm and his unicycle have travelled to some of the most remote regions of the world, including Himalayan country Bhutan and the jungles of Bolivia
Holm and his unicycle have travelled to some of the most remote regions of the world, including Himalayan country Bhutan and the jungles of Bolivia
He said: 'I do get some odd looks sometimes on my travels. They know me round where I live, but abroad people do give me funny looks.
'Actually in countries like Mongolia and Bhutan it wasn’t necessarily because of the unicycle, they just shrugged me off as Western so I must be doing something weird.
'Some of them actually thought it was what Westerners do, ride unicycles all the time. If only that was the case.
'I have travelled on the Great Wall of China, descended down Licancabur, a 5950-metre volcano in Bolivia, and climbed the third highest mountain in North America.
'A unicycle can go just as many places as a two-wheeled bike. Obviously over a flat distance two wheels are faster, but actually up and down hill it doesn’t make that much difference.
‘I actually finished third last year in the BC Bike Race as the only competitor among 500 riders on one wheel, that was amazing.’
Holm started uni-cycling in 1986 aged just 12 after getting the bike as a present.
He said: 'I was like any kid, I just kept practicing and soon I was riding. Learning to ride a unicycle is just like anything else it’s 95 percent practice.
'Where I live in Canada there is a lot of outdoors and I love to go out on the trials, so a lot of people are used to seeing me.
'When I first started unicycling I was probably one of the only people in the world to try and ride the same trials as two-wheeled bikes but now there are more and more people willing to give it a try.
‘I also design my own unicycles which are made for those who want to give trialing a go, it’s a lot cheaper than mountain biking to buy a unicycle so who knows maybe more and more people will do it.’
His talents saw him scoop the 2005 European, 2002 World, and 1999 North American unicycle trials championships.
Now he is planning to coax us all off to get off our bikes and onto one wheel in a brand new book about his adventures, Mountain and Trials Unicycling, set to be released this autumn.
He graduated with an MSc from the University of British Columbia in 2002, and works as a professional geoscientist in addition to managing his unicycling brand, www.krisholm.com.
Also, Kris, I might take exception to this statement (of course it may well be another misquote):
actually up and down hill it doesn’t make that much difference.
I think bikes have a substantial edge in the downhill department.