None of the statements attributed to me here are “quotes”. I did talk briefly to someone on the phone a few weeks ago; I guess they paraphrased based on that plus whatever other material they dug up. I think the writer had never heard of muni before he decided to do this story.
So yes I’d take exception to that one too =)
Kris
What does a professional geoscientist do? Do you ride down volcanos?
Inquiring minds want to know.
Scott
I suppose that part is true =)
Inaccurate reporting from the Daily Mail. Who’d have thought it?
(Note for Leftpondians: The DM is not exactly known as one of Britain’s most reliable sources of news).
In print and on the web at http://www.cambridge-news.co.uk/Home/Unicycling-to-work-makes-wheel-sense-25042011.htm
Published: 25/04/2011 13:31 - Updated: 25/04/2011 13:57
Unicycling to work ‘makes wheel sense’
The daily commute is wheely good fun for Neil Younger as he travels the five and a half miles to work on a unicycle.
Neil saves himself £60 in petrol each month by leaving the car behind at home in Thatchers Wood, Longstanton, and pedals his way to DisplayLink in Cambridge on the one-wheeled bike.
Already a keen cyclist, the 34-year-old new father-of-one decided to have a go after spotting a magazine article on mountain unicycling about five years ago.
He said: “You could learn in a couple of weeks. I have taught a couple of people in 10 hours.”
The senior test engineer is now the proud owner of an on-road and an off-road unicycle.
But, he said: “If I had more space and more money, I would probably have a menagerie of cycles.”
A pleasant ride through Girton means he can avoid the dreaded A14, and the saving on fuel is a particular bonus since he and his wife, Paula, 34, had their first child, Poppy, two weeks ago.
While his primary reason for taking the bike is to keep fit, he said: “Anytime I’m cycling, the car is not being used – it does add up.”
But regardless of the cost of fuel, some of the reactions from the public have been priceless.
He said: “They have generally been reasonably positive. There was a little girl with her mum and she excitedly pointed out that ‘there goes a unicorn’.”
During his time unicycling on the road, he has only experienced a handful of criticism. He said: “When you stand out as being a little bit different you are an easy target just to have some random abuse hurled your way.
“I imagine if I was cycling down the road in a pink outfit I would have the same response.”
Neil said his choice of a unicycle over his road bike was down to the entertainment factor.
He said: “It’s a good way to cheer yourself up getting to work. It’s the fun element that would make me choose that over my normal cycle.” Nor is he alone.
Neil says he knows of at least five others who use a unicycle to get to work. It could catch on.
Haha, They really know what they are saying:
‘Terry Patterson demonstrates a Unigeezer unicycle’
Columbia Flier, April 13, 2011
Caption says:
Wilde Lake resident Jeff Chamblee likes to pick up his son Ben, 9, after school at Running Brook Elementary. When the weather is nice, Chamblee uses a unicycle while Ben uses a Ripstik, or a skateboard with two wheels instead of four.
For when the link dies:
When the weather is nice, Wilde Lake resident Jeff Chamblee likes to pick up his son after school at Running Brook Elementary.
Not in a car, however.
Chamblee uses a unicycle. Chamblee’s son, Ben, 9, uses a Ripstik, or a skateboard with two wheels instead of four. Together, they ride home.
Bikeability was the topic of discussion at the latest Columbia Association Speaker Series, featuring Gil Penalosa, executive director of 8-80 Cities and former commissioner of parks, sports and recreation in Bogota, Colombia.
More than 70 people turned out April 7 for the talk, “Creating 8-80 Cities: Walking, Cycling and Public Places for All,” including Chamblee, who said that despite the many trails in Columbia, the planned community could be more cyclist-friendly.
“The vibrancy of our city would improve if we focused more on pedestrians and cyclists,” Chamblee said.
Chamblee said he cycles as much as he can, and uses the unicycle for short trips to the grocery store.
“It’s a very convenient, practical mode of transportation,” he said. “It’s hands-free.”
Chamblee learned how to ride a unicycle two years ago, as his son was learning how to ride a bicycle.
“I saw him struggling with two wheels, and I wanted to join his struggle,” he said. “So I struggled with one wheel instead.”
Despite his and his son’s affinity for cycling, Chamblee noted that many of Columbia’s roads fail the 8-80 test Penalosa presented.
Passing or failing the 8-80 test isn’t rocket science, Penalosa said. Think of an 8-year-old, he said, and think of an 80-year-old. Would you send a child to the grocery store on a bicycle? Would you be comfortable with a grandmother crossing a certain intersection? If the answer to those questions are “no,” Penalosa said, the city fails the 8-80 test.
Creating an 8-80 city, Penalosa said, is more than making that city bikeable. Vibrant communities are comprised of pedestrians, cyclists and public transit. The glue holding these components together, Penalosa said, is public spaces. He cited Copenhagen as an 8-80 city that has devoted much of its space to community gathering places.
Over the past years, Penalosa said, Copenhagen has transformed 18 parking lots into public spaces; because 40 percent of Copenhagen’s population uses bicycles as its main mode of transportation, those conversions had no bearing on parking availability.
It’s easier for a community to go from bad bikeability to great bikeability, Penalosa said, but more difficult to go from good to great, which is the issue Columbia faces.
“The whole concept (of Columbia) was good from the beginning,” Penalosa said. “It was visionary. But at the same time, creating a good community is a process, and that process is never finished. Columbia is still very car-oriented, and people are content not to change when things are already good.”
Use more bikes as transportation
In taking a tour of Columbia, Penalosa said he noticed few students biking or walking to school, even on a day when the weather was nice.
“We drove past a few schools, and there were only two or three bikes outside them,” he said. “If it were great, you would see more bikes.”
Columbia has a good system of facilities and trails for recreational bike use, Penalosa said, but not for the use of bikes as transportation. Several factors contribute to poor bikeability and walkability in communities, Penalosa said.
“The roads are way too big,” he said. “They could be more narrow, and the speed through neighborhoods could slow down for pedestrians.”
Including bikes lanes on roads that are physically separated from car lanes is one way to improve bikeability, Penalosa said, as is lowering speed limits to 20 mph and including more information by way of signage for cyclists.
Everyone is able to use a bicycle, Penalosa said, yet in cities across America, including Columbia, only a select demographic can use them on roads because of tight bike lines and speed limits.
“If we want a good community for everybody, we have to stop building communities for 30-year-old athletes,” Penalosa said.
Creating more livable, bikeable and walkable communities is a political issue, Penalosa said, and politicians have to make decisions for the good of the general public.
“We need to raise awareness,” he said. “It’s like (Penalosa) said. It’s a political problem. We need to inform our leaders, build partnerships with them.”
Good rapport with cyclists
Ian Kennedy, deputy chief of staff for the Howard County government, said the county has worked to build a good relationship with the biking community, meeting with bike advocates every quarter to discuss issues and improvements. Kennedy said the county plans to implement a Bike Master Plan in the future.
“We believe that we have a great opportunity in Howard County to strengthen cycling as a viable transportation alternative, and we’ve been working to do that,” Kennedy said. “We’re exploring measures and programs to improve access and awareness, and improve conditions on roads and pathways.”
Kennedy said that while county roads haven’t been resurfaced in two years because of budget constraints, the initial plan was to install bike lanes and amenities on roads as they were resurfaced.
However, stimulus money from the federal government, Kennedy said, did allow for some road work. Thus far, a bike lane has been added on Stevens Forest Road, and a broader shoulder has been added to Columbia Road in Dorsey’s Search, he said. The county also has installed bike racks on some county buses and outside county buildings.
Kennedy said there is money for road resurfacing in the budget again, so residents should expect to see more of those projects taking shape.
“It’s an on-going effort, and it’s something we’re going to continue to focus on in the next couple of years,” Kennedy said. “We’re working on things that will help strengthen strategies and approaches to cycling, and we’re looking forward to sharing more in the future.”
Is Neil on RSU at all? I don’t know as many unicyclists in Cambridge as I once did, so I was interested to see one pop up in the newspaper!
Pair dodge wasps and lizards to see the Centre
Cameron Boon
29 April 2011
Centralian Advocate
YOU might have seen them if you’ve been between Alice and Darwin in the last two months – two riders on giant unicycles heading down the highway on their way to Adelaide.
Anna Taylor and David Suede have travelled more than 15,000km to get to Alice Springs to raise money for children diagnosed with cancer.
David said the idea came to them about a year ago.
He said: ``It was one of those things that just kind of grew from a `what if?’ conversation.
``We just ended up talking about it more and more and then a couple of months ago we decided to do it.
``We’ve decided to unicycle because we do it regularly and love doing it.’’
Both riders have been unicycling for a couple of years, but this is the longest trip.
Anna said: ``We live in Adelaide and we wanted to go home. It’s nice getting closer each day, rather than getting further away.’’
The wheels on the unicycles are nearly 1m tall.
David said: ``They’re touring unicycles and they’re built for long distance. They go faster because of the bigger wheel.
``We can go up to 25km/h and in an average day we do about 70km. An average bike tour goes about 120km per day, so we do okay.’’
Anna said the stay in Alice had been the longest.
``We had a massive ride to get here. We kept on saying `we’ll ride for just one more day’ until we had ridden for eight days and made it to Alice.
``Usually, we try to ride for four or five days before resting for one.’’
The pair say head winds, mosquitoes, hydration and dodging lizards have been their challenges.
Anna said: ``I’m terrified of wasps and the wasps in the bush are huge and there was one time when we were camping and we tried to get up and the outside of the tent was covered in mosquitoes.
``Sitting and riding for so long can be an issue – you get pretty sore.’’
David said: ``We’re aiming to get to Adelaide by late May, but there’s no hard deadline.’’
The pair pack sleeping bags, a tent and clothes under their seats and carry food and water in backpacks.
Hello 
somone should try to get on the today show
Here’s an article from the Qianjiang Evening News:
If you want a laugh read the Google translation:
Kris
Great translation 
That was funny, Kris. You are the undisputed master of the “wheelbarrow”!
At least most wheelbarrows do only have one wheel…
Also, here is a nice little article that came out in the most recent issue of Florida Gulf Coast University Pinnacle Magazine.
http://www.fgcupinnacle.com/pinnacle-articles/alumni-news/bill-mueller
A tool for extreme sports. Edge of the cliff, sea column, the Great Wall … … a variety of difficult off-road challenges, hone their driving skills, 20 years hypnotized
Riding a wheelbarrow that there are many different ways, the most important to it as a pleasure. You can ride through life, and in the car to try some new things." Recently, this exclusive interview via e-mail The World “single wheel of the King”, he did not expect to be surrounded by beautiful mountains and very interested in Hangzhou, I hope to one day riding in this picturesque landscape, but also taught to unicycle enthusiasts in Hangzhou They play on the wheelbarrow of fun.
This first paragraph cracked me up! 
Ooops, ran out of time to add link
http://www.fgcupinnacle.com/pinnacle-articles/alumni-news/bill-mueller
As soon as my mum gets back to let me use her paypal i’ll make a donation…Hope you guys make your target.
Well done on your 102 miles by the way! Thats a helluva ride!
UNICYCLIST’S SUIT FALLS FLAT IN FEDERAL COURT
JOHN MARZULLI
19 May 2011
New York Daily News
A BROOKLYN FEDERAL judge has let the air out of a circus performer’s claims he was falsely arrested for riding his unicycle on a Brooklyn sidewalk. Judge Brian Cogan acknowledged the law prohibiting two- and three-wheeled bikes on the sidewalk doesn’t cover unicycles, but scoffed at Kyle Peterson’s lawsuit claiming his constitutional rights were violated.
“I expressed some skepticism that a statute originally enacted to protect African-Americans from the most heinous deprivations of life and liberty in the Reconstruction era had devolved into permitting circus performers to recover money . . . for having wrongfully received two minor summonses,” Cogan wrote yesterday.
Peterson filed a $3 million suit after he was ticketed by cops in 2007 and 2011 for riding on the sidewalk. The tickets were eventually dismissed.
Cogan said the cops “mistakenly but reasonably” thought he was breaking the law.
The cops are entitled to qualified immunity from being sued because they “mistakenly [but reasonably] thought plaintiff violated the law.”
He also suggested Peterson may have been “emboldened” to ride on the sidewalk after the first summons was dismissed.
Lawyer Paul Hale says he’s not deterred by the decision. “I will continue to fight for the rights of all New Yorkers, whether they are unicyclists, jugglers or sword swallowers,” Hale said.
