Who is the oldest unicyclist?

General
1

Hi all.

In preparation for establishig the Centenarian Unicycle Club (John Foss already signed up) I
am looking for info on very oldest unicyclists, dead or alive. The oldest that I know was 86,
Yoshito Suzki who rode with me some 20 years ago (he made Japan’s first unicycle back
i n 1910).

John Foss, you said that Mell Hall died recently and that he rode to the end. Wasn’t he
in his 90’s? How old was he when he died? It would be nice if you can give a bit of info
about this legendary figure who I have seen called “the greatest unicyclist that ever lived”.

Regards, Jack Halpern
President, The CJK Dictionary Institute, Inc.
http://www.cjk.org Phone: +81-48-473-3508

2

RE: Who is the oldest unicyclist?

> am looking for info on very oldest unicyclists, dead or
> alive. The oldest that I know was 86,
> Yoshito Suzki who rode with me some 20 years ago (he made
> Japan’s first unicycle back i n 1910).

Check your old USA Newsletters. I remember Bill Jenack (1974-77) writing
about a guy learning to ride in his early 90s, but I’m not sure of the
details. That’s the oldest person I recall hearing of.

I have a picture of Charlie Berry sitting on a unicycle at age 79(?) at the
1985 NUM in Michigan. Charlie did not ride because at that time he was
recovering from a hip or leg injury. I do not know if he could still ride at
that time. There are one or more articles from him in the early USA
Newsletters as well.

Ken Britton and Hank Luken were photographed at UNICON I on their unicycles,
both age 69 at the time. Unfortunately I do not know what either one of them
are up to these days, other than that apparently Ken’s NY license plate
“UNICYCLE” was no longer being used.

Dr. Orland Reynolds is probably still riding, though I’ve lost track of his
age. 76?

Stay on top,
John Foss, the Uni-Cyclone
jfoss@unicycling.com

IF IT DAMAGES PUBLIC AND PRIVATE PROPERTY,

SKATEBOARDING

AND UNICYCLING

IS A CRIME

(Mind where you grind)

3

I spoke to Greg from the National Circus Project the other night about volunteering, and we got to talking about a bling unicyclist by the name of John Litza(sp?). I think he said that now he’d be about 90 if he’s still alive. I believe that this man was about 70 when he learned to ride. John, any info on this? I may have gotten my facts totally wrong, but this sounds about right.
-David Kaplan

4

Re: Who is the oldest unicyclist?

John Foss wrote…
>> am looking for info on very oldest unicyclists, dead or
>> alive. The oldest that I know was 86,
>> Yoshito Suzki who rode with me some 20 years ago (he made
>> Japan’s first unicycle back i n 1910).

Thanks for this info. I am collecting this info in my CUC (Centenarian
Unicycle Club) folder and will eventually put it on the CUC website.

I still wonder about Mell Hall. I think you said he rode to the end.
At what age did he die? Perhaps he qualified as “the oldest uicyclist that
ever lived”?

>Check your old USA Newsletters. I remember Bill Jenack (1974-77) writing
>about a guy learning to ride in his early 90s, but I’m not sure of the
>details. That’s the oldest person I recall hearing of.
>
>I have a picture of Charlie Berry sitting on a unicycle at age 79(?) at the
>1985 NUM in Michigan. Charlie did not ride because at that time he was
>recovering from a hip or leg injury. I do not know if he could still ride at
>that time. There are one or more articles from him in the early USA
>Newsletters as well.
>
>Ken Britton and Hank Luken were photographed at UNICON I on their unicycles,
>both age 69 at the time. Unfortunately I do not know what either one of them
>are up to these days, other than that apparently Ken’s NY license plate
>“UNICYCLE” was no longer being used.
>
>Dr. Orland Reynolds is probably still riding, though I’ve lost track of his
>age. 76?
>
>Stay on top,
>John Foss, the Uni-Cyclone
>jfoss@unicycling.com
>www.unicycling.com
>
>
>
>IF IT DAMAGES PUBLIC AND PRIVATE PROPERTY,
>
>SKATEBOARDING
>
>AND UNICYCLING
>
>IS A CRIME
>
>(Mind where you grind)
>

Regards, Jack Halpern
President, The CJK Dictionary Institute, Inc.
http://www.cjk.org Phone: +81-48-473-3508

5

RE: Who is the oldest unicyclist?

> I spoke to Greg from the National Circus Project the other
> night about volunteering,

Volunteering for what?

> and we got to talking about a bling unicyclist
> by the name of John Litza(sp?).

Lizza. Yes, he was bling-bling!

Also possibly the world’s first non-sighted unicyclist.

> I think he said that now he’d be about 90 if he’s
> still alive. I believe that this man was about 70
> when he learned to ride. John, any info on this?

That estimate sounds way high. I think he learned to ride around 1967 or so,
with the aid of Bill Jenack. At that time, he might have been 40 or so. I
met him at Bill Jenack’s memorial service in 1982, at which time I’d guess
him to be no older than 60 or so. That would put my guess at his age around
the mid-70s or so.

The question is, when’s the last time he rode? I don’t know. I used to work
at a one hour photo a few blocks from his house (1985). I remember a
customer coming in, seeing one of my unicycle pictures in there, and saying
something about this guy on his street, a blind guy who rode one. Now from
what I’d read and heard and seen, John Lizza always rode with or near a
spotter, to help him know where to go. But this guy said he’d seen John walk
up and down his street (a cul-de-sac with the very busy Glen Cove Road at
the end), with his cane, checking the locations of all parked cars and
obstacles. Then he’d go back and get the unicycle, and ride it around.
Pretty amazing.

The last time I saw Mr. Lizza I was driving up Glen Cove Road, I don’t
remember what year but somewhere before 1994, and he was at the bus stop. I
didn’t figure out who it was until long after I’d passed, but I remember him
looking old. I hope he’s doing well, and maybe even still rides, though I
have a feeling his interest may have dropped off when Bill Jenack passed
away.

Oddly enough, John Lizza already got mentioned on this thread, before Jack
Halpern made it public. He said he wanted to “reserve me” for a pairs
performance on the year of my 100th birthday. I said “Eew.” and described
how John Lizza did a little demo ride at the 1983 USA Nationals, without
taking up the judges time and trying to “compete” with others. :slight_smile:

Say hi to Greg for me. I need to give him a call!

Stay on top,
John Foss, the Uni-Cyclone
jfoss@unicycling.com

IF IT DAMAGES PUBLIC AND PRIVATE PROPERTY,

SKATEBOARDING

AND UNICYCLING

IS A CRIME

(Mind where you grind)

6

On unicycle classes we gaved in Holland there was a man who was 89. He was unicycling before (started at age of 45), but now did not realy dare to ride, but he did! I saw it myself.

7

Re: Who is the oldest unicyclist?

Greetings

In message “Re: Who is the oldest unicyclist?”,
leo wrote…
>
>On unicycle classes we gaved in Holland there was a man who was 89. He
>was unicycling before (started at age of 45), but now did not realy dare
>to ride, but he did! I saw it myself.

Thank you! This is excellent information. Unless John Foss confirms that Mell Hall
was riding in his 90s, that man may be the oldest unicyclist that we know of?

What is his name and does he have an email address or some other way to be contacted?
He may become the first member of the CUC (Centenarian Unicycling Club) that will
actually ride at 100!

>
>–
>leo - errorist
>
>Leo Vandewoestijne.
>
>+1-866-UNI-CYCL
>www.unicycle.net
>
>“To trigger/fool/saturate/overload Echelon, the following has been
>picked automagically from a database:”
>“Leo, unicycle, Cherry-Coke”
>------------------------------------------------------------------------
>leo’s Profile: http://www.unicyclist.com/profile/224
>View this thread: http://www.unicyclist.com/thread/18671
>
>___________________________________________________________________________
>rec.sport.unicycling mailing list - www.unicycling.org/mailman/listinfo/rsu
>

Regards, Jack Halpern
President, The CJK Dictionary Institute, Inc.
http://www.cjk.org Phone: +81-48-473-3508

8

Re: RE: Who is the oldest unicyclist?

I want to volunteer for the National Circus Project when they run their workshop at SUNY New Paltz. You know, get their coffee, news papers, lug heavy stuff, etc… while I’m there, not only will I be immersed in this great atmosphere, but I may pick up a thing or two as well.
Today, by chance, I met Ray (i forgot his last name) too. He says hi. He was getting ready to tour with the Russian American Circus, and he was good enough to hang out at the club with us for a bit. I passed some clubs with him (he is a great teacher) and let him take a shot at riding the coker. He said that the last time he rode a big wheel was when he tried your 46" sem, John. He got such a kick out of the coker, that after about 2 mins on it, he declared “I MUST GET ONE OF THESE”
-David Kaplan

9

I have’nt seem him after these practices (two years ago), but after then he called me a couple of times to ask to practise together. If he’s online? no clue. But next time I’m in his town I’ll see if I possibly can give him a visit.

10

Re: Who is the oldest unicyclist?

leo wrote…
>
>I have’nt seem him after these practices (two years ago), but after then
>he called me a couple of times to ask to practise together. If he’s
>online? no clue. But next time I’m in his town I’ll see if I possibly
>can give him a visit.

I’d very much appreciate it if you can contact him and tell him about the CUC.
Perhaps you can give me contact info too, esp. of he is online.

Regards, Jack Halpern
President, The CJK Dictionary Institute, Inc.
http://www.cjk.org Phone: +81-48-473-3508

11

RE: Who is the oldest unicyclist?

> Thank you! This is excellent information. Unless John Foss
> confirms that Mell Hall was riding in his 90s, that man
> may be the oldest unicyclist that we know of?

An 89 year old guy riding a unicycle is very impressive. That was a gutsy
guy. My grandpa sat on a unicycle when he was 83 (after having been a
spectator at the 1982 USA Nationals), just to see what it was like. We held
him up while he shakily felt the pedal movements. His quote after riding it
was something along the lines of “Now I can see why that’s hard!”

I never met Mel Hall and do not know much about him other than what I’ve
read in the USA Newsletter and in a few other places. I know Sem & Teresa
have met him, but they don’t participate in this group. I do know that he
still performed, occasionally using a unicycle, well into his 70s. I don’t
know beyond that.

I did mention Bill Jenack’s report of a guy in his 90s getting into
unicycling. This was in the USA Newsletter between 1974 and 1977. That is
where you should be researching.

Stay on top,
John Foss, the Uni-Cyclone
jfoss@unicycling.com

“This unicycle is made all from lightweight materials. But it uses a lot of
them.” – Cliff Cordy, describing a very heavy new prototype unicycle he
brought on the Downieville Downhill

12

I was wondering about this very subject, searched and found this old thread. It’s really interesting though it ends without an answer. Does anyone conclusively know who the oldest unicyclist is? I searched a bit outside of this forum and found age 92 on this site: http://www.xs4all.nl/~klaasbil/uni_beginners.htm in the ‘Is unicycling hard to learn’ segment. And from this thread they mention someone in their early nineties. Anyone know the answer for sure?

Making this an even more interesting read was an anecdote by John Foss about a blind unicyclist who could feel around the street to get an idea of the locations of the parked cars to allow him to ride. That is really incredible! Have there been other blind unicyclists?

13

Ahh, thanks! Now I don’t feel soooo old!:stuck_out_tongue:

14

Check out the registrants at the Washington State NAUCC and UNICON. There was an old guy from Europe, riding.

15

Donald Rumsfeld is quite Old.

Donald Rumsfeld rides and I think that he is about 80.

Unicorn

16

To be honest, you’re why I started thinking about this. After watching your latest video, I thought to myself, “He’s 51 and doesn’t look like he’s stopping anytime soon. When do people stop?”

I know here we have members in their upper 50’s…are there any riders in their 60’s who that post here? Is it because those who are older than 60 just don’t get on the computer so much or is it because people have stopped unicycling by then. I was shocked to find information about people riding into their 90’s, but it sure is inspiring and it makes sense too as some of the oldest riders here are well above average in skill and physical fitness. It certainly doesn’t seem that they’re going to need to hang up their wheel for a long time.

Still, the question remains unanswered. Who is the oldest unicyclist? Klaas Bil, do you have more info about the person on your site you list as being 92? I may try to look into this information John Foss mentions about the USA newsletter between 74 and 77, though I would be surprised if there was much online about those.

17

i think wobbling bear is in his 60’s, but i might be wrong.

18

There are a couple of NZers who are riding in their early seventies. From memory one learnt to ride at age 69 and the other could already ride but picked it up again at age 71. He is doing well and has even taught himself how to suicide mount! He posts occassionally on the NZUni forums.

19

I just emailed Jack Halpern, the creator of this thread, in hopes that he has some more information about this. Searching the net didn’t provide much to go on.

One thing I really found to be surprising is how bare the Wikipedia pages are on unicycling. Both the entry on “Unicycles” and “Unicycling” barely scratch the surface of what we all discuss. Anyone here an active Wiki participant? The info could surely be revamped.

20

Haha, well I don’t plan on ever stopping! IN fact, the way I look at it, I had a 35 year absense from riding, and so I have a helluva lot of catching up to do; but I’m not satisfied with just plain “riding”…I need to push my limits and go for the big drops, gaps, stair sets, hardcore Muni, etc!.

I honestly feel that my best riding is still ahead of me, but yeah, Mother nature does dictate just how far I’ll be able to go, but maybe if I’m extra nice and say, “pretty please”, she’ll allow me to continue 'till I’m 100 or so! To be perfectly honest, I don’t even think about age when I’m out there riding; I just carry on as if I was in my 20’s and just GO FOR IT! Yeah baby, Yeah! :sunglasses: