This article was originally written for the TANDBERG Television company newsletter in 2004. For some reason I kept it, so here is the original text…
My wife bought me a unicycle for Christmas back in 2000. We had just found out that she was pregnant so our rock climbing was going to be taking a back seat for the foreseeable future. Up until that point, we would be away climbing every weekend, weather permitting; we trained at a local climbing centre once a week and even had our own training wall in a spare bedroom. Climbing requires a combination of balance and strength – my wife’s idea was that a unicycle would keep my balance skills well honed until our children were old enough to be infected with the climbing bug. Our climbing wall gave way to a nursery.
Like most unicycles, mine spent most of its first two years in a cupboard. The good intentions of the first few days after Christmas began to peter out, and soon the gap between attempts grew longer and longer. Once our two boys arrived later that year, the unicycle was all but forgotten.
The unicycle remained in the cupboard until about May 2003 when, for some reason, I decided I needed to learn before my boys’ second birthday (hard deadlines always focus the mind). I vowed to crack it once and for all, pumped up the tyre and scanned the web for hints and tips. If you ever want to give yourself a lesson in perseverance, there’s nothing better. It’s totally impossible to ride a unicycle, right up to the point when it becomes relatively easy. I found a rarely used tennis court near the office and would head there for 30 minutes or so of practice a few times a week. It doesn’t take too long to learn to ride alongside a fence, with one hand fending off the wall, but riding totally free is a different matter. At first, if you’re lucky, you might manage half a pedal revolution before falling off. This stage lasts a frustratingly long time, but eventually you manage a whole pedal revolution and then maybe three or four. I won’t forget the first time I made it all the way across the court. I think it took about 10 hours to get to this stage, plus a replacement unicycle saddle and some new skin.
Of course this is just the beginning. With no steering, no gears and no brakes, the simplest of tasks on a bicycle becomes a major new skill to learn. Learning to stop (rather than fall off), turn, “freemount” (get on without holding on to anything), idle, hop, ride backwards, etc provide sufficient challenges for a lifetime. I’m currently perfecting my freemount.
So what next? I have my eye on the up and coming sport of Mountain Unicycling (Muni). Riding on anything but smooth concrete is a challenge, so off-road riding is somewhere close to impossible. Maybe one day I’ll join the annual Muni ride to the summit of Snowdon, but in the meantime I’ll be happy if I can make it along a flat-ish forest track and keep up with my three year old sons on their Bob the Builder bikes.
If anyone else is contemplating learning, I’d certainly recommend it. When you’re riding a unicycle it’s very hard to think about anything else so it’s a great way to relax and clear your head. It’s also an extremely inefficient mode of transport, so you’re guaranteed a good workout. I’m not aware of any other unicyclists in the company, but I can’t believe I’m the only one. Is there anyone else who rides, or fancies trying? There’s always unicycle hockey if we can find enough of us!