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Unicycle articles (but wait there's more...)
http://tinyurl.com/8ls49 Victoria News Sep 14 2005 title: Unicyclists take their sport off road Don Denton/Victoria News Sean Goode rides his unicycle over a bridge in the Hartland recreation area, a favourite local haunt of extreme unicyclists. By Patrick Blennerhassett Extreme mountain bikers are crazy. They plummet down hills on two wheels at deadly speeds with little more than a helmet and some pads. Extreme unicyclists, on the other hand, plummet down hills on one wheel, without handlebars or brakes. If that's not crazy, or crazier, then what is? For 17 year-olds Sean Goode and Bryan Corry, both members of the Victoria Unicycling Club, extreme unicycling isn't crazy per se, just a way to break from the mainstream side of sports. "I've always liked fringe sports or anything that's unusual," said Corry, who teaches unicycling through Saanich Parks and Recreation. "Anything that's not really mainstream, anything that looks unique, I like." Unicycling definitely looks unique. With one wheel to navigate terrain, Corry said most people get the false impression that it's hard to learn. "I think it depends," he said. "If you have a teacher, it's very easy to learn. I can guarantee with a one-on-one class that they'll be riding within three hours. It's very simple once you get past a few common mistakes that people tend to do." One of the most common mistakes is holding onto the seat when riding, said Corry. "The only time you really do hold onto your seat is when you're gapping or jumping up onto something," added Corry. If you're into gapping and jumping on a unicycle, check out the Hartland recreation area where you're sure to find Goode and Corry hitting the trails and ripping up the dirt. "We do lots of off-roading there," said Corry. "There's great stuff there. There's just random drops that you don't see. You jump a log and then there'll be a drop on the other side that you won't see. It's a lot of fun." Aside from off-roading, the two also do some urban freestyle riding, which is more Goode's forte than Corry's. "It's on a flat surface like concrete," said Goode. "Usually you stay on the ground for most of it, there's not a lot of hopping usually." Some of the tricks they pull freestyling include riding backwards, riding one-footed and wheel walking (which can be done one-footed or backwards). The possibilities are endless, Corry added. "There's thousands of different tricks when it comes to freestyling. It really is the oldest form of unicycling." Corry's forte is time trials, in which competitors tackle obstacles on the unicycle, such as jumping from logs and up and over rocks or barriers. And now the two are getting into an even newer form called street unicycling, which combines freestyling and time trials. "So what you do is use (time) trial obstacles to launch freestyle tricks," said Corry. "So you jump a stair set then do a one-eighty, or a tire grab or a shifty, stuff like that. It's very cool to see, it's a lot like skateboarding." "It's one of the more showy one's," added Goode. "It looks good on film." As far as the fear factor with unicycling compared to it's two-wheeled sister, mountain biking, Goode said flying down hills on one wheel isn't necessarily more dangerous. "It's almost safer than mountain biking," said Goode. "Because you can fly over the handle bars (mountain biking.) If you fall off a unicycle you usually end up running with it, so there's less chance of getting out of control." But big spills do happen, added Corry. "I've seen it before," he said. "Most of the time you end up landing on your feet but I've seen a few instances where that's completely untrue." One of those instances involved Goode himself, after his first day on a unicycle. "Bryan had assured me that no one ever falls on their head and I ride home and smacked the back of my head," chuckled Goode. "I was just glad I was wearing a helmet." So why do these kids drop a wheel and ride the solo treads? Corry said unicycling offers limitless possibilities to try new things and ways to expand the sport. "It's the feel of it," he said. "When your on the unicycle you just feel free. You can do anything and it's exciting. You're constantly looking for the next challenge. I personally was never good at biking. To be honest I always get hurt when I get on a bike now." © Copyright 2005 Victoria News -- leo - Leo Vandewoestijne '+1 866-UNI-CYCL' (callto://+18668642925) 'unicycle.net' (http://www.unicycle.net/) 'Subscribe' (http://unicyclist.org/cont/subscribe.cfm) to 'unicyclist.org' (http://unicyclist.org/) ! -last edited by leo on 2007-02-31 at 09:03 pm- ------------------------------------------------------------------------ leo's Profile: http://www.unicyclist.com/profile/224 View this thread: http://www.unicyclist.com/thread/22148 |
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