Unicycle articles (but wait there's more...)

*Sun City unicyclist rides along at age 94*

By KATY O'GRADY
Daily News-Sun
575 words
12 April 2004
03:30
Associated Press Newswires
English
(c) 2004. The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.

SUN CITY, Ariz. (AP) - Fred Barton may be the oldest unicyclist in the
world.

A quick search of the Guinness Book of World Records shows no such
category, but at 94, Barton is probably too busy with his social life to
worry about records.

Inspired by fellow unicyclists Seven and Jackie Cama of Sun City Grand,
Barton picked up his first unicycle when he was 92.

"He was a biker. That's how we met him. He was in his 80s and he was out
doing these 20-mile bicycle rides," Jackie Cama said.

Jackie Cama said when Barton found out about Seven's unicycling, "he
looked at my husband and said, 'Order me one.'"

So Barton gave it a shot. He installed a railing on his back deck to
help him get on the unicycle and learn to balance it.

"I thought it was unbelievable, and it took me at least six months just
to stay on it," he said. "My neighbor, she and her daughter would peek
through the window and think, 'He's crazy.'"

Jackie Cama said she was impressed with Barton's tenacity.

"He just never gave up. He took some very serious falls, and just kept
at it and at it and at it," she said. "He's a great guy, and he's been a
wonderful friend. He's just amazingly young for his age."

Barton said he now unicycles about 1 mile three times a week.

"For me, it's for exercise more than the joy of unicycling," he said.

Barton also bowls in two leagues, averaging between 140 and 150, and is
an avid poker and bridge player.

Born Ferdinand Antonius Rainier Barten, Barton lived in the Netherlands
until immigrating to the states in 1932. Lured by the Mormon faith, he
moved to America and changed his name to Fred Barton.

"I felt this is my adopted country and I feel very American, and I want
to be as American as I can be," he said.

His new name was easier to pronounce and most people spelled his last
name with an "O" anyway.

Barton was aiming for Salt Lake City, but ended up in California when a
stranger asked him to carry a package to a restaurant for $1. Barton was
arrested because the package contained drugs.

"The district attorney, after several hours, he put his arm around me
and said, 'Don't worry,'" Barton said.

The district attorney explained to him about the drugs, and helped him
get room and board at a YMCA. Having had some experience making wigs in
Holland, Barton found work in the beauty business.

At the same time, he was going to law school and had joined the National
Guard. It was 1941, and he was set to graduate in January when the
Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7.

He served until June 30, guarding California's bridges, which
authorities feared the Japanese might try to attack with submarines.

Barton continued helping the war effort by working at a couple of
shipyards until the war ended in 1945. He then took on a series of other
jobs, some tapping into his law background, before finally retiring at
the age of 86.

Watching him hop on his unicycle, it's clear Barton may be retired, but
he's still eager to learn new tricks.


--
JJuggle - Last of the Dogmato-Revisionists

'6th Annual LBI Unithon - Sat, June 5, 2004'
(http://jjuggle.unicyclist.com/lbiunithon)

"Bad art, while often quite bad, is much better than no art at all"
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Rafael, thanks for continuing to add new material to this thread. The
story about the 94 y.o. unicyclist was gold!


Klaas Bil - Newsgroup Addict
--
Clearly a system of 1/14 and 1/16 is not decimal - Mikefule on the English weight system

Inspirational! To be learning at 92 would seem to be quite different
from maintaining an old skill to that age! Thanks for the post,
JJuggle.


--
elmer - uniimpaired

"At 40 life begins...to show."
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MAYOR'S AMAZING BALANCING ACT!

By DAYLE CRUTCHLOW.
319 words
1 May 2004
Coventry Evening Telegraph
3
English
(c) 2004 Coventry Newspapers Ltd

BEING mayor of two towns can be something of a balancing act and now Ian
Lloyd is set to prove it.

Cllr Lloyd, Mayor of Nuneaton and Bedworth, is gearing up for a
money-spinning unicycle ride between the two town centres for his
mayor's appeal.

Cllr Lloyd has been training for nine months for the endeavour, which he
hopes will boost his funds for his adopted charity Mencap, for which he
hopes to raise £60,000 to install a lift at its Chetwynd House HQ.

He said: "I was so impressed with the way the people at Mencap overcome
their disabilities that I asked for someone to find me a challenge which
I could try and overcome during my mayoral year.

"I wanted a challenge to show everybody that if you put your mind to
something, you can overcome any disability or difficulty.

"Such a challenge was suggested by Nuneaton Juggling Club who challenged
me to learn how to ride a unicycle!

"It gives me great pleasure to announce that for the past nine months I
have been attempting to master this challenge with the assistance of my
brother-in-law David Powell, who has literally been a shoulder to lean
on!

"I have also been assisted by the experts at Cannons Fitness Centre who
have been trying to improve my stamina and fitness for the long ride
ahead."

Cllr Lloyd hopes to raise £1,000 from his mammoth ride on June 5 and he
is calling on local people, businesses and organisations to sponsor him
on 024 7637 6210.

He said: "Knowing that such generosity will once again be forthcoming
from the people of the borough will help me to keep my mind off the
bruising, cuts and severe cramps I have endured over the last months of
training and no doubt will sustain me on the day."


--
JJuggle - Last of the Dogmato-Revisionists

'6th Annual LBI Unithon - Sat, June 5, 2004'
(http://jjuggle.unicyclist.com/lbiunithon)

*Do Not Taunt Happy Fun Ball!*
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*Wheelie amazing stunts on show.*

By Joanne Emmerson.
233 words
27 April 2004
Evening Gazette
5
English
(c) 2004 Gazette Media Company Ltd. All Rights Reserved.

Hundreds of unicyclists have been having a wheelie good time as a
British convention descended on a Teesside town.

Enthusiasts from as far afield as France, Belgium and America were at St
Michael's RC School in Billingham for the 11th annual event, which ran
from Friday until Sunday.

But it is the first time the three-day convention, which includes hockey
matches, trials and freestyle events, has been held in the North-east -
much to the delight of local lad Simon McAndrew.

The 17-year-old from Church Road, Billingham has been riding a unicycle
for about three years.

Speaking at the event he said: "It's great here.

"It's strange because I'm used to having to travel all over the country
for events and this one is just on the doorstep."

More than 150 riders headed for the event, with many covering hundreds
of miles to make it to Teesside.

One participant, Connie Cotter, even travelled from Minnesota in
America.

Connie runs the largest unicycle club in the world - with more than 300
members - in Minneapolis.

She is a freestyle teacher and describes it as "a bit like ice dancing"
but without the ice.

This was the third British convention the American has been to, and she
says she keeps coming back because "she has made so many friends over
here".


--
JJuggle - Last of the Dogmato-Revisionists

'6th Annual LBI Unithon - Sat, June 5, 2004'
(http://jjuggle.unicyclist.com/lbiunithon)

*Do Not Taunt Happy Fun Ball!*
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JJuggle wrote:
*UP, UP AND AWAY - ON ONE WHEEL

292 words
2 April 2004
New Zealand Press Association
English
(c) 2004 New Zealand Press Association

Whangarei, April 2 - Skinny, bespectacled and riding about on one
wheel, Tony Melton is not your classic schoolyard idol.

But at Opua Primary School, 8km south of Russell, where pupils have
taken up the art of one-wheel cycling with fervour, he has something
approaching rock-god status.
*


Yet another notch for Tony! Good stuff.

Ken


--
GizmoDuck - Adventure unicyclist

o-kO


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JJuggle wrote:
*MAYOR'S AMAZING BALANCING ACT!
"I wanted a challenge to show everybody that if you put your mind to
something, you can overcome any disability or difficulty.

"Such a challenge was suggested by Nuneaton Juggling Club who
challenged me to learn how to ride a unicycle! *


can i still nominate this guy for president?


--
GILD - Waffle-tosser (ocfopgm)

only those who attempt the absurd will achieve the impossible. i think
it's
in my basement...let me go upstairs and check.
~ m. c. escher

'[image: http://www.addis-welt.de/smilie/smilie/sp/84255.gif]'
(http://tinyurl.com/ywxgb)
Namaste!
Dave
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GILD wrote:
*

can i still nominate this guy for president? *
I think Arnold has a better chance. Besides, this British clown is
trying to turn politics into a bloody circus.

Raphael Lasar
Matawan, NJ


--
JJuggle - Last of the Dogmato-Revisionists

'6th Annual LBI Unithon - Sat, June 5, 2004'
(http://jjuggle.unicyclist.com/lbiunithon)

*Do Not Taunt Happy Fun Ball!*
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Unicyclists of the world, but particularly Canadians, get your email
fingers ready...

RIDE THESE, AND PEOPLE WILL STA MONTREALERS ARE AN UNCONVENTIONAL
LOT, SO IT'S NO SURPRISE THAT THEY'VE WARMED TO A WEALTH OF ALTERNATIVES
TO THE TIRESOME 10-SPEED AND THE HO-HUM HYBRID

JOHN MACFARLANE
Freelance
1,725 words
8 May 2004
Montreal Gazette
Final
G8
English
Copyright © 2004 Montreal Gazette

When the snow melts and weather warms up, Montrealers suddenly
rediscover their bicycles, converging upon kilometres of trails, weaving
in and out of traffic, and decorating lampposts and parking meters with
their two-wheeled rides.

But if Montreal is a city of cyclists, it's also a city of
attention-seekers and unconventional types, and that combination means
strange bicycles: rickety vintage models salvaged from the trash heap
and mutant machines made from assorted cannibalized parts.

The city's European influence produces Tour de France types on flashy
road bikes more expensive than small cars, while the looming presence of
Mount Royal challenges well-padded risk-takers to take it on with their
chunky mountain bikes.

And let's not forget the depanneur-delivery bike, a welded contraption
that ferries beer, toilet paper and potato chips to city residents who
do their shopping by phone.

All of this should make finding a bicycle that cries out "Look at me!" a
difficult task. But Montrealers have made their tastes known, and the
bicycle manufacturers have responded.

On the streets of Montreal, there is a wealth of alternatives to the
tiresome 10-speed, the monotonous mountain bike, and the ho-hum
hybrid......


.....Unicycle: This is a great means of transportation - if you're a
clown. Really though, a unicycle will certainly develop your sense of
balance and get you lots of attention. But, as Hogg of ABC Cycle &
Sports noted, "You can't get from A to B very quick, and it's hard on
the legs, man."

Price: starting at around $200.

Montreal practicality: low.

Cool factor: (without clown suit) low-medium, (with clown suit) low.
=============================================

The Montreal Gazette 'Contact Us' (http://tinyurl.com/3dj73) page.


--
JJuggle - Last of the Dogmato-Revisionists

'6th Annual LBI Unithon - Sat, June 5, 2004'
(http://jjuggle.unicyclist.com/lbiunithon)

*Do Not Taunt Happy Fun Ball!*
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There are some newspaper articles posted ' in this gallery'
(http://gallery.unicyclist.com/Media-Adulation) from my visit to Opua
Primary School in the Bay of Islands. If you squint your eyes you can
kinda read the text. JJuggle mentioned one of these articles in an
earlier post on this thread.


--
TonyMelton - Up, up and awaaaay!

See some photos of the first 'NZ MUni Weekend'
(http://gallery.unicyclist.com/NZ-MUni-Weekend-2004)
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