FALLEN FOR UNICYCLES
By Jim Shelton
3 April 2008
New Haven Register (MCT)
Distributed by McClatchy - Tribune Information Services.
Apr. 3--NEW HAVEN -- Noah Holm and his friends aren't reinventing the
wheel. They're just trying to ride one without looking goofy.
At least, that's how Elm City Unicycling spins it. The group, a casual
collection of local folks intrigued by the possibilities of
single-wheeled travel, has been meeting twice a week since January.
"This started as an intersection of boredom, cabin fever and a real
excitement about biking," explains Holm, a teacher at Common Ground
High School.
One of the members, city biking advocate David Streever, saw a local ad
on the Web site Craigslist offering five used unicycles for sale.
Streever suggested to some friends that they purchase the cycles for
$50 each and form a club.
Simple. Now they have to learn how to ride the things.
"It feels a little like falling," says Cliff Wilson, 32, of New Haven.
"And that feeling never goes away."
Indeed, none of the original members has previous unicycling
experience. They spent the winter doggedly practicing such essentials
as getting on and off the unicycle. Each additional bit of riding
distance was a cause for celebration.
"Having
On this day, the club meets at a parking lot near the Yale University
campus. The cyclists take turns wheeling around the flat, paved
surface, arms flailing and faces lit up with excitement and fear. Among
them is Leslie Soubien, 22, a native of France who now lives in New
Haven.
"I used to ride a unicycle five years ago," she explains. "I'd ride it
into town. Just small rides."
Soubien was inspired, she says, by the story of a woman in Rome who
friends involved makes a difference," Streever says. "Every time I'd
add another five feet, I'd get so excited I'd fall off my uni."
commuted with a unicycle, even taking it with her on the subway.
"That's totally what I want to be," Soubien says. "It's faster than
walking, without having a huge bicycle to carry around. I'm pretty
passionate about the use of human motion."
Soubien and Streever s****t T****rts with the name of the club. After a
short break, they get back on their unicycles and practice a do-si-do
maneuver, locking arms and turning in a tight circle. "It's like square
dancing," Streever says.
Meanwhile, Holm practices going up a steep hill with his unicycle.
"I love how, when little kids see us, they have to have their mom
explain what a unicycle is," Holm says with a laugh. "I feel like no
one is mean to a unicyclist. People are happy to see you."
Holm, by the way, has filmed several of the club's practices. He's
posted them on the club's Web site, www.elmcityunicycling.com/ , as
well as on YouTube.
Elm City Unicycling now has more than a dozen members. The group's
purpose, according to Wilson, is very simple. "Spread joy. That's it.
That's our manifesto," he says.
Eventually, once the day's skills session is finished, club members
decide to ride downtown as a group. "One city block on a unicycle is
equal to infinity," Wilson notes.
Streever, for one, is undaunted as he leads the way. "This is my
commuter bike now," he says. "I went to meet my girlfriend downtown the
other day, and I took my umbrella."
Still, there is a downside to unicycling, which Soubien details. "So
many people will ask, 'Who took your other wheel?'" she says. "Or they
want to know if you're in the circus."
--
JJuggle
Raphael Lasar - Matawan, NJ
There's a shop on the corner selling paper mache,
selling bullet proof faces, Charlie Manson, Cassius Clay.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
JJuggle's Profile: http://www.unicyclist.com/profile/24
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