U is for Unicycling

Just because this is one of my passions doesn't mean I'm very good at it and trust me, I'm not! I do enjoy it though.

It all began many moons ago when I asked Paula for a unicycle for my 30th birthday. I was really into juggling and wanted to try something different. I was blessed with a DM Ringmaster and despite several attempts to ride it it got neglected and largely forgotten. Then in 1999 we went to All Nations for a year and one of the students had his giraffe uni there and with a few tips I decided to invest in learning to ride my Ringmaster.

It took me 2 hours a day for three weeks just to ride a metre or so unaided but from there I never looked back. My tutor at the time commented that if I put as much effort into my assignments as I did into my uni I'd be top of the class. My reply was that I had to have something to show for my year at All Nations.

Since those days my uni has been on many travels with me and has been used by many different people. Somewhere along the line I also picked up a Pashley 20" which is awaiting a new tyre and tube from Blighty and recently acquired a Nimbus 36" which is a huge amount of fun to ride. Once my Pashley has been restored I'll be using it to teach Eli to unicycle, he's desperate to learn.

One of my biggest joys in unicycling has to be teaching some of the kids in Zimbabwe to ride it. To see former street kids whizzing up and down the road on a uni was so much fun and confounded a lot of locals!

See more pics of me unicycling here there's also one or two of some of the kids in Zim.

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This post is part of a series in the Blogging From A To Z Challenge, April 2012.

My unicycle collection left to right, DM Ringmaster, Pashley (cut down for Eli), and Nimbus Nightrider 36"

6 comments:

  1. I love the image of the kids unicycling around and confusing the locals!

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  2. It was certainly something to make you smile!

    Thanks for stopping by.

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  3. How unique! I absolutely love unique talents. And uni-cycling; Cooler than!

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  4. Great U post. Still have my son's unicycle in the garage. He actually got on it after years and years. Amazing ability. My hubby can go a few feet. I can sit on it, let go of the wall, and balance for about a split second. :-) Love those pix!

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  5. Cool! I'm also a juggler, which if you've visited my site you might have noticed. My brother used to be very good at riding the unicycle. I've tried riding his and never could get the hang of it.

    Congratulations for getting through the Challenge. Hope you can join us for the May 7th Reflections Post.


    Lee
    An A to Z Co-Host
    Tossing It Out

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