Unicycling
growing as ticket to fun, transportation
ONE FOR THE
SKY: Karl Thompson jumps off rocks on his unicycle
at Moab MUni Fest. / Photo by Alyse Marchant
By Alyse Marchant
May 6, 2009 | Balance, determination, and change are
the name of the game, as unicycling becomes a popular
sport, form of transportation, and means of entertainment
for students in Utah.
Karl Thompson, a junior at the U of U majoring in
business, who placed fourth at the World Unicycle Championships
in Seattle and took first place at the National Championships
in Salt Lake City, said that the sport has been gaining
popularity over the past few years. Thompson said, "It
is growing and is going to become an extreme sport.
Teenagers are doing it, soon the unicycle will be the
new skateboard!"
The Home Page Daily said, "The little
known sport of extreme unicycling has seen a surge in
popularity recently."
Steven Mortenson, freshman at USU majoring in international
business, said he first started unicycling when he was
in seventh grade.
Mortenson said, that a unicycle club started when
he was in junior high, so lots of neighborhood kids
would get together and ride in the park every Wednesday.
When Mortenson moved to Utah State he brought his
unicycle with him. "A couple of my roommates knew how
to unicycle too! We kinda played around on our unicycles
first semester and tried to teach our other roommates,"
said Mortenson.
Thompson said he first started unicycling because
of his dad, Rolf Thompson.
"One of my favorite things about unicycling is being
with my family," Thompson said. Along with his father,
three of Thompson's siblings, and several of his cousins
enjoy unicycling. The family started going to Moab to
ride on Slickrock bike trail. This family tradition
evolved into Moab MUni Fest. This spring there were
208 unicyclers that rode around the national park for
the weekend event.
"Each year it just gets bigger," said Thompson.
Lexi Grant, a junior at USU in agricultural communication
and journalism, said, "I was walking down this
huge hill from campus, and there was this girl unicycling
down it! I am always afraid I am going to fall and roll
down that hill just walking. I thought she was going
to die!" Unicycling is changing and becoming more
extreme in the kind of terrain, the tricks, and the
types of unicycles that are being built for the sport.
The Press Enterprise of Riverside, Calif.,
reports, "The sport has progressed a long way --
in terms of participation; equipment (comfortable seats,
lighter frames and fat, knobby tires); and styles of
riding (there's trial riding, street riding, street
freestyle riding and straight-up MUni riding.)"
"I love unicycling because there is an endless possibility
of terrain," said Thompson. He can go from riding down
mountain roads, to red rocks, to jumping on park benches,
to riding riverside trails, to city cement structures,
to playgrounds, to pretty much whatever looks entertaining,
Thompson said.
Unicycling is becoming more than just riding down
the street, creating a need for developing new types
and styles of unicycles. Unicycles are being designed
that have breaks, stronger frames to support hopping
and jumping, better tires to provide more grip on slick
rocks and park benches, and more comfortable seats,
said Thompson.
There are also emerging more extreme forms of the
original unicycle. Mortenson said, that the unicycle
club had around 30 types of unicycles, ones with huge
wheels, giraffes (a really tall unicycle), and one called
the death wheel (a unicycle with no seat.)
Mortenson said that the hardest thing about unicycling
is falling. "It took me a few months to let go of the
wall," Mortenson said.
The best way to learn would be to get a friend and
learn together because it will be more motivating to
keep trying, especially if you are competitive, Mortenson
said. He said, "Don't give up! If you fall over, walk
it out, then get back on and try it again!"
Thompson says he thinks the hardest thing is staying
on the unicycle. Thompson's advice for learning the
sport is, "Just get on and ride it! Practice and
be determined!" He said that often the hardest thing
for learners is getting over their fear of not being
balanced and that makes them unbalanced. Once they trust
themselves and peddle they are just fine.
Thompson said, "Keep at it! Never surrender!"
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