Written by Adhe Sarariany Andi Djohar (NP)
Unicycles have long been associated with carnivals, parades and clowns. This pre-perception could have been formed from my childhood experiences. The idea of balancing oneself on a ‘vehicle’ that is one-wheeled has always been found to be greatly fascinating, be it with the young or the old. If you do not know of anybody who has a unicycle, a unicycle can be bought for about $120 to $150.
About a week back, I got the chance to ride this ‘vehicle’ that I had always felt was way beyond me.
Trying out the sport for the first time, it was clearly daunting. However, under the watchful eye of an expert in the form of Jiahui, a unicyclist from Team Uni, I could come up with 5 steps to ride a unicycle!
How To Ride A Unicycle
Step 1 : Get the unicycle against a wall or railing
Step 2 : Make sure the paddle of your stronger leg
is facing you (left image)
Step 3 : Hold on to the wall or railing
Step 4 : Slip the seat under you (right image)
Step 5 : Look straight ahead and get comfortable
with the riding motion
Jiahui says "It takes about 2 weeks to learn to ride a unicycle, as compared to about 3 days for bicycles. There's no handlebar to block when you fall so you end up either falling on your feet or knees rather than getting trapped under the frame. You move slower than on a bike so you don't risk speed-related injuries."
I think the lack of publicity of this sport definitely has to be due to the lack of awareness. Let me introduce you to
Team-Uni - a team of avid unicyclists and definitely a very willing bunch of folks to impart their balancing prowess. The team has taken much effort to spread the one-wheeled bug to everybody they get in contact with.
Click here to find out more about Team-Uni!
For more information on unicycles from wikipedia, click here.