unicycle commuters
07-03-07, 11:28 AM
#1
GATC
Thread Starter
unicycle commuters
https://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/03/nyregion/03ink.html
I wonder what the special features to accomodate long-distance rides are. A fairing? Rack and panniers? U-lock mount?
JOHN STONE is a composer and an athlete in Manhattan, and he has never been in a circus. This last fact is an important but often misunderstood aspect of his life, but perhaps one of the drawbacks of commuting to work in Midtown from his home on the Upper West Side on a unicycle.
“It gets tiresome that people see me on my unicycle and they only think of that,” he said on a recent Sunday while holding a tall black unicycle with special features to accommodate long-distance rides. “Sometimes people will see me riding and start singing circus music at me.”
“It gets tiresome that people see me on my unicycle and they only think of that,” he said on a recent Sunday while holding a tall black unicycle with special features to accommodate long-distance rides. “Sometimes people will see me riding and start singing circus music at me.”
I wonder what the special features to accomodate long-distance rides are. A fairing? Rack and panniers? U-lock mount?
07-03-07, 11:37 AM
#2
Huff Puff
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I've seen a unicycle commuter in San Francisco, wearing a helmet, yellow jacket with piping, two blinkies, cruising his way down Market Street... I wanted to tell him how cool he was but I was on foot and he was too fast 
07-03-07, 11:43 AM
#3
GATC
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I got to my kid's school's field day just as they were packing up the unicycles, I was crushed. Next year I will be there all day and hopefully get to try them out.
07-03-07, 12:01 PM
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Cool.
The last time I saw a unicycle was a month or two ago. The dude was heading down lookout mountain on it.
Lookout mountain is a wee bit on the steep side.
The last time I saw a unicycle was a month or two ago. The dude was heading down lookout mountain on it.
Lookout mountain is a wee bit on the steep side.
07-03-07, 05:50 PM
#6
On my TARDIScycle!
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07-03-07, 05:58 PM
#7
Retro-nerd
Talk about track-standing at the traffic light. 
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Would you like a dream with that?
Would you like a dream with that?
07-03-07, 07:47 PM
#8
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WTF...
That isn't a unicycle, it's just a wheel!
That isn't a unicycle, it's just a wheel!
07-03-07, 10:56 PM
#9
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I saw a guy climbing an intense hill by my house on a uni-cycle a few weeks ago. That sht looked brutal. I can't imagine the core that dude had.
07-03-07, 11:04 PM
#10
fixed for the long haul
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It definitely takes some different muscles. I rode a unicycle all the time as a teenager until I got pretty good (hopping, jumping short obstacles, 360 spins, 5-mile rides, etc.). Now 40 years old and having commuted to work by bike for 5 years, I stopped a guy on a unicycle in Prospect Park to ask if I could try it. Wow, I still had the balance but the muscles I used to have were gone. I didn't seem to have the strength in the right places to stay on it more than 30 seconds.
07-04-07, 12:35 AM
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There's a guy in my office building that commutes on a unicycle! I spoke with him once, I think he has two different unicycles, one with a larger/road tire and another one for rougher terrain - I think he rides that one in the rain.
There's another local that I saw a short movie about: 'One Tired Guy', check out the trailers here: https://www.beyondgravity.com/otg/
There were parts of it I almost couldn't look at.
I'd love to learn to ride one, I got to try one for a few minutes last year - unsuccessfully. I think it would take a while for me to pick it up.
There's another local that I saw a short movie about: 'One Tired Guy', check out the trailers here: https://www.beyondgravity.com/otg/
There were parts of it I almost couldn't look at.
I'd love to learn to ride one, I got to try one for a few minutes last year - unsuccessfully. I think it would take a while for me to pick it up.
07-04-07, 04:03 AM
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When I was a kid, one of my neighbors had a uni, and he let me goof off on it. I never got really good with manuevering it, but could go down the street quite a few yards without losing it .
If I would have kept up with it, I might have got the hang of it. I have a good sense of balance. For kicks, when I come to a stop at a traffic light, I like to see how long I can go before having to put my feet on the ground, and have made it all the way until the light changes quite a few times.
Anybody else do that on their bikes? Try to see how long you can be at a standstill without putting your feet on the ground? I'm guessing lots of two wheelers (I used to do it on motorcycles too) do that for yucks, but maybe I'm just weird?
If I would have kept up with it, I might have got the hang of it. I have a good sense of balance. For kicks, when I come to a stop at a traffic light, I like to see how long I can go before having to put my feet on the ground, and have made it all the way until the light changes quite a few times.
Anybody else do that on their bikes? Try to see how long you can be at a standstill without putting your feet on the ground? I'm guessing lots of two wheelers (I used to do it on motorcycles too) do that for yucks, but maybe I'm just weird?
07-04-07, 12:19 PM
#14
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Originally Posted by pedalMonger
If I would have kept up with it, I might have got the hang of it. I have a good sense of balance. For kicks, when I come to a stop at a traffic light, I like to see how long I can go before having to put my feet on the ground, and have made it all the way until the light changes quite a few times.
07-04-07, 01:05 PM
#15
Senior Member
I want to see what a long-distance equipped unicycle looks like!
07-04-07, 01:54 PM
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07-05-07, 08:19 AM
#17
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I've seen one guy on a uni commuting in Bellingham Washington.
My wife and I were on vacation there and were out for an early morning run about 5:30 AM local time, and a guy was riding down Lakeway toward town keeping up with traffic. Blinky on the back of his messenger bag and a helmet mounted headlight. Coolest damn thing I've ever seen.
My wife and I were on vacation there and were out for an early morning run about 5:30 AM local time, and a guy was riding down Lakeway toward town keeping up with traffic. Blinky on the back of his messenger bag and a helmet mounted headlight. Coolest damn thing I've ever seen.
