Unicycles Make Us Smile

There’s something about a guy (or gal) whizzing by on a one-wheeled vehicle that makes people smile or grin uncontrollably. Call it “the Clown Effect” or whatever you like, but this simple event inevitably jolts people out of their enclosed misery long enough to see the world of fun coming at ’em.

Whenever I ride my unicycle 17 miles or more (which is often for someone shooting for 1000 miles every year) I get a lot of comments, stares, and yes, grins, shouts of glee, smiles, and laughs. I guess some people think the county hired me to patrol the trails and greenways and make people happy.

But no… I wasn’t hired by anybody, and I do it mostly for the exercise. The fact that it is also outrageously fun and attention-getting is just a bonus.

Back in 2009 I failed a stress test and knew I had to exercise. My only options at the time – I thought – were to work out in the gym or organize a local team to play sports. Since I hated the gym and, at age 58, didn’t know enough guys my age willing to form a team, I figured I’d just start jogging or cycling. But both of these sports were, well, too normal!

It was then I remembered that beat-up unicycle I had ridden between the ages of 13 and 18. “Why don’t I fix that up and ride it?” I quietly asked myself whimsically, hating the idea of doing anything “normal.”

But I knew it would be tough. I hadn’t ridden in almost 40 years – every since my dad told me to “stop showing off” by riding in public. That, and the fact that girls captured my attention, made me hang up my pedals after high school. I still carried my uni with me whenever I moved, however… “just in case.”

I dug out my old unicycle and took it to Josh and Amy at the unicycle store in Marietta, Georgia for repairs. They took one look at it, laughed, and offered to set me up with a larger, nicer, and more functional wheel. Since I was serious about exercising, I bought the sales pitch.

In the beginning it was tough. I felt awkward and stiff. Soon, however, I was riding along in the nearby park at a steady clip, and setting personal records weekly. I also started noticing the smiles I was generating – even from the macho guys who felt the need to impress me with comments like “Hey, you’ve only got one wheel!”

Since I started back on a unicycle, I’ve ridden over a thousand miles each year and added other personal achievements such as “riding my age” in one day at age 60, and completing the 200-mile round trip in late 2014 on the Silver Comet-Chief Ladiga Trail during the coldest November week on record! The last ride not only generated smiles, but also $2000 in donations for orphans in Nepal!

Now I want to teach others to enjoy this thrilling sport. With the help of the few Atlanta unicyclists I hope to achieve my admittedly ambitious goal of world domination (if we fall short, at least we’ll have that Laughter Conference presentation in Atlanta to remember)!

Eventually – when the whole world can smile and shout “We’ve only got one wheel!” – wars will cease, disease will end, and poverty will disappear.

You heard it here first.

https://youtu.be/41Iu3Zwruq8