Down the Mountain on a Wheel and a Prayer

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I thought uni-cycling was crazy enough, little did I know circus shows and clown tricks was just the tip of the iceberg. Who would have thought to take an already challenging sport and even make it more challenging by adding even more of a struggle with balance. Don’t get me wrong though, I think it’s awesome, something right down my lane of interest.

The article talks about the apparently growing sport and community for the sport of mountain unicycling, also known as “municycling”. To be completely honest I’ve always been fond of these tricks and skills that people have. I’ve never seen the disadvantage of learning something new. And quite frankly have been considering the idea of learning how to ride a unicycle. I already practice juggling and solving "Rubik’s cubes" and other peculiar skills. The article talked about the fact that this sport has only been around since 1990 which to me is really surprising, most hobbies and sports are generally very old and have been passed down through generations. This one however was developed by young thrill seekers and adrenaline junkies. What really peaked my interest was reading that this sport has a fast and growing community of people interested in this sport. I think what was most satisfying to read was that they didn’t even refer to this as a pastime or hobby but as a sport.

This article has moved me considerably. It may have not been all that well written but knowing that there are many people out there, that have these ideas, I feel like as soon as I get some free time I too am going to look into getting a unicycle. Maybe someday I will be able to race with the rest of these thrill seekers. You never know where a dream or even an interest will take you. Now that I look back at my reading, all I can remember is me thinking how much I wanted to try this. The video they provided was also very inspirational. Maybe not to most but at least to me it was inspiring me to hunt down this skill and sport and maybe it will take me to places I never dreamed of being too.

In conclusion, I don’t think the article was all that well written, But it was surely inspirational to me. I hope that I get my act together and follow this through to the end. I’ll follow in the footsteps of all the mountain cyclists before me, maybe only this time on one wheel.
-Cameron McLean

Source:

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/27/sports/othersports/27unicycle.html?_r=0
David Gelles, “Down the Mountain on a Wheel and a Prayer“, New York Times,
July 27, 2008