Set of Questions (From Aaron Lutz) and Answers (by Mike King)
1)How did you first get into the sport?
I got into the sport when I was 11 years old (I'm 25 now) for some unknown
reason, I was a kid and saw one in the hardware store and I thought it would
be pretty fun to learn, so I saved up some money and bought my first unicycle.
It took me quite a while to learn on my own, and I didn't know anyone else
who could ride one, but with lots of practice, I learned to ride well and
eventually I either found people to ride with or I taught them myself.
2)What kind of events are there for competitors?
The are lots of events, if one is willing to travel, but it's fairly unlikely
that there will be anything local unless there are local clubs. The big competition
each year (UNICON) is in a different part of the world every time, but it
includes a competition for pretty much everything you could possibly imagine
you could do on a unicycle. There is also the odd competition in the states,
or in the UK where there are simply many more unicyclists around to make it
possible.
3)What made you start the unipsychoes?
I started the Calgary Mountain Unipsychos because I knew there were other
unicyclists in Calgary but I didn't know how to find them. I only knew three
or four other riders but we all thought it would be fun if there are more
people to get together with and learn new skills. I also thought that a web
site might be the best place for people to find the club (at least those who
have the Internet) and I was already familiar with web design from running
my own company, Ethereal 3D.
4)Do you expect the sport to become hugely popular in the near future?
I don't think that unicycling, mountain, freestyle or trials, will ever become
hugely popular. Any sport that has a really steep learning curve never seems
to become hugely popular, and unicycling is definitely one of those sports.
I don't get me wrong, anyone can learn but you need dedication and have some
hard work to get really good. Personally, I like the fact that unicycling
is a very rare sport and it is exhilarating to be able to ride places on a
unicycle that people never even thought was possible. My favorite times when
I'm unicycling are when I'm riding down a rocky slope in the mountains and
you meet people hiking or biking and they are amazed to see a mountain unicyclist,
let alone riding on the same brutal trails without gears or brakes!
Mountain unicycling, and trials unicycling have grown substantially in the
past few years, which have been a big help in making a higher demand to get
better equipment more selection, and more people designing quality components.
Since five or six years ago, there are probably 10 times the number of products
and unicycle's to buy that were never available before. This has made the
sport a lot more enjoyable because of better equipment and at the same time,
a lot more accessible for new people getting into it.
5)What would you like to see happen to the sport? More competitions?
Personally, I'm extremely happy with the sport right now, there is great
equipment available, great inspiration from the huge unicycling community
on the Internet, and there are already competitions held for people who are
interested. I am personally not very interested in competitions, I've always
learned every skill on my own and the sport is very much about self-motivation
and dedication to push yourself further than ever before. As long as your
approving your own skill set in trying new things, I don't think competition
can make that any more enjoyable. Mountain unicycling, freestyle, or trials
are all very different so it's also difficult to judge or compare riding abilities.
I really enjoy being able to ride with other people, helping people and learning
from other people about the new skills with mountain unicycling so those are
the things I hope keep improving for the sport. The Internet is a great resource
for finding help and there are more and more people getting into the sport
to ride with it. I've produced my own mountain unicycling video called, "Unipsycho
Extreme" which includes narrated training clips to help people improve
their skills. It's great to be able to learn skills from other riders and
that is what I think the sport needs the most.
6)What does someone have to do to become a member of the unipsychoes?
In order to join the Calgary Mountain Unipsychos, all you need to do is learned
to ride a unicycle, and come riding with us sometime. Our club is quite informal,
but it's a great way to learn new skills from other unicyclists and it's a
great way to enjoy the outdoors.
7)Where is the best place to ride?
There are too many places to name one as the best place to ride, but I personally
most enjoy long steep rooted singletrack in the Rockies. There's a huge variety
of riding in and around Calgary, and the nearby mountains make for some of
the best scenic trails. I've riden Vancouver's Northshore and it is definitely
one extremely challenging ride and I wish I had more opportunities to ride
their, but I sure can't complain about the local scene.
8)Are there training camps for beginners?
I'm not sure if there are any specific training camps just for unicycling,
I know unicycling is being used more regularly for sports training in the
off-season for other sports that require excellent balance skills, and a number
of those people end up becoming mountain unicycling as well. As far as I know,
there aren't any local such camps, but clubs are probably the best places
to learn from anyway because unicycling is a way easier to learn with the
help of another person. Holding onto someone's shoulder while they walk is
the fastest method if you ask me, and I've taught a lot of people to ride.
9) Where's the best place to buy a unicycle?
There are two options, either buy a fairly inexpensive Norco unicycle which
is available locally at a number of bike shops, or order a higher quality
unicycle through the mail. The biggest shop anywhere is probably unicycle.com
in the states or you can order from Bedford unicycle's in Ontario. It all
depends on how much money you want to spend and how strong of a unicycle you
need. He definitely get what you pay for with a unicycle, and they do need
to take a lot of abuse if you plan on riding hard. You can spend anywhere
from $200 to $2000, just like bikes, there's a big range.
Most people by a really cheap unicycle when they first learn and end up having
to upgrade to something stronger once they've destroyed the first one. I usually
don't recommend this, because the cheaper unicycle's are more difficult to
learn, not as comfortable and very frustrating if parts are constantly breaking.
10)Do you think unicylces will ever be a popular as bicycles?
I know they won't be. They are harder to learn, not as fast, and require
a lot more effort than a bike.
11)What are some of the tricks that you can do that a bike can't?
Maneuverability of a unicycle is a way better than any bike, which gives
some definite advantages, especially on narrow beams, ledges and logs. You
can turn on a dime, ride backwards, easily hop sideways, and you can do all
this with both arms free. There a lot of freestyle skills similar to BMX freestyle
skills and their are tons of trials skills on unicycles that are exactly the
same as trials biking. Mountain unicyclists are doing 360° air spins,
huge gaps and well over 6' drops, leaping over 2 foot logs while descending
a brutal single track and skidding down skree slopes without brakes. It is
all approached a bit differently and at different speeds and a unicyclist
has to always be pedalling, so there is no easy coasting down a slope. As
far as trails go, unicyclists are doing 6' gaps, riding up and down stairs,
gliding without the pedals, doing 4' pedal and crack climbs over and onto
huge obstacles and landing pinpoint drops and gaps on beams, ramps, and teeter
totters. Many of the skills can be done in both sports, they're just done
to different extremes.
Thanks for your time,
Aaron Dane Lutz
Sure thing Aaron, I hope I answered all of your questions...
Thanks,
Mike the Unipsycho
