Walking to classes usually entails navigating streams of people, watching out for those zooming by on bikes and checking both sides of the road for oncoming traffic.
If you think that’s hard, try doing it on a unicycle.
Though the one-wheeled contraptions certainly aren’t a common mode of transport, a small group of students on the campus are choosing to hop on them for a commute to class, McKeldin Mall and everywhere in between. And across the country – from mountain unicycling, to freestyle competitions, to international relay races – unicycling has become more of a sport than entertainment, more as a testament of a rider’s skill and balance than a source of amusement.
From receiving unicycles as Christmas gifts to using the Internet to learn new tricks, those students who have made them a daily mode of transportation speak to the sport’s unique challenges.
“Not everyone is doing it,” said junior aerospace engineering major Nick Kostreski, who, after asking for a bicycle one Christmas, received a unicycle instead. “I like how the sport is developing; I like to bring other people to realize how big of a sport it is. It’s not just a circus act – it’s more than that.”
Though it may not be a circus thing, junior physics major Seth Toplosky – who also received his first unicycle as a holiday gift – taught himself how to ride after years of perfecting the art of juggling. Using instructions from the Internet, Toplosky practiced at night all around the campus, from parking lots to the hallways of buildings. His favorite spot? A bridge near the architecture building.
After all that practice, Toplosky has mastered a wide variety of unicycling tricks including riding backward, bunny-hopping and riding one-footed. His goal? To one day juggle and ride his unicycle, at the same time.
“It’s different,” Toplosky said. “I like being able to feel I can do things people think are weird. It’s also a personal challenge to acquire some of those skills – it’s a competition against yourself.”
Though unicycling may seem risky and unstable, Toplosky and others swear it is surprisingly safe. His wounds from the activity are limited to just a few bruises, he said.
“I’ve fallen only about five times,” Toplosky added. “One of the first times I tried mounting by myself, I screwed up and fell. I didn’t break anything, just bruised my [butt] pretty bad.”
Like Toplosky, sophomore math and computer science major Jonathan Anderson uses the campus as his unicycle canvas, traveling on it every day to class.
“It’s not too bad, actually,” Anderson said. “It’s kind of fun, except when people walk in front of me and don’t realize I’m there. It’s faster than walking – it’s funny when I beat people to class because I’m riding a unicycle.”
Undaunted, Anderson swears he has never hit a pedestrian and, even while wearing a heavy backpack, can pedal up the notoriously steep hill on the side of Stamp Student Union.
Unicycle enthusiasts have even created a Wild One-like gang of their own, gathering approximately once a month during warm weather to ride around the campus together. They do tricks in front of the North Campus Diner, spin across the mall and even balance on the edge of the Omicron Delta Kappa fountain.
“It’s a lot easier to go out and do it, if you have friends that do it,” said junior aerospace engineering major Aaron Harrington, who got into unicycling after a favorite high school teacher talked about his love of riding. “We do it for the same reason people get together and play football on weekends; we are hanging out and doing something exciting.”
The unicycle even gets pulled out when Toplosky hosts parties, said roommate Guy Cole, a public policy graduate student.
“Whenever we have a party, someone tries to learn how to unicycle,” Cole said. “Some are successful. Generally, everyone is scared to death. We do end up having five to six people around them making sure they don’t crack their head open. About a quarter are able to do it, but we do have some hilarious pictures and videos of people trying.”
These unicycling extraordinaires are sometimes stigmatized on the campus as a result of their unique hobby, but that is definitely not enough to make them quit their one-wheeled adventures.
“A lot of my friends call me a clown,” Kostreski said. “Sometimes it annoys me a little, because it’s more than that. They appreciate it, though. They know how hard it is. I’m not embarrassed, but they do laugh. It’s an entertainment sport – you can’t get away from that.”
tousignantdbk@gmail.com
