I’ve done some questionable things in my life. For example,
recently I quit my cushy job, sold my house and most of my belongings and
started a new life, writing and traveling through Europe. Sounds dubious,
doesn’t it? Well, what if I told you that I knew several Minnesotans
going up against precarious weather conditions, mountains, fjords and the
unforgiving expenses required to travel in Norway, all for the pleasure of
unicycling 578 miles north from Trondheim into the Arctic Circle? Compared
to them, I seemed pretty rational and balanced now, don’t I?
Let’s clear up any misunderstandings that may exist at
this point. Yes, I said unicycling. Yes, that’s the thing with one wheel.
No, I am not kidding.
Can you count the scars?
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Despite what you may have learned from Saturday morning cartoons,
most unicyclists are not, in fact, in the circus. By and large, for most people
unicycling is merely an obsessive, physically demanding hobby. If you want
to know how long someone has been unicycling and their level of devotion to
the discipline, all you have to do is look down at their bare legs. Substantial
scar tissue between the knees and ankles from gruesome, bone jarring wipe-outs,
deep pedal and crank lacerations and tire burns are an ongoing fact of life
for serious unicyclists. Like the rings of a tree, you simply need to count
the scars and permanent shin dimples to estimate a unicyclist’s longevity
and skill in the sport.
Is it Really a Sport?
Yes, unicycling is a sport. The unicycling community has annual
and semi-annual nail-biting national and world championships respectively.
Much like figure skating, routines are timed and judged for technical difficulty
and artistic content. A serious competitor can expect to practice six days
a week for a minimum of three hours a day to have a realistic shot at a title
and that’s assuming one already has the proficiency that is only attainable
through years of the aforementioned training schedule in the first place.
A Uni-Spectacle
The sight of 10 road-weary but cheerful unicyclists spontaneously
appearing and whizzing down the road would make people take pause in almost
any city. For the onlookers in these small northern Norwegian towns, it’s
often a bizarre and thrilling event. The Norwegian Unicycle Tour (NUT) group
has been the subject of a veritable Norwegian media hurricane since they arrived
in Trondheim on June 9th. Word about weird stuff travels fast in Norway. Without
having sent out a single press release, TV and newspaper representatives have
nevertheless been camped out, waiting for them in nearly every wide spot in
the road. Even people in the relative bustling metropolis of Bergen, far off
the tour course, recognized the group and their efforts when I spoke of them.
So, why are these determined folks riding over, around and through
Norway’s staggering mountainous landscape a mere month before the national
championships, which are coincidentally being held in Twin Cities, when they
should darn well be sequestered in a gym rehearsing themselves into an adrenalin-sick
tizzy?
I posed this question to Andy Cotter of Hutchinson, Minnesota,
the ringleader and organizer of the unicycle tour series when I caught up
with the group in Bodø, a fishing village of 42,000, located at a latitude
of 67° 17’ north, well inside the Arctic Circle. “If you’re
going to tour the Arctic Circle, summer is probably the best time to do it,”
said Cotter. OK, so why Norway and why the flipping Arctic Circle? “We
selected Norway for the incredible scenery and once we decided that we wanted
to see the midnight sun, the Arctic Circle was the obvious choice.”
Cotter, 34, is a compact but enviably lean and muscular man with an infectious,
youthful presence. He is a HR database manager at General Mills by day and
a tireless unicyclist for just about every other waking moment. Judging by
his legs, Cotter has been unicycling for over 18 years and has countless national
and world titles to his name in individual, pairs and team competitions.
The riders were in good spirits on their first of two nights
in Bodø, despite being sun burnt, exhausted and in a semi-stupor after
traveling 63 miles (their longest day) on an unusually warm, cloudless day
in the Arctic Circle. After unpacking and cleaning up, the riders limped en
masse to a nearby Italian restaurant where they tried to replace the approximately
5,000 calories that they burn daily, while recounting the sights and notable
events of the day’s ride.
One of the unicycle tour newbies is 18 year old Irene Genelin
of New Brighton. Genelin is a tall, graceful, recent graduate from Irondale
High School and is headed out to the University of Washington for college
this fall. Among her many accomplishments, Irene is the current national female
individual champion, the world standard skill champion and was one of the
first people to achieve Level 10 status in the Unicycling Society of America’s
grading system for technical ability. When asked what inspired her to make
to the trip to Norway, the punchy Genelin responded “Because the Norwegian
men are sexy!” After thanking her for the compliment and urging her
for a more in-depth answer, Genelin admitted, “I liked the sound of
unicycling through the mountains in the Arctic Circle.”
Another unicycle tour first-timer is Ryan Woessner. At 15, Woessner
is the youngest NUT participant. Ryan exploded onto the unicycling scene a
mere 3 and ½ years ago at the tender age of 12, quickly zapping through
the technical grading echelons. His dizzying ascension in unicycling circles
culminated in a stunning performance last summer in Seattle where he snatched
the world individual male championship away from a daunting field of much
older and experienced competitors. When asked what inspired him to join the
NUT, Ryan quickly responded, “The Norwegian Unicycle Tour was a great
opportunity to combine travel and unicycling, two things that I love!”
All of his admirable achievements haven’t affected the friendly charisma
that is apparent the instant you meet young Woessner. In fact, his continual
perma-grin has earned him the nick-name “Smiley.”
The unicycles used for distance riding are not the same ones
you see in parades and in competition. The wheels and cranks are much larger
and the tires have a tread that is better suited for road rides. Beyond those
details, the road unis are custom designed by each rider with such options
as speedometer computers, “drag brakes,” small, modified handle
bars, bike bells and even small rear racks for carrying tools and food.
For the uninitiated, I’d like to pass on a word of warning
for when you are in the midst of unicyclists: Whatever you do, no matter how
hilarious it may seem at the time, when you see them on the street, do not
shriek out “Hey! What happened to the other wheel?!?” It wasn’t
particularly witty the first time and after enduring the same line 274,938
successive times from slack jawed, often inebriated gawkers, the joke has
become a little over-ripe. Unfortunately, riding through these remote parts
of Norway, most of the slack-jawed, inebriated gawkers have never seen a unicyclist
live and in-person, so the joke has been resurrected with a whole new, excruciating
vigor. However, the quick thinking, pun-happy unicyclists have made this round
of inane comments more tolerable. Now when a truck zips past them and a yokel
hangs out the window and inquires as to the fate of their other wheel, they
quickly respond with “I couldn’t a-fjord it!”
The group has endured, rain, hills, sleep deprivation, panicky
sprints to waiting ferries, reindeer skin beds and knee and Achilles repetitive
stress injuries while making their way to the Arctic Circle. They’ve
traversed mountains, navigated long, sporadically lit tunnels and shared the
dreadfully narrow roads with huge cargo trucks, whose high-speed wake regularly
blows the riders off the pavement, into an intimate, surprise tour of the
ditch. When they aren’t dodging traffic, the unicyclists have had the
pleasure of viewing the out-of-this-world scenery of the Norwegian countryside
and a growing list of wildlife sightings that includes moose, reindeer, sheep,
fox and countless species of birds.
In addition to the obvious bragging rights of having participated
in the N UT, the unicyclists have benefited from the extraordinary curiosity
and friendliness of the Norwegians as they make their way through countless
small towns and villages. They have been warmly welcomed into far-flung homes
by the side of the road when running low on water and in need of a bathroom,
had half a dozen townspeople rush to their aid when their support vehicle
broke down and even had quick pro bono welding repairs made to their unicycles
at truck stops.
This is the fourth organized group unicycle tour. Prior tours
have been through Minnesota (from south to north), west-central Europe and
most recently this past January in Tasmania. Each tour is documented on the
group’s web site at www.unitours.org where you can find archived information
on each tour including route maps, daily status reports and dozens of pictures.
By the time you read this, the group will be back in the States,
making up for lost rehearsal time with marathon practice session in preparation
for the North American Unicycling Championships and Convention in the Twin
Cities on July 29th through August 5th where the world-renowned Twin Cities
Unicycle Club will be defending its impressive catalogue of current national
titles.
If you would like more information on the upcoming championships
or any other unicycle related details, visit the Unicycling Society of America
web page at www.unicycling.org.
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