Claude Deschamps and Owen Kirby

A recent visitor to our fair city commented on how bike-friendly Montreal is. Not in my eyes. Elementary schools should have a compulsory course in bicycle larnin’. Every rascal should be able to take a bicycle apart and put it back together again in under an hour or they repeat the year. I guarantee there would be fewer cars on the street come college.

But the Far East is on a totally different level, finding two wheels one too many. In some schools in Japan, students are lent unicycles to occupy themselves during recess. And in China, there is even a school that specializes in Japanese, computer science and unicycle-training.

Ah yes, the unicycle. The word conjures up clowns and silliness. Sure, it’s not the sexiest sport on the planet, but unicycling has its charm, and not just for juggling Cirque du Soleil-ers. It’s the most maneuverable wheeled vehicle at our disposal, requiring precision and patience, something the young’ns could use. And with various makes, some including grind plates for rail-sliding, brakes, short crankshafts and larger wheels so unicyclists can keep up with cyclists, unicycling may become the new sporting challenge for the urban adventurer.

Chipped teeth, safe testes

Owen Kirby, 18, a unicyclist of four years, has the sport down to a science, and knows how the bursts of energy needed for tricks require muscles you never really use. “When I started out I was really stoked, so it took about six hours straight to be able to go a couple metres,” he says. “The next day, a couple more metres, the next a couple more. I’ve chipped my teeth doing this.”

Jean Fortch, 33, runs Velomakek, a shop dealing in recycled bikes in Griffintown just off the bicycle path. Although he doesn’t specialize in unicycles, Jean does sell cheaper models for around $150, which are perfect for beginners. With a year under his belt, Jean is still learning the ins and outs of unicycling in Montreal.

“To learn, you need to hold onto something like a wall or a bar,” he says. “You can start on a unicycle that has a big tire, 24 inches. Old Montreal is a nice place to practice, not too many cars. You really get in shape because it’s really hard on the heart. You also get good balance training.”

Claude Deschamps, 43, who helps run the unicycling site www.maroue.com, got hooked when he discovered Canadian mountain unicycling pioneer Kris Holm. Yes, off-road unicycling exists, and it makes extreme mountain bikers look like mannequins on exercise bikes. With a Muni—a rugged unicycle built for intense environments—Holm easily traverses banisters, mountain ridges inches from 10,000-foot plummets, urban architecture and forest trails.

Although Owen prefers McGill’s “sick architecture,” Claude prefers the street or the Olympic stadium for freestyling. One of the challenges for Claude is getting comfortable on the saddle for long distances. “But it is a never-ending learning experience; every new skill to be acquired becomes an adventure.”

Like Owen, many unicyclists who pursue it as a sport go to events and competitions such as the trials at the Toque Games (the Toronto Quixotic Unicycle Exhibition). “Unicycling isn’t like skateboarding, it’s not big yet,” says Owen. “So when you go to a competition, you pretty much know everyone; your friends organize it. You still get a really good set up and sponsorships, but you know everyone there. It’s a small community.”

Oh, and Owen felt it urgent to clear a couple things up about unicycling. One: true, it ain’t exactly a chick magnet, but two: it won’t negate you from performing your seed-sowing duties. “When you do a drop you absorb the impact with your feet, then your knees and your butt. Your balls don’t get squished.”

How to sound like a unicyclist

Freestyle: Figure skating with a unicycle. You must be one with the wheel, much like Reggie Unicycle from that cartoon Galaxy High (Oh God, I’m old).
Trials: Unicycle stuntery, involving jumping, hopping, gapping (jumping from obstacle to obstacle) and dropping.
Giraffe: A tall unicycle that has a chain, not recommended for midget beginners.
Street: A certain style of stunt unicycling that is done with flair, sophistication and style, usually in and around urban obstacles.
Helpful links for the raw and the initiated: www.unicyclist.org • www.unicyclist.com • www.velomakak.com• www.toquegames.com • www.maroue.com