Sunday 7 October 2007

A yikecycle made for who?.....

It was my brothers birthday, and what did he want? A uni-cycle! Of course not just an ordinary unicycle.... a mountain unicycle. Cos as if it's not difficult enough to master the art of one wheeled perambulations, what you really need is an extra large wheel to make things even more unstable!

Initial attempts required some additional support. Jenny isn't actually 3 foot tall.


It's a little known fact that the unicycle was invented in response to the steel shortage crisis in 1907. Workers desperately required economical transport to the coal mines of south Wales. The unicycle was invented by a local entrepreneur, who would recycle pram wheels to make four cycles per pram. ' Wheely Jones' became famous in the valleys of Wales and his statue can be seen in the 'Uyp-Y-Pant' museum of transport.



My brother quickly developed a style of his own...here we see 'The Ballerina'.




The 'Fiddler on the Roof'....





And now being really ambitious, he demonstrates some 'semaphore'.







Jennys attempts were tentative...







...but she soon proved to have a natural aptitude.







Learning from past experiences, I donned appropriate safety gear.









To my cost, I later discovered that it was the lower regions that required protection and developed a nasty case of 'girlfriends lap'!!!










18 comments:

LesleyinNM said...

I have doubts that I could ever do that. I think I would end up on the ground with a large bump on my head, if not something worse.

photowannabe said...

Great shots. I like the titles for the different ones.
I just read an article about extreme unicycling on the crest of mountains. Amazing what people will do for a rush.

Holly said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Angela Marie said...

I don't think that is something I want to try.. pretty sure. I would fall flat on my face, not to mention where I might land on that bike.

*I can see that bravery runs in your family.

;)

Gill said...

Nicely done Barky.
You crack me up!
I liked the "ballerina" your brother did best.
xo
Blue

"M2" said...

too funny!
love the "ballerina" shot.

um......"girlfriends lap"?
maybe I'm a bit dense, but I don't understand
elaborate???

I always wanted a pogo stick when I was a kid, I never got one.
I did however get one last year and after about killing myself, it went to good will for some other child to get injured on.

I am impressed with all 3 of you for staying on that thing.

Madwag said...

you guys are brave... I tried that once and promplty fell off and got a nasty bump on my forehead...ouch

Barkfoot said...

I think I maybe should have included a few more shots of us falling off. I wouldn't want to give the impression that we are a closet circus troupe.
Secret Agent - "Girlfriends lap". There's no reason that you should have heard of this as it is slang amongst my male friends. It is the phenomena that occurs after an evening of having a girlfriend innocently sitting on your lap, say, while watching a film. You are quite comfortable but unaware of the combined damaging effects of heat,pressure and arousal. It only becomes apparent when you come to stand up, the pain can bring tears to your eyes and a stoop to your back. Only a temporary condition, but of course the first time it happens you don't know that and think your 'active' life might be over!

"M2" said...

thanks for the education.
I couldn't figure it out for the life of me.
Here in the U.S. theatre's give you a seat per ticket.......she'd get her own seat :)

Elisa...life as we know it. said...

Ouch...regular bycicle's leave me in pain...never mind a unicycle!

Lavender said...

Mountain unicycle?! Well now Ive heard everything! LOL
"Uyp-Y-Pant"..thats not pronounced 'up-yer-pants' is it? If tis, then you were warned!!!

Barkfoot said...

Lavender - I'm glad you noticed that the unicycle facts were eronious. I was worried there for a while that everyone was taking me seriously....sorry!

Floderten said...

What a great birthday present. ;) I'm glad that someone actually GOT him the gift, even though it's crazy. :D I never got that pony I wanted...

Sharon said...

I love to bike ride but my bikes have to have 2 wheels. Recently I was in the bike shop and saw a Unicycle for sale and it was pretty expensive, around $350.00... I found that sort of surprising!

Okay I'm going to ask; What's Girlfriend's Lap?

Barkfoot said...

Sharon - I've really got to think about what I type when I do these posts. I forget that no one else is going to know what I'm on about when I use this personal slang. You're not the only person to ask, see the above explanation....

Sharon said...

Barkfoot - Please don't edit/sensor your posts! I love learning new things, terms or slangs.

Keep up the good work!

Elisa...life as we know it. said...

Yes never leave out the slang, I'd miss it too much!

Russell Hill said...

Whilst fascinated by this post (as ever) I have to point out that this further demonstrates just how completely MAD the "other Russell" is! I mean, we know he likes his bikes because he has to fold them up and bring them into my damn house every Sunday night "in case they get cold", but a UNICYCLE?!

Also, had a laugh at the dredging up of that old term "girlfriends lap"...brought back some memories (and tears to my eyes - OUCH!) from experiences gained in youth...