Wrapping Up 2013

I'm pretty sure we did save the best for last.  The Friday night Wheel Mill session was excellent and the Saturday session at the YMCA was AMAZING to say the least.

It's not the unicycles, it's the unicyclists that make it that.

The only thing better than last Saturday will be this Saturday.  Happy 2014!

Yes, We're Here!

First up, the schedule: we'll be at The Wheel Mill tonight and every Friday night (unless the weather gets too dicey to make the drive) from 7pm to close.  You are welcome to start earlier as unicycles are welcome when the doors are open.  If you only have one uni, you may also want to note that we have loaners available for FREE while you're there.  Ask at the desk.  There are two Trials unis and two 24" mUnis in stock at all times.

As far as the Butler YMCA time goes on Saturdays- we'll be there every Saturday through at least early April from 4:30-6:30pm.  It's free to ride.  A waiver needs signed and a helmet needs worn.  We have extra loaner unis there too.

That brings us to the next point: the Y time has been extremely popular the last few weeks- so much so that we've had almost all of our dozen loaner unis in use!  That's AWESOME!  However, please be patient with us as sometimes we have to share the loaner unis.  We're so thankful that this has gone incredibly smoothly this year and everyone has been understanding of the situation.  With that being said, we're guessing that a few of those who have been borrowing have moved to owning unis over this holiday season.  Excellent!  We need to remind you that unis being ridden inside the YMCA must have plastic pedals (on the ends) and plastic guards on the seat to protect the floor.  Most unicycles come this way so it's not usually an issue, but if you have a knobby tired mUni or trials uni, it may be.

Remember: tomorrow is the last chance to ride with us in 2013 at the YMCA!  The first weekend of the New Year we go out to dinner after the YMCA session- so plan accordingly.

Light it Up!

Tomorrow is the ONLY Saturday we won't be at the YMCA for practice.  We will be in the Spirit of Christmas Parade for Butler Light Up Night.

Next week we'll be back to the usual shenanigans:



If you can't wait that long, we'll be at The Wheel Mill on Friday Nights.  Rumor has it there may be some uni hockey in the works the first or second Friday of Dec.

Learning to Fly (or Ride)

It's about that time of year again.  Daylight Saving Time kicks in this Saturday.  Looking for something to do to stay moving?  Interested in staying warm?  Every thought of riding a unicycle?

Join us.  We start our weekly meetings here in Butler, PA at the YMCA every Saturday from 4:30-6:30pm.  If you have your own uni- great!  If not, no problem- we have extras.  You will need to wear a helmet (we have extras of those too, but you should bring your own).  You will need to sign a release too (parents need to for those under 18).  We welcome all ages- especially 12 and up.  For those under 12 we often accommodate, but a parent will have to stick around while we practice.  So Mom and Dad you might as well give it a try!

Unicycling is for everybody.  It's fun.  It's relatively safe- on a 20", you're about as high up as standing on a stair.

If this isn't your first time to our site, you've heard all of this before.  The message hasn't changed.

What has, is our schedule- just a bit.  In addition to Saturdays at the Y, we're going to be at The Wheel Mill in Pittsburgh almost every Friday night throughout the Winter, starting Nov. 8th. Both the Y and The Wheel Mill can accommodate all levels of riders, but the Y is a gym, and The Wheel Mill is an indoor mountain bike (and uni) park.  Trust us, it's totally doable.

What we're hoping is to get more people riding with us in situations like this:

(Thanks to Tad Riddell for the photo!)

We LOVE the Y and will never leave.  However, we also hope to see the sport of unicycling move forward.  Part of that entails raising awareness that unicycles aren't just for the circus and parades.  We need more off road riders.  It's a skill that can be learned.  Ask any of us.  NONE of us were riding 10 years ago- much less off road.

We just wrapped up another successful Month of Mud series- this one with the most unis EVER!  Isaac completed his second full series, and Kevin his first.  With Dave, that makes 3 total full series riders (and a couple who made part of the series).  We can add an official unicycle class if we have 5 total.

That would really change things- for the better.

That would make us part of the first mountain bike racing series- at least in the Mid-Atlantic/ East Coast region- that has a unicycle class.

So, join us at the Y.  Learn to ride.  Then head outside.

Note: We won't be practicing indoors on November 9th due to a basketball tournament.  We're back on for the 16th.

With a Little Help From Our Friends

It's not secret we like the Butler Family YMCA and The Wheel Mill.  From the top down both have not just tolerated unicycling, but welcomed it in their facilities.  It's been a bit of a paradigm shift for some to see unicycles as not just clowns, juggling, and the circus (although there's nothing wrong with those things), but rather an activity that people of all ages and abilities can enjoy.

The Butler Wobble was founded on the principle that unicycling is fun and you should do it.  It can be incredibly athletic if you want it to.  You can enjoy a cruise around the neighborhood or local rail trail or you can enter charity events and races populated with bikes.  We've tried to keep an open mind to what those who join us to ride want to do so we end up in many places with our unicycles- including some parades and basic demonstrations.

But what most of us who are heavily involved in the Butler Wobble like to do is ride unicycles for sport.

The YMCA has and will always be a vital part of what we do.  Teaching people to ride is essential.  However, that's not the end.  We've been spending a lot of time since the beginning of Summer at The Wheel Mill honing our skills, gaining confidence, and pushing each other to ride better over bumps, ramps, skinnies, and drops.  We've had the opportunity to meet other riders whom we might have not met otherwise.

It's been a complete win for us.

Now, it's our chance to get involved as The Wheel Mill moves forward.  They're looking to build a pump track, but need funds to do so.  Follow this link to find out more.  While a pump track will be of a bit of use to unis (but admittedly much more so for bikes), it allows The Wheel Mill to build ridership to generate capital to build more areas that we ALL can enjoy.  The planned new beginner area is really exciting for beginner to intermediate unicyclists looking to improve their skills.  There are other plans for more advanced features that we can't even talk officially about too.

We are excited about the prospects of The Wheel Mill moving forward.  We ride there.  We don't profit financially should you choose to contribute to the campaign.  We do benefit, like everybody else does in the region, from an indoor pedal park where we can ride throughout the dark and cold days of Winter.

And, should you want to try unicycling for yourself you can find us there every other Friday (the odd days) in October and most every Friday after that throughout the Winter.  If you want to learn to ride, we can teach you.  If you want to try a uni, there are two Trials unis and two 24" Munis that live there and are available to use for FREE (with paid admission).

We don't ask you give up biking.  We do ask you try unicycling.

The Next 3 Months

September has just begun.  The days are getting shorter (and hopefully cooler) and we're entering our 3rd season of the year.  For us, that means several things:

Item #1- The Month of Mud race series begins.  In the past we've had several riders compete in this series.  We've had good times.  Hopefully this is the year we can get 5 riders to each race to make an official unicycle class. Check the link for dates.  Note: you should be an Advanced level rider to race all but the cyclocross race.  As far as cyclocross goes, you must be able to control your uni and freemount.  If you can do those things, join us on Oct. 20th!

Item #2- The Wheel Mill mUni Mondays are shifting to Fridays to join Family Night!  This is exciting as we can get the whole family to try unicycling at The Wheel Mill.  For September and October we're committing to being there every other Friday (the odd dates), although the discounted admission and welcome mat is out every Friday for uni riders.  We're alternating so we can still do the downtown rides here in Butler until Daylight Saving Time kicks in.  Once that does, we'll be carpooling to 6815 Hamilton Ave. weekly!

Item #3- November 2nd is our first day indoors at the Butler YMCA.  As always this is a FREE to you adventure.  We have extra unis.  You will need a signed waiver and a helmet to ride.  We have extra helmets, but you are better off with your own.  Without the Y we wouldn't be the Butler Wobble.

So if you're currently a unicyclist, join us for as many of these events as you can.  If you are not yet a unicyclist, please give it a go either at The Wheel Mill (there are unis there you can try for free after paying your admission) or at the Butler Y.

As always, we ride because it's fun.  It's also good exercise and good for learning balance.  It's relatively safe too.  We don't ask that you give up other activities that you enjoy, we just ask that you give unicycling a try.  Who knows?- maybe you'll like it.

Just ask Trina:

Post NAUCC 2013 Post

The 2013 edition of the North American Unicycling Convention and Championships is over- minus the cleanup.  As far as that goes, after we get a few trailer loads out of a school parking lot, we'll be good.

For those who have been part of the shindig: Thanks for staying, thanks for playing.  Thanks for making it all happen.  Please take some time over the next few weeks to post your pics and videos.  Facebook and YouTube are great sources along with unicyclist.com forums.  If you have video and pics from The Wheel Mill field trip, please use #thewheelmill.  If you don't know what hashtagging is, that's fine, spread the word how you can.

We (as the Butler Wobble) put on the best possible NAUCC we could imagine.  The hundreds of hours of work putting into getting the ship out of the harbor were well worth it from our perspective.  We're glad it wasn't the Titanic.  We hope you agree.  

We wanted to make this the best possible convention for the registrants and then invite the public to watch some amazing world class unicycling.  We wanted to showcase the resources of our region: both the natural resources and our amazing neighbors.  We wanted to attract sponsors to the sport.

In the end, we got much, much more than we bargained for.  We expected locals to be amazing hosts- we experience that on a daily basis.  We expected the unicyclists to put on world class performances- we've seen those at prior conventions.  

What we didn't expect were the bonds that formed between the unicyclists and the non-unicycling local public.  Friendships have been made.  The world has become a lot smaller.

And "uni" most definitely is found in community.

The journey's not over.  It's mUni Monday.  We start with indoor time at the YMCA November 2nd.

For the locals we hope to ride with you soon.  If you can't yet ride, we'll work with you to make it happen.  After all, the more riders, the better the wobble of unicyclists is.

For those of our friends who aren't geographically local, we'll see you soon.  A year from tomorrow at the latest- at the start of Unicon 17.

We'll be there.

Less Than a Week Away.

NAUCC 2013 is coming soon.  Really soon.  Even the roads agree.  We had nothing to do with this pic.  This is an actual utility marking on Sunset Drive.  No joke.

The fun starts Sunday the 21st and goes through Saturday the 27th.

www.uninationals2013.com

Even if you don't ride a unicycle, you should show up to watch.  Check the schedule for dates and times.  Some really spectator friendly events are in the evenings.

After all, it's FREE to watch.  Where else are you going to see World Champions perform for FREE!

From the 4th to 6th.

Here's a pic from ONE of yesterday's parades we hit.  Yes, there were 2 parades and another appearance we had on the 4th.  That's good.  This one was on the Miracle Mile in Monroeville with the Pro Bikes bike decorating contest contestants following behind.  We've been doing this parade annually for at least 3 years now and it's always awesome.  It fits us well as we still remember the joy of bike riding at a young age.  Since then we've added unicycling to our repertoire, but it's all still pedaling.

From the pic above, you can see it is all about the bike- AND the chance to ride it in a parade!

The pic here was of the winner of the bike decorating contest.  The pinwheels spun when he rode, and you can't even see the rocket taped on the back.  His smile is big, but what was really amazing was to see how fluid this guy was when riding his steed.  Seriously, he had smoothness that many adults have never had.

While some of us were taking pics here, another group was at a parade in Zelienople- the sister (or brother) town to Harmony- the main base of NAUCC 2013.  Word has it that things went well there too.

On the way home after the Monroeville parade, we stopped at the Derailleur Bike Shop's open house on the Butler-Freeport Trail.  They aren't open yet (1 year from yesterday is the goal), but they wanted to share their progress on the major renovating project.  They also wanted to share secret recipe lemonade and cookies!

Today we're on our own, but tomorrow we're again at the Carnegie Science Center for the BIKES: Science on 2 Wheels Exhibit from 12-2.  Hope to see you there!

June and July Both Start the Same Way

The pic above is from our first NAUCC 2013 promotional stop at the Carnegie Science Center.  A raging success- not just because we got to ride our unis around the Center, but because we piqued the interest of attendees.  Speaking of that, we had over 80 people sign the waiver and try unicycling for the first time.  Instagram was busy that night.  Over 2 Night + BIKES exhibit + unicycles = Good times.

This is what Kevin put together from our most recent mUni Monday at The Wheel Mill:

As you can see, we're aiming to spread the word that unicycling is fun and you can do it if you want to.

Our next appearances are at the Miracle Mile parade with Pro Bikes on July 4th- with another appearance on the Butler Freeport Rail Trail at the new stop in Herman.  We'll also be at the Science Center again on July 6th.

It's all about this:  www.uninationals2013.com.  July 21st-27th.

That's where the real fun will be!

The Wheel Mill mUni Mondays

We've always dreamed of a place to brush up on our off road chops regardless of the weather.  Now it exists. The Wheel Mill is Pittsburgh's indoor mountain bike park.  And, thanks to Harry and crew, unicycles are welcome too!

So, what better way to celebrate this than a weekly uni gathering there?  That's right, mUni Mondays are BACK!  Who's it for?  EVERYONE!  We're looking to increase unicycle ridership in the region.  By now you may have heard that the North American Unicycling Convention and Championships are going to be right here in Butler County from July 21-27 2013.  We want to celebrate this event and encourage people not to give up their bikes, but to expand their horizons.  Unicycling is fantastic for balance and core strength- necessary attributes for biking as well.  As a matter of fact, their great skills for most humans to possess in spades.

We want to give people the chance to try unicycling and brush up on their chops as well.  We're joining forces with the crew at THICK Bikes and the Wheel Mill to give you the opportunity to try unicycling in a supportive environment.  We'll bring some extra unis- but not enough for the entire population of Pittsburgh. If you have your own, bring it. You need to bring a helmet and a bit of cash for admission.  Whether you're just curious or a seasoned veteran, it's all good.  We're intentionally making mUni Monday part of Shame Free Mondays at the Wheel Mill.  Find out more at their Facebook link.

Is your interest piqued?

Now for the facts: mUni Mondays will be Mondays (yep.) from 7-10pm (close) starting June 10th and going throughout the Summer (except for July 22nd).  The Wheel Mill is graciously offering $6 off of admission as a "Come try the fun of one" stimulus package (it makes it $10+ tax at the current rates).  We're not charging extra for borrowing a uni for the night, so that makes it too good to pass up, right?

We hope so.

Please note: Standard Wheel Mill rules apply.  Check their admission policies-especially for minors.  We will be more than happy to take a bit of time to show you the ropes if you've never been on a uni before.  There isn't a formal class and if you miss some weeks or show up late (or leave early) it's no big deal.  We hope to have all levels of riders in attendance as The Wheel Mill is a perfect venue to session for Beginners to Experts.  If you ever thought of trying one wheel, this is a great chance to give it a go.  As far as safety goes, wear a helmet, and we'd recommend gloves shin guards or knee pads too.  In the 4 years we've been teaching people to ride we've had very few injuries- not that it can't happen, but unicycling is mostly safe. Watch us ride for a bit if you like.

Above all else, remember the #1 reason for unicycling: IT'S FUN!

May Days

It's been a busy month of May for us.  The last post was Roller Derby.  This picture is from Dirt Fest- the 17th to 19th.  Thanks to our friends at Dirt Rag for an amazing event.  We had the opportunity to have a learner session and a group MUni ride on the official schedule.  There were a couple of video cameras on the trip, but the footage hasn't been posted yet.  Still the 8 of us who went had a great time.

Since then we've been working on NAUCC (of course) and scouting out other local riding areas to be able to direct those who head into town looking for riding some options should they want to come early or stay late.  We do have some video from those sessions- that's for another day.

In the grand scheme of what we do, this is one of the most important pictures:

Some of our uni club members donated to the Y during their last campaign.  We were asked to share this letter.

Thanks to those who donated.  Thanks Butler YMCA for all you do in the community.

NAUCC 2013 and Steel City Roller Derby

The video above is an answer to the question:  "What do unicycling and roller derby have in common?"

Last night was another promo stop for NAUCC 2013.  If you haven't found the site yet, it's www.uninationals2013.com.  We love these chances to interact with our communities.  We're roller derby fans anyways (visit www.steelcityderbydemons.com for more info) so it makes sense to promote unicycling at derby nights.  From our overwhelmingly positive experience last night derby girls and fans think so too.

Last night we had a fun time not only with the home team, but with the visiting team, the Fort Wayne Derby Girls from (you probably guessed it) Fort Wayne, Indiana.  See their site too: http://www.fwderbygirls.com/.

Roller Derby and NAUCC are both great events for spectators.  Check out the schedules on the sites for when to catch some flat track derby action.  You won't regret it.  While you're at it, make plans to catch NAUCC 2013 too.  We're pulling out all the stops.  To say it will be amazing is an understatement.

Just like the next Pittsburgh derby night on June 8th, vs. The Chicago Outfit.  You'll catch us there too- we're the halftime show.

Healthy Kids Day 2013

As has been the tradition the past several years the YMCA invited us to man (and woman) a booth at Healthy Kids Day.  It's always a fun day for us.  This year was no exception.  Actually, it may have been more fun overall this year as we had more help than ever before:

Harper keeping the boys in line.

We had more help this year from our regular YMCA riders.  This was good as we had also had more interest in unicycling than ever before.

We did find a few prospective riders in the crowd.  We also got to witness some boys who were sure they could hop on and ride away humbled when they found that it wasn't as easy as they thought.

Darian rocking the matching tattoo.  Don't worry, Mom.  It will come off when she washes her hand- in 5 years.

As usual, the whole experience was a great time for us.  Many thanks to Adam, Christian, Darian, Dylan, Harper, Nate, Rick, and Steve for helping make it another successful public appearance for the Butler Wobble.

Remember: the last indoor session of the season is TODAY!  Don't dismay, we'll still be around.  We'll resume indoor sessions in the Fall.

Many thanks to the Butler YMCA for making it another successful season of indoor unicycling!

Wanted: Recipes for Groundhog

In theory, Spring is upon us. That leaves us with some changes in the near future (and hopefully leaves us with leaves as well).

We've been getting the calendar ready and need to make a few notes:

1. NAUCC 2013. Mid-Atlantic riders, this is the closest NAUCC in many, many years. This is the first time it's ever been in PA. If you want to seize the opportunity, you MUST register. The Early Bird price is ONLY good until April 20th.

2. We will be ending our weekly indoor sessions at the YMCA for the season on April 27th (We'll resume in October). We will still be riding regularly, it will just be outside (hopefully the snow has melted by then). For an example of what the outdoor rides might look like, look at the pic at the top of Isaac and Steve.

3. We will be at the Carnegie Science Center on June 21st for part of the bicycle themed show. More details to follow, but it will be from 6-10 pm. Only riders over 21 years of age will be admitted as it is a 21 and over event.

4. We will be at the Carnegie Science center on July 6th for part of the bicycle themed show. This time we want ALL ages to show. More details will follow.

5. The Friday night Butler Bicycles and Unicycles rides are starting (weather permitting). If you want to uni, please let us know. If the wheel is smaller than a 36" we need to make accommodations to keep you from riding solo. It's not a problem, but we just need to know. Email us a few days in advance.

We've got other events on the calendar too, but these listed are the biggies for all of us. If you want to know of the others, please inquire at a Saturday practice at the Y from 4:30-6:30.


Oh yeah, we WILL be at the Y this Saturday even though it is a holiday weekend.

Marching (or Harlem Shaking) On

Thanks to Jesse for driving us to do the Harlem Shake. He believed we could do it. He then directed, filmed, edited and posted the project. Nice work for sure. Feel free to share it!

One of the greatest things about the project is how quickly it came together. Last weekend it was an end of the night concept, and Jesse had it organized with minimal outside help. We just rode like it was a normal practice and he worked his creative magic. Just another Saturday of riding at the Butler YMCA!

Next week's session (March 9th) we will be ending at 6pm instead of 6:30. It's roller derby night in Pittsburgh and some of us are heading to Etna for the evening. Find the details here. If you plan on joining us you should buy your tickets in advance, it's been known to sell out.

NAUCC 2013 is only a few months away! We've got a Registration tab on the site uninationals2013.com. We haven't made the "official" announcement for registration just yet as we're awaiting the final details on hotel block rates for out of town visitors. If you're reading this and you're not a local, please be patient. We're hoping for the accommodations details this week.

Sharing the Love

One of the best aspects about the unicycling comm"uni"ty is the willingness to share. The above video is the first in a series from here. The MUni Tutorial series is being made by Jacob Spera and Ryan Kremaster for the betterment of the sport. They've been making MUni videos for some time, but have recently felt the need to make some instructional videos targeted towards beginning MUni riders.

This is a fabulous idea. Mountain unicycling is hard- or not. Once you can ride a uni, and almost everyone reading this probably can, you can ride off road. You probably won't want to step up to big drops, rock gardens, steep uphills, or skinny balance lines right away (unless you're fearless Steve with the singing pockets who starts with Moraine and tackles a 36er with short cranks in 10 minutes), but you can ride through the grass in your yard (watch for doggie land mines). If you're doing anything outside of the gym and off the pavement, you're off road. Congratulations! Welcome to the club!

There is a problem with riding a bit off road. Most likely, you'll want to ride more. And more. And more. Once again, it's fun and challenging (most likely a couple of the main reasons you learned to ride a uni in the first place). The idea is to ride the line between challenging and frustrating. If it gets too close to the latter, it's not nearly as fun. Having some tips from some experts available in YouTube form to push things back into the challenging realm is awesome.

Bicycling has a set of skills, but once you learn to ride, in the grand scheme of things, you've got it. Some people see unicycling as the same way, but most seek to learn something new. Unicycles are pretty simple machines when compared to a bike, but they require more skill to operate. Think of when you first learned to ride. I don't know of how many people have told me, I can ride my bike with no hands so a unicycle should be simple, right? Not so much. By removing the extra balancing wheel and increasing the need to balance the cycle in all directions, not just left or right like a bike, the recruitment of muscles increases significantly. When people learn to unicycle, they sweat a lot. Most of the time we get the comment, "Wow, this is really a workout!"

This same need to balance in all directions really increases the difficulty of riding in the woods. The beauty of it though is that unicycling in the woods is arguably safer. Sure, there's the occasional tumble, but the incident of serious injury is very low in comparison. The speeds on a unicycle are quite slow, and when things do go wrong, you just run away. There isn't a set of handlebars to vault over. There isn't a stem aiming for your knees.

Most of the risk involved with unicycling beginning to intermediate trails in the woods is mostly perceived risk. Contrary to what many who have never tried riding a unicycle have said, you most likely won't die. There may be some scrapes and bruises and occasionally a twisted ankle, but hitting a tree at 30mph (not out of the question on a dual suspension mountain bike) is most likely out of the question- mainly because you can only go about as fast as you can pedal a direct drive wheel.

Learning MUni is addicting. There's always a new challenge to undertake. There aren't a whole lot of resources available on how to ride a unicycle off road. As far as a print version goes, there's an excellent book available by Kris Holm titled The Essential Guide to Mountain and Trials Unicycling. If you want to buy it locally, Pro Bikes in Monroeville has a couple in stock at this time of typing. I've read this book through 2 or 3 times so far and have learned a lot to improve my riding from it. Overall, the book is excellent. The pictures alone are worth the asking price. Buy it.

Now there will be a YouTube video series too, made by some younger riders with a similar, but slightly different perspective.

This is an exciting time to be riding a unicycle off road. The sport is relatively new (appropriate equipment has only been around since the late 1990's). Being able to draw on others', experiences (and learn from their mistakes) will greatly increase the fun factor involved with MUni.

You can always join us for a ride too. We'd love to swap tips and practice MUni skills together. Grab your unicycle, some water, and wear the big 3 (helmet, knee pads, and gloves) and hit the trails with us.

After all, MUni is about sharing the fun.

Sweet 16th

If you made the meeting 2 weeks ago, thanks. NAUCC 2013 is as good as it gets.

A couple of quick notes:
1. We're in the other gym this Saturday from 4:30-6:30.

2. We're doing the Butler Wobble tech t's soon. You will need to preorder if you want one. Talk to us. Nate's doing the art and it will be awesome. Both long and short sleeve options will be available.

3. We're getting close to opening registration for NAUCC 2013. We'll post when it's live.

NAUCC informational meeting!

If you've been around the Wobble a while, you know that on the 1st Saturday of each month we go out to eat after unicycling. It's a great way to spend time with fellow riders and just hang out.

February's first Saturday dinner will be a bit different - we're staying at the Y! We'll have pizza and some soda, and information! There will be a brief presentation about NAUCC - what it's all about, what it looks like, what to expect, and what we need from volunteers (and why we need volunteers!). You don't want to miss this! Even if you are not a rider, it's important that everyone involved attend. Bring your parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, sisters, brothers, friends, co-workers...you get the idea.

NAUCC requires many, many volunteers, and if we can get many non-riding volunteers, the competitors get to compete with out worrying about other things. So non-riders are just as important, and they need to attend!

The meeting will be from 6:30pm -8:30pm. See you there.

Good Times

Here's a quick video of a typical Saturday session. What's been exciting this season (since October) is the number of new learners we have joining us. That's good, because next Summer, NAUCC 2013- the North American Unicycling Convention and Championships are in the County.

More details on that here:

There's still time to learn between now and then. We say it time and time again, but unicycling is a blast.

We can teach you to ride FOR FREE!

Oh yeah, if you take a look off to the right, you'll notice our Page listing has been growing. We've added some video tabs. Enjoy!

2013- The Year of the Uni

Here's how a few of us started 2013:




It's no secret we like to ride unicycles. We also hope it's not a secret that we think you should try it too. Unicycling is a great is great for core strength and balance- something almost every human needs. As always, this is the plug: Join us (indoors!) at the Y on Saturdays from 4:30-6:30pm to try unicycling for yourself. It's totally free- no charge to get into the YMCA and no fee for the class.

Caution: many who try unicycling find that they like it.

We're REALLY pushing it this year as there are a few up and coming events that are really exciting in 2013.

First, THE unicycling national convention, NAUCC 2013, IS IN BUTLER COUNTY THIS JULY! Yes, those are capital letters for emphasis. If you miss it, even as a spectator, you will regret it. If you can ride a uni, you should register (when the time comes) and attend. We expect 300+ people and a lot of WORLD Champions to be in attendance. Can you imagine seeing someone hop over 4 feet high on a unicycle? How about ride at close to 30mph? What about play hockey or basketball on a uni?

It's a big deal. This is the first time EVER the national convention has been in PA.

What other sport can you hang out with the top names in the sport for a week?

Enough about that for now. On to the next exciting event: The 6 Hours of Brady's Run mountain bike race has a unicycle classes. It's definitely not something for beginners, but it is going to be a lot of fun. I've been racing Brady's Run as part of the Month of Mud series for the past 10 years, and it's always been one of my favorite courses. It's very challenging, but ride-able on both 2 and one wheel- for Advanced and Expert level MUni riders. The fact that there's an endurance race less than an hour away is something to get REALLY EXCITED ABOUT!

We'll be attending Dirt Fest again this year too. This event is not a race. It's a chance to camp and hang out with some cool people and ride great trails in Raystown Lake, PA.

There will be other events that we'll be attending too. As always, you're welcome to join us. The unicycling community is a great group of people.

Show up at the Y on a Saturday and find out!

Oh yeah, if you join us this week, we'll be heading out to dinner at a local restaurant after our Y time. Join us.