After several weeks, a new group of players who lived near my place was formed. There were several attempts to meet up for a weekly game. But it was always unsuccessful due to the lack of facility. The tables at the nearby community club are always fully booked. We couldn't get a table to play. This went on for months. It was frustrating.
Since I couldn't play ping pong, I would just go for the alternative favorite sports: cycling. I use the park connector to cycle to many different locations with nice scenery. It is enjoyable. I could cycle for 6 to 7 hours (with many breaks to enjoy the scenery) and it is a good way to kill time and keep fit. I cycle so much that I become good at cycling. I can cycle hands-free and cruise (ride without pedaling) on my bicycle. I get many praise from kids who saw that. Often they would say something like "wow, look, hands-free" (actually it should be hands-free and legs-free).
At around August 2013, while checking out my ping pong group at at meetup.com , I came across the Singapore unicycle group.
In my mind I was thinking ... since I can ride my bicycle without the use of the handle bar, I might as well progress into riding a unicycle. Instantly I decided to join the unicycle group.
There are several advantages for choosing unicycling.
- I can ride unicycle anywhere. I don't have to book/pay any facility e.g. badminton court, ping pong table
- I can ride indoor or at void deck when it is raining outside
- I can ride in the rain if I am in the mood :)
- I can ride on the road at the park, and off the road at dirt track.
- I can ride alone if my friends are not free (not possible with badminton & ping pong)
- There is no handle-bar. If you fall forward, most of the time you will land on both feet instead of falling down on the floor.
- There is no handle-bar. If you fall forward, most of the time you will land on both feet instead of falling down on the floor.
picture from https://www.facebook.com/UniGeezer
- It is low maintenance, very little wear and tear. (don't have to constantly buy shuttle cock, tennis ball etc)
- It is physically demanding (riding bicycle is too relaxing, don't even feel out of breath)
- It is low impact, does not hurt the knee and ankle (i love jogging but it damages the knee & ankle)
- It is not boring, unlike jogging, yet it pump the heart and give a good workout
- It is portable, I can carry my small unicycle onto the bus and MRT and even the ferry to Batam
- It burnt out my beer belly & love handle. Now I have a six pack, and my calf is toned too
- There are many levels of skills and new tricks to pick up.
- I like inline skating but this is better coz I can simply carry my uni into mall and coffee shop
- This is better than skate-boarding coz i can sit on it
- It has the "wow" effect like those when I ride my bicycle hands-free
- There is an active unicycle community
- Most of the unicyclist will not discriminate you by the brand of the unicycle that you own.
- Its beauty is in its slowness. Its like drinking tea or wine. Have to do it slowly to appreciate its beauty.
- There is an active unicycle community
- Most of the unicyclist will not discriminate you by the brand of the unicycle that you own.
- Its beauty is in its slowness. Its like drinking tea or wine. Have to do it slowly to appreciate its beauty.
Disadvantages:
- It is slow-moving compared to bicycle!
- Very limited local supplier of unicycle (you can forget about variety, range, brand, design)
- Limited supplies of unicycle-specific spare parts (you are on your own!)
- If you want to buy fanciful, branded or low-price unicycles, you will have to go through the hassle of ordering online.
- If you go to the Singapore unicycle community forum to ask for info on online purchase, most likely there will not be any reply except those from the sales people from "team-uni" brand of unicycle trying to sell you their generic brand of unicycle. I do not understand why the silence from the rest of the community.
- If you want to dig for info from people who go online to purchase all kinds and brands of unicycles(yes, there are people doing that), you can try your luck by going to the weekly unicycle sessions to personally talk to them. Good luck.
- The sales people from "team-uni" brand of unicycle described cheap Taiwanese unicycle that are sold from http://www.unicycle.com.tw/ as "cheapo uni". So, do not be caught by surprise if you are being mocked for buying or riding a "cheapo uni". Anyway "team-uni" brand of unicycle are also from Taiwan. Case of the kettle calling the pot black?
- Enemy of the half-pipe at all the skate parks
- It is slow-moving compared to bicycle!
- Very limited local supplier of unicycle (you can forget about variety, range, brand, design)
- Limited supplies of unicycle-specific spare parts (you are on your own!)
- If you want to buy fanciful, branded or low-price unicycles, you will have to go through the hassle of ordering online.
- If you go to the Singapore unicycle community forum to ask for info on online purchase, most likely there will not be any reply except those from the sales people from "team-uni" brand of unicycle trying to sell you their generic brand of unicycle. I do not understand why the silence from the rest of the community.
- If you want to dig for info from people who go online to purchase all kinds and brands of unicycles(yes, there are people doing that), you can try your luck by going to the weekly unicycle sessions to personally talk to them. Good luck.
- The sales people from "team-uni" brand of unicycle described cheap Taiwanese unicycle that are sold from http://www.unicycle.com.tw/ as "cheapo uni". So, do not be caught by surprise if you are being mocked for buying or riding a "cheapo uni". Anyway "team-uni" brand of unicycle are also from Taiwan. Case of the kettle calling the pot black?
- Enemy of the half-pipe at all the skate parks
- Unicycle take up more storage space than ping pong or badminton, but half the size of bicycle
- Only 2 places to learn unicycling but self-learning anywhere is possible too
- Steep learning curve, very difficult for the first 10 to 20 hours of learning. Easy after that
- Psychologically you might feel impossible at every learning stage and eventually give up
- Your body will not tell you that it can evolve to learn balancing on unicycle by itself
- Discomfort at the crotch area, literally speaking
- There are regular rides but these rides are not beginner-friendly most of the time. They are mostly targeted at experienced unicyclist with ultra huge wheel for long distance or technical off-road terrain riding.
[Update: Some of the kind unicyclists have started organizing beginners-friendly rides. For example the October 2014 Deepavali ride at Marina Bay and East Coast Park. It is a leisure ride on the pedestrian pavement, there is option to ride a shorter distance, it is a late noon/evening ride, starting at a convenient meeting location near MRT train station, with nice Marina Bay scenery suitable for lifestyle rides. It is a very encouraging development that opens up option for leisure lifestyle city riders. Please join their google mailing list to get updates on their rides.]
- Discomfort at the crotch area, literally speaking
- There are regular rides but these rides are not beginner-friendly most of the time. They are mostly targeted at experienced unicyclist with ultra huge wheel for long distance or technical off-road terrain riding.
[Update: Some of the kind unicyclists have started organizing beginners-friendly rides. For example the October 2014 Deepavali ride at Marina Bay and East Coast Park. It is a leisure ride on the pedestrian pavement, there is option to ride a shorter distance, it is a late noon/evening ride, starting at a convenient meeting location near MRT train station, with nice Marina Bay scenery suitable for lifestyle rides. It is a very encouraging development that opens up option for leisure lifestyle city riders. Please join their google mailing list to get updates on their rides.]
late noon/evening ride
Deepavali ride, Oct 2014
- At the beginning stage, you will look like a clown and people might mock you
- When you become a good unicyclist, you will still continue to catch people's attention/stare.
- Few/No air-conditioned indoor facility like air-con badminton/ping-pong/squash courts or gym.
Sudoku: addictive & played indoor in air-con comfort :-)
This sport is not suitable for people who do not like to attract others' attention. You simply cannot avoid catching people's attention. Not just silent attention... expect comment & mockery too.
This sport is also not suitable for people who pursue the latest technology for their sports equipment or enjoy customizing and perfecting their sports equipment. Unless they have the patience and money to purchase them online from different countries, and also has the skill to set up the unicycle.
If you are in this category, perhaps riding a trial bike or BMX might be less of a headache for you. It is equally cool and you won't suffer from crotch pain and name-calling like being call a clown ;p
A very cool Trial Bike video
Another cool Trial Bike video
This sport is also not suitable for people who pursue the latest technology for their sports equipment or enjoy customizing and perfecting their sports equipment. Unless they have the patience and money to purchase them online from different countries, and also has the skill to set up the unicycle.
If you are in this category, perhaps riding a trial bike or BMX might be less of a headache for you. It is equally cool and you won't suffer from crotch pain and name-calling like being call a clown ;p
A very cool Trial Bike video
Another cool Trial Bike video
If you like the Air time that you can get from the half-pipe at the skate park, then go for trial bikes!!!
Last temptation for you
In my opinion, the progress of unicycling is like this:
clown --------> cool ------> crazy
bruised ego --> big ego --> bloated ego --> burst ego :D
A well-known unicyclist by the name of Terry Peterson describe himself as "B.C." aka Beyond Crazy.
A well-known unicyclist by the name of Terry Peterson describe himself as "B.C." aka Beyond Crazy.
Personally I have passed the 'clown' stage and is now at the 'cool' stage and enjoying it. There are many good unicyclist in Singapore who do crazy stuffs like off-road or downhill unicycling or unicycle hockey!
You can try unicycling for free at the weekly session, why not give it a try. In the beginning it is like balancing and walking on a tight rope, very exciting and scary. Later on, it is like flying, the feeling of freedom.
Most of the time you will fall and land on both feet without injury. But you will be falling a few hundreds time and 1 of them could be *nasty*. So, you make your own decision.
Terry's video on protective gears (from head to toe!)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n4ZBzQwbZac
~~ Wear a helmet, or else don't tell your parents that you are learning unicycling ~~
Sep 2014
!! Beginners please be patient and do thing slowly and carefully !!
!! Get a friend or neighbor to supervise you whenever possible !!
