My Next Unicycle

We all have a 'next unicycle.'

About 8 or 9 years ago, my 'next unicycle' was decided for me by some guy who zoomed past while I was walking around my old nabe. [Is this even true? Why would I have been walking in my old neighborhood? Anyway,...] I told the guy that I'd never seen a wheel that large; it was a Semcycle 26" uni, and until then, the largest size most of us had ridden was a Schwinn 24" unicycle. The 26" was a revelation. The additional height of the wheel was less than a 10% change, but it felt like more, and suddenly I was speeding along my errands.

My brother went one step further. Over my protestations that it would be too large to control, he bought a Semcycle 28" uni. Wow. That thing really rode! He easily outstripped me on that huge wheel of his, and before long, I was kicking myself for having gone up only two inches when I could have added four. But soon, John realized that even the 28" was too small. He had been surfing the web and had discovered the nascent world of Cokers.

Back in the early 1990s, the idea of riding a 36" unicycle was a bit preposterous. It seemed like a good idea only for people riding really long distances on ground that was mostly level and smooth -- certainly not the typical conditions of NYC. And riding a Coker on a sidewalk seemed dangerous for both the unicyclist and pedestrians. But John went and ordered one anyway. I borrowed his 28" and made plans to get my own until I tried out his Coker a few times. Not only was it fast and maneuverable once you got used to it, but it was also safe for sidewalk riding as long as you took precautions. So it was not long before I, too, had to have a Coker. Within a few years, I'd gone from owning three unicycles (the 24" Schwinn I rode everywhere, a 20" Schwinn giraffe, and that old 20") to having a veritable plethora of one-wheeled vehicles. Currently I have these cycles:

* freestyle 20" with carbon-composite seat
* that old Schwinn giraffe (1982)
* ultimate wheel (24")
* ultimate wheel (26")
* impossible wheel (20")
* trials (20")
* Coker (36")
* Coker deluxe wheel with Wyganofsky extension (handle)
* privately-made 46" uni
* "Spin Cycle (20"), same maker
* Semcycle 28"
* Torker 24"
* 12"
* 16" (Emmett's current uni)
* 20" trials (Fiona's)
* 20" Torker (Fiona's 10th bday present!)
* 29" Schlumpf geared uni
... and I also have three Super Trick Cycles and a bunch of incomplete unis. Oh, and a tandem bicycle (but not a regular bike. It was stolen).

And yet I need at least one more. After all, how am I going to ride around my new property if I don't have a mountain unicycle. So after we move (and if I think I can afford it), I'm going to get myself a nice little starter muni. But after that, I don't think I'll need another unicycle for some time. But then again, who knows?