188'

Emmett's Continuing Success

Emmett is really excited about his riding. He's now got a personal record of 45 revolutions and has also ridden 30, 40, and many other long runs. Since his 16" wheel rolls out about 50 inches, he rode about 188 feet. Now all he has to do is learn to freemount (he's working on it) and he'll have mastered level 1. He can already dismount gracefully most of the time, tho of course some of his unplanned dismounts (and most of them are still unplanned!) are quite scary.

What's really nice for Emmett is that he's so thrilled about his success that he wants to show everyone. And unlike most things that 6-year-olds show grown-ups, this one is truly impressive (unlike, say, a stack of Yu-Ge-Oh cards*). One of the things I've said over the years is that unicycling builds confidence. Emmett will always be known as the boy who unicycles, and it's wonderful to be known for something positive like that.

What's nice for me is that I now have two children who love unicycling (and Maeve will clearly join them as soon as I give her a unicycle her size). Shirra has enjoyed knitting with Fiona for several years now, and over that same period, I've loved riding around with Fiona. We rode home from Packer one day, a nearly-five-mile ride that was quite rewarding for both of us. We got to do a lot of chatting, and it was fun just spending time together. It was also nice for Fiona since it was the longest ride she'd ever made -- by far!

Shirra just phoned me from home to report that Maeve is running around the yard while the big kids ride around on their unicycles. That's a nice picture.