A rolling wheel gathers attention

The circus isn't coming to town, but cycling on campus has a whole new meaning thanks to Nicholas Huang '11 and his three-foot, 10-pound blue unicycle.

Huang rides on campus every day and has attracted substantial attention with his unique mode of transportation.

"Some people do a double take but don't want to stare," he said, describing typical onlookers. "Some just stare at me and watch, other people say something funny like 'Where's the rest of your bike?' and I say 'Someone stole it.' "

Huang bought his unicycle in September 2006 while working at a bicycle shop in his hometown of Boise, Idaho. He had never ridden a one-wheeler before, but two of his friends were unicyclists and suggested he try it.

"I hadn't used my employee discount yet," Huang said, "so I just decided to go for it."

Huang was a novice to the unicycle but not a newcomer to the sport of cycling. He began mountain biking with his father when he was a child. Huang also is a member of the club cycling team that trains year-round in road biking to prepare for the Eastern Collegiate Cycling Conference season each spring.

But riding a unicycle was a new challenge. He taught himself to ride and practiced the unicycle in his neighborhood for three months to become a competent rider.

"There is only so much one can teach about unicycling, so my friends told me how to teach myself," Huang said.

The trick to riding a unicycle is keeping the wheel directly below your body. "Everything is initiated from the hips," he said, "so your hips must be in line with the wheel."

Mounting the unicycle is the hardest part for Huang. He starts by positioning one pedal forward and one pedal back. Then he puts his right foot on the back pedal and swings himself up. The whole process takes about two seconds.

"He does look quite funny," Keung Yoon Bae '11 said. Though he has not met Huang, he often sees Huang riding on his way to class. "I don't think people laugh at him for riding the unicycle. They probably just think he is really original."

Huang's unicycle has also grabbed the attention of other unicyclists on campus who do not ride publicly.

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Unicyclist Christine Lai '10 is an avid rider, though she keeps her unicycle at home. When she first saw Huang riding, he "seemed a bit unstable" but "seems to have improved now," she said in an email.

While Lai prefers to ride her two-wheeler around campus, Huang chooses to unicycle because "it is excellent transport, small, faster than walking and fun to ride." Huang said that he is currently working on unicycle tricks, such as dropping off ledges.

Huang's friend Kenneth Jenkins '11 called Huang's hobby "very stylish," he wrote in an email. "I think it says that he is not afraid to stand out and be different."

Another friend, Lisa Carmona '11 said in an email that she has "always been really jealous of Nick's insanely cool skill ... Nick isn't the kind of person to go for the easy solution." She added that his friends have dubbed him "Nicholas Ridicalus."

His friends have suggested that he start a unicycling club, but Huang said he currently does not have enough time to commit to it, but that he may in the future.

When asked about his fears about the rampant bike theft on campus, Huang said, "a bike wheel is a lot more useful than a unicycle wheel to most people."

Nonetheless, he chooses not to chain the cycle to bike racks around campus. "It's kind of like tempting fate," he said.