July 27, 2008
The hot new outdoor sport - Muni
Behold the Mountain Unicycle or Muni From the New York Times:Down the Mountain on a Wheel and a Prayer
In the sandstone mountains overlooking Santa Barbara, Calif., Hans Van Koppen hoisted himself onto a beat-up unicycle and gained his balance with a few tentative rolls. He wore padded gloves, and plastic arm and leg guards, and he perspired profusely from beneath a bicycle helmet.
After a few deep breaths, Van Koppen, 52, tilted his unicycle forward, began pedaling and was soon speeding down a steep hill, his arms outstretched. As the trail leveled off, Van Koppen rolled up a large rock, paused at the top, then hopped off, his landing kicking up a cloud of dust.
This was no circus, and Van Koppen is no clown. He is a mountain unicyclist, or muni rider, a member of a small but growing community that is putting an extreme twist on the most whimsical of devices.
Mountain unicycling, pioneered during the 1990s on the West Coast, has won fans around the globe. Regional muni events draw hundreds of riders to California and Utah. The North American Unicycle Championships and Convention took place this month in Rapid City, S.D. Similar events have been held in England and Australia.
�People like the novelty of it,� said Wendy Grzych, the president of the Unicycling Society of America, which has 865 members. �It�s a whole subculture, and a different makeup than your church friends or work buddies.�
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