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news
unicycle.jpgYorkshire 10-year-olds turn heads - by unicycling to school
Two 10-year-old boys in West Yorkshire have been turning heads in their local village – by riding to school on unicycles.
Jake Rayner – described by his mum Jodie as “an adrenaline junkie” and his friend Sam McGurk undertake the journey each day from Wyke, where they live, and Shcoles Village Primary.
Mrs Rayner told the Telegraph and Argus: "At first I was terrified by it. I followed him at first because I dropped off other children I child-mind.
"But I am confident enough now for them to both go on them on their own. It is strange to see. I pass them and you see work people in vans laughing.
"They only took a couple of months to get the hang of it. I am definitely impressed. It makes me chuckle how people tend to slow down and point. They won't have seen it before.
"I have put him on Facebook for friends and family and they love it. They have said we should get them into the circus - Jake wants some batons next!"
According to Mrs Rayner, the boys got used to the unicycles very quickly. "They just pedal and pedal until they get to school,” she explained. “
They used to go to school on normal bikes. It is a great way for the boys to get exercise - they will have massive leg muscles.They have learned to do bunny hops on them as well!"
Neither she nor Jake’s father, John, will be joining the lads on a one –wheeled school run, though.
"Sober and drunk, we still cannot do it," she revealed, adding, “We are too scared of cracking our heads."
Jake is a bit of a YouTube fan, according to his mum, who says it’s where he first became fascinated by unicycles – so presumably he’ll already have seen this extreme unicycling video from Germany?
Simon joined road.cc as news editor in 2009 and is now the site’s community editor, acting as a link between the team producing the content and our readers. A law and languages graduate, published translator and former retail analyst, he has reported on issues as diverse as cycling-related court cases, anti-doping investigations, the latest developments in the bike industry and the sport’s biggest races. Now back in London full-time after 15 years living in Oxford and Cambridge, he loves cycling along the Thames but misses having his former riding buddy, Elodie the miniature schnauzer, in the basket in front of him.
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4 comments
Dear Simon MacMichael: typo in paragraph two: I think the village is called "Scholes" and not "Shcoles" (my first serious girlfriend lived there).
I remember a few years ago, seeing a teenage lad unicyling in Birmingham. He rode past as I was walking along and called out that he had just got started. When I followed him round the corner, I found him hanging on to a lamppost! I saw him several times subsequently so I think he got the hang of dismounting!
It's usually really easy to get the hang of dismounts as you just step off the front and catch it behind you. It's getting onto them that's trickier and you often need a lamppost to help you get steady when you're a beginner. Mounts without a support take a bit of practise. I think kids learn unicycling quicker than most adults due to their lack of fear as riding a unicycle is very much like falling at exactly the same speed that you're travelling. It's a lot of fun when you get the hang of it though.
Ah, enlightening.