Im from Sydney Australia but I grew up in small costal town (Coffs Harbour) but spent most of my teenage years over in Hong Kong. In recent months I completed a unicycle tour which myself and twenty four other riders rode 500km from North to South of Vietnam over a twelve day period. I have been able to ride a Unicycle for just under a year, specifically Saturday the 21st of October 2007. Much to my dismay, 6:00am my alarm clock sounds to awaken me from the dead. I will be the first to admit that partying and drinking to 2:00am the previous night was not the smartest thing in the world. Today was special as the previous night, before the booze I made a commitment to enter into Spring Cycle (50km) cycling festival and this was one commitment that I was not going to break. Prior to this day the longest distance I had ever traveled on a Unicycle was 100m! It was long and painful ride on my 24" Uni but six ours later when I crossed the line - it was all worth it. After that day I placed an order for a much larger unicycle; vowing to never ride distance again on a small wheel. That vow was short lived however!
Geoffrey Huntley, March 2008, Vietnam Unicycle Tour, Photo by Hien Tran
Geoffrey Huntley and kangaroo mascot - Skippy!, March 2008, Vietnam Unicycle Tour, Photo by Ken Looi
Geoffrey Huntley, March 2008, Vietnamese Unicycle Tour, Vietnamese villagers question the logic behind riding a unicycle and the road rash on Geoffrey Huntley's leg (not shown), Photo by Mal Bird
Chuck Edwall
Hey all, my name's Chuck! Starting in December '86, I grew up in San Diego, California and currently attend UC Irvine as a Computer Science and Engineering major, and I've been working part time through the school year as a User Interface Engineer (I guess that's the title) for Apple on its .Mac suite of internet services. I'm also a total Macintosh-nut... long live the Mac!
I spent from 1993 to 2005 as a swimmer, and got respectably quick, but never spectacularly strong. When I met Todd Shaver in my dorm at UC Irvine in early 2006 is when I started unicycling on my first little 24" Torker DX, which, sadly, was stolen last December. I got my first Coker in October of 2007, and have been loving it! Going fast on a unicycle is the greatest feeling in the world! I also really like to road bike; since I started in '06 I've put on maybe 12,000 miles or so. I don't break any records or anything, but I sure do have fun!
Besides liking to unicycle, ride bikes, and swim, I'm generally just a quirky guy who will randomly start mediocrely beatboxing, make engine noises while not doing anything strenuous (i.e. during lecture!), and bounce off the walls at 3 AM or 3 PM, depending on which 12-hour time block he last went to sleep. I go through lots of orange juice, and can't get enough fish burritos or fish tacos! Mexican food and seafood are both great, but both in the same meal just can't be beaten.
Chuck Edawll, Getting food after a Unicycle Club of UCI Meeting!, October 2007, Irvine, California, USA, Photo by Todd Shaver
Chuck Edawll, RTL Qualifying ride!, Oceanside, California, USA, February 2008, Self portrait.
Chuck Edwall, Starting the 100 yard Backstroke, San Diego, California, USA, May 2005
Sam Wakeling
When a friend of a friend said that they 'went for rides' on their unicycles I thought it was crazy. They also said people did it off-road, which was more so. But it got me interested and I learned to ride in a summer holiday. I worked my way up with bigger wheels until just before starting on a 1000 mile three week tour of the UK from Land's End to John o'Groats I finally got my first 36 inch wheel.
Ever since it has been my favourite unicycle and often my main transport. I'm a university student at Aberystwyth in Mid Wales and love going out for long hilly rides in the countryside. I've met loads of great people by doing unicycling, and done so many things I never would have thought possible. I'm looking forward to Ride The Lobster to meet lots of people and do some great rides in amazing scenery.
Sam Wakeling, September 2000, Aberystwyth, Wales, UK, Photo by Simon Marshall
Sam Wakeling, 30 minutes/13km into his 24 Hour Unicycling Record Ride, September 2007, Aberystwyth, Wales, UK, Photo by Steve Colligan
Sam Wakeling, July 2005, Sipi Falls, Uganda, Photo by Rebecca Furlong
Jonathan (Rocket) Marshall
I am a spacecraft design engineer originally specializing in propulsion systems, hence the nickname of "Rocket" which I acquired from the Lunis, my unicycle hockey team, which had two Jonathans and a John when I started playing. I've been unicycling for about 15 years and in that time I've played a lot of hockey and among other highlights I was one of the organisers of Unicon VIII in 1996 and was the first UK rider to master the difficult two wheeled unicycle. I have been a director of the International Unicycle Federation since 2004.
Jonathan Marshall, Photo by Mike Penton
Jonathan Marshall, Kidderminster Unicycling Convention, England, May 19, 2001, Photo by Brad Dooley