I first started riding unicycles when I was ten, I didn't belong to a club or organized group, I just spent every summer riding around with my brother and a friend. Twenty years ago I started using my old unicycle to walk the dog. About five years ago I got a coker so I could walk the dog faster and further. The coker was more fun than I thought it would be now I ride it all over. Last year I rode along on the Mediterranean Unicycle Tour. Four years ago my wife Michele signed our family up as members of the Twin Cities Unicycle Club. Since then unicycling has turned into almost a full time family event. My two boys both ride, we are working on Michele.
Tim Lee, Haltwhistle England, October 2007, Self Portrait
Tim Lee, Mediterranean Unicycle Tour, Ancona, Italy, July 2007, Photo by Grace Fleming
Tim Lee, Eagan Beauty Queens at the Raspberry Festival Parade, Robbinsdale Minnesota USA, July 2007, Photo by Michele Lee
Joe Lind
After following family and friends via their daily updates on the 2003 Norweigan Unicycle Tour, I was hooked on a new way to travel. Two years later I was along for the Alps Unicycle Tour, and then two years later again for the Mediterranean Unicycle Tour. Now, I run a "hobby sized" unicycle business, Compulsion Cycles, and continue to travel with via the big wheel.
Joe Lind, Lublijana Slovenia, June 2007, photo by Andy Cotter
Joe Lind, Mediterranean Unicycle Tour, Middle of Italy, June 2007, Photo by Irene Genelin
Joe Lind, Minnesota Rollergirls at the Spring Cleaning 2008 Semi-Finals, St. Paul Minnesota, March 2008, photo by random MNRG fan
Ryan Woessner
My infatuation for unicycling stems from three of my life passions: competition, travel and gorgeous women. Since 2000, I have competed in 8 North American Unicycling Championships and Conventions and 4 UNICONs, accumulating a total of 26 national and 8 international expert-level freestyle titles. Unicycling has brought me across the globe, from Japan to Norway, and has given me the opportunity to experience the world and its multitude of cultures in very unique ways. Gorgeous women have just been an added incentive to supplement the riding! Originally from the Twin Cities of Minnesota, I am currently a student at Stanford University in California where I am studying Political Science and Economics. This year I have had the privilege of serving as the Elections Commissioner for undergraduate and graduate student elections on campus. I am also a National Director and Skill Level Director for the Unicycling Society of America. Next fall I will be studying and interning in Washington DC. After completing the Norwegian Unicycle Tour in 2003, Ride the Lobster is my second long distance endeavor and I am extremely excited to be a part of the madness!
Ryan Woessner, Nowegian Unicycle Tour, Norway, June 2003, Photo by Andy Cotter
Ryan Woessner, Mounds View High School, Minnesota, USA, June 2003, Photo by Andy Cotter
Ryan Woessner and the Honey's, Stanford University, May 2008
Jason Heimann
Exploring my ability to overcome instability, I've been participating in sports such as yoga, rock climbing, slacklining and unicycling for almost a decade. These activities bring me peace in a world full of chaos... not to mention, they're more fun than a poke in the eye with a sharp stick. Unicycling, in particular, has introduced me to many passionate and entertaining people, taken me to strange places I'd never though to go, and helped me push my own personal limits. Hearing about RTL, it seemed like the perfect way to add another chapter to my unicycling history, make even more friends and see yet another "corner" of the globe. I've never considered myself a long-distance rider, although I just completed a 500km unicycle tour of Vietnam. Well... I still don't consider myself a long-distance rider. For RTL, however, I will ensure Team Flirt goes the distance.
Jason Heimann
Jason Heimann, Traffic jam during Uninam Unicycle Tour, Vietnam, March 2008