Tahoe Rim Trail, California. John Foss Photo

There’s something inherently cool about riding on one wheel.    Perhaps it’s the simplicity of equipment, or the challenge, or the fact that you can ride for years and always find something new to try.   Unicycles turn the world into a playground that’s waiting to be ridden, and it’s becoming one of the fastest growing types of cycling.

There are many types of unicycling, from cruising city streets to technical trail riding.    Here are a few of the most popular types:

Standard unicycling:  This is the most popular part of the sport and the way everybody starts- simply riding as transportation.

Cross-Country Mountain Unicycling.   This involves riding longer distances on technically moderate trails.

Freeride Mountain Unicycling.  This involves riding technically challenging trails where the objective is to ride the most difficult terrain possible.

Trials: This involves riding over obstacles of any sort, either in natural terrain or in an urban environment, where the challenge is purely a function of technical difficulty over short distances.   Riding techniques are employed purely as a means to negotiate obstacles. 

Freestyle:  This involves doing tricks on a unicycle on flat ground.   There are virtually an infinite number of ways to ride a unicycle and the challenge is purely related to the difficulty of moves.

Street: Street riding combines Trials and Freestyle.  The objective is to use trials obstacles to set up freestyle moves and other techniques unique to street riding, such as grinds.

More more information and links to numerous unicycling websites, visit unicyclist.com