Uni

So many things going on right now.

Yesterday evening I rocked the house with a very little piccolo playing followed by the Haydn trumpet concerto and a rubber garden hose trumpet encore. The San Miguel sell out crowd was wonderful. Especially a very sweet lady in the 1st row. More on her and all of the concert craziness in an upcoming post.

Last year in December I wrote about the best Christmas present I ever received, Christmas Cornet. Following in a very close 2nd has to be the bicycle. There is no better site than the image of a shinny bicycle back lit from the lights of a Christmas tree early Christmas morning. As a child I was fortunate enough to see that site more than once.

I now look back and rate the quality of the Christmas gifts I have received as a child based  on a few requirements:

1. Years of use.

Cornet, trumpets, flugelhorn, mutes, bikes, records (lp's), cd's, books. Many years of enjoyment.

2. Where it takes you.

Buzzing into a tube has turned out to be the best thing that ever happened to me. My love of cycling has taken me to many many beautiful corners of the United States and even a bit of Canada. I love the clean Canadians. Such a nice place Canada. Even better than where cycling took me is the fellow cyclist that I have met over the years. The same goes for music and performing. So many wonderful memories.

2011 has been a year of learning for me. Much of it self-inflicted and some of it just good ol' forced learning.  More on my nursing and extensive hands on male catheter (I thought I was going to throw up or pass out when I witnessed my 1st demonstration, which was also my last before I was to begin) practice in another upcoming post.

Something I am very excited to have learned this year is riding the unicycle. The unicycle is a blast. It's such a cool feeling to ride and not hold on to anything. The silence of the uni is also super cool. They make no sound at all. The cleanliness is another plus. No greasy parts at all. The pack-a-bility. I brought 3 unis (20" 16" and 12") down when Pearl, Rose and I flew back to Guanajuato in August. Take the pedals off and take out the seat/ seatpost combo and there's nothing to 'em. I think a uni would make a perfect gift for just about anyone but especially for the younger people on your gift list. It's also a very good work out. Great for your core and balance. Remember on a uni there's no coasting. Feel the burn. Oh, you can get a good 20" uni from unicycle.com for 112 bucks. This is what I chose for my 1st unicycle. And this is what I received:

I made a few modifications to my uni.

1. Odyssey plastic pedals that are white indoors but in sunlight the turn bright pink. More surface for my big feet. On sale for $5.

2. Root beer brown Animal seatpost clamp to replace the bulky but more convenient and more easily adjustable quick release type which comes stock. $10.

3. Animal Tom White Wall 20x2.20" tire. Higher pressure, more surface area, smoother rolling, more stable, big BMX street tire. $22.

4. Once I learned how to ride, I had some problems with flats. I'm 6'1" and 180 lbs. I have a life time sponsorship back from my bike racing days with Velox, the makers of fine cloth rim tape. So with a little help from my local bike store, problemo solved. No more flats.

Gordon is my local (when I'm in Texas) Velox representative.
He's also an excellent seatpost cutter.
Look at the size of that thing!

Just for fun go into your local bike store during the Christmas rush and tell them you're looking for a seatpost. When they ask you how long tell them, "700 millimeters" and see what their reaction is. More on what I've done with my 700 mm seatpost soon.

They say it takes 10 hours to learn how to ride a unicycle. I don't think it took me that long. A nephew (13yrs.) who not 1 person in our family, except for me, thought would have the determination to stick with it long enough, learned to ride in around 7 hours. It was so cool to watch. I'm so proud of him and my girls who have also began learning the joys of unicycling. Rose is practicing in the kitchen on the 16" uni as I type this.

If you order anything from the friendly people at unicycle.com please mention this post. They have no idea who I am but maybe if a few people order a uni then they'll give me a free t-shirt or something.