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We update the pages regularly and post live from demos and performances!
Weekly Feature!
15/05/2012Unicycling: Spreading the Word by Teaching Others.
When I started Unicycling in 2002, I knew one other person who could ride and I saw him about once a month at a local circus skills club. At that point, I was literally amazed by his ability to jump off the unicycle and spin it 180 degrees, a trick which is relatively pathetic these days but was justifiably a Level 10 Freestyle trick then.
I think everyone can relate with the feeling of wanting to be a part of something, wanting to be a member of a group or a movement, finding security, social benefits and even just fun when things are done with others. For about 8 years, I was the only Unicyclist I knew that was remotely interested in Street or Trials, it was a lonely place to be and honestly, I'm surprised I made it this far. It dawned on me one day, during an hour of meditation, contemplation and reflection, that if I wanted a Street/Trials Unicycling scene to flourish in Edinburgh, I would have to create one from scratch. Spreading the word, preaching to convert bikers, sharing my heavenly knowledge like a modern day, Scottish Jesus .
Through a number of different connections, I was given the opportunity to start a club in September 2011 at one of the local private schools, Stuart's Melville College. Being a good old fashioned working class boy with a relatively high quality state education, I always had a bit of beef with the idea of private schools but I tried to stay open minded and thought of all the gold they probably had stored in the school grounds, like an Aladdin's cave and that no doubt this would be my financial reward for sharing my wisdom.
Overall, I was given 20 weeks at the school, 10 weeks with one group of children and 10 with another, although many of the first group returned having learnt to ride, purchased Unicycles from Unicycle.uk.com for Christmas and were now embarking on the journey of becoming Street and Trials riders. The kids were amazing and that was all they were, just kids. Yes they were brought up in privileged circumstances but really, the sense of wonder and discovery that lit up in their eyes when they saw the Unicycle, was no different from children I'd worked with at some of the more under privileged schools.
It's a very strange experience, one that I find terribly difficult to articulate but for the purposes of an online blog entry, I'll give it a pop. It's been 10 years since I learnt to Unicycle, which took me about 10 days in total. Although Voodoo Unicycles are often involved in workshops or classes at events or in schools, these are often one day sessions or even just hour long sessions, so very little progression is made. The 10 weeks allowed me to get to know the kids and watch them improve on a weekly basis. Being responsible for 15 kids, learning together, week by week something that I had learnt at a similar age, outside my house, holding onto a fence, on my own, was rather humbling and the juxtaposition of our experiences was hard to ignore.
Now, I have about 3 or 4 riders from this school who are still riding and are now fully fledged apprentice Street and Trials riders.
Voodoo Unicycles aren't just about progressing the sport for ourselves, becoming technically better riders, getting bigger and better demos at high profile events, invites to P Diddy's birthday or leaving the UUU Street Trophy in a night club. Our goals have changed and evolved as we have and now, it's massively important to us to introduce the sport to others through workshops, classes and clubs. By no means is it easy to start up a club, without the help of a fellow rider, Richard Willis, we would never have had the unicycles for the kids to ride and had the school been a state school, they would never have invested the money in buying their own unicycles.
I've learnt a lot about myself and about Unicycling in the past few months that I've been teaching regularly. No longer is teaching Unicycling a quest to grow the sport so that I can reap the rewards of friendship and expel the loneliness and solitude of solo riding , the feeling of sharing something with others, that has given me much pleasure and allowed me to grow exponentially as an individual, is far more rewarding. If anyone out there has a skill or a talent, I would recommend you pass it on. Not only will you be enriching the lives of others but you'll be fulfilling one of the purposes of life as I see it, the natural instinct to learn and pass on that knowledge to the next generation.
Words: Jason Auld
Video: Jason Auld
Photos: Edd Hawkes, Mike Swarbrick
UK Trials and Street League!
11/05/2012We're holding the UK national Trials and Street Competitions!
The first season of the UK Street and Trials League is here to replace the national competitions at BUC and the tour kicks off in the nations capital, London on Saturday, June 2nd.
Unlike the conventional competitions at global Unicycling events, the courses for both Street and Trials will not be fabricated or designed by judges or even riders themselves, the courses will be pure urban obstacles, untouched by organisers, untamed by unions, as raw as the local council intended. Surely this is Street and Trials at it's purest. The tour then stops off in 4 more cities:
Newcastle 7th July
Bristol 11th August
Birmingham 22nd September
Milton Keynes 3rd November
The competitions will take place over one day, will be self judged and will abide by IUF guidelines. Each rider will be given points reflecting the position they finish in each event, the rider finishing highest getting the maximum points and the rider finishing lowest, the minimum. At the end of the tour, the rider with the highest score will win the UUU trophy for their respective discipline and be crowd UK Champion.
This is a chance to not only improve your riding, compete with the best in the country and hit some spots in cities you're never been too, it's also a chance to meet up with riders and socialise on a monthly basis. Don't worry if you take your riding less seriously than others, have a relaxed ride, have fun and make new friends. The Street and Trials League is by riders, for riders.
If you have any questions, pop us a message through the contact form.
Weekly Feature!
08/05/2012Use yer noggin!
On 4th April 2012 Ralph Whitnall, UK Muni rider and friend of Voodoo, had a serious skiing accident in Austria while working as a chalet assistant.
"He fell 30 metres skiing down a black slope and ending on a blue run, where he was seen from the cable car. He was unconscious, and taken by helicopter to Innsbruck Hospital, where he spent nearly a week in intensive care, before going to an observation ward. Nothing broken, just a dislocated hip which was corrected. However he suffered brain injury.
Fortunately he was wearing full body armour and helmet."
This weeks article is about safety gear. So often people overlook the importance of wearing a helmet. It’s so easy to shrug off, how often do you hit your head anyway? It only takes one freak occurrence to change your life forever.
There are three main types of crash helmet that I have seen unicyclists wear. Road, skate style and full face.
Road style:
The road style helmet is the classic cycling crash helmet. Made from polystyrene with a thin plastic coating on the outside. Most designs have air flow vents all over to save weight and keep your head cool as you ride. They are designed to take one big impact, then they must be replaced.
This style helmet is best suited to distance riders, as generally speaking, bigger wheels go faster and you have further to fall than a smaller wheel.
Skate Style:
This type of helmet is typically worn by BMX riders and skateboarders, often referred to as a pisspot. They are made in two parts, a tough plastic shell with a polystyrene inner fixed inside. They often have small air holes for ventilation, although not as much as road helmets. They are designed to take lots of small hits, rather than one big one.
The pisspot is best suited to trials and street riders. You don’t go as fast on a small wheel but generally take more tumbles while attempting tricks.
Full-face:
The full-face helmet is worn by downhill mountain bikers. Designed to protect the full head, they have a tough plastic (I have see Carbon Fibre ones recently) shell lined with polystyrene and a chin guard to protect the mouth and face. Often they have a visor and are worn with goggles to provide 100% protection from dirt and debris. This type of helmet is designed for high speed impacts and should be replaced after a crash.
Personally I find full-face helmets overkill for unicycling. They are heavy and get very hot while wearing them. I find they also restrict my hearing and peripheral vision more than I would like, however this is all personal preference, if it makes you feel safer, go for it!
A lot of unicyclists also wear shinpads, however the range of choice for these is so vast that it’s a whole article in itself. If you only wear one piece of protection, I highly recommend a helmet be your first choice.
Unfortunately, sometimes it takes something really awful to happen to make you realize the importance of the small things that make a big difference. You can read about Ralphs progress on his blog.
If you’re reading this Ralph, we wish you all the best in your recovery and hope to see you back on one wheel again!
Words: Edd Hawkes
Photos: Emily Johnson, Google
Weekly Feature!
01/05/2012HOW TO LOOK KOOL... And ride a unicycle
Do's and don'ts to help you stay kool!
- 1 - Wear tight shorts that show your package
2- Don't be a fool, cause safety is cool, so make that your rule
3- Make your unicycle look as hot as you by accessorising with illuminous coloured pedals, frame and tyre
4- Continuously show off while you ride, minimum 6 tricks per minute
5- Wear a bandana if you have long hair
6- Use music to inspire your riding... Preferably angry rap music booming from a ghetto blaster worn on your shoulder
7- Be sure to flex your buldging (thigh) muscles at passing females of all ages
8- Pose on your unicycle at every possible opportunity, while playing hockey lean against the stick in relaxed manner to achieve optimum pose stance
9- Do not, under ANY circumstance juggle ANYTHING
10- Always wear a Voodoo Unicycle vest top to expose the guns and tshirt tan
Follow these 10 simple steps and you too can be cool as a cucumber in tzatziki dip, awesome!
Words: Nathalie 'Groovy' Gilbert-Gray and Joe 'Kool' Baxter (because Kool is his middle name)
Photos: Edd Hawkes, Leo Hawkes, Steve Colligan
Weekly Feature!
24/04/2012Unicycling and weird Unicycles
There are many unicycles out there, and the majority are pretty standard, boggo spec and simple to ride. Well as simple as unicycling is for an established rider that is, and by “boggo spec” I mean direct drive, 1:1, usual stuff. You pedal once round and the wheel goes exactly the same amount. Recently however (whilst attending the British Juggling Convention) I came across an extremely err...interesting unicycle. I was going to say weird but it goes beyond that. It is named the Huni-Rex, it was 26” and was not ordinary.
The main and most obvious difference of the Huni-rex is the fact it has a chain and cogs linked down to the pedals which were below the centre of the wheel. This also meant it had potential to be geared up. And boy it was, it was pretty fast and I found very hard to ride. We counted how many turns the wheel made in comparison to pedals and as far as I can remember, it was about 1 turn of the pedals equalled 3 and a bit turns of the wheel. We worked out it was around 1:1.5-1.6ish! Meaning it had an equivalent wheel size of 41 inches!!
When mounting it you could not start as you quite often would using the one pedal back free mount, you simply didn’t have enough crank lever and the wheel moved way more than the pedals. You had to either hold a wall, a friend or as I found best use a rolling jump mount. The speed was a fun novelty but quite expected. The strangest thing I found when riding it was the placement of the pedals, below the centre of the wheel. It made for a really odd disconnected feel. It took awhile to get used to and felt like an active effort to maintain control. Once you had got used to the feel of it though you could relax and cruise around. It was extremely fast and fun!
The Huni-Rex was not the weirdest unicycle i have come across though. When in Munich, attending the European Juggling Convention 2011 (EJC) I saw this!
Two riders, one wheel, two sets of pedals! I guess it would be officially called a unicycle too, seeing as it has only one wheel. As far as I could tell it was pretty much 1:1 drive. It looked very hard to ride, in fact near impossible! The guys riding it couldn’t keep it going for very long. Unfortunately I didn’t get a go as I couldn’t speak their language and they couldn’t speak mine, that and they were so intent on mastering it I don’t think they would have let me have a go even if they could understand me asking for a try!
As far as I can tell the problem was side to side balance, although back and forward balance was also an issue because both riders controlled the speed simultaneously and no-one really had the lead!
I think the design might be made easier to ride with the replacement of one of the hubs for a free-wheeling hub, as you would on a bike. Preferably the back one too! Maybe Edd and I should give building one a shot :)
Definitely an extremely interesting unicycle which makes you consider the balance involved in everyday riding. It essentially makes me think, probably best just to stick to my standard, boggo spec trials unicycle for demos eh?!
Words: Leo Hawkes
Photos: Leo Hawkes, Google
Weekly Feature!
17/04/2012The End of BUC, The Beginning of UK Street and Trials?
2012, the year of EUC winter and summer editions, NAUCC, UniNats, UNICON but no BUC and it’s becoming some what of a trend. This will be the second year in a row that BUC has been called off due to lack of interest/support meaning there has been no “official” British Unicycling Convention or Championships since April 2010. As a member of Voodoo Unicycles, this is heart breaking. One of our goals since day one has been to promote the sport and spread the word about the alternative and varied styles of Extreme Unicycling, so the lack of a BUC is counter productive at best and potentially fatal at worst.
The question has to be asked before we go any further, is there a place for BUC anymore? Is it relevant in the current UK Unicycling landscape? Previous to writing this article, I would have uttered an enthusiastic “Yes!” but after thinking long and hard about it, I can no longer reply with such conviction.
My first BUC was in 2006 in Scarborough on the west coast of England. I didn’t really know anyone a part from a few interactions via the international forums. I took part in the Freestyle competition that year as Street was in it’s infancy, it was later that year that the first Street Competition was held at UNICON in Switzerland. My stand out memory of the weekend was getting up at stupid o’clock to get the bus (Yes, that‘s right, the bus) back to Edinburgh and chatting with a young rider who had previously dominated the British Trials scene, Joe Baxter. He was up early for a Muni ride and was sipping away at a coffee in an attempt to wake himself up. We both chatted about trivial matters through bleary eyes and went on our way. From that moment onwards, perhaps due to meeting Joe Baxter, I made the effort to attend every BUC until 2010 including an 18 hour round trip to Okehampton in 2009.
The street course at BUC 2008 left a lot to be desired
It was clear after BUC 2010 and as BUC 2011 came ever closer, that no one was going to volunteer to hold the event that year. I think everyone accepted it quite readily, understanding the enormous contribution required to organise and facilitate such an event. Team Voodoo, however, take competition very seriously. In our eyes, without a legitimate Street and Trials competition for UK riders could we ever be taken seriously as a nation on the world stage? Competition plays a valuable role in the development of a sport and of it‘s participants. One of the first questions asked, after “Is it hard?” and “Do your nuts hurt?” is “Do you guys compete on these?” and “Have you won any competitions?” As a team, we knew it was essential to hold an event but we could only represent the disciplines closest to us, Street and Trials. In December 2011, VUC 1 was held in Dynamix Skate park in Gateshead, England. The attendance was just over 30 people and not all of them were riders but in terms of participation, we had the most number of competitors in a UK Street or Trials Competition ever.
VUC 1
As 2012 came around it was again, fairly inevitably that BUC was not going to happen but this year, I wasn’t so quick to stand down. It angered me, why could European riders give up their time and energy to put together great events and we couldn’t? Why could American riders travel thousands of miles for events but we couldn’t travel hundreds? Was it as simple as saying, UK Unicyclists are lazy? I thought so but often as is the case, the answer was not so elementary.
After much debate on the forums, it became clear to me that people attended BUC for entirely different reasons and although I always thought that was some what charming, was this potentially it’s fatal flaw?
Hockey in the UK has always had a strong following and Hockey players have taken it upon themselves to create a league and organise events, outside of BUC. Hockey players don’t care about BUC because they get to watch Simon Berry “do some trick”, likewise, most Street and Trials riders are passed out drunk or sitting in the pouring rain while the hockey goes on. BUC also always had an individual way of padding out a schedule with entirely irrelevant activities like didgeridoo workshops, which in retrospect, seem like a desperate attempt to keep people interested. Maybe BUC was never that good but we were all too afraid to admit it. This point was made even more palpable when Edd Hawkes pointed out the obvious “You wouldn‘t see a track cyclist and a BMXer at the same competition, would you?”. Although I’m sure some of you will read this and email us a list of events where you saw track cyclists and BMXers embracing each other in love, but as a generalisation, there is much truth in this statement. The UUU has appointed itself the representative of all styles of Unicycling in the UK but maybe it’s time we had a governing body that cares about our styles alone, much like the AFA did for Freestyle BMX in the 80s. A UK, or even an international governing body for Street and Trials would be responsible for the organisation of events and competitions and be the spokesmen for the sports, allowing these styles to prosper on their own. Each facet of Bicycling has been allowed to grow and evolve on it’s own, finding a small group of dedicated followers who care about it and who contribute a great deal of their lives to it, perhaps now is the time Unicycling followed the tyre marks left in front of us.
The future?
The success of EUC, Extreme Unicycling Competition, held twice a year and focussing entirely on Street, Trials and Flat surely shows that these disciplines can stand on their own two feet. The question is would this work in the UK? I think it would and I’m willing to fight for it. VUC 2 will no doubt happen this year in an attempt to fill the void that BUC has left for Street and Trials riders. If we can increase our attendance from last year and the participation in the competitions themselves, surely that is enough to say that Street and Trials Unicycling in the UK can live on without BUC.
BUC is dead, long live VUC.
Words: Jason Auld
Photos: Edd Hawkes, Leo Hawkes
Weekly Feature!
10/04/2012Unicycling is fun!
In January, Simon Berry hosted a ride in his home town of Kings Lynn. When letting us know he was organizing it, he forgot to tell us that Kings Lynn only has one riding spot.
Despite that, we still had a good session. That’s what I love about unicycling. No matter what level you are at, there will always be something to challenge you. Even if you think you have nowhere to ride, there is always fun to be had.
Check out this video from that very session on a cold January morning in Kings Lynn. I don’t think anyone attempted ‘normal’ tricks, but that’s what makes our unique little sport so enjoyable. Being able to break away from the conventional and do your own thing.
When riding, don’t be afraid to try new things. Go against the norm, don’t just try and learn tricks because they’re ‘cool’. Tricks nobody has seen before are cool!
Remember, next time you think you have nowhere to ride, be grateful you don’t live in Kings Lynn ;)
Words: Edd Hawkes
Video: Edd Hawkes
Weekly Feature
03/04/2012An Interview with Justin Kohse
This weeks article is a little different, check out this interview we did with 24" street and Muni legend Justin Kohse!
How many years have you been riding?
- 12 (i feel old )
What's your favourite style of riding and why?
- right now im really into street because im kind of too lazy to go ride muni...but i really miss the mountains.
Who are your major influences, within Unicycling and outside the sport?
- Within unicycling i'd have to say Kris Holm. I know a lot of people say that but the man keeps us a float ( oh and congrats to Kris and Shannon on the little one! ), Outside of the sport all i do is work. One of my big influences right now is Mark Coleran, awesome visual designer!
What is it like to have riders like Kris Holm, Dan Heaton and Kevin McMullin to ride with on a regular basis? How has it influenced your own riding?
- They do keep me going.
Kevin McMullin only recently moved to Vancouver. We use to trash talk each other over MSN, i think that helped a lot.
Kris and I ride every now and then, but not enough lately!
I haven't seen Dan Heaton on a unicycle since the Vancouver Muni Weekend. If you read this dan "we miss you".
How has growing up near the North Shore influenced your riding?
- Honestly not that much. I grew up on Vancouver Island so i just stuck with the local trails. Although when I did move to Vancouver I couldn't believe what I had at my disposal.
I do have to say that watching Kris Holm tear it up on the northshore definitely influenced me though.
How did it feel being a part of Defect, one of the most influential Unicycling DVDs of all time? Did you feel pressure appearing on film along side any other riders?
-Being a part of Defect was an amazing part of my life. I met a lot great people and i got to ride my unicycle all over. At the time i looked up to everyone in that movie, so the pressure was on to step it up
What was your favourite spot to ride during your visit to the UK?
- STOKE PLAZA! Although we did not get enough time to ride that park. I will be back.
How has Unicycling changed since you started riding?
- Unicycling is ridiculous now. The technical level has spiked through the roof, i'm not really even sure i can name half of the flip tricks out there these days. Honestly i'm just glad the sport is still going.
How do you think it will change in the future?
- Eventually we're going to reach a point where the amount of tricks will cap out. Once this happens the only place to go is to go bigger, i think this is when the sport will really get the recognition it deserves.
We’re really close to that point right now IMO.
Who's your favourite Voodoo rider and why?
- That’s unfair. You know I love all you guys equally.
Any advice for new riders?
-Hardest part about this sport is the flak you get from some people for doing something you enjoy. To be honest, it does look kind of funny. Screw'em.
I guess that's not really advice
Words: Justin Kohse
Photos: Leo Hawkes, Benjamin Costin, Rob Thomas
New Tutorials!
29/03/2012Don't forget to keep checking the tutorial section for new videos. We are constantly trying to think of new ideas for tutorials. If there's something you want to learn, send us and email with your idea to: Info@voodoounicycles.com and we'll do our best to cover it for you.
Here's our two latest video tutorials:
Rolling Wrap:
Unicycle Assembly:
Weekly Feature!
27/03/2012I really want to learn crankflips.
When I learnt to ride and started trying to learn tricks, they were considered one of the hardest tricks to learn. I have put them on some ridiculous pedestal so its frustrating when I see kids that have been riding a fraction of the time I have, happily flipping away. I have tried them on and off for a few years but they still elude me. Ten minutes ago I watched a video tutorial on how to do the wretched trick. Out I went, filled with fresh enthusiasm and renewed confidence. I found somewhere with a decent streetlight (It's about 9pm and totally dark outside) and lined up my pedals so I would be attempting the trick in the brightest spot. I rolled upto the point I was aiming for and tried to flip the cranks, only they don't flip. Instead my left crank only does a quarter rev, ending up at the bottom of its stroke and I land with my left foot hard on the pedal, my right foot on the floor. The sudden weight on one side of the unicycle forces it to jerk violently to the left, slamming the crown right into the side of my left knee. Agony surges through my knee and instantly any enthusiasm I had is gone. I hate this trick, why am I even trying to learn it?!
Now the pain has subsided and I am sitting contemplating what went wrong, I can't help but think about learning to ride. I remember the first time I got on a unicycle. It felt impossible, there was no way I was going to master it. However, I stuck at it and although I must have fallen off a million times, I learnt in the end. If unicycling has taught me one thing, that thing would be to never give up on something you really want. Unicycling can be one of the most frustrating things you'll ever do, but it can also be the most rewarding. Its a fact of life that nothing comes easy, unless you're extremely lucky. If you want to be a footballer, an artist, scientist, racing driver, fireman or whatever, if you put the time and effort in, you can be anything you want to be.
I still really want to learn crankflips.
Words: Edd Hawkes
Photos: Edd Hawkes, Vincent Hickman, Steve Tse