The Unicycle

Puzzling Moments from My Life

I was the youngest of 3 daughters. In many families this would mean I would be the recipient of many a hand-me-down, but I’m also 10 years younger than my middle sister and 13 years younger than my eldest. By the time I was born both of them were entering their teens.

This is why, when I was old enough to ride a bike, there was no bike for me to inherit since both my sisters had left home and taken theirs with them. Starting around age 6 I began pleading with my parents to buy me a bike. Christmas came and went and no bike appeared.¹

Not willing to leave a matter as important as bike ownership to random elves, I decided to earn money to pay for the bike by doing chores for my neighbors.² Although surrounded by elderly neighbors, the pay was low and bikes were pricey. In fact the 1973 Schwinn Varsity sold for $115 in 1973. It was the super-hot Christmas gift that year, so imagine my joy when on Christmas morning I found a huge box brought by Santa. ³

And this is where my tale wobbles off the sidewalk and hits a tree.

When I opened the box, it was a Mattel Unicycle Trainer for Children.

Mattel Unicycle Trainer for Children

Not a bicycle, but a unicycle.

During my research for this column, I found these were only manufactured in 1972 and they didn’t sale well. Some have suggested my parents were subtly encourage me to join the circus, but I feel the most likely explanation is the unicycle must have been on clearance somewhere.

You can’t just start riding a unicycle.

But I was so eager to have my own bike, that I was happy to ride on this crazy thing. Soon I was whizzing up and down our driveway, the training wheels helping steady my way. I quickly learned that to turn you leaned left or ride on the pedals, a trick I would find handy when riding real bikes later in life.

Eventually I could be seen tearing up and down the cracked and broken sidewalks of our neighborhood⁴ — you might think of it as reflex training with tree roots — until I reached the point where I talked my Dad into removing the training wheels. ⁵

One neighbor could not handle watching me wobble up and down and called me over one day. She said I could have her daughter’s Schwinn Varsity (circa 1966-67) if I promised never to ride my unicycle again.

Very similar to the bike my neighbor gave me.

And that’s the story of how I learned to ride a unicycle.

1. Where 1972-1973 particularly lean years? I’m not sure. The Vietnam war was still going and my older sister had already left home and my middle sister was graduating from high school.

2. No doubt this idea came from a book I read or Leave it to Beaver.

3. I didn’t stop believing in Santa until the next Christmas.

4. I was not allowed to ride in the streets.

5. Possible, but not easy.