Getting ready to roll with the USUSA Unicycling Club
To get around Utah State University campus, some students use the Aggie Shuttle, some walk, and some ride a bike or longboard.
Others unicycle.
Scott Mershon, a sophomore studying environmental engineering, first rode a unicycle a few years ago when a friend from high school let him try one in her garage. On his first attempt, he said, he “failed miserably.”
When he came to college, Mershon became more interested and began to unicycle on a regular basis. Now, he uses his unicycle to travel to and around campus.
“It’s really funny the looks you get from other people,” Mershon said. “When you ride by, people start talking really quietly and you can always tell they’re like, ‘Did you see that guy?’”
During the Fall 2018 semester, Mershon created the USUSA Unicycling Club so he could get to know other unicyclists and practice unicycling skills with them. The club meets twice a month, usually outside or in the Fieldhouse, and about seven people usually come to the meetings. Meetings generally consist of socializing, practicing tricks, and, of course, unicycling.
Some members of the club don’t own their own unicycle while others own several. Mershon said, “We get a mix of people that are learning and people that already pretty well know how to ride.” One of the members of the club is even a professional unicyclist.
Aaron Roth is an active member of the club. He is a freshman in the computer engineering program at USU and has been unicycling intermittently for about four years. He first started unicycling because his extended family were invested in the activity.
“When we’d go to family reunions, they’d always pull out their unicycles,” Roth said. “I decided one of those times that I just needed to learn to ride it so I could join them.”
Because he doesn’t have his unicycle with him at college, Roth likes to go to club meetings to unicycle and learn tricks like riding backwards or bunny hopping. He said unicycling with the group is a good way to relieve stress and it provides a break from doing homework.
“I think it’s fun. It’s one of those random talents that some people have, but most people don’t,” Roth said. He also added that unicycling impresses people, but it isn’t too difficult.
Scott Mershon agreed. “It’s not that hard, you just have to keep at it,” he said.
Besides pedaling around campus, Mershon also enjoys mountain unicycling on local trails like Green Canyon and Providence Canyon. “Anywhere you can mountain bike, you can unicycle, too,” he said.
Mershon hopes that the new club will continue to grow as time goes on and more people become interested. For the 2018-2019 school year, the club meets every second and fourth Thursday of the month.
For more information, check out the Unicycling Club’s Facebook group.
—alek.nelson@aggiemail.usu.edu
@nelsonalek