Aspiring for the Top

About 1 million people in the United States of America can ride a unicycle, but only .01 percent of these people will ever make it to Unicon. Unicon is the bi-annual unicycling world championships. This major event covers all facets of unicycling. You can do a lot on just a unicycle and as such unicycling consists of a wide variety of disciplines. The IUF disciplines are Freestyle, Flatland, Street, Trials, Muni, Distance, Race, Hockey, and Basketball. Colby Alauzen hopes to compete in many of these events and take home many trophies and medals.

We spoke to unicycler Colby Alauzen about how long he’s been riding and what sparked his interest. He said, “I’ve been unicycling for eight years now. It started on a cold winter day when I was watching TV. I just saw someone riding and knew I had to do it. Previously I pogo sticked and walked on stilts. So, I figured this was just the next thing that was gonna be my thing. Now I’ve been riding for eight years now, I never stopped never looked back. Colby plans to teach his kids to ride just as he does.

Since unicycling has so many different disciplines, Colby will ride a lot of different places to suit the space he needs. We spoke to Colby’s Dad, Paul Alauzen, about some of these places. He said, “Colby rides a lot of different places. He rides in the basement. He rides outside. He rides up at the rec center, on trails, around the neighborhood.” These places all help to enhance his riding in different ways.

When learning to ride a unicycle, it can be hard. We spoke to Colby about who his most supportive people are. He said, “My most supportive people have been other unicyclists in the community because it’s such a small community that no matter how good they are they are willing to help younger riders.” Colby hopes to be a role model to younger riders as they were to him.

Finally, we spoke to Bob Griffin. Bob runs the Wonders Unicycling Club based in Canonsburg. They meet every Tuesday night to ride and get better. The club participates in many parades around Pittsburgh every year. He taught colby to ride when colby was just nine years old. He reflected on what it was like to teach Colby to ride. He said, “For starters he’s kinda a natural at it anyway. He was very attentive if you showed him something he would listen and pay attention and try to do it the way you recommended it. He also wasn’t afraid to keep trying. He was a very motivated individual.”

For more information, you can visit the Wonders Unicycling Club facebook page. To learn more about Colby Alauzen and his journey to the top, follow @Uniman57 on instagram.