In Claremont, it is not uncommon to see citizens biking around the trails in Padua Hills recreationally or through the various streets as a means of transportation. However, did you know bicycles are so last season? Why ride a bicycle when instead, one can enjoy a unicycle! In all seriousness, unicycling has been popular in Claremont for many years and world champion unicyclists have even showed off their skills at the Harvey Mudd College. In fact, we have a “famous” freshman unicyclist at our beloved CHS, who is none other than Mayo Ou.

Ou is currently a first year at CHS and has been riding unicycles since she was six years old.

“Every summer my family and I go to Japan and there’s a children’s gym that has a unicycle.” Ou said. “Everyone there knows how to ride a unicycle, it’s crazy! I decided to learn how and it took me one summer.”

While it may be surprising to know that a CHS student uses such an eccentric mode of transportation, the unicycle has been around since 1869 and should no longer be considered unusual to see at all!

Ou herself thoroughly enjoys unicycling and even rides her unicycle to school on a daily basis. She also enjoys unicycling around her neighborhood, CHS, and parks. However, people may wonder— aren’t unicycles just used for performing purposes? Typically in the past and even nowadays, unicycling has been deemed “strange”, “impractical”, and “untypical”. However, the overall design difference between both unicycles and bicycles are quite similar to one another and it has been known that unicycles have evolved from bicycles so it’s not as strange as one might think.

Unicycling is oftentimes stereotyped as a “performing tool” and even in the Oxford Dictionary a unicycle is defined as a vessel used by acrobats. But some may wonder— why is a unicycle so commonly stereotyped into acrobatics or relating to the circus?

“When I was unicycling to school, one guy was shouting out the window saying “Do a flip!” Ou said. “People see it as for clowns and circuses but they don’t know there’s an actual community out there.”

We frequently think about unicycling as an acrobatic act simply because we have always seen it being used on TV shows and we relate it to acrobatic acts since they are used in comedic sections; such as the famous show Tom and Jerry. However, unicycling is so much more than just what the stereotypes are. Unicycling, although being bashed for what people perceive it as, is a commonly enjoyed hobby throughout Claremont and Ou is an example of someone in Claremont who loves to unicycle despite all the social expectations. Everyone should learn from Mayo and try doing something new and exciting even if you think you may not appreciate it.