To hear Matthew Gant describe it, unicycling is about being in a state of constantly falling down. That’s part of the fun, though, he says.
Gant started the Chattanooga Unicycle Club in 2013. Initially, only he and Brooks Bacon were members, and Gant was still learning how to ride. In the time since, over 70 people have joined the club, all eager to learn about and partake in one-wheeled transportation.
Gant initially got into unicycling as a challenge. He’d undergone knee surgery in early 2013 and wanted something that could provide a benchmark in how his rehab was going. He knew it would be hard but had little idea of just how difficult.
“If unicycling didn’t exist and someone handed me the first-ever unicycle, after an hour I’d have told them no human could do it,” laughs Gant. “It’s as hard as learning to walk.”
“Constantly falling down” is an accurate description. Unicycles can’t even be propped against a wall without falling. Gant, an engineer by trade, says there’s nothing more unstable than a single point of contact when that point of contact is a wheel. It took him months before he could travel in a straight line without falling, and even then he was equivalent to a baby still mastering his or her first steps.