POWNAL, Maine —
68-year-old Chris Hobson is a retired elementary school teacher who currently lives in Dover, New Hampshire -- but he has moved around all his life. He’s been enjoying the unique sport of mountain unicycling since 2012, after he learned more about it in Southeast Asia.
“When I was teaching overseas, a student on our campus had a unicycle and wanted to learn how to ride -- so, I taught him. He then connected with some of the local Singaporean kids, who rode unicycles and would play hockey on Thursdays on their unicycles. On Sundays, they would ride in the jungle," Hobson explained. "It was really intense. Severe jungle with snakes and monkeys -- the whole bit and a lot of mud. When I saw the unicycles they were riding, I was just intrigued with that aspect of riding,” says Hobson.
When Hobson came back to the United States, he quickly ordered a mountain unicycle and has been hooked ever since.
The sport isn't new to Hobson, though. He began when he was 12-years-old when a friend of his didn’t want his unicycle anymore and gave it to Hobson. He quickly found that it was not an easy activity to master but practiced regularly for about a month before getting the hang of it.
“And then I always rode for the rest of my life off and on. Sometimes I would take a little break, but wherever I moved I always took it with me,” said Hobson.
Hodson has some advice for anyone who wants to pursue unicycling.
"Invest in a decent quality unicycle," Hobson expressed. "You have to really want it because you have to work hard for a bit of time every day.”
When Hodson first started practicing with his mountain unicycle, he focused on rail trails to learn how to maneuver around rocks and potholes, while still having a straight path to follow. As he learned more, he advanced to the network trails at Kingman Farms in Madbury, New Hampshire -- and then to the more aggressive and precise single-track mountain biking trails.