THE HIMALAYAN UNICYCLE CLUB
By Club Members

L to R: Vidya, Sangita, Tsering Thinley

The unicycle was first introduced to SMD by Arthur Blaxley, while he was interning here. When we first saw the unicycle, we were very much surprised and we really wanted to ride it. At first, it was very difficult for us to ride but due to our hard work and interest, we were able to ride the unicycle very easily.

After Arthur brought the unicycle to our school, we had only one small unicycle, but there were many kids who wanted to learn to ride the unicycle. They did not have many turns, because there was only one unicycle for the whole school. After a couple of weeks, we along with Arthur thought up an idea: to write a letter to the Toronto unicyclists. And we wrote some letters and sent them to the Toronto unicyclists along with our photographs riding the unicycle Arthur had given us.

After one week, the Toronto unicyclists provided us with two more unicycles with extra seats, paddles, and tires. They provided us with DVDs about unicycling. Then we made a new club in our school “The Himalayan Unicycle Club”. This club includes both boys and girls.

After that, we sent a thanks letter to the Toronto unicyclists for all of their help towards us. Due to the two more unicycles, we had many turns and nice seats to ride on.

Steve, a circus trainer from the U.S.A. also donated a giraffe unicycle, which is very much taller than the other unicycles. We have four unicycles. The unicycle is very special and unique. Any one can learn to ride the unicycle if they have a deep interest and are hard working. It attracts people when we are riding the unicycle.

In addition, we are the only one to ride unicycles in Nepal! Lastly, we all would like to thank all the sponsors of our unicycles.

Arthur commented…

When I decided to go to Nepal I started wondering what I could contribute to the school. I decided to take a unicycle, I wasn't sure how a group of Himalayan children who had probably never seen a unicycle would respond, but I hoped that they would enjoy it as much as I do.

I started off with a small group of interested students and within a couple of weeks not only the children that I was teaching were riding around, but so were many of their friends that I had never even met. It was amazing - the huge smiles that appeared on the kids’ faces when they were first able to ride the unicyle on their own were incredibly rewarding. I am very thankful, almost as thankful as the students that the Toronto Unicyclists facilitated the continuation of the Himalayan Unicycle Club.

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