Ian Elsner was 8 years old when he learned how to ride a unicycle.
A family that unicycles together, stays together, his dad always said, and although Elsner has fallen hundreds of times over the years, he’s still unicycling.
Elsner, 23, is hoping to share his passion at the first Gainesville Unicycle Festival. It’s scheduled from 5 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. today on the North Lawn and Saturday from noon to 5 p.m.
Roughly 20 to 30 unicyclists — ranging from UF, Florida State University and University of Central Florida students to unicycle club members from Jacksonville and Sarasota — will participate in the event. The festival is free and open to spectators.
The goal is to create a space where the best unicyclists in the state can compete, learn and have fun with each other, said Elsner, the former president of Objects in Motion, UF’s juggling club.
Today, the unicyclists will try to stay balanced as they pedal during a game called “UniBash,” which is similar to football, said the first-year digital arts and sciences graduate student.
On Saturday, spectators can watch participants on the North Lawn compete in games like hockey or “polo,” jousting, slow and fast races and even sumo wrestling — all performed on a unicycle.
Trophies will be awarded to the winners of each competition, and all the unicyclists will ride to a restaurant downtown.
“The goal of this is to start a unicycling tradition here in Gainesville and to make this festival an annual thing,” Elsner said.
He said being with a group of unicyclists is a lot more enjoyable than unicycling alone.
“If you are in a group of six to 10 people going down University Avenue looking for a place to eat, you can joke about the stares,” Elsner said.
Shelley MacLean, who graduated from UF in 2009, has been unicycling for more than a year. She said she is excited to get together with others at the festival.
“It’s an awesome feeling when everyone shares something in common,” she said.
MacLean, 26, said some people are even able to solve a Rubik’s Cube while unicycling.
“Anything you can do on two feet, you can do on a unicycle,” she said.
Journalism senior Jenn Riek said she almost had a collision on her bicycle with a unicycle.
“I don’t think bicycles and unicycles mix too well,” she said. “It’s a funny story.”
But Riek, 21, said she admires unicyclists’ balancing skills and courage.
“They are brave because I’ve tried unicycling, and it’s extremely hard,” she said. “You can’t be afraid to fall.”
