08/24/01 Sault unicyclistwheels across Europe

By SCOTT BRAND/The Evening News

SAULT STE. MARIE -- Chris Cline should have a better-than-average submission for his English class when he begins his junior year at Sault High next month parlaying the standard "What I did on My Summer Vacation" essay into an epic journey across the European Continent aboard a unicycle.

Chris -- along with nine other like-minded individuals from Minnesota, South Dakota, California, Puerto Rico and Germany -- engaged in a month-long Tour de France, of sorts, visiting Germany, Luxembourg and Spain in the process. Averaging 65 miles a day, this merry band of one-wheeled wonders traveled a distance of 1,250 miles concluding in the Spanish capital of Barcelona less than a week ago.

"Everybody who started it finished, but not all of them did all the miles," said Chris, noting that injuries and other assorted unforeseen circumstances at least temporarily put some of the unicyclers aboard alternative methods of transportation.

For his part, Chris said he rode the entire distance with one lone exception -- a cold, rainy day where the route passed a particularly busy stretch of roadway -- when he and some friends boarded a train for a leisurely, warm ride to their next layover.

Chris was the youngest of 10 unicyclers making the European journey. His trip began in Toronto with a large gathering of like-minded folk for the 2001 National Unicycle Convention. From there, he flew to Cologne, Germany where the European Unicycle Tour got under way.

But the journey for Chris was much longer than that, beginning at the age of 13 on the streets of Sault Ste. Marie.

"I looked around on the Internet and saw lots of cool people doing interesting things," he said of his introduction to the unicycle.

Chris tried to become one of them without success. The unicycle, you see, is not the implement for those who require instant gratification.

"We used to walk up and down the streets holding on to him," said Nancy Cline of the efforts she and her husband, Bill, put into their teen-aged son's new-found passion.

The daily practice, however, began to pay off and after approximately three weeks of disappointment and failure, Chris began to master the one-wheeled mode of transportation. Approximately a year later, he was joining a group of unicyclers in a special fundraiser for Multiple Sclerosis pedaling across the State Of Minnesota. It was here where he met many of the people that would help develop the European adventure.

But it was not exactly smooth sailing.

First of all, Chris needed to convince his parents to let him go.

"Turning a 16-year-old loose for a whole month was kind of a tough thing to do, but I trusted the fellow who was in charge," said Nancy Cline of the decision to permit the long journey.

The second big question was financing -- as in who was going to pay for it. Nancy and Chris apparently cut a deal, she would pay for half of it and he would pay the other half.

So Chris found employment at the Soo Co-Op approximately a year ago and squirreled away money from his paychecks to meet his half of the bargain. He also had to use some of that money to finance a new unicycle -- a custom-built job out of a Minnesota shop -- sporting a 36-inch tire.

The expenses, it seems, were worth it.

"I'd love to go back," said Chris, reminiscing about his recently-completed journey after a riding demonstration on Arlington Street. "The food was interesting and I met lots of interesting people

"I also saw lots of famous places from WWI and WWII," he added, "and saw places I had heard about at school."

And planning is already in the earliest stages for a return trip in 2003. Chris said the group is considering either a run across the Scandinavian countries or beginning in Spain and heading into Africa.

But for now he will continue to practice this unusual activity by himself, awaiting the day when he can once again reunite with the select few who share this unique passion for another exploratory trek across foreign soil.