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SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE - A small group of unicyclists gathered at the Mildred Hall School basketball court early Saturday morning to share tips and have fun on their single-wheeled contraptions.

"Joining a group and learning how to do it is the best way to really progress," said Andy Wong, who organized the practice with hopes of holding it every Saturday morning at 10 a.m.

Andy Wong takes his unicycle for a spin at the Mildred Hall school basketball court on Saturday. - Tim Edwards/NNSL photo

Chris Taylor, a seasoned unicycler, was one of the people Wong contacted.

"It's a good idea, so we're gonna see how it goes," Taylor said of the weekly practices.

Taylor has been unicycling since about 2000, he said. He had always wanted to learn the skill ever since he was a kid, but never knew where to buy one until Internet shopping came along.

Since he got one, he's been unicycling as much as possible.

"Chris (Taylor) is the guru of unicycling in town," said Wong. "If anyone needs to know anything about unicycling, he's their man."

Taylor seemed comfortable on his wheel - he was even dribbling a basketball around the court while riding, and sinking it into the hoops as he sped by them.

"Unicycle basketball is a sport that's played around the world - they have tournaments, championships, and all that kind of stuff," said Taylor.

"I've actually played in tournaments and it's really fun. Especially when you get lots of people and have two full teams."

Though the court would be full of unicyclists battling for the ball, Taylor said collisions don't happen any more frequently than in normal basketball and maneuvering is pretty simple.

"It's kind of like walking. If you want to go right, then you just lean a little that way and you'll go right," said Taylor.

"It seems difficult at first, but once you get comfortable on it then you don't even think about it."

Taylor added it seems like the younger the age at which people start unicycling, the quicker they learn.

Thomas Carmody, 12, has been unicycling for two years.

"I bicycled and skateboarded but that started to get boring, so I looked in the program guide for the city and saw a unicycle program in there. I got started and now I unicycle every day."

Carmody said he loves the challenge and the fact that unicycles can be ridden all year round - all that needs to be done is to replace the tire with a winter tire. The young unicyclist was also dribbling the ball around the court, but is just starting to pick up the basketball aspect of the sport.

It is a safe activity for all ages, said Taylor.

"Unicycling is considered to be a lot safer than bicycling because your speeds are a lot lower and you don't have handlebars or anything (to get caught up in when you fall), and you don't have to worry about hitting the front brake too hard and flipping over," said Taylor.

The main pitfall people run into when starting out is actually getting on the thing.

"You have to pedal backwards while getting on," said Taylor.

"When people start out they'll usually pedal forwards (while getting on), like a bike and the unicycle runs off on them."

Taylor recommends starting out with an inexpensive unicycle, which costs around $100.