Wholeheartedly Embracing a Buffalo Winter

When it comes to getting around in the snow, I'd say that it's safe to say that most Buffalonians prefer four wheels. Then there are the few and the brave who traverse the elements on two wheels, even when there is a storm brewing. In all the years that I've lived in Buffalo, I never thought that I'd see the day that I would come across a unicyclist in a snow storm. In fact, if you had told me that it was even possible, I would have asked to see it with my own eyes in order to believe it.

Earlier in the week, when the snow was falling and the winds were whipping, I spotted a guy on Main Street cruising down the sidewalk on his unicycle. He was effortlessly traversing ice and snow and he looked as if he was actually enjoying himself. I waved to him from across the street and yelled out to flag him down, which ultimately led to a discussion. I learned that Jonathan Herr rides his one-wheel contraption to and from work, and snow does not phase him one bit. "When you ride one of these," he told me. "It's like being in a perpetual fall... your always leaning and moving forward, so you're really only heading in one direction and that makes riding in different conditions the same for the most part. When it's snowing, I feel like I'm in the eye of a camera, because you can't see the bike... just the snow and the buildings going by... it's surreal."

Jonathan's route takes him from Downtown Buffalo to the corner of Elmwood and North - that's a fairly long ride for a unicycle to begin with. Throw in a snow storm or two and I'd have to say that he's changed my perception about what it is to wholeheartedly embrace a Buffalo winter.