The ISU Unicycle Club is bring cycling on campus to a new level.

The group, which received its approval the week before spring break, plans to use its funding to purchase unicycles for the club. After cycles are purchased, members plan to teach people how to ride, said George Barnes, club president.

Barnes, freshman in mechanical engineering, said he became interested in unicycling after reading an article in a cycling magazine. The article was about a man who rode his unicycle in the mountains, similar to professional riders on traditional bicycles.

Barnes soon found a unicycle he could borrow and began to learn the technique of riding on one wheel. He has been riding for almost two years and decided to form the club when others expressed interest in his unusual hobby.

One of those people was Dan Zelik, sophomore in industrial engineering.

“I had no unicycle experience before I met George and am still working on the basics right now,” Zelik said. “But I think if I stick with it, I can pick it up in about two-and-a-half weeks.”

Zelik said if other people had more experienced riders to show them what to do, the technique could be easily learned.

Teaching the art of unicycling “is what our new club is all about,” he said.

Barnes said he thinks either the University of Iowa or the University of Northern Iowa also have a club combining both unicycling and juggling. While Iowa State’s new club is not associated with juggling, he thinks the groups could possibly get together for events.

There is the possibility of playing sports on the unicycles such as basketball, hockey and even jousting, Barnes said.

Anyone interested in joining the club can contact the officers via e-mail at [email protected], and the group plans on having a Web site available within a couple of weeks, with pictures of some club members in action.