Around Taiwan on One Wheel

In the blazing July heat, a group of young men clad in green and white cycling shirts, black cycling pants, and helmets pedaled their way onto the cycling paths along Taipei's riversides. What really caught the eye, though, was what was underneath them--rather than the standard two wheels and chain of a bicycle, these young men were atop unicycles.

The youths were members of Hualien's Faith and Love Youth Academy, and having started as total unicycling beginners just six months prior, they now found themselves setting out from Taipei's Tataocheng Pier on a 20-day, 1000-kilometer journey around Taiwan. Most of the young men in the care of the Faith and Love Academy are runaways, juvenile offenders, or victims of domestic abuse. Lacking the care and protection of a loving family, they had ended up drifting down undesirable paths in life.

To help these young people rediscover their self-confidence and courage, Prison Fellowship Taiwan chair Reverend Huang Ming-chen and Panchiao District Court youth detention officer Lu Su-wei organized the "Unicycling Around Taiwan" event. This kind of event was first done in Japan several years ago to help provide guidance to high-school dropouts.

Early this year, the two sought out a coach and started the training. From the very start it was a struggle, with the boys first trying five kilometers, falling repeatedly along the way. This gradually grew to ten kilometers, and then further, until they were riding 50 kilometers without trouble. They were finally prepared for their long trek around Taiwan.

Riding through Taroko National Park in Hualien County, the silhouettes of the unicyclists flit across the beautiful scenery. This photo shows the Tunnel of Nine Turns.

Traveling Taroko

On the sixth day of their journey, the team reached Taroko National Park. For many of them it was the first time they'd seen such majestic mountain scenery, and all they could do was remark on how beautiful it was. At 4 a.m., before the sun had shown its face, they were out of bed and washing up, finishing breakfast and ready to move out by 5 a.m. Setting out from Tienhsiang, they headed through the Tunnel of Nine Turns and past Eternal Spring Shrine. Throughout the journey the boys were clearly uplifted by the natural beauty around them. The sunlight, bathing the long cliffs that form the sides of the gorge and accompanying the unicyclists on their journey, creates the most beautiful sight in all of Taroko.

There were many preparations and repairs that had to be dealt with prior to heading out.

Through the storm

As Typhoon Kaemi lashed Taiwan, the unicyclists were just passing through the site of its heaviest rains, Kenting. "We made participation in that day's ride voluntary in order to respect the boys' wishes," says Lu Su-wei. "But astonishingly, aside from a few of the younger ones, virtually no-one backed out!" Despite the possibility of facing Force 17 winds, the youngsters bravely sallied forth. Along the way the rain stung their faces, and with the severe crosswinds it seemed like both they and their unicycles were set to go flying, but not a single person screamed out in pain or fatigue as they rode silently toward the day's rest stop. Reflecting on that day, the boys say that seeing everyone working so hard to complete that leg, all they could think was that if they could overcome this challenge, nothing else could possibly put them off.

After 20 days of disciplined riding, traveling at speeds averaging 12 kilometers an hour from dawn till dusk each day, the biggest changes one could see in these youngsters were improved self-confidence, self-control, and interpersonal skills. Compared with the past, when they would use violence as the solution to any problems, the change was immense.

After completing their circuit of Sun Moon Lake, four of the boys triumphantly hold their unicycles above their heads for a group photo.

Metamorphosis at 12 kph

As team leader Rev. Huang said in the team's 5 a.m. prayers each day, "May the Lord help us and guide us, so that any difficulties we may face along our ride will help us not only train our bodies, but also our souls, giving society cause to respect and admire us more."

At the celebration at Taipei Juvenile Detention House once the tour was over, when the boys watched video showing the boys' initial attempts at learning to unicycle they all broke down into tears. They couldn't believe that those stumbling boys, so ready to give up, were really themselves, and that they had now completed a 1000-kilometer trip around Taiwan! If these former delinquents can from now on bravely take on difficult challenges and open themselves up to the world outside, they deserve more of our encouragement and concern, so that they will no longer feel alone on their travels down the path life has ahead of them.

The sight of the unicyclists combines with the mountain scenery to form a stunning scene. As they enter this dark tunnel, the light ahead spurs them on.

Every member of the Faith and Love Academy bears the scars of their past, but the motto painted on their unicycles--"onward and upward"--continually inspired them to complete this seemingly impossible mission.