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.