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SALT LAKE CITY — For all the slush and the slide-offs that came with Thursday's storm, one man sitting atop one wheel had no problem getting to work.
"This tire doesn't slip on almost anything, so I was excited for the weather," Richard Terry said Friday, pointing to his unicycle.
Deseret News photojournalist Laura Seitz captured part of Terry's 2-mile commute to his law office in downtown Salt Lake City. Her images went viral, being shared repeatedly on social media and appearing on news websites across the country, including Al-Jazeera America.
The response left Terry a bit baffled.
"I ride every single day," he said. "I don't know why I should (get) any different reaction."
Terry's single-axle love affair began at age 10, when Santa brought him the unicycle he wanted for Christmas.
"Unfortunately I couldn't reach the pedals for a couple of years, so it wasn't till I was about 12 that I was able to ride it," he said.
Once he was up and rolling though, Terry rode his unicycle everywhere — to high school, to classes at the University of Utah, and then to work. He even rides it off-road along the Bonneville Shoreline Trail.
"Some people think it's great. Some people think it's funny. Some people start singing circus kind of music," Terry said. "You get all kinds of reactions.
"I guess it's unusual," he added. "I think there has been maybe two encounters in my entire life where I passed a unicycle in my entire commute; so that's rare."
With a stable of six unicycles at home, Terry knew he was saddling up the one with the oversized wheel and studded tire for Thursday's snowy commute.
"Of course, it has a very nice, comfortable seat," he said. "The best part."
From his perch on that seat, Terry said he has an excellent view on his way to work, and he gets to experience a sensation familiar to many Utahns.
"It's similar to skiing — either snow skiing or water skiing," he said. "Particularly water skiing, because it's that same kind of balance."
The attention he'd gotten for his snowy ride had thrown Terry a little off balance Friday. But he said he doesn't expect he'll be riding solo for long.
"Virtually all the attorneys will want to do this at some point in time," Terry said with a smile. "They just have to pick it up, and so far no one has picked it up yet."
