Posted Tue June 27, 2006
Mix one mountain bike tire, a steep rocky slope and some crazed fun seekers from Central Oregon and what do you get? Mountain Unicycling. It's too insane to be the next craze, but too much fun to ignore. Tune in to OREGON FIELD GUIDE on the stations of Oregon Public Broadcasting Television on Thursday, July 6 at 8:30pm (and Sunday, July 9 at 6:30pm) to see how it's done, who's doing it and what it takes to keep a one wheeled machine from careening out of control on a rocky forest trail. We also explore the jungle-like atmosphere of coastal tidal pools and see what branding day is like on a remote Oregon ranch.
Mountain Unicycle -- We'll examine one of the strangest and toughest ways to play outdoors that OREGON FIELD GUIDE has ever covered. Two Bend men insist unicycles aren't just for circus rings and have modified them with fat tires and bouncy seats and taken them off-road. And a handful of mountain biking converts looking for a new challenge are riding them in the wild on and over logs and boulders. It's not any easier than it looks.
Tide Pool -- Few areas in the world exceed the richness of creatures found along the Oregon coast. Tide pools are home to a struggle to survive against terrible odds for the likes of sea anemones, starfish, mussels, sea urchins and more. FIELD GUIDE presents a fascinating look into this colorful underwater world and how researchers are working to understand and monitor the ecosystem in order to guard it.
Branding Day -- The old buckaroo arts of riding, roping and branding are still alive in a remote section of Southeastern Oregon. And when a rancher needs help branding some calves, cowboys and ranch hands come from all over to lend a hand -- just like it's been done for a hundred years.
In its 17th season, OREGON FIELD GUIDE remains a valuable source of information about outdoor recreation, ecological issues, natural resources and travel destinations. OREGON FIELD GUIDE airs Thursday evenings at 8:30pm on the television stations of Oregon Public Broadcasting and repeats on Sunday evenings at 6:30pm. In the Mountain Time zone of Eastern Oregon, the program airs at 9:30pm Thursdays, and at 6:30pm Sundays.
Oregon Public Broadcasting is a statewide network of community-supported learning resources, including OPB Television, an affiliate of the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS), and OPB Radio, presenting local news coverage and the programs of National Public Radio (NPR), Public Radio International (PRI) and American Public Media (APM). The OPB Web site is opb.org.
Last Modified Tue July 25 2006 14:26PM
More information on Oregon Field Guide© 2009, Oregon Public Broadcasting. All rights reserved