A unicyclist who died after being hit by a truck in Onehunga yesterday was a loved father and partner.
Bruce Hall, 53 was a member of the Adventure Unicyclist group, whose exploits included riding through Laos, Vietnam and Uzbekistan with a group of fellow one-wheelers.
The group's organiser and friend Ken Looi remembered Hall as quiet and cheerful, "just a nice guy to be around".
Looi said Hall was a determined long-distance rider, who would train up hills "until he felt sick".
He recalled their trip down a Nepalese mountain, guided by sherpas in the middle of a snowstorm, Hall ill with altitude sickness.
"He always pushed himself so hard we didn't even think anything of it at first."
Looi was in the car yesterday when he heard over the radio a unicyclist had been hit.
"I thought it couldn't be a unicyclist, it must have been a motorcyclist and I just heard wrong."
The unicycling community was tight-knit he said; his loss was upsetting and had been felt globally.
"I've had emails from riders around the world expressing their condolences."
An Auckland rental consultant, Hall enjoyed the "buzz" of touring with other unicyclists.
He was an experienced rider, with 14 years of unicycling under his belt and owned five unicycles.
Hall was set to take on the Alps to Ocean Trail, Central Otago Rail Trail, Roxburgh Gorge and Clutha Gold trail in November, and would be missed, Looi added.
The Serious Crash Unit was investigating after Hall, on his unicycle, and a truck collided on Saturday morning.
The two vehicles were travelling in the same direction when the crash happened, a police spokeswoman said.
