Take a Spin with Dr. Kedan
What do cardiology and riding a unicycle have in common? If you ask Cedars-Sinai Heart Institute’s Ilan Kedan, MD, he will tell you they are actually quite similar. Patience, commitment, and training are key to successfully diagnosing a complex heart problem; they’re also crucial to navigating a steep, technical trail on just one wheel. Mastering both activities gives Dr. Kedan an unmatched mental focus and toughness.
- Dr. Kedan tackles some big rides on the weekends with friends. He wears a heart monitor and tracks his mileage. This rocky stretch is called “Devil’s Slide.”
- One of the biggest perks of unicycling? Unicycles are easy to travel with. Dr. Kedan faces an uphill battle on San Francisco’s hilly streets.
- Dr. Kedan is also a surfer and likes to ride his unicycle by the ocean in Santa Monica whenever possible.
- Bicycling didn’t appeal to Dr. Kedan for several reasons—not the least being that he didn’t want to share the road with cars. Maneuvering down Sullivan Canyon in Pacific Palisades gives him more than enough open road.
- Unicycling shifted from a 19th century prop used only by performers and acrobats into a competitive extreme sport in the late 1980s, according to Unicycling Today. Dr. Kedan first got his feet wet a little more than two years ago when he had to give up running because of injuries. Here he is riding around in Toronto.
- Dr. Kedan pedals up Doheny Drive in Beverly Hills. To stay heart-healthy and in shape, he tries to ride his unicycle every morning before work.
