Day 13

Today is the day!  I’m going to reach my goal!  Thank you to everyone that has supported me by following the trip, the kind comments, notes, and everything!

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I got up nice and early after a day and a half of rest.  Started my ride at 6 in the morning in Vaughn, Montana when it was still 45°F outside.  Cold!  But not windy.  🙂  I’m ready for this.

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I started off pretty good, reaching 48 miles before lunch at 10:30am and a second lunch at 2, after 78 miles.  There were a couple hills that were pretty huge though.  It was rough but gorgeous!

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(after 100 miles completed)

When I had done 90 miles, I looked at my watch and saw that it was 4:30pm.  I decided to get to the border by 6pm!  I booked it after that, not stopping once so I could meet my goal.  And I did!  My wife passed me about 3 miles before the border and I knew I could do it!  I rode through the Canada border at 5:59pm.  I did it!  Wow.  I couldn’t believe it!  After a few pictures to document, I stretched out on my yoga mat outside the car and just felt like I was going to be stuck there for a little while.  I wasn’t, but I couldn’t believe I did it!  I did it!!  I originally planned to do 100 miles today, but surpassed it by doing 107.  It was a challenge, but well worth it!  It was awesome!!!

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Stay tuned for my reflection on the trip and future plans.


Day 13 Stats:

Started at 6:00am in Vaughn, MT

Ended at 6:00pm in Sweet Grass, MT, USA/Coutts, AB, Canada

9.25 hours of riding

107 miles (Personal Record!)


Random Fact:

There are over 100 world records on a unicycle.  Can you believe that!  This wasn’t for one, but I hope to set a new one for the coast to coast trip!

Day 9

After our drive back to Silver Star, Montana from Butte, I started riding at 7:45am in 54°F weather.  I was on roll!  I just kept going and going and going!  I didn’t even stop for lunch until after 1pm when I’d been riding for over 50 miles in five and a half hours.  Whew!  I have to admit, though, I didn’t eat the best last night and felt a bit sick during some of it.  Luckily I had some Pepto Bismol to help me make it through.  Lesson learned: stick to the diet.

Day 9 cold

After a quick restroom break in Whitehall, Montana, I found some other cyclists!  There were lots of them riding today with KRG vans stationed along the way.  I don’t know what race they’re doing, but best of luck to them too!  They weren’t going too fast, so I was able to keep up with them somewhat.  😉

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Day 9 cyclists

Before lunch, there was a detour I had to take and there were way too many mosquitos!  I put on bug spray and everything, but they seemed to want it like sugar!  I can’t even tell you how many times I got bit.  Too many, that’s for sure!

I wanted to keep going after lunch, so I did another stretch.  This time, I took Interstate-15.  My first time on the freeway, and I didn’t die!  Yay!  I am lucky that Montana’s roads aren’t too busy.  However, shortly after I began I found myself heading into a mountain.  You know what that means, huge climb!  It went up about 1000 feet within 3 miles and back down the whole amount over 5 miles.  Like I’ve mentioned before, going downhill on a unicycle, especially without a brake, is very difficult.  I was going so fast!  Literally, 14.5 miles per hour and I just hoped and prayed I wouldn’t fall off!  I felt like I was on a roller coaster!  That was some crazy time.

Day 9 I-15

Day hilly

The picture on the bottom is what I consider a fun and easy hilly area.  I wish that’s what I meant by all these hilly times…it’s a lot harder than this.

I made it successfully to Jefferson City, Montana at 3:35pm.  I completed 66 miles again!  Awesome!  I’ve done 500 miles!!  Woohoo!!  Roughly 220 miles left to get to the Canada border.  Wow.  I can’t believe I’ve made it this far already!  I can do this!


Day 9 Stats:

Started at 7:45am in Silver Star, MT

Ended at 3:35pm in Jefferson City, MT

5.75 hours of riding (Personal Record time!)

66 miles


Random Fact:

There are different sizes of unicycles.  The tires can be anywhere between 12 to 36 inches.  You can also find some that are around 5-7 feet tall (seat) or even double or triple wheeled (upwards).  Lots of variety.

Day 8

I usually have to stop for about an hour to eat lunch and we stopped about 30 miles from where we were staying, so I decided to have my wife stay at the motel while I rode back to that spot and she could pick me up there and I could eat on the way back and save time.  I started at 7:10am in Dillon, Montana.  However, as soon as I got to the dirt road again, it was jamming up my knees.  You can’t really have that as a long distance cyclist.  So after 14 miles, I turned around and went back, meeting my wife at the motel instead.  I still got my miles in, but less driving.

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While I was gone, my wife contacted the person about current cycling laws on highways and interstates.  They simply told her that all roads are open to cyclists!  Yay!  This means I don’t have to ride on dirt roads anymore!  Miracle!

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(left: Lewis and Clark named this Beaverhead; right: does this picture make my butt look big?)

After lunch, I kept going, on a paved highway.  I was going so fast!  I averaged about 11.8 miles per hour when usually I get between 9 and 10.  I also did 66 miles!  That’s a personal record!  Wow.  I got to Silver Star, Montana at 3:20pm.  It’s a tiny town, but a good stopping point for the day.

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(left: this is actually on a highway….; right: welcome to Silver Star, MT)

We seem to be getting a little ahead of schedule, so we decided not to stay in the motel in Dillon and we were lucky to find a lady on Airbnb in Butte that could take us for the night.  Today has certainly been another day full of miracles.

     Day 8 couple bridge

Day 8 big tire 4

(top: wife and I in the sunglasses we bought for our wedding; bottom: I wish my tire were that big!)


Day 8 Stats:

Started at 7:10am in Dillon, MT

Rode toward yesterday’s ending point and back through Dillon and on.

Ended at 3:20pm in Silver Star, MT

7.5 hours of riding

66 miles (Personal Record!)


Random Fact:

Unicycle seats are not comfortable, but they’re not too bad either.  It helps having padded cycling shorts.  🙂

Day 2

Days after rain are very pretty, right?  I started the day off in West Valley City, UT at about 7:30am.  I wanted to get a head start before my new frame arrived.  I wanted to go as far as I could.  Somehow, it never gave me any problems!  Talk about miracles!  I just kept going and going.

Day 2 rack

I drank so much water, I had to find restrooms three times in the first hour!  Then my Gatorade spilled all over my bag…guess I’ll need to use a different bottle for that.

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In most of the cities, it was nice to use a trail.  However, once I got north of Ogden, I had to share the road.  There wasn’t much of a shoulder, so it could be pretty scary at times!  I’m pretty sure I saw every type of roadkill…deer, skunk, falcon, pigeon, etc.  Boy, do they stink!  Makes me pedal faster for sure!

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A lot of people passed me, in cars and on bikes.  I got lots of thumbs up and waves.  Some people would pass me, pull over, and take pictures or videos as I passed them!  Hope they tag #theonewheelman!  I also passed a summer camp with tons of kids.  They were all waving excitedly.  That’s one good way to encourage and motivate.  I’ve got a good crowd of cheerleaders!

It was such a beautiful day!  Cloudy with a mild breeze, but all below 80°F.  So nice!  I thought my frame would give out, but it never did.  The frame did arrive about 3 hours in, but I haven’t changed it yet.

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I finally made it to Brigham City, UT at 3:45pm, stopping at the Brigham City LDS temple.  That was my Personal Record of miles in one day!  63 miles, wow!  I sure was tired.  But so great!  What a great day to be a unicyclist!

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For dinner, we ate at a buffet with my hard-of-hearing brother-in-law and his family and a deaf friend and his family.  It felt so good to finally be full after practically snacking all day!


Day 2 Stats:

Started 7:30am in WVC, UT

Ended 3:45pm in Brigham City, UT

7 hours of riding

63 miles


Random Fact:

Unicycles do not have gears like a bicycle does.  You can change the length of the crank shafts, but you have to use tools to carefully change them.