state line – One Wheel Man

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 7

After a day of rest, it’s time to go again! Big thanks to the Nielsens for letting us stay as if it were our own home over the weekend! We had to drive about an hour to get to our starting destination. I started just north of where we stopped Saturday because that road was not very safe due to soft dirt roads and gravel (as if you were off-roading which a 36-inch unicycle is not made for). Today’s ride began in Spencer, Idaho, about 8:10am.

My wife drove ahead to see if there was going to be more of those kinds of roads…there were, but they didn’t appear as dangerous to her. She found a part where it said the road was closed ahead because a bridge was out. Luckily she went and found that it was recently driveable again and I had the okay to ride across. Whew!

After getting into Montana (sorry, no state border picture from the route I took this time), we couldn’t find the road to take for a while due to being out of cell service. We weren’t sure which way to go. After seeing several trucks and cars only go down one road, we followed. It was so bad! So hilly, dirt-y, rocky, etc. Boy, was it tiring and my knees hurt from all the impact.

One cool thing was seeing an owl flying around in bright daylight. Beautiful bird.

Towards the end of my ride, my knees were giving out and the dirt and rocks were not level that I came a little too forward, having my pedals whack me in the back of my legs as I “walked off” Uni, twice. Ouch!

Just as I reached 52 miles, I had for sure had enough of that road for the day (wishing for forever). 4pm and in the middle of nowhere, we had to drive about 35 miles on the same terrible road to get to Dillon, Montana.

We found a motel, instead of camping, since my body was more tired and worn than expected. When we went out to dinner at a restaurant called the 4B’s, they had a map of Montana posted. There are a lot of dirt roads on our path! Oh no! We were studying it when this kind couple came out and gave us their own copy of the map! It was so helpful! We even read on the 2009 map that cyclists could ride on interstates in non-urban areas. We’ll call tomorrow to confirm, but man, am I hoping that hasn’t changed! I could really use a smooth ride on paved roads. Lots of Montana to go!

Due to the tedious roads, pictures weren’t really taken today. Here’re a few pictures from along our path.

Day 7 scenery (L)

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Day 7 scenery (R)

Day 7 Stats:

Started at 8:10am in Spencer, ID

Ended at 4pm in the middle of nowhere, east of Lima, 34 miles Southeast of Dillon, MT

6.5 hours of riding time

52 miles

Random Fact:

The One Wheel Man decided to do a long distance trip shortly after he bought his 36-inch unicycle (2 years ago) when he did his first long (49 miles).

Day 3

Okay! Day 3 of riding a unicycle long distance. I can do this! It was a cold morning at 7:40, but I soon warmed up. The first 20 miles were really windy. It makes it kind of hard to stay on and do hills…

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I made it to Idaho! Now to just finish the stretch of the longitude of Idaho and I’ll be in Canada. Just 10 more days of riding…

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I passed a lot of cows (Idaho, go figure). But remember, cows smell like manure. I was reminded of childhood memories of my dad rolling down the windows and driving slow by these kinds of fields. He grew up farming and loved the smell. I didn’t. I tried to ride as fast as I could through those parts.

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I made it to Malad City, Idaho at 3:30pm. 57 miles and two states, not bad. In training, I did about 150 miles a week. Now I’ve done it in 3 straight days and 3 more to go this week! My legs are on fire!

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Now on to more hills! It’s all about the climb, right?

Day 3 Stats:

Started at 7:40am in Brigham City, UT

Ended at 3:30pm in Malad City, ID

6.25 hours of riding

57 miles

Random Fact:

The diet of athletes, at least One Wheel Man:

60 grams of carbs and 25 grams fo protein within 1 to 2 hours before and after workout. PLUS 60 grams of carbs every hour during workout.

If One Wheel Man cycles 6-7 hours a day, you do the math. It’s a lot of work!