temple – One Wheel Man

Are you ready for this? I left Pocatello, Idaho at 7:30am, still on my original frame, hoping it’ll last. However, just before 11, it started grinding again and I just felt sick in Blackfoot, Idaho. I thought my trip was over.

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Little did I know, my wife had called unicycle.com to talk with them about the situation and possibilities we had. The customer service person forwarded her to Amy, a CEO. She assured my wife that the frame is made of chrome and I can just bend it. But better yet, I didn’t even need a new frame to fix my problem because it wasn’t the frame that’s the problem, it’s the wheel bearings that the frame sits on. They are the ones that keep slipping out of place. (Picture below of frame grinding with crank shaft followed by me working on it.) She kindly emailed us directions of how to fix it. Miracle!

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When my wife got to me, we grabbed lunch and went to a couple stores to buy the things we needed. We found a local sports shop called Bill’s Sport West…but apparently, they only do skis these days. Luckily the man was so kind to find a couple things in the shop that could help us along. We worked on Uni right outside. It was hot but worth it. Simply put, we safely glued the wheel bearings to the hub. (Picture of how it’s supposed to work and then another of me hoping it works.) I hope it does the fix and permanently!

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I was back on the road by 1:50pm. Only 25 miles to go. I made it to Idaho Falls, Idaho! I met my wife at the Idaho Falls LDS temple at 4:30pm. In order to do that, I had to go through downtown…not the smartest. They have no shoulder at all and they’re fairly busy streets. But hey, I got to see the temple. Today was a day with lots of hardships, but it was a miracle that I still made it 52 miles.hanks Kristie, Halls, Amy at unicycle.com and the worker at Bill’s Sport West! Without you, we couldn’t have made it through this day!

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A bit thanks goes to Kristie, the Halls, Amy at unicycle.com and the worker at Bill’s Sport West! Without you, we couldn’t have made it through this day!

Day 5 Stats:

Started at 7:30am in Pocatello, ID

3-hour lunch and maintenance break in Blackfoot, ID

Ended at 4:30pm in Idaho Falls, ID

5.25 hours of riding

52 miles

Random Fact:

The One Wheel Man added a horse’s head to his unicycle in high school while he was the mascot, a lancer.

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!

IMG_20160614_110311021 Day 2 take off

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.