One Wheel, One Day, One Hundred Miles
June 5, 2011
Maryland, USA: Silver Spring, Bethesda, Georgetown, Great Falls, White's Ferry and back.
Running a marathon never appealed to me. Doing a triathlon to me was as unappealing as a marathon with the added possibility of drowning. But on Unicyclist.com there's a list of the people worldwide on who have completed a 100-mile unicycle ride and for the past two years it's been bugging me that I should be on it.
I started the day at my sister's home in Silver Spring because she is close to the Sligo Creek bike path. From there I took the Capital Crescent Trail to get to the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal where I spent most of the day. More than 70 of the 100 miles were on the C&O Canal towpath.
In my planning I figured that the risk of dehydration would be one of the most significant threats to my success. I have a three-liter Camelbak which is so heavy when full that it makes mounting the unicycle difficult. I figured I should drink between six and nine liters over the 100 mile course. I might not need all that water, but I wanted to have it available in case I felt the effects of dehydration. I had no one with me and no support vehicle, so I was concerned about refilling at the White's Ferry end of the route. I had researched all the possible water stops along the canal and knew that I would have to travel 20 miles without a chance to refill until I reached White's Ferry. When I pulled in to this one-store town, I was shocked to see that the store was closed for renovations. The owner of the store was only able to give me one bottle from his personal supply.
I asked about the hand crank pumps at the camp sites along the trail. He told me that the flooding from two weeks ago had polluted the aquifer and that the park service tested the water pumps yesterday and determined that it was still unsafe. I tried to buy water from the vending machines in front of the store, but they were not working. A family waiting for the ferry took pity on my and gave me two much appreciated-- but small-- bottles.
15 miles later I struck up a conversation with a biker, but I wasn't seeking conversation. I was scheming to coax some water from him. I was successful and was able to get another half liter. 10 miles later I begged a tiny amount of water from other strangers. I was able to get tiny quantities of water but nothing near what I thought would be adequate. I struggled long and hard to reach Great Falls Tavern, (mile 72 for me) where I hoped to find potable water. The snack bar there was opened so I was able to buy two large Gatorades and was able fill up the Camelbak with water. Fortunately the day was fairly cool, I was in the shade of the trail, and I needed less water than I expected to.
This is embarrassing to admit, but I took a hard fall from the unicycle at mile 33. I never take hard falls in my daily rides. Normally if I start to fall, I can recognize the problem with enough foresight to land on my feet. But this time I landed on both elbows and a knee and had the blood to prove it. I was just glad that nothing was hurt seriously enough to slow me down.
I had hoped to finish in 11 or 12 hours, but it took me 14 hours and 15 minutes. I was on a 12-hour pace until noon, but as I got tired my pedaling slowed and I needed to take more breaks. The end of the ride was pleasant, but I was unbelievably tired. I have sores in the place where I sit. I was glad to discover that I had enough strength to power up the long hill out of Georgetown. Upon returning to Silver Spring my wife, my sister and my brother-in-law were there to greet me. My odometer upon arrival reported 100.20 miles traveled. If what I read on the Internet is true, this makes me the 68th person worldwide to ride a unicycle 100 miles in one day.
Here are a few photos that capture the spirit of the day.
https://picasaweb.google.com/112359191603140118424/100MilesOnAUnicycle?authkey=Gv1sRgCJ6pv87mgdq9EA#
And more photos here:
Maryland, USA: Silver Spring, Bethesda, Georgetown, Great Falls, White's Ferry and back.
Running a marathon never appealed to me. Doing a triathlon to me was as unappealing as a marathon with the added possibility of drowning. But on Unicyclist.com there's a list of the people worldwide on who have completed a 100-mile unicycle ride and for the past two years it's been bugging me that I should be on it.
I started the day at my sister's home in Silver Spring because she is close to the Sligo Creek bike path. From there I took the Capital Crescent Trail to get to the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal where I spent most of the day. More than 70 of the 100 miles were on the C&O Canal towpath.
In my planning I figured that the risk of dehydration would be one of the most significant threats to my success. I have a three-liter Camelbak which is so heavy when full that it makes mounting the unicycle difficult. I figured I should drink between six and nine liters over the 100 mile course. I might not need all that water, but I wanted to have it available in case I felt the effects of dehydration. I had no one with me and no support vehicle, so I was concerned about refilling at the White's Ferry end of the route. I had researched all the possible water stops along the canal and knew that I would have to travel 20 miles without a chance to refill until I reached White's Ferry. When I pulled in to this one-store town, I was shocked to see that the store was closed for renovations. The owner of the store was only able to give me one bottle from his personal supply.
I asked about the hand crank pumps at the camp sites along the trail. He told me that the flooding from two weeks ago had polluted the aquifer and that the park service tested the water pumps yesterday and determined that it was still unsafe. I tried to buy water from the vending machines in front of the store, but they were not working. A family waiting for the ferry took pity on my and gave me two much appreciated-- but small-- bottles.
15 miles later I struck up a conversation with a biker, but I wasn't seeking conversation. I was scheming to coax some water from him. I was successful and was able to get another half liter. 10 miles later I begged a tiny amount of water from other strangers. I was able to get tiny quantities of water but nothing near what I thought would be adequate. I struggled long and hard to reach Great Falls Tavern, (mile 72 for me) where I hoped to find potable water. The snack bar there was opened so I was able to buy two large Gatorades and was able fill up the Camelbak with water. Fortunately the day was fairly cool, I was in the shade of the trail, and I needed less water than I expected to.
This is embarrassing to admit, but I took a hard fall from the unicycle at mile 33. I never take hard falls in my daily rides. Normally if I start to fall, I can recognize the problem with enough foresight to land on my feet. But this time I landed on both elbows and a knee and had the blood to prove it. I was just glad that nothing was hurt seriously enough to slow me down.
I had hoped to finish in 11 or 12 hours, but it took me 14 hours and 15 minutes. I was on a 12-hour pace until noon, but as I got tired my pedaling slowed and I needed to take more breaks. The end of the ride was pleasant, but I was unbelievably tired. I have sores in the place where I sit. I was glad to discover that I had enough strength to power up the long hill out of Georgetown. Upon returning to Silver Spring my wife, my sister and my brother-in-law were there to greet me. My odometer upon arrival reported 100.20 miles traveled. If what I read on the Internet is true, this makes me the 68th person worldwide to ride a unicycle 100 miles in one day.
Here are a few photos that capture the spirit of the day.
https://picasaweb.google.com/112359191603140118424/100MilesOnAUnicycle?authkey=Gv1sRgCJ6pv87mgdq9EA#
And more photos here: