TUM 2009 Recap – Shenandoah National Park

Well folks, it’s about that time of year again. Team Unicycle Max are in the planning stages of our next great unicycle adventure. It’s been a few years since we updated our blog, but rest assured, we have been very busy. Allow me to fill you in on our 2009 adventure.

After Ride The Lobster in 2008, the three of us decided to make this team uni ride an annual event. The first post-RTL ride for Team Unicycle Max happened in Shenandoah National Park, on Skyline Drive in Virginia. We rode, we camped, we hiked, we met a lot of really nice and generous people along the way. It was a huge success and we had a great time.

Stay tuned for a retrospective look at the 2010 adventure: The Grand Canyon.

-Kyle D

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This Is For The Ages

It’s been a week now since the last day of Ride The Lobster, and life is sort of back to normal. While the wonderful people of Nova Scotia were all aware of and excited about the big race coming through their small towns, coming back to the states where most people knew nothign about it is a little strange. We all enjoyed talking to the locals, answering questions, waving to the kids, and they were just as enthusiastic about meeting us. Here in Philadelphia, it’s back to car horns, “go back to the circus”, and “oh hell no.” Well, the 4th of July is right around the corner. I can just pretend the parade and fireworks are in celebration of me completing the longest most grueling unicycle race in history. All this for me? Aw you shouldn’t have.

Saturday morning was the awards ceremony at Gaelic College. There were many speeches and stories and laughs and lobster clapping and even a few tears. Ed Wedler was wearing his Team Unicycle Max t-shirt when he quoted Max and said “This was for the ages.” That was Max’s farewell address at his 2006 New England tour launch.

Little did we know that this one little crazy trip would somehow turn into this giant crazy international event. Ride The Lobster was an amazing adventure; truly one for the ages.

 

Drunk Driver Ruins Bike Race in Mexico

The numbers continue to tick away on the countdown to Ride the Lobster, but this isn’t the only game in town. The beginning of summer marks the beginning of the summer bike race season. The 2008 Commerce Bank Triple Crown of Cycling starts today in Allentown, PA which is always a big event arount here. Philadelphia is a pretty cycling-friendly city, better than average anyway. Still, drunken idiots are everywhere, and the tragedy that happened in Mexico over the weekend could unfortunately happen anywhere.

 

MONTERREY, Mexico – A car plowed into a bike race along a highway near the U.S.-Mexico border, killing one and injuring 10 others.

The 28-year-old driver was apparently drunk and fell asleep when he crashed into the race Sunday, police investigator Jose Alfredo Rodriguez said Monday (AP via MSNBC)

Be safe out there kids. Keep your head up and watch out for idiots. This is a terrible tragedy, but I hope some good comes out of it and the rest of the summer cycling season is safe and fun.