You Need to Uni

Spring has sprung and it’s time to get back in shape. The 2009 unicycling season is already filling up with various races and adventures, so it’s time to dust off the winter cobwebs and get back in the saddle.

Here in Philly, I finally found some fellow unicyclists to explore the local trails with. We started things off with a short 5 mile loop around Ridley Creek State Park. The trail was wide, paved, and busy with bikers, joggers, kids and dogs. Everyone seemed to enjoy seeing 3 big unicycles roll by. Our climbing legs are out of shape as the one long steep hill at the beginning gave us a hard time. We’ll conquer it next time.

Some upcoming events for Team Unicycle Max: a team ride around Lake Champlain in July or September, a 19 mile race on Long Beach Island in June, the Whiteface Mountain Uphill Race in June or September, and several small adventures inbetween. Max and I also applied for the Evolution of Balance award with 2 other young riders we met at RTL. If we win, the 4 of us will be heading to Iceland for some volcanic rock and glacial mountain unicycling. The winners of the award will be announced at the end of April. In the meantime, we just keep pedaling, getting back into shape. Ride on!

-Kyle

Advertisement

Don’t Hang Up Your Uni Just Yet

So just when I thought the unicycling season was over, here come the holidays and along with them, some unique opportunities to ride. Some opportunities are for fun, others out of necessity. Either way, it always feels good to get out and ride, no matter how cold or windy it may be.

The first opportunity came around Thanksgiving. The local Philadelphia rock radio station WMMR has a very funny morning show that I listen to regularly. Every year, on the day before Thanksgiving, the Preston and Steve show puts on their own parade of debauchery called the Spanksgiving Day parade. It features some local string bands for that authentic parade sound, truckloads of hot ladies, fire-breathers, pizza dough tossers, Jesus and Moses in an epic lightsaber duel, all centered loosely around an S & M theme. They basically take all the crazy local talent they can get and cram them into one little rogue party parade. So when they put out the call this year for unicyclists, I contacted them immediately.

Unfortunately, I was the only unicyclist in the Philadelphia area to attend, but I had a great time. I rode my trials uni instead of my 36″ just for maneuverability sake, and a luchador mask for weirdness sake.

The next riding opportunity came out of necessity. My driver’s license was set to expire in mid-December. I had my ticket to get a new photo taken and just had to find the time to get to the License Photo Center. They weren’t open late enough to go during the week, so my only option was to go on a Saturday. Unfortunately, the wife has class all day on Saturdays and therefore has the car as well. So my only choice was to unicycle to the photo center. It was only a 6 mile round trip, but take my lack of riding lately, the hills, the cold, and the wind, it turned out to be quite the ride. Of course it also meant that my new license photo was red-faced, sweaty, and with a bad case of hat-head. The ride was tough, but I felt great once I got back to my place. When you don’t ride for a while, you forget how good it makes you feel when you do.

Happy holiday riding!

Seasons Changing: Unicycle to Hockey

There was a time for me when unicycling was a year round sport. Riding through the Maine snow and ice to get to class everyday was something I took great pride in. It really wasn’t as impractical as you might think. But with school days long gone, so is the need for daily short distance commuting through the snow.

So the unicycling season here in the northeast is coming to a close. Less daylight after work, colder, leaves disguising rogue potholes etc. Luckily the Hockey season is fully upon us to comfort us in this time of need. Although we may be spending more time indoors as the days grow colder and darker, watching the fast-paced heavy hitting action of a good hockey game is sure to warm your heart.

This week, I will be attending my first NHL game of the season, and my first game since I was a kid in Arizona. Good times. This time around, the Flyers will hopefully get their first win and make delicious chum out of the Sharks.

Philadelphia is alive with hope now that the Phillies will be playing in the word series, so no one is really paying attention to hockey in this city. Now with an 0-5 record so far, I don’t blame them. The Flyers are not off to a good start, so to ease the pain of a potential 6th lose, we also have tickets to see the Red Wings beat the beans out of the Bruins in Boston. Detroit fans are known for popping up all over the place, sometimes in large numbers, so I’m sure I won’t be the only one sporting red and white against the black and yellow. Plus we have a cup to defend, so look out Boston!

So folks, if the impending doom and gloom of winter is keeping you off the uni, go ahead and settle down for a good old fashioned game of bone-crunching hockey. You’ll be glad you did. Go Red Wings, go Flyers!

Oh and go Phillies!

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.

 

Fear and Loafing on the Road to RTL

Kyle here on the road with the Chas-man. We’re currently in Massachusetts on our way up to Maine to join up with the other half of Team Unicycle Max. The drive up from Philly can be a grueling one, but we’re both pretty psyched up for the race. Driving hundreds of miles is nothing when you got good tunes and lots of laughs. The DeMilners have never been short on either. We’ll be staying in Portland tonight before catching The Cat ferry up to The Lobster. If you happen to drive through Portland and see a UnicycleMax sticker on a stop sign or two, we had absolutely nothing to do with it. More from the road to RTL to come. Stay tuned.

Step 1: Lookin Good

As Max mentioned earlier, the official Team Unicycle Max jerseys and t-shirts are in. Great Graphics in north Philly hooked us up with an excellent screenprinting job. So now no matter how we finish in the race, at least we’ll be do it in style.

 

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.