This entry was posted on 4/30/2006 2:01 PM and is filed under uncategorized.
I can see the goal, and I'm advancing towards it. Sounds simple, but for a while, I was afraid I'd never be prepared, and never be able to actually make this happen. It seems like every minor setback has compounded to make another piece of the tour more successful.
A few weeks ago, I was going to ride my first 50-mile day. I'd never ridden that far before, but I new I had to, so on my day off, with the sun warming the air, I set out with nothing but a bag of M&Ms and a bottle of water.
What's missing? Tools.
Six miles into it, I noticed I had a flat. I borrowed a pump from some guy named Josh, and after a few minutes, the tire seemed to be holding air. So I kept riding. I mean, 50 miles weren't going to ride themselves.
Five minutes later, I was flat again, and a mere seven miles from my tools. So, I began what I expected to be a very long walk home. In no time, a woman pulled over, and offered me a ride. I hesitated, but quickly agreed when I found out she was a fellow unicyclist. It was actually, Sheila Curtis, aka Trickster Fox, a regional performer (who puts on a great show, by the way.).
Anyway, she gave me a ride home, and we talked about unicycling for a while. I found out her day job was as a machinist and a welder, which is why I called her a few days ago.
I needed a rack to replace my trailer. I asked her if there was anything she could do to help me. As it happened, she had just what I was looking for. She gave me an aluminum rack off an old bike of hers, some one-inch aluminum angle, and the card of a friend of hers. There was no way she would be able to help me retro fit the rack to the uni, but the name on the card could.
When I got home, I called up Art Haines at Applied Robotics (my seventh call that afternoon regarding the tour), and asked if he could help me. The next morning, I drove the hour and a half to Norridgewock to his shop. In two hours, I couldn't believe what a nice rack I had. It was gorgeous. I was just staring at my rack.
Anyway, the thing looks like it was made for The Captain. It's lightweight, and practically strong enough to carry a passenger. Mind you, I haven't tried it, but we put about 80 pounds of force on it, and it didn't even bow.
So, after the setback of the flat tire, I made a good contact with another unicyclist, who helped me overcome the trailer issue. What a cool trip this is turning out to be, and I don't even begin for another six days.
I've also collected what I hope is the last of my equipment. I got a Magellan eXplorist 200 GPS receiver to help with navigation and record some good statistics, like total miledge, speed, and things like that. I got a new pair of shoes (for which I was BADLY in need), and Bruce Luhrs sent me his digital camera to take a few pictures from the road, and put on the website.
Just a few more days before the trip begins. Please click next to the PayPal logo and make a donation. I've raised a little over 25% of my monetary goal, so I still have a ways to go, in every direction!
Take care, and try not to fall.
Max
, James.
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