Total Elevation: 28,850 ft.
Follow My Ride:
7/13/2011: 8th Street
Learning to ride a unicycle is 60% determination, 35% persistence and 5% sense of balance. -- John Foss
Follow My Ride:
7/13/2011: 8th Street
Learning to ride a unicycle is 60% determination, 35% persistence and 5% sense of balance. -- John Foss
Meet Kevin Troutt, otherwise known as Unicycle Guy. I ran into Kevin on the trail just behind Camelsback park at the start of my ride. At first I thought it was just a guy riding without using his hands. As I got close I realized it was a guy on a unicycle. You don't see that everyday, especially while mountain biking!
From what I gathered in our brief conversation, Kevin has been riding that unicycle for more than 4 years. I can't imagine the time and energy he's put in, not only learning to ride it, but to ride it on the dirt trails with some fairly challenging climbs. I think because he has half the number of wheels, each foot of elevation gain should count as at least two feet. My hat goes off to you, Kevin. You're amazing!
After chatting for a bit I made my way to 8th Street where I began my ascent. I made it up the initial curve to the lower parking lot before taking a break to try and figure out what was going on. For some reason, I was totally wiped already! That stretch has never been that difficult for me, and here I am wanting to turn back after just a few hundred feet of gain. After a quick drink I continued but for some reason I just didn't have any energy. Maybe it was the 4 hours sleep the night before that was to blame. Another 100 feet or so elevation and I was back to telling myself to turn back. I quickly recalled the question my mother-in-law asked me when she said, "Why do you do it?" I told here how I love the challenge of the climb, and the satisfaction I get when I've pushed myself to go further when all I wanted to do was turn back.
The internal dialog continued as I slowly made my way up the winding dirt road. I put my head down and focused on my legs pushing the pedals one at a time. My mind then turned to Jeff Good, the man I'm riding for. I thought of how fortunate I am to be on the bike that probably took him up 8th Street a time or two, but with much more ease than I was displaying at that moment. I stopped one more time to take a drink and decide if I was going to continue upward and reach my goal of the upper parking lot. I really didn't want to. I just wanted to coast back down the hill and be done with it. Naturally, I did what seemed like the only thing to do. I got on the saddle, shifted down a gear or two, told myself to stop whining, and got my butt up the mountain! The downhill ride from the upper parking by way of Crestline is always a great reward!
To learn more about Unicycle Guy and some of the supplements he uses to keep him going, visit www.unicycleguy.com.
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