The Unicycling Unicorn

Waking up in the morning is always the worst and hardest part of the day. Cold and everything is damp. Today was no exception. But I wanted to get an early start as I had a lot of climbing today and would be above tree line for a good portion of the day.

Was packed and on the trail by 8am so off to a good start. 3 miles in at a trail-head I saw a toilet. Wasn't in my data book but I'll use it anyway. Filled up my water and continued on.

I love signs like this as it...

Woke up at 5:30am as I had to catch up for two days In my journal. Laid in bed writing until 7am. I could hear most everyone else was already up and moving. Ate my breakfast skillet and the group left camp around 8am. I had to finish packing and left 20 minutes later.

I figured I would catch them in no time but it took much longer than I thought. They are fast hikers. An hour into the trail I eventually caught up to the group while they were resting at the top of a hill. I...

Wanted to do a lot of miles today so I woke up early and was on the trail before 8am. Was a wee bit chilly but dressed warm. My fingers were exposed though and those got pretty cold. Eventually it warmed up and I was able to take off layers.

A few miles in I understood why they call the Rocky Mts the Rockies. The trail had rocks everywhere. Big ones, loose ones, small ones, sharp ones, sl...

Woke up but heard sprinkles so kept sleeping a bit longer. Finally decided to get up and was on the trail by 8:30am just a tad behind schedule. I decided to skip breakfast so I could make it to highway 50 where I knew I got reception so I could call my dad.

Rode the 2 miles I had already rode and made it back to the highway. Immediately called my dad and he answered. I asked him what was going on and he explained he had this weird bump in his side so he went to get it chec...

I was planning on sleeping in but automatically woke up at 7am cause that's what my body is used to. Was a bit hungover but nothing a hot tub and some Advil wouldn't cure. Threw all my disgusting stinky clothes in the washing machine while I relaxed in the hot tub. My clothes smelled so bad that I had to put all of them in the closet the day before so they didn't stink up my room.

While ...

Turns out that today would be the most miles I would do in a day at least so far...36.4! I knew when I woke up that I had to do this many in order to make it to the highway that would take me to Salida, my halfway point and resupply town. I really wanted to get there so I could get a room at a motel, take a shower, soak in a hot tub, drink a beer and have a delicous burger. So I woke up as soon as it started getting light out and was on the trail by 7:45am. My earliest start yet.

 ...

It rained most of the night and I was dreading having to wake up and ride in the rain. I was so happy when I woke up that it had stopped. Everything was still wet and I didn't like packing up my soaking wet tent but didn't have a choice. Took advantage of the toilets before I left (6 for 6!).

Gave my neighbors back the bottle of rum as I only drank half of it. Thanked them again and started to climb. I knew I had three big climbs today so it was nice to make it to the top ...

Today was the complete opposite of yesterday as I rode almost every section and walked very little. After breakie I cruised along, passed the Mt. Massive trailhead and then came to the Mt Elbert trailhead. Of course I had to use the outhouse that was at the trailhead. 5 for 5 now!

The morning came and it wasn't nearly as cold as others. I got up and had a lot of repacking to do so that took awhile. I had asked Amy to stop at REI and buy a footprint for my tent in case it rains. I also asked her to pick up a foam accordion sleeping pad as I was so sick of blowing mine up and taking two or three times to roll it up to get all the air out. I'm really thankful that she was able to do this as this helped make my trip much more enjoyable.

Made hot cho...

Like usual it was super cold and hard to get out of bed. But I knew Mike had hot coffee waiting for me so packed all my stuff and went to his van. Not only did he have coffee but he made pancakes and had bananas, apples and nut bars. Really hit the spot as it was nice having some real food to start the day.

Thought I'd mention it here that Aspen Mike has been one of the main guys who ins...

Another freezing cold morning with everything covered in dew. Knew I had a huge day so forced myself out of bed at 6am when the sun started to rise. Dressed warmly, packed my wet tent and was off by 7:30am. My earliest start yet.

Video Fail. My camera didn't focus in on the amazing view but it looked like the above picture.

Brrrr Brrrr Brrrr. When I woke up it was freezing. Like literally my unicycle had frost all over it. Plus my tent and most my gear was soaking wet due to dew. I forced myself out of bed.

I had to p...

I'm writing this at the end of day 3 and it's by far been the best day yet! Let me explain....I originally wasn't looking forward to it as I knew it was going to be a long tough day with lots of elevation up and down. My first real test.

Woke up at 6am as I wanted to get an early start. Laid in be for a bit and then made some breakfast skillet in a bag, packed up and started walking uphill. I knew I would be walking for the next 6 miles. Was able to ride a few sections but...

Alarm went off at 6am. Hit snooze until 6:45 and sat in bed planning the day. Got up made some oatmeal, packed tent and rest of the gear and took off at 8:30am.

Me in the morning with my whislte and Spot Gen3 Tracker nearby in case of an emergency and some of my gear hanging up to dry. Notice my unicycle tattoo?! I might need to add some touring gear to it.

My seat w...

I had to work in Edmonton, Canada at a festival which ended on Sunday night. This meant I had to drive 20 hours in almost one day in order to start the ride on Tuesday, my birthday. I somehow managed to make the drive with little sleep arriving in Denver on  Monday at midnight. Set the alarm for 7am as I needed to get up early to pack, get resupply boxes ready to mail and change over some of my new unicycle parts (pedals, handlebars, cranks) I had ordered online and had them shipped to m...

Just a heads up that I finished the ride on Monday, Sept. 14th. Woo hooooooo!!!! I'm currently working on editing and uploading my blogs for each day with photos and videos. Stay tuned as the first day should be up very soon.

Hey friends, I have made it halfway! Much harder than I thought it would be but all is good. I've decided to try and raise money for ALS. My goal is only to raise $2 for every mile I ride.

Here is why I've decided to do this taken from an insert from my blog I will post when I finish: "This is when my thinking changed and I started to think about all my relatives who have passed. My grandma Shirley who was the one that got me into unicycling. Without her I would not be m...