Pedaling for the distance
Eamonn Keaveney earned his second Guinness World Records title by riding his unicycle the length of Ireland — 308 miles — in 5 days, 5 hours and 23 minutes. Eamonn told Guinness World Records the title for the fastest crossing of Ireland by unicycle appealed to him because it “seemed like a perfect mix of daunting and ridiculous.” Eamonn, who previously earned the record for the world’s longest barefoot journey in 2016 and followed it up by climbing 10 mountains barefoot in 10 days, said he had never ridden a unicycle until he started training for the title. Eamonn traveled about 12 hours each day of his attempt. “It was sometimes hard toward the end of the day to force myself up on the unicycle for those last few miles,” he said. He said a swollen ankle toward the end of his trip made each turn of the pedals feel “like torture.” “As long as you are moving, you are pedaling. Hence my ankle swelling up from overuse,” he said.
Eamonn was good for Ireland, but Ed Pratt pedaled a little further. Ed was able to circumnavigate the globe on a unicycle to return home to Somerset England having unicycled more than 20,000 miles. Ed has become the first person to unicycle around the world and will now return home at age 19. He completed the challenge unsupported – carrying a tent, sleeping bag, camping stove and kit in panniers attached to his 36in Nimbus Oracle unicycle. His challenge saw him unicycle through Europe, Turkey, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan before travelling across China and through South East Asia to Singapore. He then tackled Australia and New Zealand before moving on to the USA, finally flying from New York to Edinburgh to begin his final 500 miles home to Somerset. He has raised more than £300,000 for “School in a Bag” a charity that delivers educational equipment to poor and vulnerable children around the world.
He has documented his unicycling feat through regular updates on Facebook, videos on YouTube and through a website tracking his progress. Ed is the star of the video below. He has even learned to operate a drone while unicycling, with footage featuring in his videos, which have been watched by hundreds of thousands of people. His adventure has not always been a smooth one, lasting one year and four months longer than he had originally planned when he set out. And in November, he had to suspend his trip after almost being hit by a car in sub-zero temperatures near Aktobe in Kazakhstan. Mr. Simon said School in a Bag was thrilled to have been part of Mr. Pratt’s “epic journey,” adding that funds raised from his trip would directly help more than 15,000 children. Ed learned how to unicycle just two years before beginning his challenge and set up a club at his former Wellington School. Throughout his world tour, he has taught others how to master the one-wheeled vehicle and has been joined by people on two wheels for parts of the trip.
Wheelie, wheelie funnies
I went to the liquor store on my bike and bought a bottle vodka and put it in the basket on the front…then it occurred to me that if I fall or something happens then the bottle might break. so I drank it all right there and it’s a good thing I did because I fell 7 times on the way home.
Is riding the unicycle hard?
Only after I’ve sat on it for an hour.
When he was given a receipt for his traffic fine, A disgruntled defendant asked the clerk of courts “What am I supposed to do with this?” “Keep it, when you get four of those, you get a bicycle,” the quick witted clerk replied.
I got pulled over by the cops for riding a bike drunk. The cop asks me; “What do you think you’re doing riding a bike drunk?”
So I told him, ” I’m too drunk to drive, and every time I try and walk, I fall down. So I stole the bike”
July 17th Birthdays
1993 – Billie Lourd, 1984 – Sarah Jones, 1917 – Phyllis Diller, 1969 – Beth Littleford
1977 – Eddie Shin, 1976 – Luke Bryan,, 1952 – David Hasselhoff, 1935 – Donald Sutherland