Felix in Wabasha
There’s a Youtube-Video of Felix in Wabasha (Minnesota) uploaded by a couple who took Felix in for the night and accompanied him with a camera a part of the next day.
Here’s the link:
1 Like
Awesome video, thanks for posting!
(My favorite part – the very end where he demonstrates how to freemount with all that gear hanging off. Very impressive!)
Yes, fantastic. - I really like that he is still wearing the Unicon 14 staff t-shirt from Denmark 
Best regards
from Denmark
A new uni, or a profound upgrade?
Great video! See you very soon Felix!
Felix is heading south through eastern South Dakota
Jennifer Thomas, special feature reporter for the Watertown Public Opinion in Watertown, South Dakota here. Googled Felix because I ran into him today while working a different story and decided to do one on him, too! We had a great interview and he is on his way to Huron where he is bedding down for the night with some friends of mine. Just thought I’d let his following know that he is doing great.
Thanks for the update, Jennifer Thomas. We’re all cheering Felix’s progress!
South Dakota
Hello from Cavour, SD
It has been a while since I updated this thread but there has been a lot of activity! Thanks everyone for being interested and for posting here!
Cato, here is the story about the unicycle upgrade:
Three days into my tour I broke the flange of my hub. I could still ride but I was missing a spoke, so I went on to Toronto, where I was lucky enough to meet up with Johannes Helck and Nadine. When I told them about my problem, Johannes said, “You can borrow my wheel, if you want.” While we were swapping wheels, I realized, that as he has the muni version and I have the road version of the hub my frame wouldn’t fit on his hub, so he said, “You can have my frame too.” so everything from the seat post downwards (except the pedals) is Johannes’ unicycle.
Johannes, thank you so much for your help, I hope someday I can help you out as much as you did help me!
Since my last update I had a long ride from Milwaukee to Madison (about 90 Miles/ 140 km) but I was lucky to have Jeff Hanson join me, so it was a nice ride. Also we picked the right day as it rained the day before and the day after we rode to Madison. There we were generously hosted by Ann O Brien and Jeff Wilton. Too bad Scott was touring Europe at that time but I hope we can do a tour together one day.
From Madison I rode to Baraboo on Monday, September 15th where I could stay with friends of Rich Beilfuss’. Thanks Ann and Dave for your help with the organisation. I had a very warm welcome there and got to see the International Crane Foundation the next day. After that I rode along the 400 state trail, Elroy-Sparta trail, Grand River State trail, to Lacrosse and on to Trompealeau. As I had started late after visiting the foundation I only got to Elroy on Tuesday, and had a long day to get to Trompealeau, so I asked my host from Winona if she could get me from there. The next day I only rode to Wabasha where I got invited by Karl and Debra who uploaded the nice video Anna posted lately. On Friday I rode on to Prescott and Cottage grove, where I decided to hitchhike the last few miles into the twin cities where I arrived just in time for unicycle practice.
I stayed there for one week starting with the parade in which I was spotted alive and well, and the big hoedown at Andy and Irene’s farm.
from Minneapolis I went to San Francisco for a week to see Lisa, my Girlfriend, who was in the states for a couple of days, and then returned to Minneapolis to continue my tour. Thanks Tom&Nancy and Vicky for hosting us, the unicycle network worked great again!
In Minneapolis I had a great time staying with Connie, we processed a lot of tomatoes and peppers and otherwise went to unicycle practice every day.
Last Wednesday (October 8th) she gave me a ride to Hutchinson where I stayed one night with Andy and Irene and on Thursday I started my next stage with a ride to Montevideo where I could stay with Andy and Irene’s friends Audrey and Richard. On Friday I rode to Watertown, SD and stayed with Dave, another contact Andy had helped me to organize, and on the Minnesota/South Dakota border I met Cyrus who invited me to stay at his hunting lodge near Clark. That is where I stayed last night and I decided to go on to Huron. Judging by the outcome, being invited to stay with Tessa and her family near Huron, that was a very good idea.
I hope it doesn’t take me as long until I manage to write the next update as it took me this time.
All the best,
Felix
Felix crossing Bighorn mountains
Felix has called us, my wife and me, today at 12:00 his time, from 9400 feet, the highest point of his road across the Bighorn mountains. He said the weather was exceptionally fine for the season. A t-shirt was enough for the climb. Tomorrow he expects to arrive at Cody, Wy, in the evening. From there he is heading for Yellowstone Park. He seems to be in a good spirit.
new article
There’s another article about Felix by the Lovell Chronicle from October 30, called Cross-country unicyclist welcomed in Lovell.
Here’s the link:
http://www.lovellchronicle.com/2014/10/9383/
They even got most of the information right! ;->
new article
The Lovell Chronicle has a new article about Felix from October 30, called Cross-country unicyclist welcomed in Lovell.
Here’s the link:
http://www.lovellchronicle.com/2014/10/9383/
They even got most information right! ;->
Felix reaches the Pacific! After a MUni ride on Sunday, I rode with him (me on bike) out to Pacifica, and then Nathan rode with him to the South Bay. Southward from here!
hey Felix,
here a short “hub update”
I picked up your hub (also Dave´s ) from Johannes and brought it to Sarah.
Sarah shipped it from Bern to Florian.
cheers and always good rides
jogi
Yesterday I met up with Felix near Pescadero and rode with him to Los Gatos. It was a short but steep route, 56km with 1350m climbing. The weather was perfect and it was really impressive watching him ride those steep 7-8% grades with 20kg of extra baggage.
He’s staying with us for Thanksgiving then heading south for LA and beyond.
Here’s a photo of him most of the way up Alpine Road having climbed about 900m.
Congratulations Felix on your epic tour! We missed you here in Sacramento. 
Now you get to look forward to some really beautiful scenery riding down the coast to LA. What then? Head to Panama?
Huron, SD - Nampa, ID
Here is an update, I had written in Nampa, Idaho but I got kicked out of
the system without having made a backup. It took me a while until I rewrote
it.
After my stay near Huron, South Dakota I kept heading West. Since then I
have been offered quite a few rides, which I gladly accepted (most of them)
I rode along highway 14 towards Pierre and had one day of strong headwind
(up to 40 km/h = 25 Mph). The next day there was hardly any wind, so I
could ride at a good pace. At 2 pm, I met up with a couple from Alabama, I
had met a few days before at the hunting lodge. Sheree and Brandon were
driving from Alabama to Idaho to go hunting there. When I told them at the
lodge, where I was going, they kindly offered me to pick me off of the
highway where ever I am and to give me a ride to where ever I wanted to go
on their route. I contacted them on Tuesday morning and they gave me a ride
from close to Pierre to Rapid City, South Dakota (ca 300 km / 200 Mi). We
had a nice afternoon and even took the little detour through the badlands
national park.
I was welcomed by Fay, Kevin and Lucas Clegg and spent almost a week with
them. Fay drove me to Mount Rushmore and we did a loop in the Black Hills
to see Crazy Horse, Silvan Lake, the needles and we even got to see
mountain goats and a bison.
When we got to the YMCA that evening to meet up with the unicycle group,
there were two local news stations waiting. Shawn and I gave an interview
which was broadcast in the evening.
On Sunday we went to Spearfish canon to see the beautiful fall-colors and
then Fay, Kevin and Lucas dropped me off in Spearfish from where I crossed
the border to Wyoming before it got dark.
Monday night I camped at the Devils Tower Lodge. The tower is a pretty
impressive rock in the middle of a wild west scenery. Since I had left the
highway in the morning it felt like riding through the wild west anyway.
Especially, when I saw the sign in Aladdin, which said “This town is for
sale”
The route from there was nice too and I camped out two more nights in until
I arrived in Sheridan, where I stayed with a wamshowers host again.
From there I tackled my first big climb. It was a day of about 80 km (50
Mi) with 2000 m (6000 ft) climbing but as the roads were not very steep, I
could ride everything. I camped between the two passes and crossed to
Lovell, Wy the next day. There I got invited to stay with the Mangus Family
who had seen me during my descent from the pass. It was a great place to
stay and I got delicious home made apple butter for my ride the next day.
Again, I had a hard time fighting the wind to get to Cody, but at least it
did not snow, down where I was. I could see the heavy clouds at the pass to
Yellowstone, (which I wanted to cross the next day). On Monday, when I
started out in the morning the wind had not calmed down, so I had a pretty
slow ride up towards Yellowstone. My host in the park told me that the
roads had been reopened, after they had been closed the day before due to
winter conditions. Nonetheless I accepted an offer to stay in Wapiti about
50 km (30 Mi) from the park’s west entrance. John gave me a ride all the
way up the pass the next morning and I started from there at 8 with some
ice on the road and -5 degree Celsius (ca 25 F) After 20 Minutes I had the
first flat of my tour and, as my host had told me that I would get
reception as soon as I could see the lake, I decided to walk a bit and call
him to ask if he could come and get me. After one hour I was tired of
walking and warm enough to decide that I would fix my flat on site. So I
continued riding and met my host Tad around noon. He had decided to come
and see where I was and took my bags in his car, so I could ride the last
30 km (20 Mi) without luggage.
As the short way from the lodge to Old Faithful was closed due to
construction and it was his day off, Tad offered me a ride through the
park. He drove me all the way to Old Faithful and I started riding from
there. Bisons are quite impressive, and even elk and deer seem to be big,
when you ride close by on a unicycle. I didn’t see any bear or wolves
though.
In Rexburg, Idaho I got to stay with relatives of my hosts from Lovell.
Sinjin & Janika and Scott &Karen gave me a warm welcome, they took me out on a
Halloween dinner party at their church. We had a great breakfast the next
morning and they helped to arrange a place to stay for me the following
night.
On my way to Boise, Idaho, I stayed in Mud Lake, Arco, Fairfield and
Mountain Home, riding by Craters of the Moon National Monument. The ride
from Mountain Home to Nampa was my first annoying day of the tour. I
started late after I had met a local unicyclist (he had two 36" and one 20"
unis in his car) and tried to get to Nampa on back roads. I ended up riding
dirt roads and then backtracking quite a distance so I was not very
motivated anyway and then the clip of one of my bags broke. I hitched a
ride to Boise where I strapped my bag to the rack and rode a few more
kilometers and got two more rides after asking for directions (with some
riding in between). Luckily my hosts in Nampa where very friendly and quite
handy with tools. They gave me a replacement clip and mounted it on my bag.
Thanks Paul and Dave for helping me out!
After having called my family and writing this update (the first time) it
was so late that I decided to stay another night and continue to Oregon the
next day.
I will try to write the next part (Nampa - Los Gatos) soon,
Felix
Great write-up, Felix. Hope to be able to meet you when you come through Los Angeles. (And ride along for a little way as well!)
Cheers!
Hello Lance,
I am planning to reach Los Angeles on 10th or 11th of December (Leaving Los Gatos next Wednesday). You can reach me on my phone: 517-295-9494
I would be glad to ride with you,
Felix
pictures
I finally uploaded some pictures. The newest one is from Minneapolis, though. I will do my best to get the album up top date.
Thanks a lot Jogi!
It is good to hear, that my our hubs reached Florian. This is a perfect example for why I like unicycling! The community is just great!
All the best from California,
Felix