I had a blast! I’ll make a longer report later.
-Mark
great job
What type of unicycle do you use to ride across the state? How long did it take you? E-mail me back at jugglevt@unicyclist.com, or, if that doesn’t work: danrome@adelphia.net
Congrats on your riding!
Just guessing that Cokerhead uses a Coker to ride long distance.
Way to go Mark!!! Let us know more about it. Any pics?
Hmmm. What kind of a unicycle might Cokerhead use? Okay, but the details would surely be interesting as well, such as seat, handlebar setup, crank length, etc.
Looking at a map, I get the idea you could ride across Vermont on a 20" faster than someone else could ride across Oklahoma on a Coker…
I’m working on a long story with lots of details.
The Story
This was my 4th ride on “Freewheel”. For more general info & photos of me from 2001 2002 & 2003, go to okfreewheel.com.
The 1st year I rode 225 miles on my Coker & 70 miles on a borrowed bike.
The 2nd year I rode 300 miles on my Coker. The 3rd year I rode the entire distance (390 miles) on my Coker. All the hills too.
This year I had less training miles than any of the other years. I did lose some weight. Down from 248 lbs in April to 220 lbs at the beginning of the ride.
I was riding my Wyganowski Coker w/handle extension & rear rack. I also added some bar ends to the extension about 2 months ago. The Coker weighed about 30 lbs with all my junk in the rack bag. I used 125mm cranks all 4 years.
My computer wasn’t working properly. It kept good time, but didn’t give me credit for all my miles or an accurate avg. speed. I guess my avg. speed to be around 11mph for the entire week.
Day 1: Duncan to Apache - Sunday, June 13 51 miles
Today was fantastic! It was truly a “warm up” day that ended in Apache after 4 hrs 19 mins of riding time out of 5 hrs 50 mins total.
At Apache, we enjoyed Indian tacos and cold coed showers
Day 2: Apache to Cordell - Monday, June 14 69.3 miles (I rode 41 miles)
Today was the toughest day. Not too hilly, but at 9:30 I was drenched in sweat. I went swimming in Fort Cobb lake. The route was bumpy and dusty. After 41 miles, someone told me the temp was 98 degrees. Even tho I could have ridden farther, it would have been ugly. I sagged in & enjoyed the rest of the day in Cordell. Later, I learned the official temp was over 100 degrees.
Day 3: Cordell to Cheyenne - Tuesday, June 15 66 miles
Today was the most pain free fun day I’ve ever had on a 66 mile Coker ride. Just before lunch, I felt a hard pull on my left shoestring. Yep, wrapped around the axle and all I could think of is to stomp on the pedal harder to break the lace. It did break after the 3rd revolution. Most of the hills were steep enough to work me but not steep enough to test my skills. At Cheyenne, I had enough strength left to teach several people to ride a borrowed 48" RBR Boneshaker until well after dark.
Day 4: Cheyenne to Thomas - Wednesday, June 16 66 miles (I rode 3 hrs-not sure how many miles)
Today was tough. I started getting sore almost immediately. I kept catching SAG rides towards Thomas & then would keep trying the Coker again. I ended up riding only 3 hrs worth. This day was tied with the day before for difficulty of the hills. I stayed in the basement of a Church while 60 mph winds came thru the campsite tearing up tents and knocking over some of the portajohns.
Day 5: Thomas to Fairview - Thursday, June 17 53 miles
Another nice day. The storm from the night before brought cooler weather & the scenery was awesome! I rode across the Canton Dam at speeds that would have been scary if it wasn’t such a perfect road. After that, 10 miles of shade. I arrived at Fairview after a 5 mile downhill. I got a motel room for $20 at the last minute. Unicyclist discount?? Not sure, but the motel manager seemed impressed when he saw me ride up on my Coker. I continued to ride around town after a shower. Some days ARE better than others.
Day 6: Fairview to Cherokee - Friday, June 18 51 miles
Today was into the wind. All day long. I had a flat. A highway patrolman, 2 SAG vehicles & 10 loud mouthed cyclists stopped to help before I even got my wheel off. I patched the tube, but forgot to check the tire. Later, I got frustrated at my inability to freemount uphill into the wind. I actually kicked at my Coker. My shin bled when it bashed the pedal. A passing cyclist almost fell off his bike from laughing too hard. This cracked me up too & after a long laugh I felt much better. I then freemounted downhill,downwind & rode into Cherokee with a smile on my face.
Day 7: Cherokee to Anthony, KS - Saturday, June 19 47 miles
Today I started at 6 AM so I could get to Anthony before the closing ceremony at 1 PM and my bus ride back left at 2. I had another flat and this time took the metal out of my tire from the day before. It was colder (65 degrees) and into the wind mostly. It rained the 1st few hrs. I felt good tho. I passed a lot of bikes into the wind on the flats. It was the flattest day of the ride, but was still exciting to ride to the finish,
In some ways, I’m glad I didn’t push really hard to ride “all the way” & I started to notice more about the ride than I had in years’ past. The people on this ride & in the small towns we rode thru were incredible! There was an 83 yr old man that rode the entire route. A 73 yr old guy hand pedalled his cycle the whole way. One guy (50 yrs+) ran most if not the entire route.
-Mark
Awesome, thanks for sharing you’re ride with us. Was there a big group of cyclists taking part? Were there any other unicyclists?
Congratulations and well done!
Wow! That’s some wild weather you had during the ride.
A whole day with strong headwinds is no fun. Headwinds in the Midwest can be evil. When I did my cross-country bike ride I had a long day in Nebraska battling a headwind. I was down on the aero bars and still having difficulty going above 10 miles per hour when the wind was blowing strong. A truly brutal wind and made for a very long day. To make it even worse, that day we needed to go a little over 100 miles to get to our planned destination. It was after sundown by the time we finished that day.
And yes, I’ve kicked my Coker (and my muni) in frustration too.
Mark! You rule! You rock!
About 1200 cyclists i think.
There were other unicyclists. Some even brought unis and rode around camp. I was the only one riding a uni on the route tho.
-Mark
Re: My 4th ride across Oklahoma
Way to go, Mark!
My dad saw many of the b*kes involved out by Elk City, but no unicyclists.
Give me a ring when you’re around Norman.
Doug
“Cokerhead” <Cokerhead@NoEmail.Message.Poster.at.Unicyclist.com> wrote in
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> I had a blast! I’ll make a longer report later.
>
> -Mark
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>
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> Cokerhead
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