John Foss finally did it!
Peter Bier
David Stone
Roger Davies
Alan Chambers
Steve Colligan
Mark Wiggins
Takayuki Koike - Guinness record holder, 6hrs44min, August 1987, 42" wheel with short cranks (no dismounts!)
Lars Clausen
Ken Looi
Floyd Beattie
Johnnie Severin
Cathy Fox
Bruce Dawson
Jack Hughes
Dan Heaton
Scot Cooper
Sam Wakeling
Chuck Edwall
Joe Marshall
John Himsworth
Gracie Sorbello
Rowan Chivers
Tony Melton
Tim Lee
Joe Lind
Rob Muellerleile
Irene Genelin
Beau Hoover
Nathan Hoover
Mike Scalisi
Ryan Woessner
?~Xivind Johansen
Kjetil Juul Pedersen
James Amon
Leif Rustvold
Max Taint
Mark Osmundo
Mike Tierney
Joseph Sherman
Roland Kays
Claude Magnuson
Jan Logemann
Zeke Boisei
Paul Stacey
Joe Myers
Matthew Huber
Tom Blackwood
Sid Rajan
Dave Cox
Matthiew Rojda
Kevin Williams
Jack Olsen
Monty McFly
Matt Thomas
Geoff Houghton
Svein Petter Vangsoy
Frank Brown
Terry Peterson
Dan Hansen
David Smith
Philip Schleihauf
Frank Dugrillon
Erich Bevensee [10/09/10 Chilean/German,45,Ungeared 36"]
Bill “Rhino” Mueller (10/29/10 - 42, 102 miles,10hr.51min.,ungeared 36)
Jeff Chamblee (June 5, 2011, USA, 46, Ungeared 36", 100.2 miles, 14 hrs 15min)
John Foss - 6/12/11, SilvaCycles KH/Schlumpf 36" (76 miles), 2002 Coker Deluxe with 125mm cranks (25 miles)
The story:
The original plan was to do America’s Most Beautiful Bike Ride, Century option (around Lake Tahoe) on June 5. But the weather forecast was cold with a major chance of rain (or snow) so I bailed. I later found out I missed out on a deluge of hail on the Spooner climb around 3:00pm–about when I might have been there.
That said, I’ve transferred my registration to an around-Tahoe ride (72 miles) on Sept 11. If you’d like to join me go to www.bikethewest.com to register! There are 2000 spots.
I didn’t want my training to go to waste, so I devised the “Greater Sacramento Bike Path Century Tour”. I would ride various bike paths, to Elverta, Davis, and even Folsom until it added up to 100 miles.
But if you noticed above, I used two different unicycles. This was not pre-planned. At mile 76, just after leaving from Jacquie, who had re-supplied me at a Costco along the bike path, I went to jump on the Schlumpf and the hub failed. Ugly sounds, and the wheel kept stopping. Unrideable! I managed to call Jacquie before she’d gotten too far towards home, to come back for me. Then we returned to the house, where I would hop on my old Coker to finish out the ride.
It’s great to have spares! But oops, the last person to use my old Coker was Zack Baldwin, in the recent Auburn Criterium race. I had swapped out the seat and removed the handlebar. Noooo! Can’t ride another 25 miles with no handlebar! So I had to re-assemble it to my old, RTL setup, and complete my longest-ever ride in low gear. My knees weren’t prepared for this, but I had been taking my glucosamine tablets and I survived. Toward the end, my calves were twinging and wanting to cramp up, and my left knee was occasionally going out of alignment, or something; threatening to do what my Schlumpf hub did.
Yes, my mileage totaled 101. I did this on purpose to make sure there was at least 100 “good” miles in there, as it was measured by my Garmin 305. That last mile involved going around the block a few times. 
Route:
My house to the American River Bike Path, at William Pond Park. Follow this to the split with the Sacramento North Bike Path (which I’d never been on). This one goes north to Rio Linda and Elverta. I rode that one to the end, then turned around. Rejoining the American River Bike Path, I continued toward downtown Sacramento. This ends where you can cross the river into West Sacramento. Several miles along West Capitol Ave. brings you to a bike path that follows Interstate 80 toward Davis. Followed that to Davis, and then rode around the UC Davis campus and various bike paths there. Stopped to eat the sandwich I’d been carrying since 6:00am. I finished that around 11:00am. It was mile 51.
Then I headed back to Sacramento, and returning on the American River Bike Path. I arranged to meet Jacquie at the Costco, where she brought me fresh, cold water, a bottle of PowerAde, and more snacks. Lunch #2. Just after that, the Schlumpf hub failed. I was very lucky to be right near access off the bike path, and minutes from getting Jacquie back. But I still lost about an hour and 45 minutes before I was back on the road.
Again from the house, back down to the American River Bike Path and then turned left toward Folsom. The objective was to ride 12.5 miles and turn around. Notice how the miles keep getting longer, like they’re stretching out, toward the end? Or maybe this was because I no longer had a high gear. I went all the way to the Sac State University Aquatic Center at Lake Natoma. This is where the rowing events will be if San Francisco ever wins their bid for the Olympics.
Total Elapsed Time: Just under 12.5 hours inclusive. Actual riding time much less. It was not a race.
Advice:
If you’re going to use two unicycles for your century, try to use the non-geared one first, followed by the geared one. It’ll be much easier on your muscles & joints!
Photos: My Garmin watch after the ride, and me with my two steeds; Schlumpf on the left, and trusty old Coker on the right. And little Cecilia getting into the picture too.
At least I still got something to aim for.
