Unicycling for a Smaller World

I've been pondering awhile about a general theme for my unicycle adventures, the Tom Thomson Trail being the first of many (I hope). I've already settled on the key principles for my rides:

1. The rides must be unsupported (i.e. no support Hummer following 10ft behind me)

2. I must carry all my gear, water, and food. Any replenishment, especially water, must be found along the route and not separately carried in by someone else (especially someone driving a Hummer)

3. To make things interesting and challenging, the route must be reasonably off the beaten path. Trails from old railways, forgotten concession roads, fit the bill perfectly

4. Whatever the unicycle adventure might be, there should be a link to something that is larger than the adventure itself.

But despite these principles, I've been stumped on a general tagline or theme. I like taglines and themes to be simple, provocative, flexible and with potential for fun. Two of my favourites are One Drop and Right to Play. You need only seconds to understand what these organizations are about, and what they want to achieve.

On Easter weekend, my good friend Dave, unintentionally gave me the theme for my unicycling adventure. Dave commented that one of his friends saw a unicyclist and his son at the park. Dave said to him "Hey, I know that guy! It's a small world!"

Then it struck me: "Unicycling for a Smaller World". Perhaps not as elegant as the other taglines, but this has potential, because...

1. We all yearn for a small world - we don't want empty physical space, rather we want a link to a rich textured world of relationships where everyone and everything feels close and comfortable (but not claustrophobic).
   
   
2. We live in a small world - for the past few millenia we thought our world was huge, limitless (and scary). That's not the case, it's limited in resources and we only have one blue dot in space to call our home (undiscovered exoplanets notwithstanding). The earth might look big from down here, but our world is truly small.
   
   
3. Your world is small when you unicycle - unlike other modes of transport where you can drift off temporarily or coast without adverse consequence, that's not the case with unicycling. You must be continually aware, engaged or fall flat on your face. To do this, you must focus, which narrows your perception to your immediate surroundings (especially bumps). This forced 'smallness" yields a completely different experience than cycling , walking or driving; Unicycling provides you with an unsurpassed richness of the route.

Anyway, these are some of the ideas I am working with.

P.S. I just got my iPhone and got it wired into Instamapper so you'll be able to track me live during the trip. At least this will come in handy if my butt doesn't hold out for the trip.

P.P.S. There is speculation I come from an exoplanet. I hope the photograph below dispels this notion. The UFO was merely passing by at the time.

Getting Ready for the Tom Thomson Unicycle Trip

This past weekend I was up in Owen Sound visiting my parents for Easter. This gave me an opportunity to do some initial "field" investigations on my upcoming unicycle trip on May 8th (only a month away). I decided to do a trial run of the last leg of the trip - from Leith Church to Owen Sound. My two sons, Noah (the unicyclist) and Yannick (the cyclist) were keen to tag along so we first went to Ainslie Woods, across from the farm where I grew up.

(Yannick, Noah and my Dad at the entrance of Ainslie Woods)

I enlisted the aid of my father to drop us off at the entrance of Ainslie, and we made our way down to the shore. The shore of Ainslie Woods is the skipping stone capital of the world.

(Yours truly, and my boys at the Ainslie Woods shore)

From there we made our way to Leith Church about 2 km away. This is where Tom Thomson's grave is located.

(Tom Thomson's Grave Site)

I try to visit the cemetery at least once a year, not just to visit Tom Thomson's grave but also to pay my respects to several dearly departed neighbours and a recently deceased relative of mine. If someone asked me what defines me most as a Canadian, I would without hesitation say it is this very place. Leith Cemetery links me to the first settlers who worked this land, carried on by my Dutch immigrant parents, and part of my family line resting amongst these settlers .

(Noah behind Leith Church)

After this brief respite, the kids loaded back into Dad's truck, I commenced the final leg of the Tom Thomson Trail. What was an unexpected challenge (which I will now factor into my planning) were the gale-force winds in the afternoon. Strong, unpredictable winds are the nemesis for any unicycle rider - it wreaks havoc on your balance. The winds were so strong, I had to walk the first portion of the trail, because I could not stay atop the unicycle.

However, it only took me little over an hour to get to the trailhead (averaging about 7.8 km/hr, including the walking). This is still in line with my estimation that I will be able to complete the trail in 5-6 hours. The biggest unknown is whether my butt can hold out for 43 km.

(Tom Thomson Trailhead, my final destination)

Rest in peace, Findlay. We miss you dearly.