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From the Road: The Last Day

June 2, 2010 at 1:30 PM 7 Comments

Not much happened today so this will probably be a short entry (I do realize it is coming out a little late, but hey that’s life). I woke last night to the sound of thunder. How far off I sat and wondered? Started humming a song from 1962, and then realized I had somehow gotten stuck in a song and I should get ready for the last day on the road. We did wake up to pouring rain. It fell in sheets and our tent was starting to get damp. We hurriedly broke down camp and threw everything into the back of the truck. At this point we didn’t care about how well we packed, we just wanted everything in the truck. I put on my bike shorts, upper body spandex, shorts, vest, knee brace, ankle brace, camel pack, helmet, and rain poncho. It seems as the trip progressed I was gaining more clothing, good thing this was the end or I’d be in a parka before I knew it.

We drove down to the point I stopped at last night (near the town hall in Northfield) and I started on my way. Now Northfield, and that region, is dominated by its vast blueberry fields and bee hives. This means next year I may have to set out later and take advantage of mother nature. I decided early on that I looked fairly foolish this morning with my orange rain poncho, black spandex, and red shorts but this did not deter me from heading towards the vastly populated Machias.

Rolling into Machias, I was greeted by thunder and lightning. This only strengthened my will to finish (in cross country I ran a personal record during a thunder storm with high winds). I did not spend much time in Machias, only stopping at a Subway to use their bathroom. Subway has one of the best bathrooms of any fast food restaurant I know about. McDonald and Burger King’s bathrooms are on the lower end of the scale. 

Besides the rain the rest of the trip into Lubec was fairly uneventful; however, after I reached Lubec everything started to change. (Well except for this one point before Lubec that I will go into details about right now in parentheses so that it doesn’t blend with the rest of the story and cause stomach irritations. I was riding along when a car stopped in front of me. Having this happen the other day I was ready for what happened next [well sort of]. The driver and passenger got out and congratulated me on my trip and explained that they had seen me on the news. They had lost a son to cancer and donated to cancer research when they had a chance. Having just seen me on the news and now out on the road they felt the moment was too serendipitous (I know. Big word, isn’t it?) and donated $100 to my cause! They then offered me a lift up the hill I was currently on but I explained to them that what we were currently on was no longer considered a hill after New Hampshire. I wasn’t able to catch their names but a big Thank You goes out to them.) Now that I am getting out of the parentheses I will tell you what happened in Lubec.

As I reached the sign greeting me to Lubec there was a van parked nearby. The driver got out and explained that she would like to take my picture near the sign for their local newspaper. Now, not being camera shy, I jumped at the opportunity and dazzled her with my photograph-ability. We chatted for a moment longer and I headed out towards the city of Lubec. Having done some quick calculations in my head I came to the conclusion that I would have to visit Lubec before heading to the Lighthouse to get over 400 miles. Just before reaching the turn-off spot to the Lighthouse I had another car stop and I was able to talk to the driver and passenger of that vehicle. They also donated to the cause and while talking with them none other than Covert and Beth showed up. We were able to get a group shot of me and the people from the car before I headed out to Lubec. 

After reaching the gas station in Lubec I turned around and traveled a short section of the road twice. The second pass I was able to better enjoy the finery of the landscape. Turning towards the Lighthouse sent a certain thrill into me and I started to pedal faster. As I reached the 399 marker I saw a white tailed deer bound into the bushes. Torn between finishing and chasing a deer into rose bushes I finally settled on the former. When I saw my odometer hit 400 I decided someone had moved the Lighthouse on me as I could not see it yet (although with the fog I was having troubles seeing my glasses). Finally at 400.9 miles I stopped, in front of the most eastern point in the continental United States of America. I’ve included photos of me near the Lighthouse and near the stone that boasts to be the most eastern point (although I could walk around the entire stone so one of those points had to be slightly more east). 

I have promised I would write up a list of things I have learned on my trip dealing with unicycling so here goes: start small (learn on a smaller wheel and move up), go 5-10 miles at a time and take “crotch breaks,” stay hydrated, reapply sunscreen every 2 hours, try focusing on something besides the pain from the saddle (and get a bunch of different saddles and try them out, figure out which one is the most comfortable for you), get a dial brake (the lever I have makes it hard on some hills), sing songs to pass time, stop and talk to people (get them excited to learn), always have a witty comeback to the expression “where’s you other wheel?” and the like, get some good biking shorts, buy Chamois Butt’r (and lots of it), short cranks for the flats and long ones for the hills (or better yet some moment cranks), it’s not about speed but distance, and as always: HAVE FUN! (I mean you’re on a unicycle for goodness sake).

Now for some thank yous:

Arian- For biking with me the first bunch of days and keeping me company and writing the first bunch of updates.

Mark and Dawn- For the amazing dinner that first night, a place to crash, joining me on the first day, and hooking me up with Bill and a second place to stay.

Bill- For riding with me the second half of the first day, a place to stay the second night, and some spare spokes for BBBB.

Jeremy at Sliced Design- The awesome job with the website, updating everything super fast, and always being available to update at a moments notice.

Eric at Aptuitiv- Thanks for providing the website hosting and the awesome software for managing the site.

Mike (and the rest of the Waddell family)- For an amazing dinner of hamburgers (even going so far as to change dinner from pasta to hamburgers because we had pasta the night before), a place to stay, and pointing out the moose in the park.

Mikhaela- For the place to crash in Dryden and all the help along the way.

Aaron (and the gang at KFC)- Many thanks for the warm reception at KFC in Farmington, for hooking me up with everyone you did, letting me joust in a chicken costume, putting up with me while I worked there, and supporting me the whole trip. Not every boss would call the cops and get them to chase you into town.

Max- Jousting with me in a chicken costume on unicycles, enough said.

Liz- For all the hard work and putting up with me in the beginning of the planning process. I’m not always detail oriented and I know this may cause stress for people working around me that are. Many thanks for the connections and all the dedication.

Family- For all the support, most people looked at me like I was crazy when I first talked about a 400 mile trip on my unicycle, but not you. You looked at me like I was crazy and then reminded me that that’s never stopped us before.

Linsey- For the behind the screens work with getting the story out.

All the people that donated- You guys made this trip possible. Thanks for stopping on the road and the moral support.

I’m probably forgetting someone…….

That’s right:
Michelle- For backing me the whole way and driving the truck (even though you don’t like driving very much). Oh, and for saying yes.

-Uni Bates

comments

1 Dan G on June 2, 2010 at 4:18 PM You forgot to thank me!!!!!!!!!........well wait, I was one of the donators, so I guess I'm included there.......but I.....I guess I didn't do as much as the other people mentioned.......

Good job though, it took alot of hard work and planning on your part, but you made it. I'm proud of you for being able to work toward a good cause like this and sticking with it until the end. I'll be happy to help out next year if you need it.
2 Uni Bates on June 2, 2010 at 6:03 PM Dan g. I knew I'd forget some people, but yes, thank you too for the work you did at the KFC party and everything else.
3 Dan Russell-Pinson on June 2, 2010 at 7:51 PM Congratulations on finishing! You are truly amazing. I'll be referring to your "list of things you learned on the trip" often as I progress into longer distances.
4 aunt lisa on June 2, 2010 at 9:56 PM congratulations...what an amazing journey and what an amazing man!!!! we are all so proud of you, and how you have finnished what most would never even start.
5 on June 2, 2010 at 10:46 PM Nice job everybody!! Glad to have met all of you guys and hope to ride with you again sometime. We do some hill climb races throughout the summer. Now that you know how far you can go, come join us and see how high you can go. Cheers Tristan!
6 on June 2, 2010 at 10:47 PM Sorry, Mark Premo was comment #5
7 molly on June 3, 2010 at 8:51 AM Congratulations, Tristan!! What an incredible journey! So glad you had such an amazing experience. :)

your encouragement

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