A new plan has arisen, so a special post comes today. I’ve decided to leave my bike home.
Instead I will be riding a multi-speed unicycle, in honor of Ben Linder‘s (1959-1987) epic ride down the west coast of the US. Ben was an engineer from Portland Oregon, educated at the University of Washington.
Upon graduation he went to Nicaragua. He worked initially in Managua, commuting to work via unicycle and performing with a local circus. He subsequently moved to the El Cuá, where he worked to build a hydroelectric dam on a small stream to electrify a rural community. It was while working on this project that he was assassinated by US government-funded terrorists.
While I never met Ben, I worked with his Matagalpa roommate and visited his grave. Ben was both a dedicated engineer working to make the world a better place, and a clown performing as a juggling unicyclist. He was murdered 30 years ago this month.
I need to get some miles in on the unicycle to train. I don’t plan to juggle coast-to-coast – I want to see the scenery.
April 1, 2018
P.S. Whitecaps on the lake mean no ice from shore-to-shore; 25 mph wind means surf’s up! Grab your board cuz there’s nothing like surfing 32 degree (F) water!
Half-fast Cycling Club 
4/1. Be careful training on that unicycle….the Spring roads in wonderful Wisconsin are in worst condition then ever based on a couple 50k rides I’ve done last week. So, I just picked up this new kit, just in case one of the many potholes catches a wheel. RB. https://ihatebicyclists.files.wordpress.com/2013/09/bikearmor.jpeg
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Do you wear wicking underwear under that kit? Do you have to bring lube like the Tin Woodman of Oz?
On a more serious note, the condition of our secondary roads is due, in part, to the consolidation of the dairy industry. When milk tankers had to get to every small dairy farm, the back roads were well-maintained. Now that more of those family farms have moved away from milk production, the roads have been allowed to deteriorate.
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