Keeping It Light PHOTOGRAPH by GREG SIPLE STORY by MAC MCCOY

Open Road Gallery

No. 3664

Keeping It Light PHOTOGRAPH BY GREG SIPLE STORY BY MAC MCCOY

➺ BENJAMIN “SKY” HORNE of Brevard, North Carolina, pedaled the TransAm Trail in 2010 without the benefit — and the extra weight — of a second wheel. An adventurer to the core, just one year earlier Sky had hiked the entire 2,178 miles of the Appalachian Trail. Bicycle Eclectic “I hope to dispel the belief that unicyclists are only performers,” Sky told us during his trip, which he Bring the Bicycle Adventure Cycling’s rode solo and self-supported. “I carry only seven pounds of gear, only what I truly need. There’s a strong Eclectic traveling traveling exhibition portrait exhibition to correlation between the weight one carries in his pack and the weight of his responsibilities.” of photos from the your town. Contact National Bicycle An example of his strategy for minimizing weight was his tentless sleeping arrangement: a 14-ounce Greg Siple for Touring Collection Montbell thermal sheet, similar to what rock climbers carry for bivouacking, along with a six-ounce sleeping more information: can be seen at bag cover and a 10-ounce sleeping pad. gsiple@adventure Missoula Art Sky’s unicycle was a 19-pound Nimbus with a big 36-inch wheel powder-coated in a color known as cycling.org. Museum, 335 N. Frosted Night. In particularly windy conditions, like those often dished out in Kansas, Sky said he took to a Pattee, Missoula, MT 59802 (across riding position where his body was cocked to the side, “acting like a sail, increasing resistance, but making the street from balancing easier.” Adventure Cycling In Prineville, Oregon, Sky was interviewed by Lon Austin of the Central Oregonian. “When it rains, my headquarters) brakes don’t really work, and it gets a little slippery on my pedals,” he told the reporter. “But rain actually July 1 through feels good. And it’s motivating when a downpour starts, because then you really want to get somewhere and August 27. get out of the weather. “Unicycling is a combination of muscle memory and reflexes,” he added. “Anyone can learn to ride. It just See more portraits at takes an incredible amount of persistence. You don’t really ride a unicycle as much as you control it. When adventurecycling. gravity is putting pressure on you [on downhills], then you have to put backpressure on your pedals, which org/gspg ruins your knees. Going uphill you just have a positive force against you, which you can kind of fight against. That’s much easier than resisting gravity.” Sky averaged an impressive 70 miles a day, clicking along at a nearly 14-mph pace and pushing as high as 20 mph for short distances on flat ground. “For me, the struggle is mental,” he said. “I can’t coast down hills and take a breather. If I lose focus for even a second, I fall off the back of my unicycle.”

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