Zach Warren's attempt at breaking the 100 mile record

I think this subject that JJuggle mentioned in thread
"Unicycle articles (but wait there's more...)"
deserves its own thread.

A certain Zach Warren (who AFAIK never posted in RSU) is planning to
break the Guinness world record for 100 miles on a unicycle on 19 May
2005. The website is http://www.unicycle4kids.org/. Ken Looi's
recent 24-hour record (and failure to break the 100 mile record) is
given due credit on the site.

On Wed, 4 May 2005 12:55:48 -0500, "U-Turn" wrote in thread "Unicycle
articles (but wait there's more...)":

I wonder if this is the one Tom Miller built for Floyd
Beattie in 1986?

It isn't. I quote the website:
"Zach will be riding a high-tech racing unicycle that was built and
donated for this attempt by legendary designer Sem Abraham (sic)"

What I also found interesting is that the unicycle has 4.5" and 5"
cranks. Would this mean that he rides an asymmetric unicycle to make
up for the effect of riding around a velodrome?

Klaas Bil - Newsgroup Addict
--
"When it comes to the family jewels, you won't be having fun until they're having fun. - Jake D"

Wow, Zach's been a busy boy! He emailed me shortly after my 24hr Record
ride- I passed on some tips on the 100miler- at that stage I don't think
he had ever done any cokering. So to pull together so many sponsors, a
fantastic looking site, and a 45" wheel is an awesome effort. Give him
your support everyone!

I'll probably have a go at the 100mile record again- if Zach is able to
better the record by more than 15min then I think I will have to wait
until I get a Schlumpf geared uni before I make another attempt. I
think it's possible to break the current record on a Coker, but not by
very much.

Records are meant to be broken- and it's great that there is so much
interest lately in pushing the limits of our sport.


Ken


--
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o-kO
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The 100 mile record has got to be one of the most amazing feats on uni.
Focusing at speed for an hour straight is one thing, but 6+? Or in
Ken's case, 24?? GOOD LUCK ZACH!!

P.S.: I also find that reference to the different size cranks very
interesting...


--
unisk8r - One Wheel Wander
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I personally know zach and was amazed to hear about this attempt. While
Zach may not be a coker rider he is however a marathon runner and has
the kind of determination and planning abilities to get him throuhg to
setting a new record.

From what I hear he has been running into many of the same problems that
Ken had with the tight diameter of tracks not being well suited to the
pace needed to be the record that was set on a straight road.

Looks like I may have to take a road trip later this month to catch up
with Zach and to cheer him on in person.


--
Checkernuts - Breakdancer Extraordinar

No one said it was gonna be easy and I'm not afraid to try, with the
odds stacked up against me I will have to fight, One Life One Wheel got
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Zach also mentions in his blog entries that he watched a video of the
1986(sic) 100 mile record. Does anyone who knows him have any idea of
where one might be able to find a copy of this?


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unisk8r - One Wheel Wander
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Klaas Bil wrote:
*I wonder if this is the one Tom Miller built for Floyd
Beattie in 1986?

It isn't. I quote the website:
"Zach will be riding a high-tech racing unicycle that was built and
donated for this attempt by legendary designer Sem Abraham (sic)"*
At first I thought it could *still* be the same cycle, because I believe
that one may be in Sem's posession. But it would not be the best
possible for record-setting. I assume that one was very similar to mine,
which is pretty heavy. The Semcycle big wheels are much lighter, which
is what you'd want for such a long ride, especially on a closed
course.

(Side note: My 45" wheel was originally ordered with an attempt on the
100 mile record in mind. This was in 1981, when the known record was
10:37. Then a guy in California did it in 9:20, which kind of scared me
off. As it turns out, I've never done 100 miles in a day, but I got
pretty fast at the short stuff on 24" wheels.)

*What I also found interesting is that the unicycle has 4.5" and 5"
cranks. Would this mean that he rides an asymmetric unicycle to make
up for the effect of riding around a velodrome?*
Good question. It might actually work! Or it just means the cycle came
with a choice of two different crank sizes.

I read through the site, and you can clearly see Zach is motivated. He's
also athletic enough for the challenge. Running a marathon is a good
test of one's mettle to prepare for an even longer endurance event.

But I am concerned with his lack of experience on larger-wheeled
unicycles, and long-distance unicycling in general (seats!). He's
starting off cold on a brand new unicycle, with a fairly near goal (from
April 1 to May 20) of his ride. Reading the site, he was still reporting
having trouble making the turns on a 400m track.

And it *is* hard making the turns on an athletics track with a
large-wheeled unicycle. That is why I have been pushing 700c racing for
the track. Cokers or unlimited wheels would have some nasty crashes,
with inexperienced people trying to go full speed around those curves.

I'm sure Zach can learn the technique, but he'll have to have it dialed
by May 20 so he can make all the curves without wasting too much energy.
Let's all cross our fingers and see if he can make it!

And don't forget to donate! This is a charity ride, for a good cause. Be
sure to check out the web site, and help him out if you can.

Good luck Zach and team!


--
johnfoss - The wilder Wilder

John Foss, the Uni-Cyclone
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unisk8r wrote:
*Zach also mentions in his blog entries that he watched a video of the
1986(sic) 100 mile record. Does anyone who knows him have any idea of
where one might be able to find a copy of this? *
He is probably referring to the 1986 record by Floyd Beattie (on his
45" Tom Miller wheel). Sem and Teresa were there, and may have taken the
video themselves. I would contact Semcycle to see what they have
(www.semcycle.com).

I've never heard of any video from the 1987 current world record. I'm
sure somebody (lots of somebodies) were there with video cameras, but
not sure where one might get a copy of someone's old home movies. That
100 mile event was actually a race, between Floyd Beattie and Takayuki
(and possibly some other riders). It was held about a week after Unicon
III.


--
johnfoss - The wilder Wilder

John Foss, the Uni-Cyclone
"jfoss" at "unicycling.com" -- www.unicycling.com

"Read the rules!" -- 'IUF Rulebook'
(http://www.unicycling.org/iuf/rulebook/) -- 'USA Rulebook'
(http://www.unicycling.org/usa/competition/)
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'Nother article on the subject added 'here' (http://tinyurl.com/axrdu).


--
JJuggle - THUMB!

Raphael Lasar
Matawan, NJ

'7th Annual LBI Unithon' (http://jjuggle.unicyclist.com/lbiunithon) -
Saturday, June 11, 2005.
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From his web page he's going to be riding at the Kissena velodrome in
Queens NY. It's an old 400 meter velodrome with an old pavement
surface. It looks far from an ideal venue to be racing a 45" big wheel
unicycle. The track surface is rough. The corners are going to be
tough.

An ideal course for the 100 mile record would be a long flat bike trail
that is about 10 miles long. Go out and back 10 times to get the 100
miles. The problem there is that the rider needs to be observed for the
entire ride. Someone would need to follow the rider on a motorized
scooter or small motorcycle to act as the observer. I think Guinness
would allow that. The other difficulty would be getting an accurate
measurement of the course to satisfy Guinness. It would need to be
measured with a surveyors wheel several times and then averaged.
Getting several accurate measurements of a 10 mile course would take
some time. It's not impossible because they do the same for marathon
courses.

Another possibly good option for a course would be a race car track. It
would be easy to observe the rider for the entire ride on a race car
track. The challenge is finding a suitable track. And then again,
you'd need to measure the track to find the exact distance of each lap.
You'd also want to find a track with a good smooth road surface. Bumps
and cracks will slow you down a lot on a big wheel uni.

I hope he is able to break the record. I like seeing records broken.
It shows that the sport is advancing. But I'm concerned that the
velodrome track is going to handicap him too much and make it too
difficult to be able to break the record.


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John,
From talking to Zach on the phone the other day he is in the same
mindset as you for location to ride. The problem with car tracks is that
in the new england area they have too much wind. Zach is currently
looking for a nice flat strech of road to attempt his record on.


--
Checkernuts - Breakdancer Extraordinar

No one said it was gonna be easy and I'm not afraid to try, with the
odds stacked up against me I will have to fight, One Life One Wheel got
to do it right. H20

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