This is the furthest I’ve ever gone for a Guinness World Record: 35 miles.

The record was for the farthest distance traveled on an electric unicycle while juggling. I’ve had it on my list for years but I didn’t have an electric unicycle. My friend Matt McGuinness picked up one at a pawn shop a while ago. This is typical of my friend. Also typical is he also bough a 2-wheeled Segway that you steer with the knees (no handlebars) and that’s what he uses to get around so he offered me his electric unicycle.

On the first day I tried it I could barely get on and go around the car. By the second day I could ride it without holding on to something else. Within a week I was able to ride it 10 miles while juggling and the battery died. Even though the record was recently broken at about 2 miles (it was 1 when I applied), I decided I wanted to try for more. Riding an electric unicycle is also super fun so I was excited to practice.

I contacted eWheels.com who were super helpful and offered me a Kingsong unicycle to ride. It had an advertised range of 35 miles and a top speed of 17 MPH. I was happy to go faster than the 10 MPH the other one I had since it’s a distance-based record, not time. They even put on the big foot steps since they knew I was planning to stand on it for a long time. And it turns out the hardest part of this record for me was keeping my feet from falling asleep. I had to practice lifting up my heels and toes alternating as well as sliding my feet around to keep them awake. Note that you must maintain the exact same amount of weight on each foot the entire time or the unicycle falls over.

After several long practice rides I was ready to make the official attempt. I rode around the track with a camera mounted to my helmet and two fixed cameras on tripods. I was a little nervous for the first few laps which made my juggling a bit wobbly but after a couple miles I settled in. My feet ached and I had a couple nasty itches on my arms that wouldn’t go away, but it all went to plan. The record fell in less than 10 minuts and then I kept going for another two and a half hours.

The pace was pretty consistant for the first 25 miles before the battery started to go. At 30 miles it went even faster and the pace was dropping off precipitously. I wasn’t going to be able to finish another mile so I jumped off after the 141st lap and 35 miles.

By the numbers:

141 laps

2 hours 29 minutes 30 seconds

~32,000 juggling catches

Average pace: 4 minute miles

Average speed: 15 MPH

30 low battery warnings

1 dead battery