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One wheel. One goal. to summit Whiteface: Five unicyclists to ascend in
2007 Uphill Bike Race

By LOU REUTER, News Senior Sports Writer

Racing a bicycle up New York state’s fifth-highest peak is a daunting
task, and more than 200 cyclists will face that challenge Saturday in
the sixth annual Whiteface Mountain Uphill Bike Race.

Five of those racers, however, will be taking things a step further,
when they pedal unicycles in the eight-mile ascent up the Whiteface
Mountain Veterans Memorial Highway.

During the past two years, Steve Relles has been the lone unicyclist in
the Whiteface Mountain road race that attracts hard-core riders from
around the northeastern United States and Canada, and for the first
time, the 44-year-old from Delmar will have some company Saturday when
four more unicyclists join him in the annual climb.

“I think it’s just fantastic there are more unicyclists this year,”
Relles said. “I’ve done the race by myself twice on a unicycle, and
finally, I’ll have some company.”

Like the hundreds of racers who have conquered the course’s steady
eight-percent grade during previous Whiteface uphill bike races, Relles
is a competitive sort eager to face a challenge. And like those same
racers who will be pedalling on two wheels in a quest to cross the
finish line first, Relles and his fellow unicyclists will also be
looking to come out on top in their “race within the race.”

“My main goal is to beat my time from last year, but I still want to
win,” Relles said. “I’m not messing around. I know the other
unicyclists are coming.”

Relles is a relative newcomer to unicycling, a sport he became involved
with after he suffered an ACL tear during an ultimate frisbee game in
2003.

“I started playing ultimate frisbee in 1983, and that sport became my
whole athletic identity,” Relles said. “After I tore my ACL, I needed
to find something else to do. Unicycling became my new athletic
identity.”

During the 2005 uphill event, Relles was the next-to-last competitor in
the field to cross the finish line, coming in 46 seconds before the
two-hour maximum time limit. Last summer, as a more experienced
unicyclist, Relles slashed more than a half hour off his time, crossing
the finish line in 1 hour, 25 minutes and 53 seconds.

“The first year going up Whiteface was probably the hardest thing I’ve
ever done physically,” Relles said. “Unicycling has a very steep
learning curve, and that first year, I spent about half the race just
trying to keep my balance. Last year, I finished ahead of 38 or 39
other racers.

“I thought I rode pretty fast last year, and if any of those guys are
going to beat me, more power to them,” Relles added. “They will have to
be going very fast. It’s going to be fun seeing what happens.”

Vermonters Mark Premo and Bill Merrylees, Rhode Island resident Eric
Scheer and Maine’s Maxwell DeMilner are the four unicyclists joining
Relles in Saturday’s event. Relles said that although he is the only
member of the group who knows what it’s like racing up Whiteface, all
four of the other unicyclists should prove to be worthy foes on the
course.

“I’m sure all the guys will be well prepared for the race,” Relles
said. “I’m the only one who has experienced this race, but I know these
guys are all serious athletes. I’ve been training intensely, and I’m
sure they have too.”

“It should be an interesting challenge,” said Scheer, whose training
has included riding up and down a half-mile hill near his home in Peace
Dale, R.I. “I’ve never done anything quite like this, and I’m excited
to give it a try. I think the key will be pedalling at a steady,
consistent pace.”

The five riders all have some knowledge of each other, either through
the Internet or face-to-face meetings at unicycle events around New
England, but Saturday will mark the first time they will square off
together to see who can pedal up Whiteface the fastest. Scheer and
Relles will meet in Albany prior to the race and drive up the Northway
together on the trip to Wilmington.

“The ride will be fun,” Scheer said. “We will be joking and trash
talking, I’m sure. At least for the first mile during the race, I think
we will all be pretty close. But when it gets to the two-and-a half or
three-mile mark, then we should see who has it in them. I’m excited
about this race. It’s something I’ve really been looking forward to.”

At age 50, Merrylees is the oldest member of the unicycling quintet,
and is followed by Relles. Scheer, who also races road bikes, is 43,
Premo is 40, and DeMilner is the youngster in the group at age 20.

Premo and Merrylees have spent time training together, including
pedaling their unicycles up a 4.5-mile road on Bolton Mountain in their
home state of Vermont. DeMilner, meanwhile, recently completed a
1,000-mile fundraising trip around New England on his unicycle, and
Relles has been riding regularly in the hilly regions south of Albany
to prepare for the uphill race.

Despite getting hooked on unicycling just a year ago, Premo, who also
rides a mountain bike and lives in Winooski, Vt., said he is confident
he will complete Saturday’s race, and joked with Relles about the
competition.

“I e-mailed Steve and said ‘Hey buddy, I’m coming after you,’” Premo
said, adding, “I’m not worried about finishing. I haven’t done a race
as long as the one up Whiteface, but Vermont is hilly wherever you go,
so I’m no stranger to climbing.

“I know Steve and Eric have been training like madmen, and I’ve rode
with Bill, and he is good,” Premo continued. “It’s anybody’s race, and
I think we will all end up within 10 minutes of each other.”

And not to be forgotten, is the rest of the field of athletes who will
be racing on two wheels up the highway, including many who will finish
well ahead of the unicyclists. Last year’s fastest time turned in on
two wheels was just over 45 minutes.

As of noon Wednesday, Diane Buckley, director of the Whiteface Mountain
Regional Visitors Bureau, said 217 competitors were already registered
for the race and many more were expected. Previous Whiteface Mountain
Uphill Bike Races have seen fields of more than 300 competitors make
the trek up the Veterans Memorial Highway.

In addition to enjoying the joking and friendly trash talking between
the unicyclists as a prelude to Saturday’s race, Relles said he’s also
heard plenty of words from the competitors who prefer to make the
ascent pedalling on two wheels.

“I’ve heard it all,” Relles said. “They say ‘Hey, where’s your other
wheel,’ or ‘You only have half a bike.’ My response to them: ‘At least
I don’t need a training wheel anymore.’”

The sixth annual Whiteface Mountain Uphill Bike Race begins at the four
corners in Wilmington Saturday at 5:30 p.m., and will feature waves of
riders leaving the starting line in five-minute intervals.


--
steveyo

steveyo
...like having your own personal rollercoaster...

- a few 'uni race write-ups'
(http://home.nycap.rr.com/rduhan/uni_race_writeups/)
- muni and kokopelli uni 't-shirts, mugs and stickers'
(http://www.cafepress.com/steveyo)
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