Unicyclists set to reinvent the wheel in Nova Scotia

It only takes just one wheel to Ride The Lobster, but for some Canadians taking part in an unusual five-day long unicycle relay, it also takes a miner's helmet.

Competitive unicyclists from more than 10 countries pedalled their way through qualifications to take part in the 800-kilometre unicycle relay that runs across Nova Scotia next week, many of them coasted on the benefit of their own unicycle-rich cultures.

"There are three million unicyclers in Japan alone," said Edward Wedler, founder and co-organizer of the race.

"In Europe, there's an International Unicycle Hockey Federation, where Germany has more than 40 teams in four leagues."

And in Canada? "There's a few."

Maybe that's because Canada is not quite so friendly to the one-wheeled wonders trying to make a name for themselves.

Mr. Wedler said team members from Alberta and Saskatchewan who wanted to take part in what's being billed as "the Tour-de-France of unicycling," had to first complete the two consecutive days of the 75-kilometre qualifying rides in April through snowstorms, when it was dark, and with flashlight-topped helmets to help them see where they were going.

When the real race gets under way on Monday, the teams will begin on a mostly flat course in the province's south, push their way up the west coast, and progressively uphill, as they near the end point in Cape Breton.

In all, 35 three-rider teams with members from Korea, Singapore, New Zealand, and other sundry European and North American countries will somehow find their way to small-town Nova Scotia, and pass the "baton" (a GPS tracker) between each other as many times as they like during the next five days.

The hard work begins on Monday, with the international teams competing for more than $10,000 in prize money and equipment.

Teams will be tracked and mapped and their positions in the race are to be presented via the Internet to unicycling fans around the world.

The strange event is even being filmed as the subject of a documentary, and home-province support was obvious when the film crew accompanied Nova Scotian competitor Beth Amiro to an elementary school near Truro recently for a workshop and students began sending fan letters to the unicyclists.

"They treat her like a rock star," filmmaker Sherry DeVanney said.