Father, Son “Municycle” 14 Colorado 14ers
by Allie Comeau on October 23, 2009 
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We mentioned mountain unicycling, or municycling, back in July of last year and how it was gaining in popularity around the world. Well, a father and son duo has taken their love of the extreme sport to new heights here in Colorado – up the state’s many Fourteeners (peaks above 14,000 feet).
17-year-old George Steele, of Denver, just finished municycling 14 Colorado Fourteeners. He began before 4am each morning, carried his 20-pound municycle up each peak and then rode the trail down after getting in at least three wheel revolutions on the summit (which apparently is no easy task).
Mountain unicycling is exactly what it sounds like, unicycling in the mountains. Municycles have fatter tires but have one fixed gear and neither brakes or suspension, adding to the difficulty of the sport.
“It was probably the most athletically challenging thing I’ve ever done in my life,” he said after completing the mission Sunday on Pikes Peak. “The main goal was just to prove it can be done. So many people haven’t even heard of mountain unicycling, or if they have, they think it’s just on dirt paths around the city. It doesn’t make sense to a lot of people, so by doing it you’re sort of proving to the world that it can be done and it is being done.”
George’s father, Andy Steele, rode almost every Fourteener with him. Last week’s final push – Mt. Elbert, Pikes Peak and Mt. Antero – didn’t come easy for either of them. “I am beat up and beat down,” Andy said after his five-hour ride on Pikes Peak. “The mountain beat me. I had to walk the last half mile.”
George plans to pursue his love of municycling above and beyond Colorado. “I’d like to do Mount Whitney in California (the tallest peak in the Lower 48), for sure. Later on I’m hoping to top 14,000 feet and start getting into maybe the Andes or the Himalayas, somewhere I can push it even higher and do more technical stuff.”
Municyclists claim their sport is actually safer than mountain biking and provides a more intense workout. What do you think? Is one wheel safer (and more fun) than two?
