Yoshe's rode from Amsterdam to Paris on Unicycle

11 Oct 2013

We reported a few weeks ago that Yoshe Watson was going to ride from Paris to Amsterdam. She succeeded on the trip and here is her report.

On the 4th of September, I set off on a 10 day, 650km journey from Amsterdam to Paris on a unicycle. I had started unicycling just 4 months before, having come up with the idea as a joke amongst friends at the pub. I was also personally motivated to do this challenge to raise money for Sands, who work to reduce stillbirth and neonatal death and support bereaved families, after my baby sister Hope was stillborn in 2008.

With such a short time to train, I had to focus mainly on the basics, such as balance and mounting, leaving little time to work on things like stamina or hills! Arriving in Amsterdam, I felt under prepared, a little overwhelmed, and very nervous at the massive challenge in front of me.

I really wanted to start and finish at exciting locations, so I began in Amsterdam's red light district, with the goal of ending up at the Eiffel Tower in Paris ten days later. This was the biggest physical challenge I have ever taken on, and it pushed my limits further than I could ever have imagined. Somehow, despite my lack of experience, I completed the trip, with amazing support throughout from my family, friends, and boyfriend, and also with a unicycle and some brilliant advice from unicycle.uk.com! The days of this adventure were some of the toughest but also most memorable of my life, with adventures including accidentally unicycling onto the motorway, and spontaneously becoming an official endorsement person for a Dutch energy drink!