When Dal Fleischer was 55 years old, he had his life under control, however, a little instability was still desired.

So, naturally, he taught himself how to unicycle.

Officials with the Canadian Association of Retired Persons contacted Peace Arch News this week to share a recent milestone achieved by Fleischer, who is now 72 years old.

Riding on one wheel for about 30 kilometres a day, the White Rock resident recently reached a milestone 乌鸦传媒� he乌鸦传媒檚 logged 40,075 kilometres, a distance equivalent to the circumference of the world.

Fleischer belongs to an online group of unicyclists that track their distance using the Strava application, which was initially released in 2009. It乌鸦传媒檚 quite possible the senior completed the milestone once before, but this time he has an official record, which has been reviewed by his peers.

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Fleischer, a lifelong athlete and cyclist, fell in love with the one-wheel bike after teaching himself how to ride. He started small, and eventually graduated to a 36-inch wheel.

乌鸦传媒淚 got a bigger one, a bigger one and a bigger one until I got this 36,乌鸦传媒� Fleischer said. 乌鸦传媒淭hey don乌鸦传媒檛 make them any bigger because they don乌鸦传媒檛 make people any bigger. You have to be able to reach, from the seat, the pedals乌鸦传媒� bottom position.乌鸦传媒�

He has taken his unicycle all over the world, but locally, he said, his favourite places to ride are in South Surrey and White Rock.

While you won乌鸦传媒檛 see him climbing up Oxford Street, Fleischer said the one wheel manages quite well on the hilly seaside.

乌鸦传媒淵ou have to have quite substantial muscle in order to ride the large unicycle,乌鸦传媒� he said.

Part of his motivation are the friendly smiles, waves and cheers from Semiahmoo Peninsula residents while he乌鸦传媒檚 out on a daily trek.

乌鸦传媒淭here乌鸦传媒檚 lots of accolades. That乌鸦传媒檚 a motivator, it乌鸦传媒檚 fun,乌鸦传媒� he said.

Some days, of course, he can乌鸦传媒檛 ride his unicycle due to the weather. High wind seems to be among the biggest challenge.

乌鸦传媒淲ind is a problem because headwind is tough slogging and the problem is winds aren乌鸦传媒檛 constant,乌鸦传媒� he said. 乌鸦传媒淚t comes and goes and you can乌鸦传媒檛 see it coming. I乌鸦传媒檝e had times where it乌鸦传媒檚 just blown me right off the unicycle and I couldn乌鸦传媒檛 get back on.乌鸦传媒�

Now that he乌鸦传媒檚 completed his milestone, Fleischer, who turns 73 this month, has set a new goal that乌鸦传媒檚 out of this world.

乌鸦传媒淕iven that I乌鸦传媒檝e done the equator of the Earth, the next target is the equator of the moon. Simply because I am 73, and some day I乌鸦传媒檒l have to give up unicycle riding, but it乌鸦传媒檚 not quite on the horizon. So I chose a target that乌鸦传媒檚 doable, it乌鸦传媒檚 only about 10,000, maybe 11,000 km, opposed to 40,000.乌鸦传媒�

aaron.hinks@peacearchnews.com
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