The main street of Weymouth was lined with spectators to cheer on unicyclists as they raced through town late Monday morning on the first leg of the 800-kilometre five-day international Ride the Lobster Unicycle Race across Nova Scotia.
Over 100 unicyclists from 13 countries began the relay race in Yarmouth at 9 a.m. and all riders were tracked by a GPS system as they traveled Hwy. 1 to Weymouth.
As each rider passed the checkpoint in Weymouth, they headed up Campbell’s Hill and turned right onto Sissiboo Road. This route led the riders through to Bear River and on to Annapolis Royal.
Steve Relles and his Personal Roller Coaster unicycle team from the United States flew into Weymouth in third place and were excited to be doing so well this early in the race.
“The team and I are thrilled to be sitting in third place,” said Relles. “We were considered the dark horse and not expected to be a contender here.”
Event manager Heather LeBlanc of Annapolis Royal said riders were traveling much faster than anticipated and arrived in Weymouth sooner than expected.
“The riders are off to a fabulous start,” said LeBlanc. “The support and organization here has made everything run so smoothly. The unicyclists were overwhelmed by the generosity of spirit that has been shown them in the early stages of this race.”
LeBlanc, who will be following the unicyclists all the way to the finish line in Baddeck, thanked the crowd for its support and encouragement.
The crowd was entertained by the Unicycle Condor Demo Riders who performed demonstrations in front of Sissiboo Landing. The band from St. Mary’s Bay Academy was also on hand to perform after the unicycle demonstration.
Sissiboo Landing coordinator Jeanne Nesbitt said community support for this international event was amazing.
“We had a wonderful group of volunteers,” said Nesbitt. “They worked closely with the support people from the Ride the Lobster to make the event in Weymouth successful.”
“Drummers Patrick Jarvis and Kadijah encouraged all the racers with their music as each unicyclist rode through the village and they stayed right up until the last racer came through Weymouth,” Nesbitt said.
Team Weymouth coordinator Merrell Moorhead was pleased with the turnout and community support.
“Having this event pass through Weymouth is a boost to our village,” said Moorhead. “There is a lot of community spirit here and we were able to show the racers and those connected to Ride the Lobster some Nova Scotia hospitality today.”
Progress of the race can be followed on
www.ridethelobster.com
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