While attending college at the University of Maine at Farmington this year, long-distance unicyclist Max DeMilner of Peru continues to train for three upcoming unicycle races. These include two uphill races - one in New York, the other in Vermont - and Ride the Lobster, a 500-mile relay race across Nova Scotia this summer.

DeMilner's quirky "Six States, One Wheel" unicycle journey in 2006 on a 720-mile loop through New England to raise money for college spawned the Ride the Lobster debut, an international unicycling endurance relay race.

DeMilner and his brother, Kyle DeMilner of Philadelphia, and their dad, Charles DeMilner of Flagstaff, Ariz., will compete in Lobster as Team DeMilner. They will join other three-person teams of more than 100 endurance unicyclists from four continents, 17 countries, 17 American states and eight Canadian provinces in the five-day 500-mile ride, which has been dubbed the "Tour de France" for unicycles.

Recently, b caught up with freewheeling Unicycle Max, as he is known professionally, to learn more about the pedal-meister.

Name: Maxwell DeMilner

Age: 21

Hometown: Peru, Maine, currently living in Farmington

Education: Graduated Mountain Valley High School in 2004; two semesters at Chester College of New England in Chester, N.H.; now on my second semester at University of Maine at Farmington studying philosophy

Occupation: Nationally certified pharmacy technician, student and professional unicyclist (part-time)

Why unicycles and not bicycles? I enjoy bicycling from time to time. I didn't pick up unicycling until I turned 16, so before that I had a road bike and a mountain bike that I road quite a bit. However, I've yet to find something that can be done on two wheels that isn't more challenging and more fun on one. Even the mountain bike trails I used to ride on are 10 times more fun on a unicycle.

Main mode of transportation or do you drive a car? I own a car, but I don't think I've driven it in months. To get back and forth to work, it is quicker to unicycle on the sidewalks than to drive. On my fastest unicycle, I have a range of about 50 miles round-trip, so I don't feel the need to drive too often.

What is the quirkiest thing you've ever done on a unicycle? That's a difficult question, only because I'm a fairly quirky fellow to begin with, and I rarely go anywhere without a unicycle. I can narrow it down to two things. First, the jousting tournament my brother and I had. I made a couple shields out of some stuff in the garage, and lances out of the poles that come with those backyard badminton nets. So, my brother and I hopped on our unis and charged at each other. There's a video of it on www.unicyclemax.com if you want to see how it turned out. Second, a few years ago when I was at art school, I was dating a girl down in Boston. I can't remember if it was for her birthday or for Valentine's Day, but I rented a penguin costume, bought a dozen red and white roses, and unicycled two miles on Commonwealth Avenue and around the area to find her and give them to her.

How long did it take you to learn how to ride a unicycle? A weekend. Both my brother and I were learning at the same time on the same unicycle, so we kept switching off. All in all, I think it took us each about 12 hours of practice in the driveway before we were able to control our speed, turn in circles and stop without falling on our faces.

How many do you own and what size are they? I have six right now, all of which have their own name and unique purpose. There's Priscilla, a 20-inch Japanese unicycle I used to give lessons on; Sophie, a 20-inch freestyle unicycle I use for tricks and more technical riding; Mr. T, a brawny 24-inch modified with an off-road tire for all-terrain riding; Titus, a 5-foot- high chain-driven unicycle for riding in parades; Lucy, a modified 16-inch specifically for the visual gag of a tall guy like me wobbling down the street on such a small unicycle; lastly, there's Captain Pasquale, my 36-inch unicycle for long-distance riding and racing.

What got you interested in endurance unicycle riding? I used to go on 4- or 5-mile rides around Worthley Pond in Peru. Having half an hour or so to think while you slowly pedal down the road, I found to be very relaxing. Gradually, I devoted more time to my rides, going farther and farther, until I entertained the fantasy of not having to turn around and go home. So, I got myself in shape, got a new unicycle, got what stuff I needed together and rode a 720-mile loop around New England in May, 2006. Since then, I've stuck with it, constantly in training for the next long-distance event.