GREAT FALLS — It’s not every day you spot a world record attempt outside your workplace, but that’s exactly what happened to MTN’s Andy Ashcraft and I when we met Norm Joe—a 58-year-old unicyclist from Australia—right outside the KRTV station.
“I think you showed up on my Facebook feed or something. I was just coming back from getting my car in the shop, and I saw you, and I’m like, I think that’s that guy,” Andy recounted.
Norm Joe is on a mission to set the Guinness World Record for the fastest circumnavigation of the globe by unicycle. He began his journey on January 16th in Bluff, New Zealand, and reached the United States in April.
Quentin Shores reports – watch the video here:
Unicyclist’s world-record journey rolls through Great Falls
“So April 20th, I started in Portland, and so it’s been 30 days—32 days, I think today,” Norm said.
His route brought him from Portland, through Idaho, Missoula, Bowman’s Corner, and eventually to Great Falls, where chance encounters and American hospitality have defined his trek.
“The American people are so friendly and hospitable. Like, I was just at a service station in Vaughn, and I met this American guy who was coming in to fill out his truck, and he said, ‘Oh I got a mate up in Fort Benton,’ and he got me in contact with him. So if I get up there, I know I’ve got an address. I can actually just camp in his front yard,” Norm said.
Norm faces all kinds of weather, hauls more than 70 pounds of gear, keeps a GPS tracker, maintains a daily blog, and uses a witness book to document every mile—a necessity for validating a Guinness World Record.
But there’s a deeper reason behind this journey: raising awareness for the human right to clean water and hygiene.
“It’s a human right to have clean water and hygiene. Not everyone has it. So WaterAid has these infrastructure projects, very small, and they go to villages in several countries,” Norm explained.
Norm’s world-spanning trip is all about making a difference, one pedal and one conversation at a time. If you see him, give a wave, offer a snack, and wish him luck as he chases a world record for a cause that matters to all.
You can follow his journey on his Facebook page.
Click here if you would like to donate to WaterAid.
