Back in the saddle: Ken Looi’s 20-year journey to reclaiming a unicycling record
How long do you think you could last riding on a unicycle? A couple of minutes? An hour, perhaps, if you have some experience? For self-styled "adventure cyclist" Ken Looi (New Zealand), he has claimed the distance record for riding a unicycle over 24 hours not once but twice!
The acclaimed athlete who has won numerous world-championship medals and unicycled in stunning landscapes all across the globe first claimed a GWR title for the greatest distance travelled on a unicycle in 24 hours in 2005, just five years after acquiring his first unicycle.
Ken taking part in the Karapoti Classic biking race on home turf in New Zealand in 2016
His record of 378 km (235 mi) would stand for two years. For some context, this is roughly the equivalent distance of unicycling from New York City to Washington, DC, in the USA.
Two years later, however, Sam Wakeling from the UK shattered this by travelling 453 km (281 mi) in one day. Initially, Ken didn’t think he was up to the challenge of reclaiming the title and was content to let Sam deservedly take the crown.
“It was so far above my 2005 mark that I wasn’t sure it was beatable – and, if you fail, that’s 24 hours of pain and suffering, and a lot of people to let down,” he reflected.
Ken unicycling through the barren terrain of Iceland in 2016
As the years went by, however, Ken continued racing – and it began to dawn on him that, with the right training, he could have a shot at breaking the record once again.
He’d already proven himself over a shorter timeframe by claiming the record for the greatest distance travelled on a unicycle in one hour. On 18 August 2009, he rode 29.99 km (18.63 mi) within the 60-minute period in New South Wales, Australia. This bettered his own one-hour mark from 2005 by more than 4 km (2.5 mi)!
“The longer distances rely less on speed and strength and more on experience and mental fortitude, so there was a reasonable chance that I could beat Sam’s record,” he explained. “All I needed was better preparation, better support and better pacing.”
Ken decided to make an official record attempt on 17 November 2024. While he started very strong and, in so doing, was able to break the record for greatest distance travelled on a unicycle in 12 hours, logging 252 km (156.5 mi), he could not complete the attempt and so the 24-hour record continued to elude him.
Despite the arduous training regimen and mental blocks, Ken still refused to give up. He scheduled a second attempt on the athletics track of Newlands Intermediate School in Wellington, New Zealand, for 19 January 2025, and got to work preparing.
"I did many laps of the track, riding in circles for hours at a time,” he told GWR. “Most of it was to get used to the turns and to optimize my seat and handlebar setup, as well as to practise night-time riding."
During his second attempt, Ken’s family, friends and supporters gathered to encourage him and provide moral support throughout the long, strenuous slog.
“I had a timing manager giving me lap splits, my friends and family cheering me on, handing me drinks on the fly and feeding me at rest stops,” he said. “Also, a very forgiving wife who gave good butt massages when the muscles seized up!”
Taking the record right down to the wire, with just under six minutes remaining on the 24-hour countdown clock, Ken finally broke Sam’s record that had stood for nearly two decades. His final distance clocked was 455.2 km (282.8 mi), which comprised a mind-boggling 1,165 laps of the athletics track.
In the year since reclaiming the record, Ken has continued his intensive training ahead of the Unicycle World Championships due to take place in Austria in summer 2026.
Ken unicycling in Australia in 2015
When asked about potential future record attempts, he explained that unicycle advancements might make it possible to break his own record once again.
“Unicycle technology has come a long way. Now we have geared unicycles, which go a lot faster than the ungeared 36-inch unicycles,” he explained. “However, for my recent attempt I wanted to race against my 26-year-old self, and against Sam Wakeling from 2007, so I opted for an ungeared 36-inch unicycle – the same as what we used back in the 2000s. Perhaps one day I might attempt the 24-hour record on a geared unicycle and see how far I can go…”
Congratulations to Ken on this incredible achievement – it’s proof that hard work and discipline can wheely pay off in the world of record breaking!