Over the last 23 years, world-renowned unicyclist Kris Holm has ridden his single-wheeled bicycle all over the world, across all kinds of terrain. Now, the 36-year old Canadian is preparing for his biggest challenge yet - The B.C. Bike Race (BCBR), a multi-day mountain biking race featuring some of the world's best bicyclists.

The race, which begins on June 26th, spans from Vancouver to Whistler and passes through some of the world's most treacherous terrain. It is so grueling that competitors are allowed to enter either solo or in teams of two or three. They are also allowed to pick one of two routes - Epic, where the contestants go all out averaging 60km a day and Challenge, a lite version, where contestants ride half the distance, averaging about 30km per day.

Kris considered the Epic route, but then decided that Challenge would give him more time to enjoy the beauty of the terrain. While it may seem like Kris is at a disadvantage, he believes otherwise, especially on the up-hill and rockier sections. That's because he has to control only a single wheel. Also, his slower pace enables him to hop off the unicycle, unlike faster moving bicyclists who tend to fly off their handlebars, when they lose control.

While the idea of competing against some of the world's best cyclists riding a unicycle may seem odd to most people, for Kris Holmes it is just another challenge to surpass. The 36-year old Canadian who has been riding unicycles since he was 12-years old, has taken his one-wheeler to some of the most unlikely places in the world - above the Great Wall of China, up and down Mt. Orizaba, North America's third highest peak and a volcano in Bolivia. Believed to be the world's leading unicyclist, Kris has demonstrated his extreme unicycling skills in over 14 countries and was featured in the 2007 edition of Ripley's Believe it or Not.

While Kris knows that he is not going to win the B.C. Bike race he sure hopes he does not come last. We have a feeling that he will be a formidable competitor, who will raise the sport of unicycling to a whole new level.

Sources: www.cyclingnews.com,bcbikerace.com