Orinda Man Uni-Pedals Up Devil Mountain Sunday

On his birthday three years ago, Steve Meagher's wife handed him a credit card and said, "Go out and buy a toy for yourself."  He headed straight to Lafayette's Hank and Frank and picked out the craziest thing he could find: a unicycle.

This Sunday, Meagher plans to ride that uni to the top of Mount Diablo.  He got the idea for the one-wheeled ascent from Chris Hopkins, a Danville resident who will ride his unicycle up Colorado's Pike's Peak on September 2.

Meagher, who grew up and continues to live in Orinda, is a physical therapist and sports enthusiast - with a bit of the daredevil thrown in - who has run 18 marathons and competed in four Iron Man length triathlons.

"Learning to ride the unicycle was a lesson in perseverance..," Meagher says.  It involved a lot of falling off, getting back on, and falling off again.  His girls, Bridget, age 6, and Bailey, 3, have their own perspective on dad's hobby: "They think I'm a clown, so it's ok."

Sunday's 11.1 mile cruise is filled with its own particular challenges.  "The last 1,000 feet are a 17 percent grade," Meagher tells us.  Estimating it will take two to two-and-a-half hours to reach the summit, he has one other worry.  "The seat is not a very ergonomic design.  It gets painful!"

Patch will be checking on Meagher to see how he does.  Sunday, it's Mount Diablo.  After that, Everest?