:: Overseas Highway Unicycle Tour ::

Florida Keys Overseas Heritage Trail Unicycle Tour December 4-9, 2012

The Florida Keys Overseas Heritage Trail Unicycle Tour is a project taking place December 4-9 for Sculpture Key West in conjunction with Miami Art Basel. To celebrate the centennial of the Overseas Railway and the creation of the Overseas Heritage Trail, the Unicycle Bridge Tour will be pedaling from Key Largo to Key West. The tour will travel 107 miles and cross 42 bridges in 5 days.

The Unicycle Bridge Tour is a collaboration between a sculptor and a clown. It combines bridge spans and unicycles.

Robert Hickman is best known for his commission for the 72nd Street subway station in New York. He has been practicing public art since the early 90's. Hickman is drawn to transportation systems, creating work for train stations, maritime, pedestrian and vehicular traffic areas. In 1998 he created his own transport system over the East River. Hickman will be dragging a rock behind him the entire length of the tour.

Keith Nelson is co-founder of the Bindlestiff Family Cirkus, a national traveling theater-based circus. He has swallowed swords at Avery Fischer Hall, spun six-guns at the Walter Reade, made balloon sculptures at the Apollo, performed for Cirque du Soleil productions, and toured with the World of Wonders, one of the last sideshows on the carnival circuit. Nelson will be performing at select locations along the tour.

On October 14th, 2009 Brooklyn neighbors Hickman and Nelson successfully crossed the Williamsburg bridge on their unicycles. Afterwards they decided to cross every single bridge in New York City, forming the Unicycle Bridge Tour. There are 2078 bridges in NYC, and the duo has been steadily crossing every one of them. Hickman and Nelson have been featured in the New York Post, the Staten Island Advance, and the 2010 NYC DOT Bridges and Tunnels Report. More information can be found at unibridgetour.info

The Overseas Highway is a 127.5-mile highway carrying U.S. Route 1 through the Florida Keys. Large parts of it were built on the former right-of-way of the Overseas Railroad. The railway was completed in 1912. The Florida Keys Overseas Heritage Trail features more than 70 miles of existing trail paved in segments along a planned, 106-mile corridor from Key Largo to Key West. Much of the remaining trail is now in design or under construction. Paralleling U.S. Highway 1, which is designated as a National Scenic Highway and All-American Road, this recreational pathway incorporates 23 of the historic Flagler Railroad bridges. The trail and its historic bridges provide a beneficial, alternative transportation route that links the Keys’ island communities.