If you’re driving somewhere in New England this month and you see a guy on a gigantic unicycle, make sure you say hello. His name is Max Demilner, and he’s riding to get an education.

The 19-year-old Rumford native got the zany idea to pedal 750 miles from Maine to Connecticut and back a few months ago, when he had been out of college for nearly a year and saw no possibility of being able to go back anytime soon.

“I had a really good GPA at the end of the school year in 2005, but I had $20,000 in debt,” he said. “Even with scholarships and financial aid, I couldn’t afford to go back.”

Demilner has been working six days a week at Hannaford, but he’s still struggling to get the money together to return to University of Maine at Farmington.

“I started doing some long-distance rides on my unicycle, so I said, ‘You know what? I’m going to ride from here to Tijuana,'” said Demilner, who has been riding unicycles with his brother since the age of 14. “Then I realized I didn’t have enough money to feed myself to get there, so I figured, ‘Let’s just do New England.'”

Demilner is trying to raise $2,000 on this trip, and he is nearing his goal thanks to donations from local businesses, friends and people who have heard about him on the news or through his Web site, www.unicyclemax.com, where you can donate to his cause and track his progress. So far he has raised $1,600. He hopes to return to school for the spring 2007 semester.

He took off at 10 a.m. Saturday, May 6, but heavy rains forced him to take a few days off in Westfield, Mass. He resumed his quest on Tuesday and is expected to return to Rumford the first week of June.

In preparation for the ride, Demilner got in shape by unicycling anywhere from 10 to 60 miles daily, as well as riding a bicycle and running. He has also been eating right – no more double doses of Bavarian creme doughnuts; instead, protein and salads and granola.

His unicycle, named Captain Pasquale, sports a 36-inch wheel – the largest pneumatic bike tire in the world. The larger size means he can go faster.

Demilner names all of his unicycles.

“I have Captain Pasquale, and then I have Mr. T, Titus and Sophie, which have 20-inch wheels,” he said. “I also have a little 16-inch one named Priscilla.”

Overall, he has enjoyed riding through the countryside and meeting people.

“It’s been nice to go through towns and meet people who lead interesting lives,” said Demilner.

The unicycle master is also sporting blue fingernails as a tribute to his friend Mark Seiler, who died last fall, and to whom he is indebted for helping him with his SAT scores.

“Every mile I’ve gone on this trip I’ve done it with blue fingernails, so I can remember him,” he said.

– Emily Burnham