RUMFORD - To pay for and finish his college education, Maxwell DeMilner dreamed up a 750-mile unicycle journey through all six New England states.

That's right, a unicycle, towing a trailer, to be exact.

DeMilner, 19, of Peru is to begin on May 6 from Rumford, the arduous pedaling and balancing act atop what he calls the world's largest pneumatic bicycle tire at 36 inches in diameter.

"A unicycle gets a lot of attention, it's something I know how to do, and it's not very common, and it's a lot of fun," DeMilner said Thursday afternoon in Rumford, explaining why he would attempt such a feat.

DeMilner pedaled the one-wheel wonder from his parents home in Peru to Rumford on Thursday, drumming up sponsorships and private donations for the trip.

His goal is to raise $2,000, all of which is to go toward college tuition and school supplies in spring of 2007. He's majoring in creative writing.

The journey on secondary roads is to take him through New Hampshire's White Mountains, Vermont's Green Mountains and most of the state, western Massachusetts, nearly the whole length of Connecticut, through Rhode Island, up through eastern Massachusetts, and back into New Hampshire to finish in Rumford.

"This trek has never before been accomplished," DeMilner said.

He expects to complete the trip in three weeks, pedaling 50 miles a day.

"I can get up to 15 mph, but I usually average 11 mph," he said.

His longest trips so far have been from Peru to Rumford and back, a 35-mile pedal, and a 15-mile ride in a parade in Boston.

Prior to taking off in May, he intends to pedal uphill to Rangeley and back to ready himself for the long haul over the White and Green mountains.

He said his mom, Nancy DeMilner, with whom he lives in Peru, and his dad, Charles DeMilner of Arizona, are "very supportive" of his endeavor.

People who've seen him pedaling, have also reacted.

"The most common comment I get is, ‘Where'd your other wheel go?' So, when I tell people I'm going to be riding my unicycle around New England, they always ask, ‘Why?'" Maxwell DeMilner said.

"But it makes people smile, and I think that's just great," he added.

His mom has another reason to support her son's ride.

"My mom is getting remarried the day before I leave, so, I guess, that's my wedding present, giving them three weeks to be alone," Max DeMilner said.