A tall bearded man balancing on a unicycle has become a regular, if unexpected, sight on Whidbey Island roads in all kinds of weather since late December.

While jokes like “Did you hear the one about the unicycling Lutheran minister who attended the Air Force Academy?” might sound like something Garrison Keillor would tell on National Public Radio’s “Prairie Home Companion,” Lars Clausen certainly fits that description. Clausen — who attended the Colorado Springs military academy for two years and who is a Lutheran minister — took a sabbatical from ministry during the past year to train for a unicycle ride across the United States.

While training, Clausen and his family have been living with seminary friends Karl Olsen and Deb Lund of Greenbank.

During the year, he’s become something of an unusual fixture on the island’s roads. He said he gets a lot of looks while he’s out training.

“It’s really fun to train on Whidbey Island,” Clausen said. “Most people live here and spend time here. They see me, the unicyclist, and tell their friends about me. We’re enjoying meeting people who were wondering what I’m doing on the road.”

Beginning April 29, Clausen’s One Wheel, Many Spokes trip will start from Neah Bay. He plans to ride 50 miles a day until the unicycle odyssey ends in August at the Statue of Liberty. The ride is a benefit, one he hopes will raise millions of dollars for the native Alaskans he once preached to. With that to think about during his long ride, Clausen is trying to get as much attention as he can.

“If I was only riding across the country, I wouldn’t care who knew,” Clausen said. But because he has a goal, he and his family are admitted, unabashed publicizers. “We’re working full time on the ride,” he said.

Clausen hopes to raise $5 million for a Lutheran endowment on the Seward Peninsula in Alaska, for the Alaskan Inupiat Eskimo ministry. He said the endowment is a way of giving thanks for 108 years of Lutheran Inupiat ministry and to honor 12,000 years of Inupiat culture. Clausen served his first call to the ministry with Inupiat Eskimo Lutherans in Nome, Alaska.

But the ride isn’t just about the money — there is some potential glory at stake, too. His continent-wide trek could also establish a new Guinness world record for the longest unicycle trip. Because he needs to make daily stops at churches across the country to speak about his ride and the endowment, he is doing the ride in comparatively small, 50-mile chunks, rather than riding straight through with minimal breaks. He said he hopes that will not be a factor in establishing the record with the Guiness folks.

Clearly, he is going to need some help to make it. While he is sure to draw many invitations for breakfast, lunch and dinner along the way, Clausen is relying heavily on his wife Anne for support. She will be driving a motorhome along the route. The couple’s children, KariAnna, 8, and Kai, 6, will be along for the ride once school lets out in May.

Unicycling is a family thing. Clausen learned to ride when he was 10 years old on his father’s old unicycle. He said it took a couple of “frustrating” weeks of holding onto a fence, letting go, then falling down before he could put a “pedal” — one complete revolution of the wheel — together. After that first pedal, riding was a matter of putting more pedals together, then learning to ride backward, then in a figure-eight.

He had to almost relearn his technique recently when he moved from a cycle with a 24-inch wheel to one with a 37-inch wheel. The bigger wheel, which allows him to ride at about 12 mph instead of the 7 mph possible on the smaller one, forces Clausen to essentially hop off the ground with the cycle under him before he begins riding.

The “most amazing thing,” Clausen said, has been watching his 8-year-old daughter KariAnna learn to ride. She is the third generation to take up what is becoming a family tradition. Clausen’s brother also rides, as do several cousins and friends.

“She’s a pretty good little rider,” he said.

This summer, KariAnna will be able to make little bits of the ride with her dad. But Clausen’s 6-year-old son, Kai, will have to grow a bit more to fit even a 20-inch unicycle.

While training, Clausen has been cycling five days a week on spins of various lengths. He makes a seven-mile loop along Smugglers Cove Road accompanied by his dogs, and occasionally rides to Langley. Other days he may ride to Coupeville Elementary School. His longer route goes from Greenbank up to Deception Pass. Understandably, Clausen tries to keep his highway riding to a minimum. He prefers to ride on side roads where, he says, “There’s no traffic.”

Despite riding on a seemingly precarious perch, Clausen says he feels safe on his unicycle. When he’s on his 37-inch wheel, his head is more than 7 feet above the ground. That was painfully evident recently when an experiment with clipless pedals went bad and sent him tumbling to the ground.

Still, Clausen picks his unicycle over most forms of transportation.

“It’s not more dangerous than walking,” he said. “If I fall, I almost always land on my feet.”

The unicycle ride is gentle, except perhaps for the machine’s seat. Clausen said seat issues were his biggest concern until his mother designed a cover for his special innertube seat. Before getting the seat, he could ride only five miles without discomfort. Now he can ride from Greenbank to Deception Pass with no pain.

All three generations of unicycling Clausens will ride during the transcontinental ride. Lars’ father will accompany him on the first leg of the trip while KariAnna and Kai finish the school year. Clausen said they may have a multigenerational ride if his father gets back in the saddle during the latter parts of the ride.

Record editor Matt Johnson contributed to this story.