Touring - Bored with your usual tours ... :)

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Machka
01-05-07, 05:52 PM
Why not add an extra challenge?? :D


I was flipping through the paper yesterday and noticed a photo of a man on a unicycle.

The caption underneath reads:

"Dave Cox rides his unicycle along a city strett in St. John's, Newfoundland on Wednesday. Cox is preparing for a summer trek around southern Europe with a group of unicyclists that is expected to cover about 1000 kilometers."


I did a little bit of research ... and found the organization below. I don't know if that organization is completely unrelated to Dave Cox's trek ... or if the same organization is running the tour again in 2007. But have a look at some of those photos!! Especially Day 8!! I now have this urge to head for Switzerland.
http://aut.unitours.org/


My uncle rides a unicycle, one of my former co-workers rides one, and one of the local bicycle shops here sells them (and I think all his kids ride them) ..... but I've never ridden one. To me, the idea of doing a tour through the Alps on a unicycle is amazing!!


valygrl
01-05-07, 08:30 PM
When I was riding in Big Sur a couple of months ago I saw a guy northbounding on a skateboard. The unicycle is even radder.

Thor29
01-05-07, 09:30 PM
The big trick would be doing it self-supported with no sag wagon, carrying your camping gear. One of the Surly guys actually did some short self-supported trips on his unicycle - try searching the Surly blog at www.surlybikes.com. I just learned how to ride a unicycle and my biggest concern is how much pressure you put between your legs. The better I get, the less of an issue it is, but considering that you don't have any weight on your hands there is no way that it isn't worse than riding a bike. One other thing about unicycling long distance is that a 36" wheel is the way to go since that is effectively your gearing. A 26 or 700c wheel is a bit slow for long distances at a 1 to 1 gear ratio...