I just rode a unicycle 2,754 miles from Canada to Mexico. AMA

Hey Gen, Congrats on being the BOSS!! This is Brady, I met you in Grand Teton NP! Here's a picture of all of us riders (Left-to-right: Gen, me, John, Rhea, Tyler)

I made it to the Santa Cruz, CA, 5,340 miles in all, but I don't care if I did 50,000, what you did on a unicycle was just blew my mind, I remember thinking after I met you "holy crap, that guy just raised the bar on what is humanly possible." Take care, it was great to meet you!

Awesome to hear from you! You're all one of my fondest memories from the trip!

how do you prounce that? Gen like Jen or like Gene?

like in again

I assume that, during the hard times, your version of the Rocky theme was circus music. Please confirm.

This may have happened a few times.

Did you take it off of any sweet jumps?

I think I may have gotten air once or twice. I definitely got air many times as I flew off the unicycle.

Did you ever get like three feet of air?

Maybe three inches, or three tenths of an inch.

Is your ass still sore?

Unfortunately, yes. I'm still walking a little funny. (actually, it's more skin irritation than soreness)

My version of the question:

Do your balls hurt?

Not really, no.

I've known a fair number of unicyclists, and I've concluded that the unicycle is the least efficient form of transportation because it requires constant energy both to move, and to stay still.

How long had you been riding one before you decided to take on this challenge?

You're right, the unicycle may not be the smartest way to travel. If I were staying still, that meant I was off the unicycle; I couldn't 'idle' with that big a wheel and with all the gear weight. On downhills, I couldn't coast, but I did have a brake. The brake let me put a drag on the wheel which means my legs didn't have to do all the work of holding me back. They still had to spin though.

I rode a unicycle for fun as a kid, from about the time I was 10 through the end of high school. As of a year ago, I hadn't been on one since then, about 13 years previous. Last November I got one to start practicing.

I have one question: why?!

I wish I knew.

Does your penis still work? Did you have to get a special seat, or do unicycles have special seats so that you can ride them without completely destroying your perineal nerve?

Unicycle seats are different from bicycle seats, and I think are much more uncomfortable. I'm not sure why this is, but I suspect it's because nearly your full weight is almost always supported by the seat. On a bike you can support more of your weight on your legs periodically. The unicycle seat is basically a foam cushion with a channel cut out of the center which runs the length of the seat. The channel helps reduce pressure on the perineal nerve. At the advice of an endurance unicyclist and the unicycle distributor, I used a seat with firmer foam rather than one with softer foam or an air saddle (cushion provided by an inflated inner tube). I'm not sure this was the best choice - may have been may have not.

As I mentioned in another reply, most issues down there were skin related. Pressure was an issue at first and periodically throughout, but more an issue with pressure points at the butt bones than perineum.

1) What is the charity for?

2) How much weight, if any, did you lose?

3)Would you do it again in your lifetime?

4) How much of a straight up badass did you feel like after just unicycling 2,754 miles? All hilariousness of unicycling aside.

1) The charity, Polaris Project, is a non-profit located in Washington DC. They work to combat human trafficking / modern-day slavery, with the focus of their efforts being within the US. I tried to raise awareness of the issue as well, but found it difficult. I didn't feel I knew enough about the issue to speak about it responsibly. 2) I think I maintained my weight pretty closely. I didn't have much to loose to begin with and what weight loss I had from burning fat was probably regained by building muscle. 3) This was a one-time endeavor, I'm pretty sure. I'd love to go back and experience the route on two wheels someday. (If I could go back in time, I wouldn't try to talk myself out of it, I think) 4) After finishing, not much. I was more excited and relieved not to have to deal with the seat anymore, and to have fresh food available. Along the way there were times when I felt pretty hardcore. The most memorable was riding a paved section through Grand Teton National Park. Tourists were stopping all over the place to take my picture and find out what I was doing. At one overlook, everyone was lined up along the side cheering me on and taking my picture (instead of taking pictures of the beautiful Tetons).

Does a unicyclist have to change tires twice as often as a bicyclist or half as often?

Good question... I replaced my tire once. I think most of the bikers also changed their tires once. That said, my tire was more aggressive than the bikers' tires. Mine had a knobbier tread pattern and likely a softer rubber compound.

I don't have any questions that weren't already covered but I just wanted to say congratulations on finishing this, a pretty monumental achievement. I wish this was getting more attention from Redditors.

Thanks!

I saw your take off video a few weeks ago in r/unicycling! Whats the top speed you can reach? You have a 36'' whee; correct?

It's a 29" wheel. According to my odometer/speedometer, I topped out around 14.5 mph at one point. Towards the end, the fastest speed I could sustain on 'easy' terrain was 9 - 11 mph. Most often my average was between 5 and 7 mph, including very brief breaks mixed in.

How did you make your unicycle so comfortable to last the entire journey?

I didn't, unfortunately. The seat never became comfortable. There were better days and worse days, and better hours and worse hours. There were times I had to hop off the seat every mile to get some blood flowing. About a third of the way in, I added a sheepskin cover that I made on the fly. It helped, but I have a slight allergy to wool. The skin irritation it caused seemed to be the lesser of two evils.

"I added a sheepskin cover that I made on the fly"

Did you skin said sheep?

The thought of doing so may have crossed my mind as I rode through a flock of sheep once. I had been looking for sheep skin for a few weeks at that point.

Did you ever regret doing this during your trip? EDIT: I mean, choosing a unicycle instead of, let's say, a bicycle

I never truly regretted the decision, but there may have been some fleeting regrets every so often. I did often dream of being on a bicycle instead.

Did anyone try to throw anything at you?

Just waves and smiles. A few squirrels threw pine cones at me.

What was the worst and best part about the trip? Would you do it again?

Best were the people. Worst was the seat. I would do it again on two wheels someday. Maybe again on a unicycle if there is a breakthrough in unicycle seat design, and if I can learn how to coast on it.

Did you come across any physically challenging uphill or downhill situations? Would you get off and walk?

What kind of people did you meet? Did you make plans to stay in touch with any of these people?

Just about every day. Over the course of the route, there is about 200,000 ft of elevation gain, which is the same as climbing Everest, starting from sea level, 7 times. The climbing itself was usually well graded, but if the terrain became technical, it imposed quite a challenge. On downhills, technical terrain can still be a challenge, but much less so than when climbing. I definitely walked some stretches (even the mountain bikers have to walk some). I walked the most in the beginning where the terrain was a little more challenging and before my legs were broken in. From about three weeks in, I barely walked at all until I arrived in New Mexico. There I found some of the most challenging climbs and terrain. Over the entire trip, a very quick, rough guess would be that I walked around 40 miles total. I could be way off there.

I didn't meet as many people out riding the route as I expected. There's a few who I became close with and expect to be lifelong friends. I also met people about everyday who'd drive by and just want to know what I was doing or want to get my picture as evidence to show their friends. Reactions were always positive, with the exception of receiving the finger from one driver. A few people along the way insisted they buy my lunch or dinner, and even a motel room twice. There are others along the way who open their houses or property for cyclists to stay at while in town.

What was the best city you rode through? Any cool gifts or donations?

My favorite town stops were probably Lima, MT, Salida, CO and Del Norte, CO. I enjoyed these stops the more because of the people there than the towns themselves. Most of the towns were tiny, as in populations between 65 and 2000. Only a few of 10,000 or more. Helena, MT was probably my favorite 'larger' city.

Did you see anyone that you specifically remember for a weird reason? For example, a guy with a very silly hat?

Hmm... I was the one with the silly hat. One of the people who most stands out is a man in southern Wyoming. At first I couldn't tell if he was being friendly or not. He turned out to be the nicest guy. We shared a beer on the side of the road as he spread out the arrowheads he had been collecting over the hood of his truck. They were really cool to see and fun to listen to him talk about them. He gave me one to keep!

Did you pass the guy who was hiking from Mexico to Canada?

I passed plenty of them. In fact, I may have met more Continental Divide Trail hikers than Great Divide Route cyclists.

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I'm so glad you didn't ask me this while I was riding. It would have tormented me.

One man.....One wheel.......2,754 miles...... Now why would you do a silly thing like that?

....One mile may have better fit that pattern

One million miles

kill me now

How much did the unicycle cost? Did you have to invest in a top-end model that would be reliable enough to survive the entire journey? Did the model differ from what one might expect a clown/circus performer to be riding in a show? Did you have to change the tire from the one supplied at purchase?

The unicycle cost somewhere around $1,000. It's a mountain unicycle, not one you'd see in the circus. Compared to one you might picture at the circus, the wheel has a much larger diameter (29") and a fatter tire (2.5"). It's actually bigger than most mountain bike tires. I also had 'handlebars' and a hydraulic disk brake. I used the stock tire and replaced it once with the same tire. You might be able to get an idea of the size of the uni in this picture from the last day.

EDIT: Actually, it was probably closer to $700. I forgot to remove the cost of a second wheel that I had built.

So this will probably be buried, but I've ridden from Victoria, BC to Regina, SK on a unicycle, but I used a 36 (and was going to go with a schlumpf gear but it broke upon arrival on the west coast). How the hell did you put up with riding an Oregon 29" that far?!

That's an awesome ride man, one of my passions is long distance touring, and moreso on a unicycle because you meet so many people because of the novelty of what you're doing. I'm glad you had a blast, and it looks like you had the right gear for the trip too (my confusion about wheel size choice aside), which must have made it even more pleasant :)

Awesome to hear from another uni tourer! I think the 29" was a good size wheel to be using for this trip. Anything smaller and I'd have been crawling. Bigger and I'd have trouble getting up some of the climbs and lifting the uni up over obstacles. I think with a bigger wheel I'd also have trouble mounting the unicycle with gear weight (I was carrying up to 10 liters of water which made mounting the 29'r a big challenge at times).

Ideally, I think a 26" with the Schlumpf hub, or maybe the 29 with the hub, would be ideal. I was running the 165/137mm cranks and sometimes wondered if a step smaller might be better. For those of you wondering what I'm talking about, the crank arms have two holes drilled for the pedals. This let's me move the pedals in and out to effectively change the gear ratio.

Did you encounter any dangerous wildlife? Poisonous snakes, moose, bears on unicycles?

I saw a good number of moose, which are said to be more dangerous than the grizzlies. I encountered a handful of bears (I think 2 were grizzlies) and saw a good number of elk in the south. There were a few rattlers, one black widow, and one tarantula. Scorpions were around, but I didn't see any. The scariest animal was a Sandhill Crane who I thought might try to peck my eyes out. Cows were everywhere and once I found myself in the middle of a stampede (which I had caused).

Wait, WTF?!? How did you cause a stampede? I'm super hoping you will respond to this, a stampede sounds fascinating. Also, I sometimes unicycle for exercise/fun, I'm always so happy to know there are other people like me. I can't idle that well, but I can go straight pretty well. My best i've done is completing a 3.5 mile circuit starting/ending at home with no falls, and only stoping to lean on stoplights where necessary.

Cows seem to be deathly afraid of unicycles. They're also not very smart and often tend to run with you or towards you rather than away from you. I have a shaky, not very good, video of cow chasing on youtube.

People ask me if I can do tricks on the uni. I tell them my trick is riding. I used to be able to idle my small uni when I was a kid, but I haven't even tried on this one.

How long have you been unicycling?

I rode a unicycle for fun as a kid, from about the time I was 10 through the end of high school. As of a year ago, I hadn't been on one since then, about 13 years previous. Last November I got one to start practicing for the trip.

Did this experience change your plans for the future at all?

I think it's added some fuel to my overall level of motivation. I wouldn't say it's changed my plans, but it's helped me realize that I need to isolate a few things that I want to do in life and work towards them rather than spreading myself too thin between many things. I suppose I already knew this. Now I'm actually trying to act on it.

Approximately how many times did you fall?

Also, I've been fascinated by this stuff for 15 years, apparently. I still remember reading this article when it came out.

I kept track of the times I fell and actually ended up sprawled out on the ground, but I haven't tallied the total yet. Guessing around 15? If you count the times I landed on my feet, hundreds.

Holy crap. I think I might have seen you, out in the middle of absolutely nowhere. I have a ranch near Chama, NM. I was driving out on a Saturday... I think it was early September. Our access road is a dirt road that drops south off of Colorado Hwy 17. A friend of mine was driving my RZR out, and I was following in a truck a couple miles behind. He radioed me and said "you are not going to believe what is coming down the road". A short while later I saw a dude on a mountain unicycle. I damn near drove off the road.

BTW, for everyone else's benefit, this dude did not just ride his unicycle on paved road. This guy was at about 10,000 feet of elevation, on one of the worst dirt / rock / mud "roads" I have seen.

Was this perhaps you? Earlier this summer, I saw a lot of bikers doing the Tour de Vide, same route I guess. Were you part of that "Race"?

Must've been me!! I was going through that area in early Sept. I rode the same route as the Tour riders, but was not competing in the event.

You mentioned you rode a big wheel, was it a coker? (sp?) I have a small 20" with a Kris Holm seat, what kind of seat were you riding that bothered you so much? Did you idle or learn to ride in reverse (I never have). See any other people on unicycles during your trip?

I was riding a Nimbus Oregon with a 29" wheel. I used the Kris Holm Street saddle. I wish I had tried the touring saddle at some point to see which was better.

On the 29'r I've not even tried idling or riding backwards. I did practice, and can ride with, one foot off the pedal for short distances. I think this helped save me a few times when a foot would slip off the pedal.

I did see one other unicyclist, very briefly, about a week into the trip. I didn't see him again and hear he finished the route about a month ahead of me.

Did you train much prior to the trip? It seems to me riding for 66 days must be pretty physically demanding.

I made it out for a few rides, but nothing that I can really call ‘training’. I think my longest ride was 24 paved miles on the Blue Ridge Parkway and, other than that, maybe a handful of 7 – 12 mile rides. I basically rode enough to know that I could ride a unicycle. Before the fall, I hadn’t ridden one in 13 years or so! I only managed to ride once with a fully loaded pack before leaving for the trip.  Sometimes there’s no better way than to just jump right in, right?

Was there any point in time you just wanted to stop? If so, where was it?

I almost always wanted to stop, as in stop riding and take a break. I didn't want to stop the trip itself. Over the last half I became more and more ready to be done with the trip, but I never seriously contemplated quitting or changing my mode of transportation.

Any mechanical failures besides flats? I'd guess with less kit you have less chance of things breaking.

The brake gave me issues from the start and I had it replaced. I had one bearing go bad and the base that holds the seat and handlebar to the unicycle broke where the handlebar attaches. The replacement broke in the same fashion about 5 days from the finish.

That's amazing. I have a few questions:

1 - Would you recommend the trail to cyclists? Was it beautiful? Any considerations for someone interested in cycling the trail? 2 - What precautions did you take against Bears and Mountain Lions? 3 - Were there campsites along the way or did you just pitch your tent in a welcoming spot?

1) I would definitely recommend the route to anyone who thinks they might enjoy this type of thing. It's kind of a mix between bike touring and backpacking (bikepacking). 2) I carried bear spray while in grizzly country (the first half). I also bear bagged (hung my food & toiletries in the trees) in bear territory. If I got an uneasy feeling that a big cat might be checking me out, I'd stop riding as not to look like fleeing prey. Side story: I had a mtn. lion stalk up to about 15 ft from me once on a different trip before I inadvertently scared it while hanging my food. 3) The majority of the time I camped in established campsites, as in it was obvious people had camped there before. I also stayed in a few forest service campgrounds along the way, and camped wherever I happened to end up other times. It was tricky sometimes to get to, or know if you were on public or private land. If I wasn't at an established site, I was usually pretty well 'hidden'.

Are you trying to one up the guy who did an AMA about walking from Mexico to Canada the other day?

This is actually my first time on Reddit since leaving for the ride last June. I'll have to go find this hiker. Maybe I know him.

What size wheel did you use?

29"

You said that you brought a tent. Did you just pitch it when it got dark where ever you were? if so did you ever run into problems not being aloud to camp somewhere?

Most often I rode till near dark and then looked for a suitable place to pitch. Sometimes I'd stop a little earlier or later if I came across a beautiful place or knew I wanted to try to get to a particular destination like a water source. There were some places where getting to public land to camp was logistically tricky or impossible. I was never harassed or confronted (I was usually out of site). Essentially, every night was simply trying to determine the best solution for the spot I found myself, while keeping in mind that I had to set myself up for the next few days. It's a logistics game.