I’ve recentlty begun to research the path one would take to take a unicycle ride across america. Itd be to raise money for some cause (probably a cure for blindness) and for me to obtain my Eagle rank in the BSA.
Anyway, I was wondering if anyone out there has attempted any such thing and if they have any helpful tips for going about this.
Thanks.
Re: across the USA
It has been done. Start your research here:
There are easier ways to make Eagle scout, but if you have a passion for a particular cause and the willingness to put in lots of time (up front raising sponsors, up front getting into shape, the ride itself, afterward collecting the $, etc.), it could be fun and you’d join a pretty small club.
Make sure you get a good unicycle setup, and do lots of training and test riding to make sure this is something you want to do. Riding across a large state, or even doing a 100 mile all-at-once ride will seem just as impressive to most people.
Definitely talk to Lars and the unitours folks to get ideas on routing. I assume it has a lot to do with staying away from busy traffic.
Are you looking for riders to join you (for all or part) or is this a solo effort?
a friend of mine has gone across the US the last 2 summers on a bike, here is the path they take
I did a cross country bike ride in '91. The route was from Portland Oregon to Washington DC. Not truly a coast to coast ride because I didn’t go from a coastal beach in Oregon to a coastal beach in Virginia/Maryland, but it was close enough.
I could dig out the route I took if you’re interested. I’ve only got the route on paper. Nothing is on the computer so I’d have type the route plan out from the paper route plan.
The most interesting part of the ride was from Portland through Wyoming. After Wyoming the plains get uninteresting and things only start to get interesting again when we got near the Appalachians. Iowa was a little fun because we were a day behind RAGBRAI and the route was in the hilly part of Iowa.
A shorter tour of something like the California coast, Oregon coast, Washington coast, a tour of several passes in the Rockies, or a tour from the West coast to the continental divide would be more fun because you would avoid the boring bits in the plains states and the ride wouldn’t take as long.
Long tours have their inherent dangers. On a tour your goal is to get from point A to point B and sometimes there are not completely bicycle friendly roads in between. I did the ride in '91 as part of a group as a charity ride. We had two riders killed and two riders injured in Virginia in an accident with a semi truck. The semi was cut off by a car and locked up it’s brakes. It skidded right in to a group of four riders who were riding on the shoulder of the highway. It was just two days from the end of the ride. Riding on roads with cars is dangerous.
Even when semi trucks are not skidding into you they are also dangerous things when they pass you closely. On a bike you need a mirror so you can see them coming so you can prepare. You need both hands on the handle bar and be prepared for a big draft that sucks you over as it passes beside you. If the semi is going fast enough and passes close enough it can be a very powerful draft. I’d hate to experience a draft like that from a semi truck while on a unicycle. I think it would be a pants soiling experience. I don’t even know how a unicycle like a Coker would react to such a draft. It might suck you completely over into the side of the truck or it could cause the unicycle to twist strangely. It would be interesting to talk to Lars Clausen about what happens on a Coker when a semi truck passes you. On a bike the draft created by a semi truck can actually be fun because it allows you to gain some speed. On a unicycle the draft would just be dangerous and not fun.
I don’t want to put too much of a damper on your plans, but riding a unicycle across the US has its risks. Make sure that the route you pick avoids dangerous roads and is as safe as possible.
I was thinking of doing the exact same thing for my eagle scout. If you’d like some company, Im here.
Alex
Wow, and all I did for my Eagle was install some sprinklers.
Daniel
thats noble work too,
i`m sure it gets verry hot in hawaii.
What do you guys think would be the best way to raise money?
Collect pledges. Also see if you can sell advertising space on your uni/body when you ride.
Daniel