It would be awesome if you could come, Carl. Jacquie and I will probably head up on the day before, though it helps to go earlier as your body will acclimate to the altitude better. Last time we got together on the day before with most of the other unicyclists, for my first-ever experience at Disc Golf. The course in Zephyr Cove, for a beginner, basically translated out to the rules of “throw a frisbee at a tree, as hard as you can.” It was fun. My other experience was kind of the opposite, at a course in the desert, in Moab.
I’m sure there will be others doing the ride, and there will be multiple options for carpooling and room-sharing.
Jacquie and I will probably head back after we’re done riding. After a big meal, that is! There’s an optional pool party at the Horizon Hotel (start/finish point) for $20 but I don’t think any of the unicyclists have ever partaken of that. In fact, I’d like to offer a pool party at my place afterwards. Arrive when you get there! 
BTW, the finish area is one of the coolest parts of this ride. When I got there, there were hundreds of people all around, and of course the unicycles attract attention. You finish to big crowds of cheering people like you’re finishing a stage in the Tour de France!
Jaquie and I will probably stay at Harrahs again (next to the Horizon), as we get discounts. But if there’s a big group, they usually get some inexpensive motel rooms right nearby, where sharing makes it very affordable. Then we get up super-early and head out while it’s dark and cold!
There are riders of various levels. We get to pass plenty of bikes on the uphills, but they always win on the downhills. Riding the 72-mile option, it might get lonely after you pass the turnoff for the century riders, but later when the catch up again you’ll still have lots of company on the road.
As for uni crowd, the riders will probably go in many small groups of people who ride similar speeds. I was very happy to have Corbin and Louise with me for the second half of the lake last time; it made the ride much more enjoyable. I was a little disappointed on my first time, in 2006. At the beginning of the ride, Nathan told me “Beau wants to go for the century next year, so we’re planning to really hammer this time”. So we had a nice paceline up to the first big climb, but I didn’t really see the faster riders after that. Same thing in 2007 (really big uni-paceline; it was awesome!), but there were more of us so I rode with various members of the group up to the century turnoff.
Nothing wrong with doing the 72-mile option, it’s still quite a challenge and a great bucket list-type item in itself.
I used my Coker with 125s both times. Most of the hills are not steep, so the 125s offer a good compromise between climbing power and speed. The steepest/hardest climb is the one up to Emerald Bay on 89, at around the 8 mile mark or so. If you look on Google Maps you’ll see the hairpins. I don’t know the percentage, but that’s the steepest part. Once you get past that, mostly it’s just “normal” ups and downs, though some are pretty long. Check out the official elevation maps. The official ride photographer has been stationed at the last steep part of that big climb, to catch you at your worst. I made it all the way up my first year, but was taking it a bit easier in '07 and walked the last bit. Plus it’s a great photo spot at the top, with panoramic views on both sides of the road!
This year I will have my KH/Schlumpf 36. High gear for the downhills and 150s for the uphills! And good brakes. 
I honestly don’t know. All I know is that it’s a limited amount of riders, and once registration is closed, participating “early” is difficult. Robert Allen tried to just ride in in '06, but got stopped at the road closure because he didn’t have the necessary stickers. He had to wait until they opened up the road at around 8:45am to get past that point.
For best results I’d contact the organizers; they can probably give you an idea of when it usually fills up. You probably have until March? But that’s only a guess.
If you’re coming in from out of town you’re welcome to stay at my house before we drive up, but I’ll have to be working on the weekdays. There’s room in the car too, and we could even use a shuttle driver if you have another person who’s interested, to come along with you. Jacquie wants to shoot for half the lake, but their boat ride option is expensive and may not offer the timing that would work for us.
