do some simpl trick and say can a clown do that and they will usaaly shut up
Skill. (Clowns do tricks)
They’re just simple-minded Muggles. They know not what we do. I’ve been asked the circus question so many times, I’ve lost interest in explaining/proving.
My typical answer now to the “Are you a clown” question: “No.”
Well, I haven’t been riding for long so I have not yet had any negative comments. I have had the usual stupid comments, like “where’s your other wheel?”. 
Mostly people just say “good job” or “wow that must be hard”. I like when rollerbladers say that, because I say “well, I can’t rollerskate, so what your doing looks hard to me”. People seem to think you are “showing off” when riding a uni, but just riding one isn’t showing off, as far as I’m concerned. And I’m a big show-off, so I know! 
yea or even an advanced trick. i used to pull one footers way back when to impress people when they said something like that now its usually a glide or unispin. and i dont say anything at all either- i pull the trick and ride away. stun them.
Heck…you’re in Iraq…shoot 'em!
Carey
See here http://http://www.unicyclist.com/forums/showthread.php?t=43744&highlight=comments+from+others
And here:
For other, recent discussions of the topic.
Cathy
feel sorry for the muggles, for they are blind…
Re: Derogatory comments from mortals (non-uni riders) while riding….
<cathwood@NoEmail.Message.Poster.at.Unicyclist.com> wrote:
> Sorry, messed that up.
> I’ll try again.
> See here http://tinyurl.com/9yyuo
it doesn’t bother me. Seriously, doens’t bother me a bit. People usu
ask these questions out of sincerity, genuine curiosity or a a
conversatoin starter. I hope we’re not really getting bent out of
shape over the clown/gladiator song thing.
If it’s a kid in the company of a mom, i’ll usu. reply that some people
think i’m a clown and flirt with the mom a little. If it’s a surly teen
i’ll just lie and say something about Cirque de Soliel. And I’ll
sometimes carry a clown nose in my pocket and put it on, and ask “like
this?” The latter is usu. followed by an abrupt UPD.
…max
Sometimes people make daft comments as a clumsy way of trying to start a conversation with you. (“If I show you I’m a bit zany too, will you acknowledge my existence?”)
Sometimes it’s to “buy in” to your (perceived) zaniness, to make them feel good about themselves. (“I can’t ride a unicycle, but I can make a wisecrack to a man who can.”)
Sometimes it’s for the benefit of their companions, to reinforce their position in the pecking order. (“I couldn’t do that, but I can demonstrate to my mates that (a) unicycling is not worth doing, and (b) I can take the unicyclist down a peg.”)
Sometimes it’s simple crude hostility. (“I hate people. Especially those with talent and imagination.”)
I’ve put these in approximate order of annoyingness.
Those who appear to be trying to start some sort of a conversation, and even those who are pathetically trying to “buy in” usually get a formulaic but reasonably friendly response.
Those who are showing off to their mates or just being crudely hostile usually get the bidigital.
Having an unusual hobby does not make me public property. I don’t shout supposedly comments at strangers, and I don’t expect strangers to do it to me.
I find the way to take down those who are showing off to their mates is to insist they have a go if they say they can do it, just don’t bother to explain about how to sit on the saddle or mount, there’s nothing like watching someone sit on their spuds and then fall on their face. In extreme cases of hostility, run them down.
o man i love to do that, i tend to instruct them to put the cranks so that when they step on them the unicycle will shoot backwards and into them, leaving them rolling on the ground. whats funny is when they insist on trying again, i remember leaving one fellow bleeding from his shins and having sacked himself 3 times, i didnt even instruct him to put the pedals wrong, he did it all to himself.
But the thing is we’ve done that to chav’s that really seemed to be cocky arrogant t*ats, and as soon as they get on the thing and start giving it a real go they turn out to be pretty ok to get on with. They seem to respond better to things they can describe as ‘nuts’ or ‘trippin’, so trials & street pulls them out of the woodwork.
Loose.
My brother had a guy yell “Crash and burn! Crash and BURN!” at him, then laugh as if it was some great jest… I wanted to run him over.
Thanks Cathy,
I did do a search before I posted but these threads did not come up. Lots of good comments. I think I’ll choose to keep ignoring the negative comments and respond to the positive.
I am also 6’2", 210 lbs and one of my other hobbies is weight lifting. If I really get pissed, which I usually don’t, I can hop of my uni and that will usually end the comments.
Re: Derogatory comments from mortals (non-uni riders) while riding…
My reaction is to offer them a chance to ride my uni: “Would you like
to try it?”
This puts the ball back in their court. If it’s a bunch of teenagers,
I can usually coax one of them into trying. I’ll get his/her buddy to
support one side and I’ll help him mount and support the other side.
You’d be surprised at how quickly the derision turns to admiration when
they discover how hard (apparently) it is to ride a uni.
Unfortunately, I come up short when they ask me to do a trick. My
reply: “This is a trick!”
this is the weirdest thing thats happend to me:
It was saturday night and i rode my uni to a party about 3/4 of a mile away because my bike is broken I didn’t feel like walking. So i leave the party at about 3am and head home. When i was in the middle of campus i hear this “HEY DUDE LOOK AT THIS LOSER ON THAT F!#@ING THING!!” That pissed me off so i rode over to him and was like “what, do you have a problem with me riding a unicycle?” and he goes “yeah, you’re a stupid peice of s@$% for riding that thing” Then pushed me hard. So i was like, man this guy is obviously drunk and i don’t want to get in a fight right now so i turned to leave and he was yelled “hey get back here i’m not done talking to you!!” but i turned and rode away. UNfortunatly being on a 20 trials uni I couldn’t get away fast enough and he started to chase me so i rode into a bush threw my uni in the bush and ran away from it so he couldn’t steal my uni or break it or something. So being on foot now and in a better state of mind then he i ran the opposite way and he just started yelling profanaties at me. I made my way back to my uni and rode home. I told my parents this and used it as a platform for them to get me a MUni.
What you seemed to have failed to realise is a 20" uni is just the right size to use as a handy swinging weapon against unruly (or drunk) people threatening you. With pedals, cranks and a frame, all of which are not designed with comfort in mind hurtling at you at high speed I think I’d back off. Besides, being cracked on the head by a 20" isn’t something you’d boast about in the morning.
“What happened to your face?”
“Oh, some kid hit me with a unicycle cos I was going to smack him”
Loose.
Fantastic improvisation. 