I actually love it now when I walk out from school with my 36er and they go, “Oi! can you ride that thing?” trying to act all cool and I just say something along the lines of “nope. I just walk alongside it. why would I want to ride this thing?” It shuts them up, and makes them feel stupid… and every one laughs at them and not me. the best comment I have ever heard was from a young mother with her kid, and she goes “look son, it’s a one wheeled bike! it’s called that because it has no handle bars”. Unbelievable. 
I hear this question at least 5 times when I go out for a train and I usually answer I’m looking for the other wheel or when I’m with Pedro I answer that the other wheel is with him, but it is really boring answering the same question many times a day.
wow. The one wheeled bike thing isnt of a stun to me, since it hasnt crossed most peoples minds that unicycles exist, unless theyve ridden them in the past (ive actually encountered a bunch of folk that used to ride back in the 70’s or 80’s probably). But, it does get old and wear on you the more times you hear one wheeled bike, or you hear a mom saying to her son “Hey! Look at that silly bike hes riding!”. Most times i just hear peoples parents actually saying “hey look at what hes riding, its a UNIcycle, cause its got one wheel”
edit: oh yeah on topic i guess. Well, i dont get mad, i just smile and answer any questions they have, and normally when i’m riding to a location and i get seen by a bunch of friends, or people who are out loud pointing me out, i normally pull do a 180 hoptwist and ride backwards, then do it again to ride forwards (its easy enough for me, ive been riding with a lot of camera gear and done it even)
I also if i’m sorta putsing around at a public trials line, just looking for a line, or resting and a person will come by and comment on how they want someone to see it to, i happily will do the line. if someone asks more about unicycling, i tell them about all the clubs we have in minnesota, and about the websites. If its a younger person, or a person who is really really interested, i tell them to check out unicyclist.com and learn to ride.
Oh yeah, Micheal, i was riding in canal park this summer, instead of getting kicked out by security guards, they came and watched me and clapped for me. ahaha…
I never get mad … just laugh and give back a witty retort. Same as road rage … when people flip me off or yell I just wave at them like an idiot. It confuses them.
Even on this site there are many who dislike the circus connection. Most people saw their first uni in a circus. I did. Gonna have to live with that. I was a circus clown and I ride MUni and trials a bit but still perform comedy on mine. To each his own or as I say … “ride your own ride”.
In juggling as well there are folks pushing to garner more respect. In my opinion you cannot make people like it just because you do. Your actions will get the respect you want and deserve. Execute well and results will follow.
Serve 5 hamburger and some people will like this one over that one. Still just hamburgers…
We practice an obscure sport. It will take time for others to understand why we don’t ride bikes or play golf … like everyone else.
Give it time and keep riding to your fullest and just enjoy!
That is my rant.
…Is there a really a witty retort for total harassment? Those kids were rolling skateboards and tricycles at my uni trying to knock me off, while they were trying to follow me and I was repeatedly asking them to bug off…
Lol that’s pretty good, I’ll remember these!
And Chuck has a point there… Some people really can’t act reasonably at all but that seems less common.
My response to people ordering me to do tricks is: “I’m not your puppet.”
I’ve gone on 4 hour rides and have spent 3 of those hours talking to people who ask me questions, and seem friendly. If someone seems friendly, honest, and genuine I never mind giving up riding time to educate them and exchange friendly chat about our sport. Both parties end up walking away feeling really great.
Something annoying is how right after people compliment you they either directly or indirectly ask you if you’re a eunuch. I always try to stay calm and reason with them, ie, “I don’t sit on those when I ride. That would obviously hurt A LOT.”
I also shook my head and laughed to myself when a guy on my old campus called me a show off. Main Campus was my trials playground, and he happened to be walking in it. I’m not out to get attention from people. I’m out to ride, no matter if the location is a desolate one, or a populated one.
I’ve had people try to hold onto me while riding, and people try to push me over. Those kids were more than likely drunk. When one saw that I hadn’t fallen he let go and exclaimed to his buddies, “Hey, he didn’t fall over!” as he was walking in a pack of about fifteen people down the sidewalk, while I was trying to head back to my old dorm room for the night.
Then again, college kids can be narrow-minded, drunken asses. I have been called a “fag,” and have had people tell me to shove my unicycle up my rear end, or that they were going to do it, all for no apparent reason.
I’ve had people even go so far as to tell me that trials riding is not actually riding a unicycle. It’s “just hopping around.”
Whatever you do, practice selective hearing and tune out the haters, or fools. Laugh at them, and concentrate on what you’re doing, not them (unless they are distracting you while you’re trying to concentrate on a very hard/dangerous trick/line/whatever). They haven’t stopped me yet. They never will. I continually forget that unicycling can be seen as something ‘unusual.’ To me it’s normal. I’m out, and active in my community, and up off of my lazy ass, creating some positive energy.
people are suprised to see us and trying to make contact they may come with a lame joke you’ve heard a thousand of times … please note that they try to make contact so be prepared to be friendly.
Now younger uniyclists may have another problem with other young men: those may fear for their female and so may show agressive behaviour (incuding “fag-naming”, and so on) … if you understand that you may just smile… by the way that never happens to me: an old bear is not supposed to be a menace for the young females around 
These kids weren’t old enough to be worrying about that(I’m guessing the oldest was around 10). If they were a few years older I probably would have bashed some skulls together, but they were just wee tots.
Outside of this particular group ( I have had trouble with them repeatedly ) I’ve only gotten one truly negative comment while riding, and I don’t think it was one of the more common ones…
in the event of “wheres your other wheel” i say “why would i want one, this is hella more fun” don’t be mean to them there just trying to be funny so give them a fake smile and all that good stuff people like him i hate there always so up tight and snobby and you are correct people like him give us unicyclist look mean.
the three funnest things that ever happened to me was a buncha dudes yelled “GET SOME HANDLE BARS” (i damn near fell off I was laughing so hard) they were being funny too, not like bungholes or anything.
then this other older guy was like “whats wrong? you couldn’t afford the other wheel?” and I was like “OOOOO now THATS original… ive never heard THAT one before!!!” I was really sarcastic and said it like an ass hole… and that made the guy look super upset… so i told him i was just kidding and talked to him a little bit. I figure ill just treat every one like its my 1st time out cause its not their fault every one else says it too.
Also one time I was going through the ghetto, and there were these serial killer, bulldog pulling lookin dudes, and i was like “oshitoshit… id better get outa here!” and they freaking loved it!! this one guy looked at me like he was in pain and said " O SHIT YOU WEARING A CUP RIGHT???"
and i was like “naw dude, you gotta TAKE IT LIKE A MAN!!” as if i indeed was in an uncomfortable position, and these tough-A-lookin-dudes were all like “woah shit hes got no balls”. those guys were hilarious!
Brag: I ripped up a cyclist
I’m always friendly to the “other wheel” crowd … but it can cut both ways.
This weekend I was riding my 29er briskly along a San Francisco sidewalk: a couple were bicycling along at about my speed in the roadway next to me. They weren’t going fast for bicyclists, riding two abreast, and were talking.
He complained about a problem with his chain … and as I overtook them I
told him that if he were on a unicycle he wouldn’t have that problem (God, I kill me sometimes). To which the friendly retort was “Yeah, my loss”.
chalk one up to the no-chainers.
Not mad, but sometimes I get tired of people paying attention to my riding likes it’s a circus trick.
I have much better input from mountain bikers, esp folks who have seen me on the trails. They usually stop to watch and they almost always move over if we meet on a trail. I try to do demos and offer to teach people whenever I finish riding, it helps break the ice.
The only time I get mad is when I screw up, at which point it takes everything I can to keep from throwing the uni or kicking the dog :o
I get really mad. End up throwing the unicycle at the guys and getting in fights.
yeah that movie didn’t come off too well. I hardly get wheres your other wheel comments but I get a lot of “is it hard?” which I usually say “Not when you get used to it.”.
I usually don’t mind stupid jokes, unless I am in a bad mood or am frustrated. It also depends on the way they say it. If it is an old person just trying to be nice, I don’t mind. But I hate it when little kids are with their parents, and they say something about me joining the circus. I typically just ignore them completely at that point.
Sometimes it is really hard to not come back with some kind of insulting response.
“These shorts don’t hide anything, do they?”
Jamey just said “We get sick of it”. We do. If you’ve only been riding a couple of years you haven’t had time to get as sick of it as someone who’s been riding since the 80s or earlier. 
How you respond to the age-old question, though, is often dependent on mood. Usualy I say something like “On my other unicycle” or “He’s riding it” but sometimes I’m less courteous…
Tak, your comeback above is a great one. I’ll have to remember that for when I’m wearing regular bike shorts! Only to be used when the audience is appropriate, of course!
I’ve had a far greater number of positive experiences than negative ones, on a unicycle.
On my MTB, I’ve been run off the road - intentionally a couple of times - a number of times in the last few decades.
This summer, uni riding on a groomed trail on a super fine day, a group of folks that I’d seen riding bicycles on numerous prior occasions, were parked along side the trail with the bicycles of various kinds. As I approached, the lined up on either side in a sort of gauntlet. I had no idea what to expect, but as I rode through, they did the wave on either side.