To address some points of contention:
How fast are unicycles? Fastest speed listed is 29 mph. On flats, average speed for 36er and gunis are around 15. Ungeared unis are about 12.
How fast are humans? Usain Bolt has the record at 27.79 mph. A full-marathon winner will sustain 10-12 mph. An average marathon runner does about 6 mph.
How fast are bicycles? I’ve done 85 mph downhill on a mountain. I’ve sustained 30 mph on some very long rides. The fastest recorded serial-production bike is 130 mph. It would appear that unicycles are fast, about as fast as humans, which relatively speaking, isn’t fast at all.
Can unskilled riders navigate the GGB? I consider myself unskilled, and can ride a mile. The GGB span alone is 4200 ft. Add in the portion not included in the span, plus access points, and the trip across is over a mile. There and back is over two miles. Add in the long uphills and downhills, and pedestrian and bike traffic, and I can’t see myself, or any unskilled rider, attempting the trip.
Can the tiniest bumps upset a unicycle? Sure. They can upset a walker, too. And since the walker probably isn’t wearing any safety gear, whereas most long-distance unicyclists do, the walker is much more apt to get injured in a fall. But if you go back to my skilled rider argument, the tiniest bump isn’t likely to cause problems with riders skilled enough to navigate the GGB travelling at slow speeds.
Brakes are not needed on a unicycle, as John stated. They are an option, again, for advanced skill levels.
Can unicycles coast? Yes, again, at an advanced level. Its a performance trick, much like bikers doing wheelies, stoppies, standing on their seat. Walkers can do tricks too, like somersaults, hand stands, and walking backwards. Heck, even drivers can do tricks, like drifting, driving in reverse at traffic speed for long distances, smoking the rubber off their tires. None of the above will be likely found on a crowded bridge.
John’s statement was for uninformed people with a bias against unicycles. I love unicycling, and hope it isn’t banned bacause a group of uninformed people with a negative bias decided to go with their own opinions instead of listening to the opinion of the professionals that they hired. At least allow unicycles for now, and if they become an issue in the future, address the issue then. Unicycling being banned anywhere is a shame when its because of uniformed bias or misinformation. Or, maybe they are informed, and still have a negative bias. If that’s the case, its up to us to somehow convince them otherwise.
