One solitary wheel for a solitary person! So the couple is formed:p
+1 
Seeing what other people on this site were up to has made me a more adventurous rider and more knowledgeable about the gear. I kind of turned a corner when I found this place.
Since my children are still small, I tend to ride when they are in bed. So it’s dark and lonely uni riding for now. The only time I get to ride during the “lighter” hours is when I am traveling for work.
Wow, you guys have some sad stories. Riding for 32 years alone!
I happen to be extremely lucky, as there are at least 5 unicyclists that go to my school, I’m teaching another one how to ride, and baconm13 here on the forums rides with me every once in a while. There’s also some other people in this area who ride that I haven’t met yet.
We haven’t gotten everybody to ride together yet, though…
I’d have to say that the hardest part of using the map function to contact other riders is that half of the people on it aren’t even active anymore and there are many people on the forums that have not put themselves on the map.
The fifty states tour idea sounds perfect to help get unicyclists together and get new riders into the sport. It is unlikely, but who knows?
I created the MUni Weekend, and still I ride alone a lot. The MUni Weekend idea “generated” a lot of riders, but most of the Northern CA ones live in the Bay area, 100 miles away. There are two groups, more or less, out there, and they do regular seasonal rides, but it’s harder to get out for those because it becomes an all-day thing.
Also I can invite them out here, and need to do it more often. The last group ride I organized was in August (and we got snowed on). There are local riders here, but it’s really hard for us to get together due to schedules families, jobs and other things that tend to interfere.
To attract riders in the short term, announce a big ride and invite people through this forum or by whatever means you know. That’ll get you one ride. Do it more often for more. Meanwhile, keep encouraging the local riders. To make one unicyclist who likes to ride the way you do (and can fit it into their schedule) you might have to teach or otherwise encourage dozens of them.
Dogs:
I have an ancient bulldog and two French bulldogs. No dice for riding companions. 
50-state UDC/KH tour? Sounds really cool, but I don’t see how it would increase the unicyclist population in your area. That takes a lot of dedication locally. Be the go-to person in your area. Let the bike shops know you can help new unicyclists, etc.
Most of my riding is done alone, although by creating a local web presence I managed to generate some interest locally as people have a reference. We’ve had group rides most weekends for the last 3 years (except for the last 5 months due to my own personal commitments). During the week however it’s mostly solo.
Lately uni sales in the Cape Town area have been increasing (through OddWheel Unicycles) so I’m hoping that next year will see new blood pulsing through the local Uni community 
this sunday as I was riding in the woods and old man exclaimed : “hey there should be two!”
I thought he was talking about wheels but no: he usually spot me while riding with a buddy … who is staying at home in winter!
I don’t know why but suddently a song popped into my mind:
the Muni-ers went in two by two
hurrah, hurrah
the Muni-ers went in two by two
hurrah, hurrah
the Muni-ers went in two by two
the first one opn'd a track in the goo !
And they all went out of the Arch to have a ride in the Rain!
(to be continued: please let poets on this forum write the other rymes)
note: while googling for this song I discovered that there are politically correct words for the happy children … the original for “five by five” should be “by eating each other they kept alive” and it has been changed!
Since we all ride unis, it seems like maybe we have lost the “that’s impossible” reaction to riding which I just can’t get folks to overcome. The first thing people say when they see me riding: Are you riding that on the trails? Nah, I just like to make the hiking more challenging by wheeling around a unicycle!
Then they start in about how dangerous it must be compared to a bike. Yeah, not only is it far less dangerous than a bike, but they carry easier, they have fewer parts to fix and replace, and they rarely break down or flat, not to mention how much better exercise they are and how easy they are to transport.
Yeah, yeah, nothing new to all you riders. I just wish that uni was just a bit more mainstream, like skateboarding (which is also hard), that way we could at least develop a solid base of riders. I consistently strike up conversations with bikers who have never seen a muni, though I’m ou riding constantly for years now.
I’m thinking that if I could get into trials/street, maybe hang out at the outdoor market, that maybe some more folks would try it out. I’m also thinking about just bringing a bunch of unis and a training bar to the market and putting up a sign announcing free lessons 
Today I’m loking to sneak out at noon and hit the snowy trails once last time before the rains wash it all away.
Me and Larry (the tire), we’re buds!
50 State Tour…
I like your idea for the 50 state tour. Maybe not actually going to every one of our United States of America, but at least going to dozens of cities total, that are geographically located in such a way as to be within a two-hour drive of most of the population.
Unicycle.com should jump on board this one, since they could potentially see a huge R.O.I. (return on investment) in the long-run. They could just take a reliable truck with a trailer, and bring a selection of all of their unicycles for demos (Nimbus, Kris Holm, etc.). I bet two or three of their employees would love to go on a cross-country epic adventure to spread our great sport across our nation! I live about 45 minutes away from their headquarters (in Marietta, Georgia), but I still need to go there in person and check it out. If I didn’t take care of my brother every day, I’d sign up for the tour in a heartbeat. They sent me a banner for my “One Wheel, One Day, One Hundred Miles” event, and I had it posted on the firetruck for the ride and the festivities. I’m always sharing their site with people, because someday I’d love to see unicycling as more of a mainstream sport. We all know how fun it is, and how it is an excellent form of exercise, but 99.9% of people have no knowledge of what a trip it is.
Anyway, I have been riding 30 years, and I have never ridden with another unicyclist either. I just taught my nephew to ride, and my brother Dennis out in Arizona is thinking about getting a 36er now, so we might have to do a tour together.
Peace.
Okay, now that is just too sad! I live just north of you in Tennessee, we gotta get together and ride. I got an email from Jeff in Dulin, VA, he’s starting to ride more and wants to meet up.
So, do ya muni? How about meeting in Chattanooga and riding on the trails at Raccoon Mountain?
Solo rider here too but I’m not really ‘good enough’ to ride with other folks just yet - won’t be long now though. There’s a young dood at university who rides a 19" Nimbus who ignores me when I’ve tried to catch his eye to make conversation.
I hear ya, Doc Doo! I’m still learning all the ways to fall off – and with ice on the ground I’m spending my time reading, not riding. Spring’s comin’ and I’ll be more motivated – and just maybe by next winter I’ll be confident enough to ride in snow and goop.
I see a kid out and around on a trials uni, there’s at least one muni rider in town, and one of my students is wanting to learn. I’d really like to have a group of learners around here to get together on Saturday mornings to learn/ride/practice. Kinda feel like if I can’t ride the damn thing yet I shouldn’t be trying to tell people how great it is…
Guess I’ll keep plugging away solo.
I’m with ya Skiv, I’d love to be able to ride in snow and goop, even just the local graveled cycle tracks would be good and hope next year will be my year too.
It saddens me that the young dood at school won’t get into conversation. I don’t necessarily want to ride with him but to chat with a real person who rides - not that y’all here aren’t just lovely but you’re people in cyberspace.
One unicycle tour of the U.S. was when Harper let his Guni get shipped from one point to another. The unicycle was modified by some as it traveled. The crate was rebuilt a few times. Many items were added to the crate as well as some items disappearing.
Maybe start another crate going around and track it on here?
It may not be necessary to have a full muni in the crate but it could hold and accumulate things like a journal, SD cards, pro and amateur DVD’s, a cardboard cut-out of me, maybe even Harper’s cut off pony tail. The kit could be an excuse for riders to gather.
Don’t keep plugging away solo! Come down to Hope and we’ll go for a ride!
My dad’s a teacher too so you can motivate him to keep learning.
It would be very cool to meet up with you guys for a ride! I currently use my 36er for easy off-road, and a 20" MUni (which really isn’t a muni, but it has the right tire for the job). As soon as I get caught up with some bills, I plan on getting a Nimbus 26er for muni. In February I’m going to Snowshoe, WV with my nephews to snow ski and snowboard. I went there a couple years ago, and the skiing, snowboarding, and unicycling was really good considering it’s not Mammoth Mountain, CA or Sun Valley, ID. They have a mountain bike park after ski season is over, and the staff there is very cool. I’ve been wanting to get back there to check that out.
Chattanooga isn’t really that far, I’d definitely be up for some riding after I get my muni. Are you thinking during this winter, or after it warms up a little?
Now that I’m also working at night full-time (I went back into the restaurant business so I could still help my brother during the day), I am missing that extra time I used to use to go for long rides. I may just have to start doing a 1am night run dressed in layers with some lights…
Sounds like something to keep in mind. It’s not that far, but it seems farther when there’s 20cm of snow on the Coquihalla.
Hoping to get to one of the Vancouver meet-ups that Justin organizes, sometime in the summer.
Put him in touch! Heh. I hear from people here that there are betting pools about how far I’ll get before UPDing. That’s what happens when you practice in the parking lot.
Most people tell me I should act my age. I just tell them what George Bernard Shaw said: “Youth is wasted on the young.”
Abso-bloody-lutely!
+1.
I ride with the unicycle club here in Dallas every second or third weekend (hi Julia. hi Erick). My schedule with kids and stuff is too crazy to drive out there more often than that. Most evenings it’s just me and my unicycle out in the dark. Not that I’m complaining. The weather has been perfect. I’m having fun.
If you’re willing to travel, you can find other riders. But what I’d like is if someone down the street unicycled. We could get together and ride any time without a lot of hassle.
I’ve considered putting up fliers to find someone close by who wants to learn. It’s kind of disheartening to hear that that’s already been tried without much success.
Brain phart. I meant “VanUni.”