To ride some of my favorate loops thro the mountains here you got do 20km of nasty 2lane highway or 20kms of the trancanada trail [railroadgrade],the rest of the rides are all offroad for 40+kms,to ride on a mbbike it 4+ hours+
20kms highway , 20 up, 20 of that is desending back to town ,give or take a few Kms.Riding the Muni on a hot day,hitchhiking the highway section hammering it’s a 5 hours+,.
I hitch rides to some of these trail heads,It makes for a interesting conversation with whomever picks me up ,also I can save a bit of power for the long climbs and the even longer downhills,that are made up of mostly gravel logging roads ,old grown in Gold mining cart paths ,very rugged terrain. I’m alone on theserides usually so I get it done as fast as I can.
The Muni is easy to travel with.Never takes to long to get rides either.
Oh the wildlife is amazing out here lots of Bears,Deer,Elk Eagles ,Hawks , Cranes,etc,
I have hitch-hiked many times backpacking; I am always grateful and amazed. I am far more likely to get a ride than to give one (ashamed).
Be careful not to put your gear in the car while you are not in the car but they are. People in NZ, I know, have lost their backpacks that way. Always keep your cash and creditcard etc on your person. If you don’t like the looks of the person, then give some outrageous destination and decline (I have never done this or had to).
Getting a ride is far easier at an intersection with an easy pulloff than in the middle of a straightaway. The uni will help a lot because people will know you are not a hobo type.
i had great success hitch-bikin a long time ago.i used to stand on the freeway (in a good spot for motorists to pull off) with my Schwinn Le Tour and get rides very easily.
there are lots of pick-up trucks on the road and i would only stick a thumb out for them.i once got a ride from a racer who let me put my ride on his Yakima roof rack even.
i was never totaly comfortable thumbing it but the cycle made for an easy conversation topic,in those quiet weird moments.
if anyone tried to ask why i wasnt riding,i would say somthing like “my bottom bracket is loose” or somthing tivial like that.
with a unicycle? i dont know… you might meet some people that ride.go for it!