Re: road riding
> Thanks for the advice. I’ll have to check how my city’s traffic laws define a
> bicycle and see if it applies to a unicycle as well. I hope not, because they
> state that the rider must keep at least one hand on the handlebars. 
I’ve tried checking Ohio (Rick and I are both in Ohio) law a few times. So far
it appears that unicycles are undefined in the Ohio Revised Code. They aren’t
bikes because they don’t have 2 or 3 wheels, and they don’t count as anything
else. The code refers to toy vehicles, which is probably what a unicycle is, but
the term is undefined.
Checking the city laws is a good idea. In Cuyahoga Falls I’m told that unicycles
definitely are toy vehicles, meaning that they aren’t street legal. The law is
indexed poorly, so I haven’t figured it out myself.
>
> But going back to thoughts on safety; I agree that it is best to just stay off
> the roads, but there are some nice quiet residential streets where I live that
> I’d like to take advantage of sometimes.
I ride on the quiet residential streets, but don’t like riding on busy roads.
I’ve found that cars tend to steer a wide berth around me, and I don’t want to
cause an accident. At the speeds I go the sidewalk usually works fine.
>
> I’m surprised that everyone (so far) felt that riding with the traffic would
> be best. I think riding against the traffic would be better:
>
> - you can easily see traffic coming towards you and be prepared to move over
> as necessary, or bail out, or slow down to avoid a confrontation with a
> storm sewer grating or pothole at the same time the vehicle passes. If you
> ride with traffic you should probably wear a helmet mirror unless you are
> really good at looking over your shoulder without swerving. When I ride my
> bike I wear a helmet mirror and yet even then there have been times when I
> have been surprised by an car coming up quickly behind me.
I know that I can ride steadily, but if I ride on the opposite side of the road,
I find that I worry too much about getting out of the way. I’m happier not
watching the car come at me. I do use a mirror, though, to get a general idea of
who is coming.
>
> - a motorist coming up behind a unicyclist is going to be nervous because they
> either a) think it is someone riding a bike no-handed, or b) realize it is a
> unicyclist. Either way they are going to think "watch out - they are not in
> control". From my experiences riding a bike, I’ve learned that eye contact
> between the motorist and the rider is very important at the critical moment
> when there is a bit of confusion. If the unicyclist is riding toward the
> motorist and both parties have made eye contact, then at least both parties
> know that they have been seen and theoretically will do their part to stay
> out of the way.
Interesting point.
>
> - bicycles should move with the traffic because they are fast, and can obey
> the same rules as cars, i.e., a cyclist can come up to a traffic light, take
> the lane, stop, and then proceed thru the intersection with the light change
> without disrupting the flow of traffic. I don’t think that is true of a
> unicyclist. I would much rather cross an intersection on foot.
A decent unicyclist is about as fast as a slow bicyclist. If you can idle then
the intersection shouldn’t be a disruption. Otherwise I’ll admit that it is a
pain. BTW, on the few occasions when I ride a bike I miss being able to idle at
stop signs. Its annoying having to put my feet down. I guess I need to learn to
stillstand.
>
> - another benefit of riding against traffic: you get to see the look on their
> faces!
Another interesting point.
Beirne