I've been unicycling for a couple months now, and have just recently
gotten good enough to go on long (for me) rides. In the last two
weeks I've taken three trips around area lakes (twice around Lake of
the Isles (2.75 miles), and once around Lake Calhoun (3+ miles), for
you local Twin Cities folks). Most of the people walking by just
stared, and motioned for their friends to look. Occasionally a nice
person would cheer me on or tell me "that looks hard".
But today, *it happened*: A guy pedaled his mountain bike up beside me
and asked "Where's the other wheel?"
How did I respond? Well, I was totally unprepared and replied weakly
"I left it at home." Ugh. Totally wimpy. Ashamed, I went straight
home and reread the FAQ, so now I'm ready to pounce on the next
unsuspecting knuckle head with something witty like "It was downsized"
or, "Real men don't need two wheels." I can hardly wait.
Credit Where Credit Is Due:
I figure that being asked "Where's the other wheel?" is the rite of
passage into the worldwide clan of unicyclists, so I'd like to
publicly thank the people who helped me get here: Connie and Andy
Cotter and the rest of the Twin Cities Unicycle Club crew.
Hope to see you all in Iowa...
-John Rauser