Unicycling the Rhône valley in Switzerland!
I did it guys! Took the train and bus to Furka Pass and then unicycled to the Geneva Lake.... Took me almost two weeks and all my willpower to ride against the wind that CONSTANTLY blows in this valley in the afternoon, but I did it!
This was a solo trip, but my girlfriend joined me for a weekend and it was great having some company for a little bit. Also said hi to a few friends who live in the area.
I had sooo much fun, the mountains were absolutely beautiful and people were always very kind to me and asked lots of questions about my unicycle. Going down the Furka pass was incredible! I was wearing a hi-vis vest with a uni on it to signal that i was slow and unstable and cars, motorcycles and yes, even cyclists were very mindful when overtaking me. And soooo many people gave me thumbs up as they did or waved at me. It really warmed my heart <3
Sleeping in campgrounds was a lot of fun too, I got to experience a lot of different vibes, from very natural bare bone campgrounds where i slept in a forest to the big touristy kind. My favorite campgrounds were the ones at the beginning of the trip, they were smaller and full of bikepackers and travelers when the bigger ones were mostly filled with families who were staying the entire summer. Kinda felt like I was intruding sometimes by staying just one night hahaha
I must admit I took the train twice so I didnt actually ride the planned 200km.... The first time was between Niederwald and Mörel to avoid a big detour with lots of climbing involved, and the second time was between Leuk and Sierre where it follows a very busy road that seemed dangerous and not fun at all to ride. I could technically have powered through both or even walked but I was on vacation ffs! Enjoying my trip is more important to me than making it perfect!
I rode around 15-20km a day, which doesnt seem like much until i remember my unicycle weighs around 20kg and I am still very far from being an athlete lmao. But exhaustion wasn't the real limiting factor. Just as last year when I rode around the Neuchâtel Lake my biggest enemy was pain. Despite my new padded bike shorts, my new handlebars taking some of my weight off the saddle, having only water and a few other small things in my backapck and taking as many breaks as i needed, my crotch was HURTING. And I'm not talking about chafing but just pressure on my perineum that got unbearable after a while. I might try a different saddle and will definitely switch from a backpack to a running vest so I'm not tempted to load it too much.
No serious falls to report, and the only injury I sustained was severe chafing the first day when the rain soaked my bike shorts and washed away the anti-chafing cream. It took almost a week of drowning it in bepanthen every night for it to stop hurting. Ouch. But manageable.
In conclusion I'm just so happy I did this, will plan a week-long trip for next year because this one was honestly too long and I started getting bored of riding at the end (and tired).
If any of you is thinking of traveling on a unicycle: do it. I'm a chubby not-very-active idiot and I did it! All you need to know is how to ride, and have light camping gear. DO IT!!!