Rediscovering the muni, or: Oww... oww... oww...

The muni hasn't had a lot of use over the summer. Recently I've been
doing a lot of exploring new places, a task better suited to the faster
29er or the bike, so the muni has mainly sat in the garage collecting
spiders. With Joe's PMT this coming weekend however I thought I ought to
check that it still works, and I can still remember how to ride it...

To this end, Saturday morning saw me making a lot of spiders homeless as
I dusted off the muni. Having not been to the Quantock Hills for ages, I
had a vague plan to return for something approaching an epic compared to
my normal muni rides; a loop covering the full length of the ridge and
taking in as many of my favourite bits as my legs could manage.

Starting off, a brief spin along a fireroad led to the top of the first
descent of the day, a recently discovered, really tight length of
singletrack winding around the hill before plunging to the valley floor
down a rocky shute. With fresh legs I managed it all the way down with
only a planned dismount half way down to find the right trail at a
junction; I've never come close to riding the last bit before, so this
left me in a good mood for the next climb.

After spinning back up the fireroad to the top I zoomed along the ridge
to the next descent, the narrow singletrack into Hodder's Combe that BMW
attendees will remember. Always good fun, despite the certainty of
pedal-strike induced superman impressions at this time of year.

Another descent, another climb; up Lady's Edge to Weacombe Hill. This is
on rough singletrack, so is much harder going than the first climb, and
results in a few UPDs on the rockier sections. The gravity karma is soon
cashed in, as the next descent is only a few metres from the top.

Weacombe Combe is another recent find; smooth and fast right down the
far side of the ridge. It is even worse for pedal-strikes than the last
one, though; on two occasions I find myself parting company with the
muni, one of those spectacularly flying off the trail into a big ditch,
with a ballistic muni in hot pursuit. That hurt...

A fairly easy road climb next, looping around the north end of the ridge
before following a trail to the top of the rock-fest that is Smith's
Combe. This is the furthest point on my ride; ten miles in, and my rear
is beginning to complain. Fuelled on by soreen I plummet down the hill -
this is much more fun than on a bike, where you just hold on tight and
bounce your way down - and get a pedal in the back of the leg as a
reward.

Another climb and a rather dodgy leaf-covered downhill led to a welcome
break on the green at Holford. Where are all the ice-cream vans when you
need one? Hopping back on before the legs get chance to cool down it was
upwards again, through the stream crossings of Holford Combe. This
proved rather uncomfortable; having leaky holes in the back of your leg
is one thing, but then dousing them with rather chilly water is a good
way to make your legs seize up.

Emerging onto the road at the top it was time for the last descent, a
very wide and rocky track which made for a lot of different lines to
take, swooping around trees, larger rocks and car parts (car parts?
There's no way you could get a car down there, so did somebody carry
them all down there? Weird...) towards the bottom.

Emerging from the trees I came across a woman sat on a little stool,
painting the glorious panorama of the hills, the view across to Wales
and, unless some artistic license was involved, the nuclear power
station in the distance. "Oh, jolly good!" she exclaimed when I went
approached. Yes, in England people like this really do exist. I said
hello; for some reason the hills were deserted today, I had seen very
few people at all.

By now the legs were willing but the rider-seat interface was weak; the
last climb followed the most gentle route I could find back to the car
park at the top, skirting up the side of the valleys like a helter
skelter in reverse, until I finally rolled back to where I had started
seven hours, 22 horizontal miles and 1,300 upward metres earlier.

This is where it started getting painful.

In hindsight, wandering around the carpark for five minutes while
devouring the last of the soreen, crisps and an apple probably isn't
enough to wind down after such a ride. Doing your longest 24" muni ride
ever after a long lay-off probably doesn't help much, either. That
evening my legs were tired, but that was about it. On sunday they ached
a little, but I evidently moved around enough to keep them working.
Monday, however, I could barely walk! Sitting for long periods behind a
desk definitely didn't help, but you could almost hear the creaking when
I started walking around.

Today I'm still hobbling slightly, but they're getting better; I should
be back to normal in time to do it all again in the Peak District at the
weekend. The lesson to learn from this is to not abandon the muni in the
garage for so long! Even though it's all just moving your legs around in
circles, the bike, 29er and muni all use different leg muscles, so
riding lots of one doesn't necessarily keep you ready for the others.
Spinning up hills on the bike seems to mainly use the inside of the
thighs; on the other hand stomping up hills on the muni uses muscles on
the outside. The 29er seems a half-way house between the two, presumably
due to the more upright posture than the muni and not riding up
technical, silly-steep trails so often.

Now all I need to do is rediscover the 20" trials unicycle. I don't know
how that's going to happen, though...

Phil


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phil - ex-studenty type

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I feel your "pain."

Just be glad that you still *enjoy* M-uni.

I went out today on new equipment after weeks of having no uni due to
equipment breakage. I did a mile before quitting. I got frustrated
because the seat didn't stay straight, even though I was riding "gently"
to test the new frame.
I really don't think my heart is into this sport anymore. I started
unicycling, in part, to get away from the expense of destroying bike
parts. At this point, I think that M-uni has been cost and time
ineffective. I don't think there is one part of my unicycle that is not
bent or broken in some way. Maybe the right bearing is fine . . .

Not a good attitude to have 2 weeks before CMW.

Moreover, I called unicycle.com (they finally answered the phone today)
and found out that the order I placed a week ago is "scheduled to be
shipped out today." WTF?

It's a frame and a seat post.

Fortunately, I found a new hobby.




/not quitting, just deciding to ride a LOT less


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Drew Brown
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Monday, however, I could barely walk!
its like that for me too, the 2nd day after a hard ride im more sore
than the first day after.....anyone know why that is?

today acually is that day since my ride was on Sunday...the tops of my
thighs are screaming! walking down stairs is torture.


--
jagur - Look Ma, No PC

The liver is evil and must be punished...
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ChangingLINKS.com wrote:
*I went out today on new equipment after weeks of having no uni due to
equipment breakage. I did a mile before quitting. I got frustrated
because the seat didn't stay straight, even though I was riding
"gently" to test the new frame.*

Curiously before my ride I installed the first new bit for the muni in
absolutely ages; a new seatpost clamp, as the old one was on its last
legs and not gripping very well. I serviced my pedals earlier this year,
too; other than that the muni has been untouched for -ages-. I have had
a mountainbike since February; in that time I've probably spent more
time fettling the bike than I have the muni since I got that several
years ago.

The bike is great fun, and offers challenges unicycles can't, but as I
discovered at the weekend the muni can transform a trail you've done
before into something completely new and different.

Phil


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ChangingLINKS.com wrote:
*At this point, I think that M-uni has been cost and time ineffective.
I don't think there is one part of my unicycle that is not bent or
broken in some way. Maybe the right bearing is fine . . .
*


Strange. I have a huge amount of fun on my unis, and I've never done
more damage than tearing the front of the seat in a UPD. I get my
enjoyment from keeping the uni upright and under control, testing my own
skill, not the durability of the unicycle, and exploring places I
wouldn't visit on foot or on a bike.

You could try that.

It's too good a sport to dismiss because you're feeling dispirited.


--
Mikefule - Roland Hope School of Unicycling

So, do you ride with a club?

No, but I carry a heavy spanner.
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P.S. Good write up, Phil.


--
Mikefule - Roland Hope School of Unicycling

So, do you ride with a club?

No, but I carry a heavy spanner.
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Mikefule Wrote:
Strange. I have a huge amount of fun on my unis, and I've never done
more damage than tearing the front of the seat in a UPD. I get my
enjoyment from keeping the uni upright and under control, testing my
own skill, not the durability of the unicycle, and exploring places I
wouldn't visit on foot or on a bike.

You could try that.

It's too good a sport to dismiss because you're feeling dispirited.

There's 2 issues:
1. I keep breaking unicycle gear. I'm pretty sure that I've damaged or
broken every part (except my carbon fiber seat base. I'm including the
inner tube and bone shaped pillow inside my seat on this. Apparently,
my weight and strength (which is enough to handle my weight) are
liabilities for this sport. I've noticed others with less expensive
unicycles riding over 4 times the distance without issues. I'm not that
lucky. Unlike your implication, I don't TRY to break the unicycle.
Contrarily, I'm frustrated that I can't ride at the same (average)
level I see others riding without destruction.

2. I found a "better" hobby. The other hobby has little or no issue
with equipment breakage, I can get paid to do it, I can perform
competitions on stage all across the country. Today, as I was
practicing an SUV pulled up. Two ladies interviewed me and then invited
me to perform in front of 500-2000 people at an event where troops are
coming back from Afghanistan. My fraternity is sponsoring me to compete
in a show on Oct 29th. There are just tons of great things about it. I
even launched a dot com to support the hobby and the organizations that
compete.

In conclusion, I think that it's better for me to ride a LOT less, so
that I break equipment less and reduce the cost. At the same time,
there's more opportunity and enjoyment for me with the new hobby.
Truthfully, I have been doing it since 1993 (so it's not really
"new").

Perhaps there will be a day when I'm able to ride without breaking
something every 100 miles (or less). Until then, I'll fill the void
with a hobby that doesn't have the same drawbacks.

// The new Drew is merely a "weekend warrior"


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drew: what's your new hobby?


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markf

stuck in iowa and unemployed.
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What a great ride, and really nice story. Spending the day on the MUni
is one of my favorite things to do. Good work on the ride with all that
climbing as well.


--
aspenmike
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*.*
*.*
*Phil*, I really enjoyed your story. Sometimes a layoff from riding
really helps put the fun back in perspective.

markf Wrote:
drew: what's your new hobby?He thought you would never ask.

Drew, your new hobby is not better, it is better -for you-. The fact
that you gave an example of getting to perform in front of a huge crowd
shows that is what is important to you. In that case, muni was never
the right sport for you. Many of us have been through many other
sports, and this is the best one -for us-.

Your equipment breakage really didn't have to be that big of a deal.
You had two good components, a Profile wheelset and a CF seat base. You
didn't break those, just your inexpensive frame and seatpost. A little
money would have fixed the problem.

See you at CMW. If you don't look like you are having fun there we can
teach you the new sport of base jumping without a chute. Don't
worry, we will get a big crowd together first.

Your buddy,
Scott


--
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"I am always doing that which I can not do, in order that I may learn
how to do it." Pablo Picasso
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