"California" Muni Weekend 2012 teaser (Oct 5-7) Albuquerque!

[eyal]

Hello folks! Announcing the event formerly known as "California Mountain Unicycle Weekend!" This year's annual adventure will occur on October 5-7 in Albuquerque, New Mexico!

Please see this news thread for more information and comments: http://www.unicyclist.com/forums/sho...47#post1516547

Your hosts,
Eyal Aharoni and the New Mexico Mountain Unicycle Brigade

[Nurse Ben]

I'm in

Anyone know if this event coincides with the OuterBike in Moab?

[Nurse Ben]

Yes!

http://outerbike.com/schedule

I am so in, this is going to be sweet, fly into SLC, drive to Moab, ride Weds, Thur, Fri, then drive to Albuquerque, ride Sat and Sun, then drive back to SLC and fly home. I'm gonna be tired!!

Calling the SLC crowd, are you guys in?

[MuniAddict]

When I first saw this thread I wondered why "California" was in quotes. Oh well, I'll be there if at all possible.

[maestro8]

Ooh, a new venue! I've never been to NM.

Tell me we can do this Moab style, share a condo with a pool and all that jazz. Lemme see if I can rally my Norcal crew...

Originally Posted by MuniAddict

Oh well, I'll be there if at all possible.

We've heard that one before.

[eyal]

Friends, our official muni weekend webpage is now live! Select the link below for information on Munifest Destiny (aka "California" Muni Weekend 2012) in Albuquerque New Mexico:

http://www.nmuni.com/munifest-destiny-2012

The site is not complete or exhaustive, so be sure to check periodically for updates.

Thanks!
Eyal & The New Mexico Mountain Unicycle Brigade

[eyal]

Hey folks.

This is a reminder for those of you who aren't in the habit of reading the news forum: Munifest Destiny (aka: the Original California Mountain Unicycle Weekend) will be held in about two weeks! See our event website (http://www.nmuni.com) for details and our discussion thread and poll (http://unicyclist.com/forums/showthr...nifest+destiny) for commentary or to indicate your attendance.

Please respond with questions or comments on that thread, not this one.

Looking forward to riding with you!
~Eyal and the New Mexico Mountain Unicycle Brigade

[nathan]

Guys how was the weekend? I was really sad to not be able to come - good news is my foot is healing finally. Probably can do Muni in a couple more weeks. Let's see some photos!

---Nathan

[johnfoss]

I also anxiously await some images from an event I hated to miss. I am in the waiting room now, while Jacquie is in surgery, hopefully getting her back all fixed.

[Bondo]

Remember, they are still riding today!!

But I am home now so here's a few; (I didn't take alot unfortunately) here's some of the group shots from Day 1 and 2, plus just a couple of good ones that came out.

What a great weekend! I had a blast. Thanks to the NM crew for being such great hosts and ride leaders! Sorry I couldn't stick around for the other two days! Nice to meet some of you and great to see some others that I have had the pleasure of riding with before.

Day 1 group.


I split this one up so we can actually see some faces! I do have a copy of the full group, but I like these better:



Day Two, from the top of Sandia Peak, 10K trail...so great to ride!


Some riders:

[nathan]

Thanks for those photos Bondo. You guys look great.

[unicycle6869]

Wow looks like a great turnout! Hope to make a future one.

[Nurse Ben]

I have my photos posted on Photobucket under Nurseben.

Not many shots of the trail or riders, but a few from Saturdays ride on Sandia Peak, feel free to grab what you want.

Thanks to Eyal and everyone for putting together a nice event.

[eyal]

Greetings unicyclists!

Huge thanks to everyone who made it out to Munifest Destiny 2012! The event was comprised of 27 eager riders from all over the country - the result was a muni mania worthy of detailed documentation...

Thursday eve, several of us met at The Beer Underground, a truly unique invitation-only beer tasting club. You literally walk underground through a basement door, and find a hopping joint full of live music and free local beer.



Friday afternoon, we made a painless shuttle to Cedro Peak, thanks to the Minnesotans who had a flat bed and David of Michigan, who arrived in a 15 passenger van! From the peak, we descended Power Lines Trail, which began our shortest but also most technically demanding ride. The first half of the trail was strewn with a slew of loose rocks and scree. Despite the high temps and lack of tree cover, riders persisted to session difficult lines either until they succeeded or their equipment failed. From bent cranks to broken seat posts and stripped hubs, I might go so far as to say it was a new record in equipment failure to rider ratio. The second half of the trail was more forgiving. Performance highlights go to husband-wife team Josh and Morgan, who jointly attempted and sometimes completed lines so steep and pointy as to make a grown man recoil in terror.













Once back to Earth, we got dinner at the locally famed Frontier Restaurant, where for $6, you can nearly drink a New Mexican burrito drenched in chili sauce.


[Photo by Schoolcraft]

On Saturday morning, we shuttled to Sandia Peak, where we were greeted by gorgeous weather and the start of the 10K South circuit. Unlike the previous day’s ride, the Sandia crest is protected by a collage of pine trees and orange aspen. The first hour of traverse provided a merciful warm up (You know a trail is merciful when riders can converse about philosophy rather than about the contours of the rock glaring them in the face). Then began the second leg, the drop in to Tree Springs. This section of single track provides a series of fixed rock minefields and roots separated by infrequent recovery sections. The next leg, Oso Corridor is an apology to the previous section, offering more room for speed and flow between the rocky patches. At last, we zoomed through Bill Springs trail, a gravely canyon double track and perfect 15 minute warm down to the circuit’s end. It was only then that we received a text message from Carol and David to the tune of “We are at the top of the peak. Not sure how we got up here or how to get down.” Unable to establish a cellular connection with them, Andy M and I drove back to the top where we stopped at every trail parking area in hopes that the mountain by now had spit them out in a recognizable form. It hadn’t. All the way to peak we went, but no bystander admitted to seeing the likes of a “lost mountain unicyclist.” In a defeated descent back to the lower lot, I recalled how much I liked Carol and David, and tried to remember how many hours must pass by before forest service can legally start looking for missing persons. But as I pulled into the lower lot, my down-turned thumb was upturned by news of their arrival! Apparently, amid deep conversation, our philosopher unicyclists had trailed off course to the peak, but were crafty enough to retrace their tracks until they found a series of courtesy arrows, which led them to the finish shortly behind the rest of us. Hooray!


[Photo by Schoolcraft]

After the Sandia ride, we devoured a meal at Ribs Hickory BBQ, a carnivor’s oasis at the base of the mountain. This was followed by drinks and cheese fondue at the Sunshine House (my house) where Josh redefined soft rock by bleeding all over and inside my classical guitar to the tune of Hotel California.


[Photo by Schoolcraft]

Sunday morning, we shuttled to the top of Otero Canyon, a plateau that offers some interesting uphill lines. This descended into a playground of overturned trees linked by small ramps, where the group stopped to test their skinny-riding prowess, and LaBonte earned the status of being the only rider to complete the longest, steepest tree trunk on the course. When recess ended, we raced down the final mile at exhilarating speeds, impressing everyone but Schlumpf owner Kevin Gilbertson.



With little time for self-praise, we caravanned to Zero Point Gym run by unicyclist Arnold Riskvik, where a trials course was built into the existing structure of a parkour playhouse, offering both traditional trials obstacles as well as those never before seen in a unicycle trials competition, including a trampoline line, warped wall, and foam pit. Given the schedule constraints of our travelers, only 7 participants formally entered the competition, and we had to invoke the honor system while competitors served as judges for other competitors. Therefore, the following results should come as no surprise:

1st place: Eyal
2nd place: Elliott
3rd place: Josh


Having failed to complete a full 10 of the 20 lines, I’m beginning to wonder if the darn thing was rigged!

Generous sponsor gifts from Unicycle.com and Kris Holm were dispensed. But the highlight of the trials comp was the raffling off of a brand new custom trials unicycle designed and built by local talent, Elliott Leonard and Arnold Riskvik. It turned out so nice that we didn’t want to let it go, that is, until the winner was announced, and we knew it would be in good hands with Carol “The Brick” Bricker. Our only regret is that we didn’t get a picture, so if anyone has a photo of Carol with the winning uni, please post it here.

With enough bouncing to tucker a Tigger, it was time for our final bounce, and the kind folks (Andy D, Aaron, and others) who stayed to help tear down the obstacles were modestly rewarded with their choice of uneaten refreshments.


[Photo by Aaron]

On Monday, I sadly got called into work, but the last standing Tom A, Andy D, and Minette got together to ride Tunnel trail, which was described via text message in one word: wonderful.

I think that about sums up my entire weekend riding with my fellow badass banditos, for whom no distance is too great to get together with friends old and new, to get dirty and tired, and bloody and inspired, and fulfill was could only be rightly described as our munifest destiny.

Can’t wait to do it again.

And now, an order of business… Let’s all try to post our photos on this thread rather than the news thread since, after all, the event is no longer news. Here are Aaron's photos from that other thread: http://www.flickr.com/photos/fatming...7631732173079/

Ben, can you grace us with a direct link to your photos or do we need to register with photobucket to see them?

[eyal]

Here's a brief article in today's Albuquerque Journal about Munifest Destiny. It includes quotes from Morgan and myself.

One-Wheelin':
http://www.abqjournal.com/sports/201...newheelin.html