IT’S COMING! MARK YOUR CALENDERS! DON’T MISS IT! PASS IT ON!!
We’ve gotten the go ahead to hold the 2003 TOronto Quixotic Unicycle Exhibition (TOque, eh!) Games at the 2003 Toronto International Bike Show (Feb 28 - Mar 2, 2003 … http://www.telsec.net/bicycleshow/spring-show.html) which will be comprised of a number of awesome unicycle events …
Unicycle Trials Competition: Following the Kris Holm Unicycle Trials rules (U rating system) this competition will feature beginner, sport and expert classes and plenty of obstacles to challenge all.
Uni-Cross: We’ll be racing 4 at a time on a large dirt track setup for the Mountain Bike Supercross Competition. This event will be broken up into beginner and expert classes. This will be a really really cool event and watched by many!
High Jump: He … or she … who jumps the highest over a bar is the 2003 TOque Games High Jump Champion!
Long Jump: He … or she … who jumps the furthest is the 2003 TOque Games Long Jump Champion!
Gliding: Downhill gliding competition where the person who glides the furthest is declared the 2003 TOque Games Downhill Gliding Champion.
Misc. Small Competitions: Fun things like the classic pop can crush contest, most creative unicycle mount plus others.
Prizes and awards will be given out. More detailed information, including a schedule and registration form, to follow shortly.
If there is anyone who is planning to attend and needs a place to stay let me know. We’ll have plenty of couch/floor space provided by various people.
Here is what the Toronto International Bike Show looked like last year:
Don’t miss it … it’ll be tons of fun. Don’t hesitate to e-mail me (carlATmountainunicycling.com) with any of your questions.
Carl
Still wondering what quixotic means? Look it up in the dictionary.
I’ll definetly be there. Along with my wife( who wants to learn), and my daughter(next genertion uni rider). Does anyone know if there is a uni out there for a 5 month old?
Could we have some more information on this? Like what day(s) the unicycling events will take place? Will they be spread across all 3 days? Any info on hotels other logistic things. I’ve not been to canada. Are there any issues with it being in a different country that I should know about? There’s been a lot of conversation among the group going to motorama but little has been said about this event.
Dan, Ben, and I, are planing to attend both, motorama, and quixotic,
I don’t know anything about the schedule I recommend an e-mail to Carl
about that. As for lodging as Carl mentioned there are allot of riders who
live up there with couch/floor space for people. Hope this helped
Well, there are a few things you should know: 1. You only have to bring about $10-$20 USD, as that should buy you a house, your own restaurant and, of course, a dozen or so new unicycles. 2. As soon as you cross the Canada-US border, the temperature will drop by 20 degrees (celcius, of course), there will be 8 ft. of snow on the ground (if there wasn’t already) and a polar bear will carry your luggage past the igloo-shaped Customs Booth. 3. Everyone will be using strange words like ‘eh’. On the bright side, no one will try to run you down in the crosswalk (wait a minute, I take that back – this is Toronto we’re talking about). Well, at least no one will attempt to shoot you, or if they do (and it will be with a single-barrel shotgun, none of this handgun stuff), you obviously weren’t wearing hunter orange. 4. You will learn to love the goodness that is Tim Horton’s.
Seriously, 5. You should probably bring your passport/birth certificate (though I’m not sure what things are like for people who live in the US – that’s all I need to get from Canada to the US and back). 6. I’d look into medical insurance (again, not sure what medical attention you can recieve here and what it will or will not cost), especially considering the nature of your planned activities while in the country. I don’t know if you can go into outpatients and get stiched up, free of charge, as we Canadians can. Check it out. 7. Overall, the culture shock won’t be as bad as if you were visiting my hometown (900 people, rural Nova Scotia) as Toronto is fairly urban and “americanized” (whatever that means).
I’m afraid I can’t give any suggestions as to hotels. Transportation is done at your own risk on the TTC (Toronto Transit Commission – refers to both the admiistrative body and the amalgam of subway trains and buses that get you around) at $2.25 CAD per ride. I’m not sure that a car is any better as the idea of driving in Toronto frightens me (as would driving in any large metropolitan centre).
A website will be up shortly with answers to all your questions and many more (within the next day or two), but here are some answers to your questions …
Registration for the entire event is going to be CDN$40 or CDN$20 if you just wish to participate in the Trials events or CDN$40 if you just wish to participate in the UMX event. The long jump, high jump and fun events are free.
The unicycle events will be spread out across all three days (Friday - Sunday) with a tentitive schedule as follows: Friday - Long Jump/High Jump Events Saturday - UMX (Uni-Cross) & Misc. Fun Events Sunday - Trials Event & Gliding Event
In addition to the events above we’ll also be doing a number of public demos throughout the show, which you may or may not wish to participate in.
As for getting over the US/Canada border everything Eli says is true, eh! You’ll need some sort of officially accepted picture ID to get over (i.e. passport).
I’m currently getting info together on hotels, but your best bet is to stay with some of the riders up here. We can’t promise you a bed, but there’s plenty of couch and floor space. Just e-mail me.
I’ve been told by a reputable source (the illustrious Darren Bedford) that The Man, The Legend, Kris Holm will be at the unicycle competition!!! (the trials or the UMX or both, I’m not sure… probably both though). If that doesn’t make you want to go, then I’m not sure what would!
Kris: I hope/assume you’re used to people getting all excited and worked up when people see you or hear about you; my apologies for any pre-teen-like fawning and exhibition of adoration, but I just can’t avoid it. Shoot. I mean, I know you’re “just a guy”, doing his thing as the rest of us are (just doing it better and with more panache, is all, I suppose).
All registration details are present and there is a tentitive schedule of events. If you are planning to attend drop me an e-mail just so I have a rough idea of how many to expect. Those who don’t pre-register will be required to pay the show entrance ($9.75) for the day they arrive.
For those of you in the US who are planning to attend with limited access to Canadian funds. Just mail in the registration form and we’ll worry about the money at the show.
Generally you didn’t need a passport in the past, but since 9/11 things might have changed. If you don’t own a passport it would be a good idea to research this. Better to have one and not need it than the other way around.
I had some first-hand experience on this at NAUCC 2001. I got a cut on my head playing hockey, and was told in the emergency room that when I saw a doctor in an unknown (but not small) number of hours, I would be charged a minimum $275. Though my US insurance would probably cover this, they would not honor my card and I’d have to get reimbursed by them later. I was no longer bleeding, so we took our chances and left. Certainly this is worth considering based on the type of activity you are planning. The type of coverage you get could depend on your insurance company as well. I had Kaiser Permanente.
Customs:
I was hassled once when crossing into Canada for a cycling convention. There were three of us in a Subaru with unicycles and props packed to the ceiling. Because it looked like all the ingredients for a street show, they made us fill out forms and lose 45 minutes in the process of promising we would neither get jobs nor go to school during the weekend we were about to spend in Hull/Ottawa (1988 International Cycling Festival). Explaining the nature of the event we were attending did not make a dent.
So, if asked about a carload of unicycles, I recommend not mentioning any kind of large gathering, rather explaining you’re getting together with Carl & friends to ride some trails in the Toronto area.
