God, this sounds like a great thing to do. I’m not into distance but am seriously thinking about it now. Even doing it just for fun and not for the compition would be great.
As a side note, I think they should have called it Tour de Uni!
The only time (that I know of) that the fixed and guni went head-to-head was at Unicon and the results were mixed. It seems that Unicon was a long time ago but from my memory in the marathon, the first couple to cross the finish were not riding Schlumpf.
If there is any other data out there that suggest that guni have a big advantage let us know. It think that if you are going to go fast, you will do it regardless if you have a fixed or guni.
With an event over five days, a lot can happen and the team that is favored to win may have some trouble. The reason the money goes out to the fifth place is that many teams may figure they won’t win but with some practice, good strategy, and steady progress could be one of the top 5. Even if a team doesn’t get on the top five, think about it another way, it is a great way to see Nova Scotia and hang out with other long distance riders. I’ve been on long distance tours through 11 countries and it is one great way to see the world.
There is one option to deal with the guni vs fixed issue, providing there is more prize money available, we could make a special prize for the first team that finishes that is guni and another for fixed. But, there is only going to be so much prize money and there is something for keeping it simple.
-Andy
I’m in!
Sounds great. The Seattle area riders will undoubtedly put together a team or two.
The first Schlumpf at the Unicon Marathon was Tony Melton on my 29’er Schlumpf.
The fastest will be a comination of both unicycles- Coker for hills/twisty terrain, Schlumpf for flat time trials. So best to have both on your team.
How will teams work with males/females?
We’ll maintain separate water bottles so as not to get cooties. 
I’d agree with the sentiment toward not differentiating between fixed and geared. Both have pros and cons, and my speculation is the team that wins this will do so more because of their conditioning, riding skill, and commitment to wanting to win, than because of the type of unis they are riding.
I’m just looking forward to the pedaling and the quality hang. If this is the “Gumball Rally” of unicycling, then I’m one of the old guys in the Mercedes convertible. Let the Ferrari do what it’s going to do, and take time to enjoy the traveling.
Who, I wonder, will step up to play the role of the Fake Cops?
Wow, this sounds too good to be true. A free five day all expenses paid trip around Canada, and all we have to do is get there and ride a thrid of 800km! Well, I’ll be there for sure.
STM
What Andy said, plus this: In the 10k (12k? 13k?) race at NAUCC 2005, Gilby creamed everybody on his Schlumpf, including riding a partial extra lap due to a wrong turn. But the world-class field at Unicon last summer showed that each unicycle type has its strengths.
I like the idea of unlimited racing, at least in the early days of road racing, which these certainly are. By leaving restrictions off the equipment, we will develop faster unicycles in a shorter amount of time.
If you think a Schlumpf will be faster for you, train your butt off and earmark some of the prize money to pay for it!
I’ve got both, many thousands of miles on the coker, something around a thousand on the schlumpf I guess. I’m not convinced that the 29er schlumpf is so much faster if at all. Even Roger with his 36er schlumpf isn’t so much faster than sam W with the stock coker. It might make a slight difference but nowhere near as much as the differences between people’s training and general fitness levels.
The massive advantage the 29er schlumpf has for us international riders is that it’s so so much easier to transport compared to a coker. .
Joe
There are now so many of you “heavyweights” on this thread, I’m worried a lowly NY State team won’t even get a bid. I’ve nearly convinced my family that Nova Scotia should be our vacation in 2008!
All teams can be mixed. There is no category for all male, all female or anything else - we’re all just unicyclists.
—Nathan
Just a reminder, if you are interested (on any level), go fill out the form to get on the RTL email list for further updates.
Link to form:
-Andy
im definatly intrested
You saying I have a weight problem! :-S
I was fifth in the marathon race. I was also the first Schlumpf rider in the Unicon 10km race, also on Ken’s 29er Schlumpf (6th overall). I’m not sure that I would have done any better/worse if I had ridden a fixed Coker. The riders in front of me were so fast it would have been hard to catch them no matter what equipment I had.
No, but I do. I can’t weight for June 2008!
STM
What crank length do they use in Unicon 10km and Marathon on the Coker? Was there any big climbs at all?
The 10km race had a total climb of 170m. I saw that Dustin Schaap was using 89mm cranks on his Coker. Most Cokernuts where using 125mm though.
The Marathon (43km) had a total climb of 513m. And yes, some of it was really steep (both up and down). 5.6km or 13% of the Marathon went over dirt/gravel road.
Read more at http://www.unicon13.ch/uni/cms/front_content.php?idcat=65&changelang=3
BTW, thanks Nathan & Andy for setting this up. I look forward to this event and really hope to be there 
1th at Unicon 10km Patrick Schmid Switzerland 22:16.
I have tried to calculate: that give 26,95km/t and 157,60 pedaling pr. minute!! Is that right?
Sounds likely, on a coker with 110 cranks, it isn’t that hard to hit 15 or 16 mph (25kph), and I know I’ve been going about that fast on rides and watching Roger Davies shooting off into the distance significantly faster.
Personally on the coker I ride 110s for everything. I’m just not wanting to go fast enough to justify using 102s or 89s, and I like being able to ride uphills as well as downhills.
Joe
This event sounds brilliant! I’d love to come if I can. A real Tour de Uni… 
Re: cranks - I’ve been trying some 90mm ones I’ve borrowed on my 36er lately. They are fun and fast (almost possible to not feel crazy spinning up to 20mph on the level), but rubbish up hills (not surprising!). For general riding my favourites are Alu 114s, but are still a bit long for fast cruising on flats.
Short cranks still seem less scary than gears.
Thanks for the advance warning. I’ll try to mark that summer in for not breaking any legs etc. (though Ken seems to show it makes little odds!)
Sam