I am thrilled to announce that coming Spring 2014, there will be a fully organized Munifest held in Moab, Utah.
As you all remember, Rolf Thompson (the original organizer of the Moab Munifest) retired in 2009 after successfully planning and organizing over seven amazing events. He has graciously “passed the torch,” and I am excited to be able to let you all know that mountain unicycling’s premier event will once again be taking place. Mark your calendars and get in shape: this is going to be great!
The event will feature long and short rides, dinners, giveaways, unpredictable weather, free stuff, and more. Participation is mandatory. Schmoozing is optional.
For more information, visit munifest.us and sign up for the email newsletter. I’ll be posting things and answering questions on the forums, but your best bet to stay in the loop is to follow Moab Munifest on Facebook, Twitter, and Google Plus.
I started riding Muni just after the last Moab Munifest was held, so I have always felt like I missed out. I’m looking forward to the return of the event next spring.
Signed up for the news letter (can’t stand facebook and twatter). Look forward to convincing the parents that I can go to this! Excited to (hopefully) meet all the cool muni riders…
“Mobe” sounds cool also; I’ll have to look into it. Meanwhile,I registered for Moab the day I got the invite, even though I’m not sure if I can make the trip. I’ve been jonesing to go back there for the last couple of years.
Wow! Thanks for resurrecting Moab MUnifest. I couldn’t make it to the last one, and then found out it would be the last. It’s nice to see it come back. I hope to make it this time.
Ok, I’ve missed the early bird (but they were really early birds and didn’t hear about it before it was too late) but I’m wondering why it is that expensive.
Come one $90!!
What do we get for that?
a T-shirt (well, I have tons of unicycle t-shirts that I never wear, they never have real small sizes for girls. Plus we don’t even know how it’s going to look like, sorry but I’m often disappointed). But ok I accept to pay for a t-shirt i will probably through out right after, for so many event, we’re forced to get the t-shirt. But a t-shirt doesn’t cost more than $15
a dinner. Is is really a dinner that cost more than $35??
access to the trail? Well I’ve been to Moab in the years when nothing was organized, it didn’t cost anything. I can understand paying something because we have a big group but it shouldn’t be that much
raffle? well it’s all donated by sponsors!! (+ I have really bad luck, last time they had about 300 things to give out, I didn’t get anything… so yes, it was frustrating and I don’t like raffles, but that’s just me)
From what I remember, when I went to the last Moab Muni FEst, it was not more than $50 and included a dinner.
To put it in perspective, Unicon is $50 for non-competitors, $170 for competitors (which includes venues for 13 days, final party, t-shirt, trophies…)
I guess I can be told I just have to organize it myself. Well, I believe to organize something properly, I should not live that far. But I did organize a Muni weekend here in Vancouver.
It was 3 days, $15! Plus another $15 if you wanted the t-shirt
So I’d love to come and support this, and I’m ok to pay more than the Muni weekend I organized in Vancouver. But $90 sounds like way too much. And I’m not the only one to think so, some people I met at Moab Muni FEst in 2009 were already telling me it’s too expensive for them to go, they can just go on their own at a different time.
So I would really like to have some explanations about where that price come from.
Liability insurance and a multi-day, large group event fee are two big expenses for an event like this. I don’t know what the exact figures are, but I’m pretty confident the organizers aren’t making a profit. It’s usually the other way around. (Hence the infrequent occurrence.)
How did I miss this thread in the summer? I just started riding muni this past spring and read about some of the past Moab Muni Fests, but was dissappointed to hear that they hadn’t been run since 2009. I love Moab. I’ve been down there twice over the last couple years rock climbing/b**ing and it’s a blast. I’ll definitely try to make it down there this spring for Munifest.
Thanks but I’ve been the main organizer of a number of unicycle events (including competitions with up to 350 participants) so I do have an idea of what it is to organize an event.
I also know it’s an incredible amount of work to organize such an event, don’t get me wrong, but I don’t feel the organizers are transparent with the participants.
I’d like to have more details from the organizers themselves.
Before having “early bird” pushing people to register as soon as possible (well too late now), I think they should have given more details about what we get.
Moab attracts a LOT of riders. Rolf Thompson got so worn out from organizing it seven years in a row, he stopped doing it even though he loved the event. Big groups are difficult in Moab because there are no venues big enough to support the whole group at a restaurant or catering hall that I’m aware of–that’s why the meal in 2009 was held outdoors. (BTW that worked out very nicely because the weather cooperated, but they can’t guarantee that).
Is $90 a little steep? Yes, compared to similar unicycle events (not that any are real similar to Moab’s scale for a MUni Weekend). I think your asking about costs is justified and I hope you will let us know what you hear back. Like Tom said, your registration does not include liability insurance. To our knowledge, nobody is insuring unicycle events except the company the Unicycling Society of American is using, which would require all non-USA members to become members. That’s how we work it with the CA MUni Weekend for the last several years.
When I think of bike events, they are expensive as well. You pay a similar amount, get a T-shirt, some roadside snacks (some have more food but Strawberry Fields is the exception), sag support and a marked route. Those seem expensive but there is probably insurance cost in those fees.
To me, $90 is not a huge hardship because I have to take a plane and drive 4+ hours to get there anyway. Plus room, plus food and the registration fee is not a huge percentage.
Meanwhile, Anso’s 2010 MUni Weekend in Vancouver was a wonderful blast! I didn’t remember how ridiculously cheap the registration was, but that’s what it was. And Vancouver is also one of the coolest places in the world for MUni.
I’m curious how the price works out. I’m a bit put off by the price, but if it’s well considered, and makes sense in the break down I won’t have a problem paying the fee.
I know that bike events cost a lot because they are usually huge, and require ambulance support, police support, city fees for establishing the course, and favoring cyclists over motor traffic (or in some cases blocking the road from auto traffic altogether). There is also sag support, shuttles, and various other costs. I have a friend who organizes a ride here in Longmont every year that had over 2000 riders for the last two years. Just hearing about the logistics is mind rattling.
So how does Moab compare? Where are the hidden costs? I think it’s a great idea to have everyone join USA to jump in on the group insurance. If that is happening why not say it?
Thanks to anso for bringing this up. Let’s see where it goes.
That was a pretty good list of the costs for organized bike rides. And from my (minimal) experience, the people working the events are either volunteers or almost-volunteers.
Historically, the Moab Munifest hasn’t had all of that, partially because we’re not on roads. So usually no ambulance (maybe when we did competitions) and minimal sag support, though I do remember us having a 4x4 vehicle with us on some of the longer rides.
Hidden costs? Nothing I can think of; you have to get there, you have to bring your own gear and you have to be prepared for the conditions. Probably the biggest of those “costs” is the training you should do–the better trained you are, the more fun you will have. Moab’s trails are HARD!
My name is Jon Davis (regular forum profile JonnyD), and I’m the organizer and director of the 2014 Moab Munifest.
I appreciate all the questions about the event and would like to clarify what the costs cover. A few people have already messaged me directly and I’ve responded to their concerns. I’m happy to provide more detail for others who are curious!
Since this post was turning out to be way too long, I’ve posted a response with full details on the website – head over to http://munifest.us/transparency-sustainability/ to check it out. It answers the questions and concerns raised in this thread. Let’s keep the discussion going!
If anyone wants to talk with me about anything else, my regular forum handle here is JonnyD, as I mentioned. You can send me (or this Munifest profile) a PM, or, my email is jon@munifest.us. Also, I can easily be reached through Facebook, Twitter, or Google Plus. You can even call me: my phone number is 801-742-1826. I’m happy to answer any questions about anything, ever!
Jon
P.S. Anso, I’d love to come to Vancouver for a Muni weekend someday!
Thanks Jon, that gives a great idea of what’s involved in organizing Moab Munifest 2.0! As a host of many (smaller) MUni Weekends, I have no problem with the organizers’ being conservative with event fees, to make sure they aren’t paying for anything out of their own pockets. If there’s a little left over, it’s not like you’re being compensated for the time you put in.
I’m looking forward to finding out what rides you will have planned. My favorites, aside from the classic Slickrock Trail, are Porcupine Rim and Moab Rim. Porcupine Rim was amazing when we rode it from the top, which involved a shuttle. That was the only time I got to ride it (the first time it was part of the Fest, I opted to drive our big rented van down to the bottom as a shuttle vehicle). I’ve also only been on Moab Rim once, but had a blast riding down the slabs toward the trailhead.
I’m really hoping to make it – just got to make sure I’ll have sufficient time off from work for that, along with Unicon in the summer and various other trips next year…
Also, make me a plus-one on any future MUni Weekend in Vancouver!
