Are there any downhill races, even urban for Muni’s. I am looking at England as I can’t travel abroad to many event’s. I thought it would be cool if there was something Hardline or Cerro Abajo style for unis.
John
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There are some uni races. These seem to be primarily at major events for example Unicon and NUACC. More formal events can be expensive and time consuming to put on. On the other hand something like the British Muni Weekend is closer to “we’re going to be doing muni here, this is not a formal event - that is all” which requires less planning.
For events to happen, we need both community interest and people who are willing to organise them. People underestimate the cost, insanity, graft, grumpy people and loo roll distribution runs required to run a good event or convention. Over the last years Eddbmxdude has been involved in running UK unicycling events including STFU (street/trials/flatland) and Unicycle Skills conventions but i believe he’s now stepped back on that.
So to paraphrase, currently I’m not aware of any DH racing in the UK. On the other hand there is nothing stopping you from taking a leaf out of the British Muni Weekend’s book and sharing that you’re going to camp/hotel somewhere to do Muni somewhere on these dates and there’ll be a race if there is interest.
I’d hope the interest is there but there are no guarantees…
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thanks
UK unicycling is way too small to have races like biking does.
It was my dream to hold a downhill race but honestly, after over 15 years of organising events, it’ll never happen. If it did, I probably already know the three other people who would show up.
There are lots of decent riders in the UK, but for some reason only a tiny handful will travel to organised rides or events, and even fewer would be up for a competition. As Dave said, it takes so much from you to run an event. Venues are crazy money, there is so much paperwork and bureaucracy and someone will always complain about something. It’s soul crushing when you advertise for half a year, spend all your free time working on it, and get 30-odd signups, a smaller crowd than most Sunday football leagues, for a ‘national’ event.
If I sound pessimistic, that’s probably because I am. If I hadn’t moved away, I think I was done with organising anyway. I’d love to see larger events in the UK again, but without the support of riders, it won’t happen.
Edit to say: If you want to go to a decent event, go to Unicon. It’s not very far this year, it’s in Austria. It’s about the only place you’ll find a proper timed downhill unicycle race.
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It is true that there is not much in the way of events in the UK, let alone competitive ones. There are however specific downhill muni race events in mainland europe, Villanders was last weekend, there is Uniagoitz next weekend in Spain which involves downhill racing and another in Spanish one in early September organised by North Muni Riders. Pascal has organised a Swiss downhill championships the last couple of years but is taking a year off to do Unicon but that has been loads of fun.
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Hey Edd, I just wanted to say I have always really enjoyed the events you have been involved with. Whether it’s a Muni Weekend, STFU ride or the convention they’re always super welcoming and inclusive for all comers and most of all fun. I have always appreciated that there’s a bit of a ‘scene’ in the UK, however small, and I hope from time to time we can still ride together. All the best, Rod
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