The last Australian Mountain Unicycling weekend occurred in 2004 in Brisbane, and since then there has not been a dedicated mountain unicycling event in Australia- something i wish to rectify.
Australia has lots of great off road riders who are dispersed across this wide land and rarely get the opportunity to meet and push their boundaries with other people with the same passion. What I propose is a non-competitive Mountain Unicycling Weekend on the easter Long Weekend 2010 in Canberra Australia.
Why Canberra? Canberra is the home of the Mt Stromlo Mountain Bike park- a government funded park that caters to all levels of riding. From Beginners trails right through to double black Diamond DH runs (it was the location of the 2009 UCI mountain bike world championships). Mt Stromlo has it all- great trails, facilities, and location. Canberra also has a vibrant Unicycling community, friendly smaller town vibe, great public transport, and is a central location on the East Coast.
This is just an attempt to gauge interest in holding such an event. Think of it as a great way to meet other riders, push yourself, talk tech, and have a great social time doing the thing you love with others.
Peripheral things to consider for such an event would be the following-
would social events in the evening be something you would enjoy as part of a Mountain unicycling event?
Would having a tshirt to commemorate the event be something you would like to purchase
Would you enjoy the opportunity to be billeted out by local riders to cut down on accommodation costs?
Ok, so let me know if you are interested, or if you have any ideas to add to this proposal. I know lots of people are busy with preparation for Unicon but if we are to make a go of this event we need time to get things underway.
Cheers, i look forward to hearing your suggestions,
Sounds like a great idea. I am not a MUni unicyclist but I think it would be a great oppurtunity for other riders who ride street and trials to meet together and ride aswell, kind of like a mini Uninats.
Hi unisykolist,
While this event would really enjoy the company of more riders i don’t think it can try to do too much in organizing specific rides/events for other disciplines. I would like to keep if focussed on Muni. If you would like to round up other trials/street/flatland riders and organize rides in and around Canberra at the same time then that would be a great thing- we could still do social night time things as a group if you wanted. Ultimately, the more the merrier, just don’t expect there to be things organized for you.
mark
Sounds like a great idea! If it gets underway you could do it every second year inbetween uninats’ and I’m sure a few guys from Brisbane would come down for it. Social events would be awesome and anything to cut down accomodation costs would also be great.
One challenge with uninats, IMO anyway, is that holding it over Easter makes it that much less likely that anyone with a family can attend - pretty hard to justify being away all of the Easter long weekend. Just like uninats this year I wouldn’t be able to attend a muni fest (or any other event) held over Easter. Can see how Easter long weekend would be ideal for the event though.
I’m hoping to ‘organize’ some smaller MUni things in the next few months like weekend rides in Vic, staying overnight near the trails e.g. Forrest MTB Park
Hey Lunicycle- good point regarding the family aspect. I would like an event like this to be as accessible to as many people as possible. Being family friendly i guess is a part of that i overlooked when thinking about dates.
Do you think maybe something like the ANZAC day long weekend (24th-26th of April) would be more appropriate? If not, are there any other dates you can think of that would be better?
Keep the feedback and info coming. It would be an absolute hoot to get a big contingent of off road riders here in Canberra to hit up the trails for a good few days riding.
You can pencil me in for at least one day.I would prefer cooler weather so I can go harder on the trail without overheating and attempt to keep up with you youngsters.
Mark the four day Easter weekend is probably ideal, with the day to get there, two days riding, day to get back etc. I don’t think any dates will suit everyone so might as well go with the dates that work best overall. A three day weekend would probably work ok too, with a big ride on the middle day. It’s really only that Easter is out for me.
fwiw I’m with John on the cooler weather, I much prefer that to riding in heat. Weather should be nice in April anyway.
ok cool- thanks for your input. Once i get back from Unicon i will get the ball rolling in terms of organisation. So far it looks as though the easter long weekend would suit the best (the extra day off makes it easier for people who would be commuting to Canberra). This is just a quick thought but i am thinking a program could look like this
2nd April- Arrive in Canberra (for riders already in the city maybe a casual afternoon ride at the Mt. Majura Pines would be a nice warm up)
3rd April- Morning-Afternoon riding Mt. Stromlo. Depending on Numbers split up into rough groups based on the type of riding you want to do and hit the trails. Stromlo is well signed and mapped but guided rides by in the know locals could be a possibility.
3rd cont. Night time Muni Ride at Mt. stromlo. Hit the trails you got to see during the day in the dark of the night! BYO lights.
4th- Pretty much the same as the day on the 3rd but with the chance to see some trails you didn’t get to on the first day (or work on the lines that had you UPDing on the first day)
Afternoon BBQ at Mt stromlo or Casurina Sands (a nice picnicking spot on the river just down the road from mt Stromlo)
Night 4th April- Social event in at Canberra Civic. (If we can get a sponsor on board a presentation for the most improved rider- probably just a vote by the people who turned up at the event as to who improved the most or showed the best attitude during the event). After Dinner, those that are old enough could go enjoy a well earned beer at one of the many fine pubs in Central Canberra
5th- For the hardcore a morning ride could happen (or maybe everyone should just go harder in the other days!) Other than that commute or recuperate!
I would like to resurrect the Chiltern MuniUni weekend in about May. Easter has a lot of competition from other events including my family. The MuniUni is a low key event, mainly touring in the Chiltern/Mt Pilot National Park. I would like a road ride around local roads on Sat and some cruising on good fire tracks on Sat arvo and Sunday.
It tests your fitness but not much in extremeness although I can find some steep downhills.
The other concept that I have previously run was the Gravity Weekend at Falls Creek and around Mt Beauty. Give me some feedback, but I will only run one this year.
Sounds awesome, ill be there for sure. id prefer it on teh easter weekend, as il be somewhere else on teh ANZAC long weekend. and also the easter long weekend is 4 days not 3 - more time to ride
i reckon if we make it enough of a family event then it wouldnt matter that its on the easter weekend, it could be a family easter holiday/uniweekend maybe have some easter related unicycle events like a unicycle easter egg hunt at stromlo where you have to ride as many of the trails (both easy and hard) and collect as many eggs as possible scattered on the trails
im all for it being an annual event, if its biannual it just means people have to wait too long till the next one and loose interest especially those new to unicycling
ooooo this sounds great. A unicycle easter egg hunt is an excellent idea too.billeted accomodation would be great to keep costs down. Would love to come down for this.
To get us younger kids from non-unicycling families more easily involved it would be great if someone could also offer to billet a spare seat in the car on the way down.
