Oh, I agree, it is quite insane that he came in 4th, that much singletrack is quite the challenge - you can see that his training paid off!
I am competing against bikes in a 50 mile mtb race soon, and I am going to be lucky if I finish the race in the time allotted, let alone beat a few bikes!
Congrats to Kris for showing what unicycles can do and beating far more bikes than I am sure he imagined.
Absolutely astounding! Doing almost 19 miles per day, 7 days in a row, at RACE speed, without so much as a single day’s rest in between! That’s about 133 miles total! And coming in 4th place against serious mtbers, some of which became NOR (not officially ranked) because they missed at least one day!
I will be printing out and laminating the results, and carry it with me on the trail to show people! This is a HUGE shot in the arm for our sport, even though it’s not likely that anyone else could do what Kris did. It’s testament that MUni is as serious and legit a sport as mtb, and of course, much more challenging! Congratulations Kris, you are the man! :)
Hey,
Thanks for all the kind words and support! Here’s a race report:
It was fantastic to be invited to do this race. Initially I hesitated as I usually prefer personal challenge rather than competitions, but ultimately I couldn’t resist the temptation to spend a week riding some of the best singletrack on the planet.
As far as I know (correct me if I’m wrong) this was the first multiple day, major mountain bike stage race entered by a unicycle rider and I didn’t know what to expect. I was a bit nervous given some major media exposure about my involvement leading up to it. My stated goal was not to finish last, but secretly I wanted to place in the top 50% of my category (Solo Men, Challenge course), if possible.
The race has two categories, Challenge (20 to 43 km stages, 30 km average over 7 days), and Epic (20 to 67 km stages, average just under 50 km over 7 days). Within these there were sub-categories (e.g. Solo Men, Solo Women, Teams of 2, etc.). The Epic attracts the top riders including some riders who have competed at the Olympics and World Cup level. The Challenge riders were strong, but in general would not be considered world class. However, both categories shared the same course on Stages 5 and 7, so there was also some opportunity to compare cross-category.
According to race rules, Epic riders could drop into the Challenge category if they couldn’t continue the longer course. If this happened they forfeited their chance at the overall title but could still compete for Stage results. This was the first year for the Challenge category; as such it had far fewer riders (45 total at Day 7, 25 in my category) compared to about 450 (minus dropouts) in the Epic.
I trained quite hard over the spring months, focusing on climbing, increased riding volume, and learning how to be technically better at riding in 2nd gear on singletrack.
In sum, it seems like the work paid off and it was really fun to be keeping pace with some of the mountain bikers. The major strategy was to push hard and try to pass on the climbs and then try not to lose too much on the descents. On some stages it helped to have some technical downhill skills as some of hardest downhills were fine on the uni but forced many out-of-town riders to walk some sections.
The highlight for me was Day 5, at 43 km the longest Challenge stage and one of two shared 100% with the Epic category. By now everyone was tired and the benefits of training and willingness to suffer were starting to show.
Off the start we had a fast rollout on pavement out of the town of Sechelt, in light rain, heading for Gibsons. Lucky for me the pavement switched after about 4 km to gravel, and the start of a brutal climb up to high on the forested slopes above town. This area has a gorgeous, purpose-built, technical XC mountain bike/uni trails that weave their way across the hillside to a couple of high points, before an amazing 7 km downhill spin to a ferry terminal.
I felt strong on this segment and the gentle singletrack was twisty enough to limit speed on the bikes; the rain helped also against those inexperienced with slippery roots. Somehow I ended the day with a 3rd place podium finish in my category (Solo Men, Challenge), ahead of 203 mountain bikers cross-category amongst the Epic and Challenge riders.
Day 6 and 7, the energy attrition really started to set in, and again it became a battle to will yourself up the climbs and just keep pedalling fast enough to stave off the bike riders on the descents. At the top of a fierce climb, Squamish had an amazing descent with fast, smooth berms (think BMX pump track on a mountain side) followed by technical bouldery downhill that was much more of an equalizer for bike versus uni speed. There was just enough climbing to maintain 5th place in my category, 3rd amongst those still vying for the cumulative title (e.g. not counting those who dropped into the Challenge distance from Epic).
The Whistler route headed up a steep climb into the ski area bike park and then down a smooth, flowy bermed DH trail (2nd gear = awesome!!), followed by exhausting, up-and-down, rocky singletrack and a final climb to a short descent at the finish. Whistler was again the same course for Epic and Challenge Riders, and I felt strong enough to stay ahead of 149 bike riders over the 23 km course.
That was enough to maintain 4th overall in the Solo Men Challenge category, out of 10 solo male riders who completed every stage in the Challenge distance. I felt really happy; that was in the top 50% and way more than I expected going into it. At least 500 mountain bikers also went home with some changed expectations regarding what XC muni is all about =).
It was also fantastic to be riding a uni for equipment-maintenance reasons. While everyone else was fixing the day’s worn/broken parts, I just gave bolt tightness a quick check and that’s about it. Nothing went wrong on my uni; I didn’t even change the tire pressure or seatpost height all week. All that was needed was one minor wheel truing and a few brake adjustments.
I used a geared KH26, with a short T-bar (see attached). The T-bar was key - it helped a lot with control as well as maintaining comfort. The short extension meant I could pull up over bumps and keep better control when braking on the descents. I did use a higher volume tire than standard spec due to the harder downhills in the course; if it had been less technical I would probably have stuck with the standard tire.
In sum, the South Coast of BC has unbelievably good singletrack riding, and seemingly endless kilometres of trails specially built for mountain biking/muni. The race helped compress a lot of that into one very intense week, but whether racing or just riding for fun this is an area well worth visiting.
Kris
Great writeup Kris! What a fantastic, exciting experience that must have been. I congratulate you and know now that anything is possible if you work hard and dedicate yourself. But you are indeed in a rarefied league of your own. Cheers! 
Congrats Kris!
This is very inspirational and a huge boost to unicycling’s image.
Great job and thanks for the write-up!
Seriously awesome!!! Great job and congratulations!
4th damn, amazing job Kris! 
Thanks for the great job for unicyclers everywhere and leaving what I am sure is a lasting impression to the two wheeled riders who raced against you, you are an inspiration to us all. Thanks for the great write up also.
Congratulations.
Kris,
Congratulations and well done! This ranks among great events like Aspen Mike’s completion of the Iron Horse a few years ago. Terrific firsts. Very inspiring!
Carey
Well done Kris!
Before we know it the mountain bikers will be crying that we have an unfair advantage! 
Did you ever have to walk sections of trail?
I’ve only been riding a year (weekend warrior style) and there are plenty of climbs on my local MTB trails that I end up walking. And after riding up some, I’m so spent at the top I can hardly continue riding.
Great ride and great write-up, Kris. Thank you for inspiring us all.
Cheers,
Eoin
indeed great ride, congratulations!!! i can’t believe how many mtb’ers you’ve beaten! and the setup seems to have been perfect for this kind of race!
for all those who want to do a multiple day muni race (ok, it’s only three days), join the grischa muni challenge in switzerland. a team-muni race, where you create your route yourself.
we’ve alredy 20 partcipants, but some places left…
Kris WELL DONE and thank you for the write up.
Maybe sum more Muni’s will race next year.
Hey, nice one, Kris! Great write up too. You really showed them what a serious munist can do…
I’m using a similar setup now with a short t-bar, KH26 frame, Schlumpf hub and Gazzaloddi jr. 26x2.6 tire. It’s a dream of a setup! Singletrail in second gear is just awesome!
Great job Kris!
I’ve just finished a MTB race yesterday, and I was dying because of tons of sand and the heat. I got last, but anyway I was extremely happy to survive. Now I more appreciate your result keeping up and being even before the bikes.
Well done Kris! Thanks for the write-up.
Rob
Wow, great result Kris; well done! That must have hurt a bit.
Would you consider the Epic next time??
Sam
The Challenge distance was good for me - long and technical and hilly enough to wear down the mountain bikers over 7 days, but short enough that I could still maintain a decent riding pace. The Epic would have been a different story; much more about just surviving, rather than doing OK, and given that some people will judge unicyclist’s capacity to enter these things in future based on my performance here, I wanted to do OK, not just barely make the cutoff times.
I was worried also that my post-ACL surgery knee would give me trouble with such a huge riding volume (it was OK for the Challenge, in hindsight, but I’m still not sure about the Epic), and during training I just didn’t have time to gain experience with multiple consecutive days of 60 km + riding on technical trails. So I think I made the right choice to do the Challenge.
The most exhausting kind of riding to try to keep up on, I found, was the technical rooty singletrack that was fairly level. Almost all the bike riders had dual suspension XC bikes which was a big energy saver compared to having to work my way over momentum-stopping obstacles - they could just sit down and keep their momentum going while I was half-standing and twisting and turning and hopping.
I’ll post if I can put together some info on how to get to some of these trails. Any one of the race stages would also make a great recreational (non-competitive) destination, and that way you could explore more of all the other great trails in the area.
Kris
Inspiring write up, Kris. After reading it I had to go out for a muni ride. Did you carry any water in the race?
Riders were required to carry at least 2 litres of water, first aid, and a waterproof jacket. Besides that there was one aid station (water, snacks) on the Challenge course, plus another on the Epic.
Some of the most amazing stories came from riders with equipment problems during the route, and how they managed makeshift repairs. The tech people were like an E.R. room working 24/7.
Kris
Without any days in between for recovery, what was your routine after each day’s ride? Did you get a full 8 hours of sleep each night, and did you follow a particular eating regimen? Did you ever feel the need to stop and stretch or rest-even momentarily-on any of the 7 days? Did you treat yourself to a good one hour massage after this epic adventure? 
