[Not wanting to blow my own trumpet too loud :o , but…]
Yesterday I rode a stunt called 'Platforms Only" in my local stomping ground, Woodhill Forest. This is the first time its been ridden on a unicycle. It was especially gratifying to complete Platforms Only as it was the first stunt I ever saw at Woodhill and was very intimidated by it. Peter and I must have tried to ride it at least 20 times each that day, not getting more than 3 or 4 metres along it. Since then I hadn’t tried it again.
Peter Bier had ridden 3/4 of it earlier this year but stopped short of the final (and skinniest) 12cm wide section. Knowing this I thought I’d give it a go yesterday. On my first attempt I rode 2/3 of it and realised hey, this isn’t nearly as hard as it used to be. I rolled up for a second attempt and nailed it. The drop at the end is about 3-4 feet and isn’t too bad as there’s a sloping landing ramp. Here’s some photos of the stunt (without me on it!): http://www.woodhillonline.com/platformsonly
I agree that it would be harder on a bike! There’s very little room for error and quite a few changes of direction. Platforms Only is given the highest stunt difficulty rating at Woodhill, probably for this reason.
I’ve found that the difficulty ratings (for bikes) often don’t translate well to unicycles. They seem to vary wildly from really easy XXXX ladder bridges, to terrifying XXX drops. I guess what’s hard to ride on a bike isn’t necessarily hard to ride on a unicycle and vice versa.
Ken - I had a go at Octopussy http://www.woodhillonline.com/holyshit.html after completing P/Only. I got to the seesaw then stopped. The seesaw is quite steep and you’re a good 7 feet off the ground when it tips. However, there is now an alternative finish to Octopussy which should be rideable. Now all’s I gotta do is ride the seesaw!
Congratulations! That’s great. I’ve had a little look through the Woodhill Forest site…you guys are so lucky. I’m definitely going to have to go and visit New Zealand one day and go riding with you at Woodhill. I was delighted to find some local northshore here in Brisbane (which I’ve only seen in photos so far).
Very nice work! Now you need to taker some photos and videos for us all.
[Low tech Quote:] "Congratulations! That’s great. I’ve had a little look through the Woodhill Forest site…you guys are so lucky. I’m definitely going to have to go and visit New Zealand one day and go riding with you at Woodhill. I was delighted to find some local northshore here in Brisbane (which I’ve only seen in photos so far).
Very nice work! Now you need to taker some photos and videos for us all. "
Thanks Andrew. Yeah we are pretty lucky to have a riding area like Woodhill. New trails and new stunts are being built all the time - there were 2 new stunts built 3 weeks ago and 3 new trails opened this week! If you ever come over to NZ I’d be more than happy to show you round Woodhill.
About photos and videos - I don’t have a digital camera and often the best riding I do is when I’m on my own. This makes it kinda hard to get footage. However, there is a competition on in NZ now to film yourself eating a Cadbury creme egg while doing something extreme. The more extreme the better. I was thinking of eating this chocolate treat while riding over one of the Woodhill stunts. That would be cool.
You win the competition easily…seriously! That’s a great idea.
Ken,
I think you need to get a video camera and spy on Tony when he’s riding at Woodhill. I wan to see a video! Have you got any videos of yourself riding at Woodhill?
