Hello everyone, I’m new to the platform so bear with me. I have been riding for about 10 years and have been getting into Muni. I am planning on doing a long Muni ride soon, about 50 miles with 10,000 ft of elevation gain. Does anyone have experience with this or any suggestions, I do 10 to 15 mile rides multiple times a week and did a 30-mile ride (6000 ft) a few weeks ago. I carry a 3-liter camelback, intertube, Allen keys, and food.
Thanks for your help.
Welcome to the forum EOAU.
For your question…
Can you repair your tire with with the tools you have?
As well, if the trail is remote, I would think about taking as many of the 10 essentials that you think are necessary.
If you have multiple water sources along the way, a small filter like a Sawyer would allow you to refill along the way and reduce your pack weight.
Lastly, have a trip plan and give it to someone responsible in case anything goes wrong.
Have fun and definitely do a trip report please.
Ted
Thanks, I have some water refill locations along the way, I have some patches, but I have to get a set of tire levers. It is not a very remote route it is an Ultra Marathon course going through a few different towns. I like the water filter suggestion and to have a plan, I will definitely do those.
Thanks for your feedback.
A small first aid kit is something I bring on every Muni ride. Luckily, I only used one bandaid out of it, but it’s better to be prepared for worse. Headlamp if there is a risk of getting caught in the dark and a phone for emergencies. Other than that, sounds pretty good to me.
Muni is always hard to plan, since the difficulty of the trails really dictates your pace - and it’s not always easy to know what is good to ride or not from a map. But since you say it’s not a very remote route, don’t worry too much - just go for it and have fun 
I have a first aid kit and a phone, the headlamp sounds like a good idea. I am fermilar with the area and have riden sections of the route. there is a lot of climbing so I usual average 4.5-5 mph on a 24 inch Muni and simular route.
Thanks a lot for your help.
Ps. will definitely have a lot of fun.
Wait; are you going 50 miles on a 24"?
Yes, because of the terrain. I want the lighter weight, maneuverability, and climbing ability that it provides.
Expecting to take 12-14 hours tops.
Hmm. I understand. Personally I would have gone with a 26" or 27,5". Maybe even a 29" with triple hole cranks.
I have had my 24" for about 12 years, I only recently got my 27.5" these are the only unicycles I own. I have done some testing on both and I am able to ride the 24" (rather than walk) a lot more often than the 27.5 solely due to the elevation gains. I do think a 27.5 or 29" would be better suited for something with less elevation. The average grade is around 15% the steepest portions being 33%.
Thanks a lot for your feedback.
ps. I will probably be doing the ride this Saturday.
You are welcome. Let us know how your trip goes. Maybe take pictures.
I too am planning a long day trip. I will likely go on my 36". I’m thinking about how to add panniers a la ed pratt’s. Then I will do weekend trips.
For adding panniers a la Edd Pratt you should have a look at https://www.unicyclegear.com
I ordered some for my 36" a bit ago, can’t wait to go on some trips in spring
Completed the ride yesterday, it was the hardest ride I have ever done. I completed the entire route 48.95 Miles (79.7 Km), with 10,000 ft. (3048 meters) in elevation. The grade ranged from 4% to 33% throughout the ride and was the most challenging aspect. the majority of the route was either straight up or straight down, climbing over 11 ridges and dropping back down into the valleys. the entire ride took me 16 hours from 0540 to 2140, luckily I brought a headlamp. I was able to ride the majority of it but some sections were just not possible to ride, due to the fact that it is an Ultramarathon route it is not designed to be ridden. I went through about 14 liters of water, 3 Gatorade’s, a large sandwich, 6 cliff bars, 2 bananas, and a large bag of peanut m&ms’.
here is the tracking data from the ride https://www.strava.com/activities/4405197237
Thank you to everyone for your feedback and suggestions.
Just wow. Not something I would do, if it was me I’d feel sore for days afterwards…
Extremely sore right now and expect I will be for at last a couple days.
20, and yes I am already feeling better than I did this morning. the real problem is chafing, I am going to have to find a better way of preventing that.
Incredible ride man!
Thanks
Congrats. That sounds great! I just came upon this thread and was about to post advice, but you’ve already done the ride… Wow, that’s long. I frequently do mountainous muni rides (on average about once a week a little less with Corona) but mostly about half of that in almost all aspects (vertical, distance and duration): more like 1000-2000 meters vertical and 30-40km and more significantly more like 6-8 hours… 16 hours is grueling! But as I guess you found out, for that distance, planning your food and water is essential! The choice of wheel size and crank length is also important but varies a lot depending on the ride: recently I’ve been mostly riding 29" with 127/150mm cranks, and trying to use 127mm unless I just can’t hack the uphill incline. With my 26" I can climb even steeper grades but if it’s really steep then walking is usually hardly slower… and the downhill is generally more fun with the larger wheel and shorter cranks, but again depends on the track. For really technical the 29 requires a lot of skill and just about 2 years ago I wouldn’t have been able to do the switchbacks and steep downhill rock sections on the 29 but with practice it improves. Do what works well but frequently try something different.
Thanks for the feedback, I currently only have a 24" and 27.5". But am looking forward to trying different sized wheels, and experiment with crank length as well. the terrain around my area is very steep so I have found it helpful to have a smaller wheel.