A little background about me, I started unicycling in December and this month have done a few “real” muni rides… i.e. the same trails that I would take my 29" mtn bike on. I am a middle of the pack mountain biker as far as endurance goes, but probably a little better than average on rough or technical terrain…but one thing that I’ve had to break myself of is the thought that faster is better. On my mtn bike I usually prefer to hit technical sections with speed and momentum, but the unicycle has not worked that way (at least yet) for me. On the muni, I have to think ahead a little more and be ready for how to approach an obstacle…and hit it methodically, rather than with speed and hope for the best.
Just in this month, I have went from wondering if I’m wasting my time trying to ride a unicycle on the trails to feeling like I’ve really accomplished something. The same tree roots and rocks that I glide over on the mtn bike are so much more rewarding when I can pedal over and away from on the muni, even if it feels like a reckless attempt when you pedal away from it you know you did something!
I started using Strava to track my rides (thanks to another member for tipping me off on the app) which is neat to see my results, but it can also put me in the mtn biker mentality of racing the clock…so I turn it on mainly to track my mileages and elevation gains but looking back it is neat to see the avg. speeds for different trails…each of these rides were on different trails with me on my 26" muni.
2.2 miles - 45 min moving time - 2.9 mph avg speed (first time on a real mtn bike trail)
3.4 miles - 43 min - 4.7 mph (smooth flowing trail, few obstacles)
4.0 miles - 95 min - 2.5 mph (technical mtn bike trails, lots of UPDs and walking)
3.4 miles - 61 min - 3.3 mph (most recent and funnest muni ride yet)
So comparing the speed on a smooth trail to a technical trail with pushing, there is still only about a 2 mph difference.
If you want to drive 1.5 hours over the mountain I can show you some of the trails here!
That would be awesome! I’d be curious to see how some of the trails compare to those on this side of the mountain.
I got roped into playing in our developmental league this Spring, so my weekends aren’t as fee as I would like. As soon as I get a copy of our schedule, I’ll let you know about my availability.
I also use Strava to track my rides; however, I generally forget to use it for muni. I use it more for the local multi-purpose trails and rides on my 29er. My user name is John Hollifield (unicycle). I haven’t done anything worth watching, but it’s nice to keep track of everyone else.
I’m about 200-210lbs, I still do drops of about 5’ without much damage to uni. My brother mountain bikes and will do a little muni and hes 270ish and pushes himself for extreme stuff. I have seen some pretty big riders do amazing things. I don’t think your that limited, the only limitation you may face is distance and part damage.