Snoqualmie Summit ride-UNICON

On Sunday, David Maxfield and I rode the chair lift at Snoqualmie Summit and took one of the descent routes down on MUni’s. Registrants at UNICON will all be able to use this lift for free on one of the days. There is an attendant at the bottom who loads your uni (or, bi, for wimps) on a chair and then you follow it up in a chair behind it. Another attendant on top unloads your cycle. The ride is a blast and the view is gorgeous.

Pass 1:

We get off the lift to raised eyebrows … disbelief. I shoot the ramp off the lift. It’s a steep ramp and there’s no snow at the bottom. Instead it’s a 15 inch drop right into the rocks. I fall in front of a group of bicyclists. David nails the landing first try. But as he pedals away from the landing his left crank falls off. He rides the lift down to try to buy a crank nut at the bike shop at the bottom. I take the trail. I take a couple of falls but I also make it through some tough, steep stuff with lots of rocks. It’s a gas and a learning experience.

Pass 2:

I meet David at the bottom. He was unable to buy a crank nut there but knows he can get one in North Bend. He drives off. I go up the lift. Another group of bikers adjusting their gear at the summit. I shoot the ramp and nail the landing. “Holy sh*t!! Did you see that?!?” I’m erect and bouncing off the rocks as I navigate over to the top of the trail. I pause to take a couple of victory hops and let out a war whoop. Off I go. I pass a father and son on bikes on part of one of the ascents. I’m starting to own this descent route.

Pass 3:

David’s not back yet. I get some more water out of a big jug in my truck and I’m on the lift again. The guy at the top says that I have beaten the best time he’s ever run that descent on a bike. I nail the ramp landing again. More disbelief and accolades from the two-wheelers. I’m on my third run down and I’m working the pumps … skidding on some of the rock fields … sliding through some of the wet regions, but still staying on top. Switching hands on the saddle handle to rotate right, rotate left, breathing louder than the bronco I’m busting. The guy at the bottom says my buddy is back with a fixed uni. Here comes David up the hill, all smiles.

Pass 4:

David gives me his story on the way up. He’s got some spares and I’ve got the tools but he’s a little worried that he rounded out the square on his aluminum crank. Not worried enough to keep him from nailing the ramp and the jump. The bikers at the top are waiting for us to come off by now. They don’t want to miss seeing us do the very unlikely. And we don’t disappoint them. We’re off and down the trail. A group of bicyclists part way down are playing in the snow and pause to watch in disbelief as we zip past. They pass us later on the trail as we stop for a drink of water and a quick check of David’s cranks. Another several hundred yards down they’re stopped. They’ve pulled their bikes away from the center of the trail. As I come screaming down the hill they call out, “are we out of your way?” I call back, “I want that steep descent right in the middle.” They shift slightly and I grunt like an ox and slide, slam, bounce, roll past them and hear, " YOU GUYS ARE ANIMALS!!" I look around and see David hot on my tail, making it through on top of his steed, too.

Pass 5:

I’m spent but I’ve still got some time before I have to leave. I decide to go one more descent with David. At the top it’s a routine: two off the shoot, onto the rocks, and out onto the trail … no spills off the ramp. We run the trail. I’m tired. I’m falling more than usual. I’m believing there are parts to this trail that are easy enough that I can rest. I’m wrong, there aren’t any. At one point I weave so far off that I go into the trees and miraculously recover. Later on there is a rock field where I have a sustained, 100 foot fall where I’m on top of the wheel, out of control, and meeting obstacle after unexpected obstacle. I make it to the bottom, finally, and I’ve had it. I ride up the lift with David one more time, say goodby, take off my gear, and ride down the chair lift through absolute knock-out scenery on a perfect day.

Don’t miss the chance to do this. See you at UNICON.

Yikes!

Sounds blummin’ scary just reading it…

Phil, just me

Yah, the part about loosing a crank nut is going to give me nightmares.

john_childs

We could have done with a chairlift on the Malverns - eh Phil!

Leo White

Re: Snoqualmie Summit ride-UNICON

Very nice! Thanx for sharing, wish I was there.

Heck, just wish I could ride like that!

Doug

P.S. Since I’ve been abusive lately, I won’t mention the lack of pictures.

Pictures, I hear someone say? Pictures? Where? I notice there aren’t any! No pictures? What on earth is the world coming to!!!

Phil, just me

NB. Leo took some pictures from the top of the Beacon. Okay?!

RE: Snoqualmie Summit ride-UNICON

> as he pedals away from the landing his left crank falls
> off. He rides the lift down to try to buy a crank nut
> at the bike shop at the bottom.

You guys now know what every other trail rider who’s been in that situation
should know: never leave home without an extra crank nut. They’re not
guaranteed to be in stock at all bike shops anymore!

> The guy at the top says that I have beaten
> the best time he’s ever run that descent on a bike.

That’s weird. How can a unicycle beat a bike on a downhill course? I guess
that’s why that guy runs the lift…

> landing again. More disbelief and accolades from the two-wheelers. I’m
> on my third run down and I’m working the pumps … skidding on some of
> the rock fields … sliding through some of the wet regions, but still
> staying on top.

Welcome to the wonderful world of trail riding!

> Later on there is a rock field where I have a sustained,
> 100 foot fall where I’m on top of the wheel, out of
> control, and meeting obstacle after unexpected obstacle.

Like Kris Holm on that Moonlike descent in Unizaba! He described it as the
ride of his life. Though in his case I’d have to add “so far”.

> Don’t miss the chance to do this. See you at UNICON.

So did you guys take the same trail each time, or different ways? What do
you think the race course will be, and how far was the ride you were doing?

Thanks,
John Foss, the Uni-Cyclone
2002 NAUCC and UNICON Referee
jfoss@unicycling.com

Go to NAUCC and UNICON 2002! www.nwcue.org

Re: Snoqualmie Summit ride-UNICON

<snipped good stuff>

> Don’t miss the chance to do this. See you at UNICON.

Sold!

However, kindly please refrain from such postings in the future Harper. I’m
excited enough already about UNICON without you whacking up my blood
pressure even further.

See you at your ramp :slight_smile:

Re: RE: Snoqualmie Summit ride-UNICON

There are a few reasons why this might be true. (1.) The guy can’t tell time. (2.) He processes anything he doesn’t understand as “necessarily faster and better.” (3.) Parts of the trail are more easily navigated with one wheel than with two. (You don’t have two wheels that don’t track to get through tight squeezes) (4.) He falls … ALOT. (5.) He just wanted to make me feel good. It worked.

I took the same trail each time. The map we had listed it as “difficult”. I saw stretches of the “most difficult” trail from the chair lift that bike riders were not able to descend. After I left, David may have taken a different trail. I don’t know if he has decided for sure what the race course will be. I would guess that the trail we took was 2 miles long. Maybe David knows for sure.

Re: Snoqualmie Summit ride-UNICON

On Tue, 9 Jul 2002 16:48:51 -0500, harper
<harper.7jn6a@timelimit.unicyclist.com> wrote:

>On Sunday, David Maxfield and I rode the chair lift at Snoqualmie Summit

Wow Harper, what a terrific account. How long is that descent,
vertically and along-trail, that you could do it FIVE times??

Klaas Bil

That sounds pretty incredible. I can only dream.

Is there any action on that mountain for a beginner MUni rider?

I am a beginner MUni rider.

Definitely. There are easy ways and hard ways down that mountain. A beginner muni rider could have a lot of fun on that little hill. Muni is a easier when you have a little gravity helping you make it through the bumpy stuff.

john_childs

Wow Harper - What a pleasure to read your post!

Steve Howard

Don’t know about anyone else, but I got goosebumps reading your review, Harper. Even “made” my wife read it (she doesn’t uni).

Thanks for sharing – you may even motivate me (at 54) to attempt this MUni stuff (at least I’d help the bandaid company’s stock price!).

Jerry

…knowing that the Steve Howard MUni (for now the S-H MUni) survived another grueling torture treatment. The red anodized wonder made it through without a crank loosening and without the bearings slipping in the frame this time. I attribute the fixed bearing position to the patina of rust accumulated on the outer race from an enthused test pilot running the corrosion resistant MUni through the salt water tide flats of Puget Sound.
The S-H Muni is made with all stainless steel and aluminum components … except the bearings.

RE: Snoqualmie Summit ride-UNICON

> There are a few reasons why this might be true. (1.) The guy
> can’t tell
> time. (2.) He processes anything he doesn’t understand as “necessarily
> faster and better.” (3.) Parts of the trail are more easily navigated
> with one wheel than with two. (You don’t have two wheels that don’t
> track to get through tight squeezes) (4.) He falls … ALOT. (5.) He
> just wanted to make me feel good. It worked.

Or (6.) All of the above!

> I took the same trail each time. The map we had listed it as
> “difficult”. I saw stretches of the “most difficult” trail from the
> chair lift that bike riders were not able to descend. After I left,
> David may have taken a different trail. I don’t know if he has decided
> for sure what the race course will be. I would guess that the trail we
> took was 2 miles long. Maybe David knows for sure.

Thanks for the info. We don’t use the most difficult stuff for mass-start
racing, but it should have some interesting and challenging sections. It
also needs to be wide enough for passing, though not necessarily through the
entire course.

The plan is to also have a Cross Country MUni race, possibly on a course
that goes out to the Iron Horse Trailhead (and back?), about 3 miles.

Stay on top,
John Foss, the Uni-Cyclone
2002 NAUCC and UNICON Referee
jfoss@unicycling.com

Go to NAUCC and UNICON 2002! www.nwcue.org

Re: Snoqualmie Summit ride-UNICON

harper wrote:
> Later on there is a rock
> field where I have a sustained, 100 foot fall where I’m on top of the
> wheel, out of control, and meeting obstacle after unexpected obstacle.

I would dearly love to have seen that. I have an image in my mind of you
screaming all the way down - am I right?

I know I would have been - and I’d have loved every second.


Danny Colyer (remove safety to reply) ( http://www.juggler.net/danny )
Recumbent cycle page: http://www.speedy5.freeserve.co.uk/recumbents/
“I don’t think proofreading is adequate. All posts should be waxed and
buffed. Then they should wear little tuxedos.” - Greg Harper on usenet

Re: Re: Snoqualmie Summit ride-UNICON

No. I was holding my breath. My eyes were so wide open in terror that I’m surprised my eyeballs didn’t just drop right out, though.

Re: Snoqualmie Summit ride-UNICON

harper <harper.7jn6a@timelimit.unicyclist.com> wrote:

> On Sunday, David Maxfield and I rode the chair lift at Snoqualmie Summit
> and took one of the descent routes down on MUni’s.

So there is some good DH there. Is there any decent XC?

Paul
(who likes to earn his downhills…)

Paul Selwood
paul@vimes.u-net.com http://www.vimes.u-net.com