Naomi, this is exactly what I was thinking. I skip right past posts by many of the people on these fora who’s first language is english, because they have no care for writing, spelling, punctuation, etc.
And while not every word was perfect in unijuul’s post, I was an easy and enjoyable read.
That sounds like it was a big fun in Norway. That should going on we think and so all Unicyclist are also invited to be a part of the Grasice Downhill 2007 in Istria / Croatia. That is MTB race (part of European Championship) and they had one Muni rider this year (thanks to Matej) and as a result of that they make a seperate class for us in 2007.
Much more Details about that Meeting are coming very soon.
nice well done 
Fantastic performance, Kjetil!
Thanks for the writeup. I knew you had done the race, but it is very interesting and helpfull to have the details. And yes, …inspiring!
Scott
Your an animal, top of the sport. Nice work, very impressive!
I found using spell check greatly improved my spelling, and to a lesser extent, grammar. It was very helpful to see the necessary corrections.
Sad but true.
The joy of reading it made it easy. 
Thank you for the work on my new Unicycle. I only used it a couple of times. At first it was a very strange feeling. But after some hours I realised that I have a better sitting geometry on my new one. On my old Coker I was sitting to far back on my Unicycle. This was because all I have in mind was to get a god climbing Coker. With the new one I can go a lot faster in the downhill section, and even keep my speed up in the climbs. I am really looking forward to the next summer and to test the new equipment more.
Nice writeup! I can give you a tip to help with your English!
“God” is not the best word to use to describe things, and it seems nobody has pointed that out to you. It is correctly spelled so the spell check will not pick it up, but it means “the one Supreme Being, the creator and ruler of the universe” depending on whether or not you believe in that sort of thing. Perhaps the word you were looking for was “good”, which means “of high quality” in the context you used it in. Good luck in your future Unicycling adventures. Good luck with learning the problematic English language too- it can be pretty confusing with all the rules, exceptions and ambiguities.
Tack så mycket för en bra saga! Nu är jag intresserad av enhjulings löpning!
In English for the Swedish impaired:
Thanks so much for a good story! Now I’m interested in unicycling racing!
I don’t know Rowan, did you see his finishing time? I’d say he’s a unicycling “god”, so his description was not far off!
Wow! Great story. Good job. Your telling of the race is superb. Can’t wait to hear about your next adventure!
Birkebeinerrittet is the race where records shall be beaten. "How fast have you cycled “Birken” is a known word among Norwegian cyclists. This time it was my time 05:10:05 from 2006 i try to beat. In 2007 I even had the motivation or god shape to try. With a bronze from World Championship in my pocket the motivation was a lot better.
I calculated a time schedule for a new record. If I cycled 1 km/t faster the hole way, the new time will be under 5 hours. My brother helped serving me food and water the hole way over the mountain. I was very happy to finally use my custom Hunter on this race. The day before the race in 2006 I had to replace the seat screw with a ordinary screw from a local metal store. This year I had a handmade frame from Santa Cruz, California and a seat build with carbonfibre. This Hunter was in the Norwegian custom not getting to me in time for the race in 2006.
The race went very well. The first climb I managed to have 19,5 km/t up the 11 km climb. I was starting all to fast, but it is so fun to climb on the Coker. I had fine speed to 47 km but the last 45 km vas very hard. I managed to spin 23-24 km/t at the flat with my 150 mm Cranks. This year I had no problems at all in the technically parts. The new finish time was 04:52:57 and 19.04 km/t in average speed. Very happy going under the 5 hour.
I think I now retire in this race. I have had problems with my back since the race. Probably because of the spin in many hours with the long cranks. I had a plan to do the race with 140 mm cranks. But the hills up and down up to 10% are hard enough with 150 mm cranks. Especially with the backpack weighting 3,5 kg, all competitors must have this backpack the hole race. For the crowd it is also funnier to se a unicyclist bypass cyclist up these steep climbs
I will post a product review of the custom LiveWire/Hunter soon. I have now nearly 2500 km on the unicycle. There is much focus on geared unicycles these days. But maybe some other unicyclists also prefer gravel and technically sections on the Coker.
Picture 1.)
Phasing a cyclist in a climb.
Picture 2.)
One wheel - two wheel - look at the sitting position. Nearly the same.
Picture 3.)
The last turn before the finish.
Picture 4.)
Phasing the finish line.
Picture 5.)
The pulse and terrain from my Polar wrist unit.
Picture 6.)
Happy with my custom LiveWire/Hunter, what a beautiful unicycle
wow:)
Well done! You’re an inspiration. You don’t even look half as worn as the guy on the mountain bike beside you.
For a mountain bike race there looks like an awful amount of “road” I guess the terrain, besides the obvious climbing, probably wasn’t overly technical if your first choice in unicycle is a 36er? Seriously though great job! I’d love to something cool like that someday!
I agree, riding a coker on easy-moderately technical terrain is a blast! Yesterday I went on a coker muni ride on some nice singletrack with 140mm cranks and it was a the most fun I have had riding in a while. I still have problems going down steep sections with roots and rocks while using the brake, I don’t know how to stay in control over roots on steep sections while using the brake because it means i cant pull up on the handle as hard.
You should also give the geared 36 a shot, geared unicycles are so fun to ride on the road.
I am still planning on going to Norway in the near future, unfortunately my summer plans got ruined because of my knee problem, but I hope to meet up with you in Norway one of these days. It seems like a great country for unicycling.
Great write up.
There is mostly gravel roads. In the most technically parts even the bicyclists have to carry the bike. It is even more easy to run with one big wheel instead of a bike. The World Championship, Mountain bike Marathon, was arranged in this course back in 2005 so I guess it is like other races in the Marathon World Cup. Not like ordinary Mountain Bike Races like in the Olympic Games.
Next year I have no big plans for the summer. No Unicon 
and not planned any other unicycle trips. If you are going to Norway we could do some great rides here. Two of my best rides is a 68 km gravel in the forest north of Oslo. And the “Rallarveien”. We could take some days in the mountain in Norway with the Coker. At “Rallarveien” we must have 2 or 3 days.
I have plans for a geared unicycle soon. But the terrain is so steep here around. I have to travel with car a bit to use other than 150 mm Cranks. There are also so much great gravel roads here. Free of car traffic. I also like the differences with climbs and descents.
That would be great! Rallarveien looks amazing from the pictures I have seen and it is definitely on my list of things to do. I will be sure to stay in contact with you so that we can work something out this summer. I also hear that the Lofoten Islands are great for cycle touring as well.
I will have a KH/Schlumpf 36 soon, but if I travel this next summer I might switch it back to a geared 29er to make traveling easier.
-James
