Just consolidating data and reminding any who may be interested:
June 4th we’re joining the local bicyclists for the official grand opening of the Butler-Freeport Rail Trail with a down and back ride. 9am start- 45 miles with lunch on your own dime at the 1/2 way point. 36ers or Schlumpfs recommended.
June 10-12th: Mostly Muni weekend. Muni, polo, and maybe some trials. We’ve got a ton of spectacular trails so picking destinations will happen when we see the level of riders that show.
June 18th. Fat Tire Challenge in Brookville, PA. They have a uni class on the registration form. Great course and a fantastic event.
The first 2 weekends are local for us. We can probably accomodate those who want a place to stay if you’re ok with floorspace.
The ride on the 4th doesn’t interest me much. But as you mentioned in the muni weekend thread, it’s important for your local cycling community, so I understand your need to change plans.
I’m still interested in both the muni weekend and fat tire challenge, but now that they are back to back weekends I’m less sure.
Maybe you could just combine the Fat Tire Challenge and muni weekend into one? June 17-19? Or just 18-19… or move the muni weekend out to a later date? Then again, maybe I’m the only one with a low tolerance to travel. :o
Who else out there is thinking off going to any of these events?
Buzz
I have no problems with the 17th-19th, but many others will run into conflicts with Father’s Day on the 19th.
Pushing a muni weekend back isn’t impossible, but difficult. The weekend of the 25th-26th is out for me. The next weekend is the July 4th weekend. NAUCC is the 22nd-30th of July. It’s less likely we’ll get interest from non-locals if we get close to those dates.
As far as uni participants go, we have a 1/2 dozen+ or so locals available for rides. We haven’t had a whole lot of success getting out-of-towners in large numbers to attend events. Not sure what it is, but life’s like that.
I hope I don’t sound like a jerk. We tried last year to lure unicyclists in for a big event, but it didn’t work so well. I spent a lot of time organizing and was incredibly grateful for those who made the trip into town to race (Carl, Mitch, Roland, and Eric you guys are AWESOME!). Overall though, it’s tough to get unicyclists to commit. Last year I got burned out so this year will be a lot less stressful on me. Selfish perhaps, but the invitation to ride is still here.
We’ll be riding the first 3 weekends in June. You’re welcome to join us for any or all of it. Give us a head’s up. We can find a place for you to crash.
If you want to race, the 18th is the way to go. We could still ride in significantly less numbers, we can still ride the 19th. If you want to ride and focus on hanging out and having fun, pick another weekend. Most likely we can accomodate.
“We’ll be having fun (riding unis). You’re welcome to join us if you want. If you don’t want to, we’ll still be having fun.” - Isaac McKeever
I totally understand. I appreciate you thinking about the options and planning the events in the first place!
I think I’ll focus on the Fat Tire Challenge on the 18th, and maybe I can stay around for an extra day if at least any of the local riders want to ride.
If any other out of town riders want to stay… great!
Buzz
The 18th is going to be cool. I just got the mass email promoting the race:
[B]New this year will be a classification for Unicycles. The movement is growing and we look forward to seeing these cyclists join us for a great day of racing/riding in the Laurel Fields.
See all the videos, pictures, forms, maps, and more at www.fattirechallenge.com[/B]
Awesome!
Thanks for the thanks, Buzz. Focusing on the 18th is a good plan. Join us if you can for more riding.
Where is your June 10-12 muni weekend going to be? Butler, PA? My brother and I are probably going to be doing a muni day in southwest PA on June 10 on our way from IN to MD, and are looking for good locations.
We will base out of Butler, but we’ll probably head to North Park (Pittsburgh) for at least one ride. Plans won’t cement up for another week or two.
There are many good places to ride in the region. North Park and Hartwood Acres are close to the Turnpike. Bavington is south of Pgh. We have Moraine off of 422. There are many others north as well. If you’re really south, I can’t help much as I don’t get near Washington, PA all that often.
Bump.
It looks like we’ve got interest for the race on the 18th which is good. It should be challenging- not an easy ride through the park by any means.
Any interest for the other rides?
Dave, would you say the video below is representative of the terrain on the uni course?
Less flowy and more rocky and rooty?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OknMmeyuAww
That sounds about right. There is some flow, but lots of roots, rocks, and tight spots. We’ll be doing the first 6ish mi. that the bikes do. If it rains there will be mud. I’ve run a 29er with a Stout on for the past 2 yrs and wished for a bit of help in the mud. The 29er seemed a bit big too. I’ll probably run a 26 this year.
From previous years experience, the 6 mi. should be good for most. 14.5 is a bit rough.
My only muni is my KH 24 with a schlumpf. So that’s what I’ll be riding.
Anyone else on these forums coming to any of the three weekends?
Dave, how many of your PA posse are expected?
I’ll be in CO riding and sliding for all three of those weekends.
How about something later in the summer or in early Fall?
Late July is NAUCC (22nd-30th).
We have had a long standing race series in the region throughout September and October, the Month of Mud. They’re definitely uni friendly.
Most of us local unicyclists hit up the local mtb races. Racing season picks up around Labor Day. Last year I raced a dozen races on the uni. Some had a uni class, and other ones the organizers were more than willing to accomodate.
I haven’t really asked for permission, but I’ve made sure I don’t finish last (including the bikes). Sorry if I sound cocky.
I probably won’t look to plan too much later this summer since the local racing is good and I can just attend with the other locals and not sweat the details.
Organizing events is a lot of work and not many unicyclists are interested in attending. That’s been my experience anyways.
Buzz,
The Schlumpf will be fine.
As far as the local count, I’m not sure. We could have as many as 6, but one of our regulars took a digger in a rock garden at DirtFest last weekend and chipped a tooth. He’s questionable. Another one or two may be work dependent. One is at camp that week.
The short answer: hopefully 5 will make it. I’m already pre-registered.
As usual, we’ll see how many show up at the line!
How was the Butler-Freeport Rail Trail yesterday? How many unicyclists?
I’ve reserved a campsite at the Clear Creek State Park campground for the Fat Tire Challenge. I’ll be making it a camping weekend with the family.
Buzz,
Camping sounds good. We will have several unis, but I found out 1 guy has to work and another is in a boot for his foot right now and might not make it. There are 3 of us in for sure at this point. Hopefully we’ll get some more.
As far as getting to the Sat. ride- you’re faster than I am. I was going to post today, but you’re a full day ahead of me.
Saturday’s Butler-Freeport ride was great! We had 4 unicyclists (and one who can ride, but isn’t riding uni more than 50% of the time yet) in attendance out of 19 riders. Only 2 of us rode unis though as the distance coupled with trying to stay somewhat near the bikes was a bit intimidating for the other two. The weather was great with the exception of a 2 minute shower.
When we started, Andy (the other unicyclist on a uni) made it known that we were riding 50 miles no matter what. For the extra mileage we rode to the start as well as another tour around town. Nate and Isaac (the 2 other unicyclists who rode bikes) did an admirable job accompanying us for the total distance. Isaac is more comfortable on the uni and kept complaining he was having a hard time freemounting the bike. Nate rocked a Schwinn Varsity which accounts for some style points for sure.
It was a memorable experience for sure. Andy and I kept pace with the bicyclists for the most part, finishing about the same time. It wasn’t a race, but we didn’t want to be way off the back.
Good times that ended with Slurpees at the 7-11 by Andy’s house.
Saturday was so much fun I headed out for a 25ish mile road ride on Sunday. No other takers on that one though.
What kind of terrain will the uni race be on? I could not find the uni route on the website. How much of it will be on roads versus single track?
Uni route is the first part of the bike course. If it’s similar to last year, some dirt roads followed by trail. Lots of ups and downs and roots and rocks.
Thanks Dave for the info. I am thinking about coming up for the race and wanted to get a better idea of what the course is like.
Can you sign up the day of the race for the fat tire challenge?