Not being familiar with this part of the forest I followed trails as I came across them – winding back and forth all over the hills – and ended up on two trails with distinct themes: Old Bones and Beer!

Groovy tree at trail entry

Old Bones trail

A few trees had an amazing saturated orange/yellow fungus/growth that appeared to be bursting out of the trunks. Very cool looking, the texture and color standing out in the blue/grey colors of the bush.

Amazingly trippy yellow stuff 'growing' out of the trees

Signs of the huge weekend rain – big erosion in some of the gullies.

Big erosion from weekend's storm

I came across one beer bottle by the trail, then another, and another, and another, and so it went. I figured this was the Beer Trail… only in Australia.

The Beer Trail

An imaginary puke on the Beer Trail… why? No idea, but it was fun at the time.

Honoring the chunders of years gone by

Out of the native bush and into the weird remains of an old pine plantation with fresh, lush green ground cover.

Fresh greens, Pine forest

The KH24 GUni is running great, but maybe I felt a change in the cranks today – way overdue checking the bolt tension on those, have to do that before the next ride.

Today’s ride included the fastest UPD I’ve had for some time – one of those traveling too fast, not paying enough attention UPD’s. Before you know it – I’m superman… splat… no wait I’m ploughing the trail with my shoulder.

Ouch. Old bones.

Last weekend we (South East Australia) had the biggest rain event in the last 15 years – just awesome, especially following the 10 or so years of drought we’ve endured. Fantastic to see so much water around.

Singletrack for submarines

Didn't need that footbridge anyway

Almost empty to almost full

Turned out to be a GREAT ride on the 24″ GUni.  Lots of flowing single track, lots of up and down, twisting around and around – a super fun fix of smooth and rocky trail. I reckon the 29′er MUni would be great here too.

Fingers crossed I’ll be fit enough to enter the 6 Hour Enduro in 2011.

NOTE: I’ve since learnt that Jubbaland is not on public land/state forest but _private _ land. Access to Jubbaland is only OK during events/rides organized by Central Victorian Rocky Riders.

Jubbaland MUni

Jubbaland MUni

Jubbaland MUni

Red pill or blue pill, Jubbaland MUni

Jubbaland MUni

Duro 3.0" eats mud, Jubbaland MUni

Idyllic Afternoon, Jubbaland MUni

Jubbaland MUni

Spring Wattles, Jubbaland MUni

Walking frame supplied, Jubber land MUni Kodger

Trucking along, Jubbaland MUni

Winding through old gold mines, Jubber land

Flooded Quarry, Jubbaland

I headed out on the 24 GUni to explore the section of forest that lies in between home and Wattle Flat, just off the Muckleford Castlemaine Road and Victorian Goldfields Railway line. In addition to today’s ride there looks to be a lot more single track to explore!

The 24 GUni was great fun but will definitely be rolling out bigger wheels on some of these trails every now and then.

Muckleford MUni Route

Krish Holm Schlumpf 24" Geared Unicycle, Muckleford

Didj, MUni Dog

I was hanging out for a uni fix so decided to squeeze in the MUni ride from Moonlight Flat to Expedition Pass and back, on a section of the Great Dividing Trail. On the map it looked like an easy cruise more or less… HAHA, sucked in badly!

Expedition Pass MUni Route

The trail starts out as a GUni dirt freeway, running alongside Forrest Creek before heading into the bush where it becomes a mix of single track and wider trails, passing ‘Troll Corner’ (!), Manchester Reef and the Garfield Wheel, all the while climbing steadily towards Expedition Pass though it drops in and out of several steep gullies along the way.

Troll Corner, Expedition Pass MUni

The trail passes through hard core Gold Mining country. The Garfield Wheel was one mighty structure in its day. Check out a photo of it taken during the Gold Rush.  All that is left now are the stone supports, still impressive.

Garfield Wheel, Expedition Pass MUni

After a lot of huffing and puffing – my fitness is lame ATM – I arrived at Expedition Pass, well sort of. My turn around point was the Expedition Pass Reservoir but I couldn’t get to it due to the ‘new’ official trail being surrounded by private property. I backtracked and cut into where I’d seen some single track earlier. Nice.

Reservoir Falls, Expedition Pass MUni

It took a LOT longer than I thought it would to get to Expedition Pass. It was getting late in the day so fingers crossed the run down to Moonlight Flat would be a lot quicker and I’d make it back before dark… but I hadn’t yet come across some of the excellent single track I’d noticed from the road a few days earlier and was determined to find it before heading home.

Expedition Pass Reservoir

The single track didn’t take too much finding, starting just down behind the reservoir wall. Nice twisty single track, winding alongside a creek, passing ruins of old bridges and such, before joining back onto the main trail.

Singletrack by creek, Expedition Pass MUni

Back on the main trail the ride home turned out to be a lot faster, lots of downhill to enjoy, and steep sections to clench the butt.

Heading home... downhill, Expedition Pass MUni

Not much daylight left by the time I returned past Manchester Reef. Nice light.

Last light, Manchester Reef, Expedition Pass MUni

My eyes took a beating from a few late afternoon swarms of tiny insects. Must remember to take clear glasses. Nothing Scooby Doo snacks couldn’t fix though once I made it back to the van

End of ride Scooby Doo Snacks, Expedition MUni

The 24 GUni ran like a rocket, though I reckon a lot of the trail would also suit a 29 and even a 36 wheel. The Expedition Pass trail isn’t far from The Pineys and Kalimna Park – both great MUni – so once my fitness picks up again there are some good options in these parts for long MUni rides.

All up a great ride. It kicked my butt!

I headed back out there today with the KH24 GUni (geared unicycle) and Didj to continue mapping the single track network. The trail map is coming along well, and I’m starting to feel for how the trails fit together, the most fun direction/route etc. There’s still a lot of sections to explore yet though.

My MUni fitness is fairly poor ATM. I huffed and puffed my way around. Didj the wonder mongrel hardly raised a sweat.

24 GUni and Didj Uni Dog, Wattle Flat Single Track Mapping

Wattle Flat Single Track Mapping

KH24 Geared Unicycle, Wattle Flat

Wattle Flat, Castlemaine

Have to say the fun factor on 24 GUni was way way up on my earlier ride on the 29′er MUni in the same area. The trails around Wattle Flat seem to suit the GUni perfectly – sharp climbs and gullies suited to 1:1, long flowing single track descents an absolute scream in 1:1.5. I don’t think it’s just the extra speed on the GUni that makes it so much fun – it’s the sensation of going fast on a small wheel with a big fat tire, without pedaling like a madman, changing up and down as the terrain requires – MTB like!

Wattle Flat Single Track

It’ll be fun to see what the trail map ends up looking like. Wattle Flat is neatly hemmed in by a couple of dirt roads – just keep riding until you either come out of the bush onto a dirt road or end up in the bush somewhere you’ve been before. Lots of other trails out there to ride yet.

Wattle Track Single Track map so far...

Didj came along for the ride – he’s a cool  MUni dog and MUCH fitter than me… ATM anyway

End of the ride, Wattle Flat Single Track

After having ridden the 24 GUni since Sept/Oct last year the 29′er took some getting used to – don’t think I got into the groove at all today but still had fun.Will definitely head back with the 29′er,  24 GUni and 36′er.

Didj the uni dog came along for the ride, nice to have a riding buddy again!

Wattle Flat MUni

Didj, Wattle Flat MUni

I headed back to Kalimna Park today on the KH24″ GUni to start mapping the network of trails which are basically all over the place, like a bowl of spaghetti! I decided to focus on a relatively small area, riding all the trails I could see. Even this small area would be a great place for a group MUni ride – lots of fun options for any size wheel.

I’ll head back to the park when I get a chance and continue mapping the trails, and also take the 29 and 36′er along.

Spaghetti MUni

MUni and FUngi

Spaghetti MUni Route

Spaghetti MUni

I headed down the Campbells Creek Walking/Cycling Track for the first time and had a fun high speed cruise. The cycling track passes under the Victorian Goldfields Railway which runs steam trains between Castlemaine and Maldon several times a week. Love steam trains, so with some time to spare headed back towards Maldon on single track that runs up and down bush gullies alongside the line hoping to meet the train along the way.

Victorian Goldfields Railway

I’ve ridden the single track a few times before including on the KH 36′er in the opposite direction and during the Festival of the Wheel. The combination of high gear, the big fat tire and 150mm cranks made for a fun ride, lots of speed and definitely a lot more stability over loose rocky surfaces (compared to a 36′er). After hearing a few whistle blows in the distance it wasn’t long before the ground was shaking as the steam train hauled past.

MUni Castlemaine Maldon Steam Train

Just awesome, and only a few minutes uni ride from home.

Victorian Goldfields Railway

]]> http://unplannedismounts.com/2010/06/14/campbells-creek-cycling-track/feed/ 0 http://unplannedismounts.com/2010/05/17/kalimna-park/ http://unplannedismounts.com/2010/05/17/kalimna-park/#comments Mon, 17 May 2010 07:37:29 +0000 admin http://unplannedismounts.com/?p=3570 We’ve been moving house the last couple of weeks and have also been offline (lots of spam comments posted to the blog, doh!)

It was great to get out today and start exploring the area on the uni. I headed for Kalimna Park, a bushland reserve in the hills on the edge of town. The park is fairly rugged, and packed full of single track heading off in all directions.

Turns out Kalimna Park is a GREAT spot for MUni (breathes sigh of relief) and there’s plenty more of the reserve to explore yet

Kalimna Park

Kalimna Park

I’ve been cherry picking bits and pieces of the Great Dividing Trail over the past year or two including Tipperary Springs, Twin Bridges,  Breakneck Gorge, Mt Franklin-Castlemaine and around Blackwood. To ride the Daylesford-Hepburn section of the trail in one hit would make for a fun 1/2 day MUni ride, and to time it with the Autumn colors even sweeter.

The Great Dividing Trail (+280km in total – awseome MUni) was originally conceived as a walking trail but surveys over recent years found MTB’ers were the main users. Thanks to government funding significant trail improvements are in the works over the next ~14 months to make it more bike friendly. Fortunately however it sounds like the Daylesford-Hepburn section will remain as is – officially off limits to bikes and instead be bypassed via Doctors Gully. I guess this is partly due to it being popular with walkers on weekends touring the mineral springs, but also due to the nature of trail itself – it’s narrow over the entire length, often rocky, often with steep drops to one side – not an appropriate place to let weekend warriors or kids loose on their bikes and due to the terrain too difficult/expensive to make safe.

Mid week outside of holidays there’s not a person to be seen on the trail, the perfect time to use a day off work for a Mineral Springs MUni adventure. The plan was to time the ride with the Autumn colors and cool weather so with breakfast on board I headed to Lake Daylesford with the 24 GUni. The rest is history!

Mineral Springs MUni Route

Riding around Lake Daylesford is relaxing. The trail is super wide and easy, great for a warm up (or starting a ride like today) or cool down, just the view to enjoy!

Lake Daylesford

Lake Daylesford

Wombat Flat mineral springs – the first of many springs on the trail.

Wombat Flat Spring

Narrow Pinch

It didn’t turn out to be the cool Autumn day as forecast, but instead the warmest Autumn spell on record. Me no like MUni in heat. 30 minutes into the ride I realized I should’ve brought a hat… DOH

Not the cool Autumn day as forecast

The signage on the Great Dividing Trail is clear and easy to follow. Good to have some idea of where you’re headed beforehand but not really necessary to carry a map. From Lake Daylesford to Bryces Flat there are twin single tracks to pick from, one on either side of the gullies/hillsides.

Great Dividing Trail is well signed

Once you leave Tipperary Springs the bush starts to dry out significantly and the trail gets progressively rougher. There is also a spectacular section of roller coaster single track, a buzz on the GUni in high gear.

Heading towards Bryces Flat

A feature of the Daylesford-Hepburn trail are the rock gardens, in many shapes and sizes, becoming more frequent and larger through the drier sections of the trail. LOTS between The Blowhole and Breakneck Gorge, mainly encountered uphill so tricky to roll through. A few UPD’s, a fair amount of cursing

Rock garden, one of many

A super deep but ‘securely covered’ old mine shaft beside the trail. Tempted to head back with a head torch and explore… naughty, naughty!

GUni over old mine shaft

A swim in a mine shaft? Luckily the sign was there to warn me against doing so…

Don't Swim in mine shafts, sounds reasonable?

Sugar fix at the Blowhole. Food for the ride included 4 peanut bars, 2 apples and a bag of snakes.

The Blowhole

Thought it was just my lack of fitness but the second half of the ride seemed much tougher. Turns out ~1/4 of it is consistently uphill.

Mineral Springs MUni Route Elevation

Need sugar, lots of sugar.

The last 1/3 of the ride is uphill? Must have more sugar!

The cool shade heading towards Golden Spring was a welcome relief after the passing through the hot and exposed Breakneck Gorge. The section of trail from The Blowhole through to Breakneck Gorge was the toughest  – I think it would be a lot more fun in the opposite direction (downhill) and/or on a cool day. I was beginning to feel cooked so spent some time lying in the shaded cold wet grass near Golden Spring. Definitely have to ride around here again while the Autumn colors are happening. A really fun and picturesque section of track.

Cool air, approaching Golden Spring

After Golden Spring the trail heads back into dry bush, running along a massively eroded gully before turning directly up towards Jacksons Lookout.

Eroded Gully on way to Jacksons Lookout

Booyah! made it to Jacksons Lookout.

Made it! Jacksons Lookout

Cruised down into Hepburn Mineral Springs, ending the ride at the Hepburn bathouse.

Hepburn Bathouse, end of the ride

All up this was a GREAT MUni ride. Loads of variety, challenges and goodies to explore along the way, lots of options re shortening the ride to suit the day. The 24 GUni was a good fit for this ride with the mix of terrain well suited to both gears. The only thing I’d change really is doing the ride on a cooler day, say 15-20 celcius. I”ll probably re-ride the last half but in the opposite direction i.e. downhill.

Damage for the day: just bruises, nothing busted

If you decide to ride this section of trail please be very careful. There really are a lot of steep large drops right on the edge of the narrow trail. One mistake in the wrong place and you could end up having a bad hair day and no-one wants that. Also, don’t ride the trail on weekends.

The gardens aren’t very large so in the time I had to spare did 10 or so laps of the path network. A 36′er GUni would be a hoot around here. Regardless though, a great place to ride and relax and the Autumn colors should be spectacular as they kick in during the coming weeks.

Castlemaine Botanical Garden

Okay so Mt Franklin these days isn’t  a HUGE mountain by any measure – at ~635m it’s more like a large hill – but go back a few years when the volcanic plains in these parts were jam packed with over 400 eruption points things would’ve been a lot different. Mt Franklin still retains the classic volcano shape, which is now shrouded by pine trees. A road passes through a notch cut into the rim providing vehicle access to the recreation area set in the crater and to trails that head up towards the rim.

Ignoring the trees, being inside the crater feels a bit like being in a huge skate park bowl and the ground cover of pine needles make it possible to ride all over the place.

I didn’t have a lot of time to spare so headed up towards the rim, riding around then a few downhill runs. LOTS of fun. I drive past Mt Franklin a couple of times a day, will be keeping a uni in the boot more often

Mt Franklin Crater

Didj on the Lava trail

Mt Franklin MUni

Didj keeping an eye on MUni

:

Mt Franklin MUni

Even today it’s still a rugged environment littered with vertical mine shafts deep and narrow enough to swallow the unsuspecting MUni rider, no problem! Lots to explore… carefully

Mine Shafts, Lushington Hill

Lushington Hill is also home to the threatened Brush-tailed Phascogale, a tree dwelling marsupial carnivore – sort of like a cross between a bush rat and a possum. Lots of nesting boxes in the trees, placed by the local landcare/environment group. Very cool.

Phascogale Nesting Box, Lushington Hill

Keep a look out for those mine shafts!

Mine Shaft, Lushington Hill

In between appointments mid afternoon I completed a lap of the circuit which was still largely intact – safety fencing, signage, ripple strips – good fun, though there wasn’t a peep of cheering for the weird one wheeled guy coming from the empty grandstands on the main straight, just curious looks from the construction workers. Maybe it was because I was riding the circuit in reverse? Maybe not.

I tried to scoot through pit lane on the GUni but the security guy wasn’t feeling the love even though I explained that he was looking at an off road unicycle F1 equivalent – fat tire, gears, aero bar thingy. I just wanted a pic of me on the F1 podium with the uni… too much to ask? He wouldn’t let me pass but at least did manage a smile when I asked him to start the lap timer as I set off.

I headed back to Albert Park just on sunset and rode around the lake itself, quite scenic and peaceful. Amazing to think that this time 2 days ago the F1′s were buzzing around. Maybe next year uni’s can be a support event

GUni Formula One, Albert Park

GUni Formula One, Albert Park

GUni Formula One, Albert Park

GUni Formula One, Albert Park

Castlemaine is to the north of the ranges – significantly lower, warmer and drier than the Wombat Forest around home. It’s also part of the Goldfields region which was heavily mined during the gold rush of the 1850′s. All together it makes for a rugged landscape.

The local MTB riders in Castlemaine have been creating trails for years in the hills that surround the town so with some pointers from the Jason at the local bike shop I headed out to The Pines. The single track trail entries are intentionally discreet and took some finding but it wasn’t long before the ride was on.

The Pines, Moonlight Flat MUni

I’ve never been a fan of pine plantations in Australia. While they clearly have a purpose, compared to the richness and diversity of native bush the mono culture of pine plantations seems devoid of life, silent and eerie. With the mass symmetrical planting of trees regardless of the terrain, plantations also lack a sense of place – where you’ve been, where you are, what’s ahead – at times it just all looks the same, lines and lines of pine trees converging in all directions, like a glitch in the Matrix. Anyway… that is my gripe for the day!

The upside is that where there is a pine plantation there are often trails, and the single track trails in The Pines are GREAT! LOTS of challenging terrain, often rocky and steep. LOTS of climbing and descending. LOTS of having no idea where you are, just descending into one of many deep gullies surrounded by pine trees.

The Pines, Moonlight Flat MUni

Good luck charm, The Pines, Moonlight Flat MUni

The Pines, Moonlight Flat

In a completely foreign environment with no signage, no map and multiple track options I had to rely on the force to navigate the many trails and tracks in the plantation, and get back to the van in time to pick up our daughter from school

The Pines, Moonlight Flat MUni

Hard to say whether the 24 GUni was the best choice for today’s ride. High gear didn’t get used once, and while the 24″ wheel/3.0 tire was great in the difficult rocky terrain a 29′er MUni could have been a more efficient choice, especially on the many climbs as well as its ability to roll through terrain. The extra pedal clearance would be handy too. Of course that could all be wrong, and with better knowledge of the plantation I’m sure high gear on the GUni would come in handy for blasting along connecting access tracks. I’ll take the 29′er along next time to find out.

24 GUni, best uni for The Pines?

I’ve started to get back into working on trials skills over the last week or two. Lots of fun being on the 20″ again though amazingly my left ankle is still not 100% after injuring it last October – it remains tight, sore and weak compared to the right side. BUMMER. Still, just taking it easy and enjoying it.

Just another uni ride, but then...

I was messing around with the self timer which caught me bailing, making a run to be in the Street View shot perhaps? a future in ballet?

I spy the Google Street View car and make a run for it! Point those toes baby

Had a fun chat with the Street View driver who answered the most important question ever – ‘How do you get the job of driving the Google car?‘ There definitely was a temptation to jump in the car and create some Google-Pete-View.

Me and the Google Street View car

After all of that I don’t think I made it into Street View, but my van did

Zeeya Google!

The trail climbs steadily from Timboon to Camperdown so is generally ridden in the opposite direction. The most scenic and fun part of the trail however is around Timboon, so with the time available I headed off on a loop from Timboon ‘uphill’ to Glenfyne and back down to Timboon, which is also known for its GREAT ice-cream!

Timboon, Crater to Coast Rail Trail

Crater to Coast Rail Trail

Given the nature of the trail i.e. being based on an old train line, there’s often not much to do but ride along and enjoy the surrounds – nothing wrong with that! The trail north of Curdies River however contains short sections of idyllic single track. Due to all of the old trestle bridges being out of action the trail turns off the rail line numerous times, dropping down into damp and cool heavily forested gullies, crossing Limestone Creek over wooden foot bridges before climbing back up to the rail line.

Limestone Creek Crossing, Crater to Coast Trail

Single track, Crater to Coast Rail Trail

Single track, Crater to Coast Rail Trail

Approaching Glenfyne the trail gradually climbs out of the forested gullies into surrounding farmlands as it heads towards Cobden and Camperdown. Time for me to turn around and enjoy the downhill scoot back to Timboon for some of the town’s legendary ice-cream.

Trestle Bridge Ruin, Crater to Coast Rail Trail

All up a fun ride and with Timboon only 18km from Port Campbell there was just enough time to head down to the Great Ocean Road and get a fix of the mighty Southern Ocean before heading home.

Great Ocean Road

]]> http://unplannedismounts.com/2010/02/21/crater-to-coast-rail-trail/feed/ 2 http://unplannedismounts.com/2010/02/17/tipperary-springs/ http://unplannedismounts.com/2010/02/17/tipperary-springs/#comments Wed, 17 Feb 2010 10:14:56 +0000 admin http://unplannedismounts.com/?p=3289 Had a short but exciting ride today looping between Twin Bridges and Tipperary Springs. Lots of great single track, ultra narrow in places, sometimes with sheer rock wall on the hillside, sometimes with a big drop on the other, sometimes both! The single track also drops in and out of an old water race from the gold mining days.

Riding the 24 GUni on unfamiliar trails that include significant UPD consequences is a buzz – how long can you hold the high gear before chickening out! A great trail to return to and include in an all day MUni tour of the mineral springs, maybe in early Autumn.

Thought for the day: Time to get back into the practice of wearing a helmet… DOH!

Tipperary Springs Mountain Unicycling

Tipperary Springs Mountain Unicycling

Tipperary Springs Mountain Unicycling

Tipperary Springs Mountain Unicycling

With all of the rock faces it was hot out in the open areas today, but all up the last few weeks of summer have been mild with a couple of thunderstorms thrown in, helping to keep the forest green and cool. Will hopefully head back to Breakneck later this week for some longer rides.

Breakneck Gorge

Breakneck Gorge MUni

Breakneck Gorge

Breakneck Gorge

Recent thunderstorms have scoured out sections of tracks, in the process creating unexpected, deep deposits of sand every now and then. The 3.0″ tire on the 24 GUni floats over it no worries!

Hollow Tree

Sandy MUni

So far the summer has been reasonably mild with good rainfalls. All up good conditions for MUni. Some of the trails are becoming overgrown – I’ve got to get out there more!

Schlumpf MUni

I hadn’t checked the tension on the crank and bracket bolts for a while so did that before the ride – no problems. The Schlumpf hub is working great!

Schlumpf MUni

It was great to be out in the forest again. It’d been a while since my last long ride – even the sweat burnt

Wombat Forest

There’s a satisfying feeling of load on your legs when riding in 1:1.5, and as time goes on your body and mind are increasingly willing and able to push the high gear faster and across rougher terrain. GREAT fun really – if I could only have one uni the 24″ GUni would be it!

Thanks to my partner Selena for the pics

Guni Bird

Who's walking who?

Guni Cruising

Didj, Uni Dog

Didj runs alongside the 29′er no problem but went a little crazy beside the 36′er.

Didj, Uni Dog

Selena took some cool panning pics too.

36'er Cruising tongue out dog style

The 24 GUni is zipping along. The more I ride it, the more natural it feels in 1:1.5. AWESOME!

Tropical MUni

Tropical MUni

The 24″ GUni is still my favorite uni, though I’ve also been riding the 20, 29 and 36. Getting back on the 36 is a hoot. The big wheel has such a different feel to smaller uni’s including the 29′er. It rolls so smoothly and fast. The 29′er feels like a lighter, faster 24′er albeit with a weaker wheel, and doesn’t really have any of the big wheel feel of the 36′er. The 29′er has ideal lately though for walking the dog! The 20″ is great fun to loon around on, especially in the home trials area, and practice new skills.

My uni's, apart from the 24 GUni

Didj, the uni super dog

Didj, Uni Super Dog

Some pics from rides over Xmas on the 24 GUni.

Xmas GUni

Xmas GUni

Xmas GUni

My fitness is a long way down compared to this time last year due to recent injury and work requirements so the plan was to take it easy, enjoy the day and hopefully run the full six hours. I arrived at registration earlier than last year leaving more time to plan a route before the 10.00am start. Given the event is designed for MTB and how slow uni’s are in comparison it’s a tricky thing to guess a uni route over 6 hours. Excluding navigation errors, I work on the assumption I’ll cover about half the map within the 6 hours (whereas MTB will cover almost all of the map) and go from there, but it’s really only once you’re on the move that you get a good sense of your speed on the day.

I’d never ridden in this section of forest, so the terrain was an unknown though the map made it clear a fair amount of climbing would be involved (+1600m for my route). I’d never ridden the geared 24″ unicycle off road for this long either. To minimize the load of spinning 1:1.5 on my legs and maximize the speed the plan was to use the easiest route, that was the theory anyway

Before the start of the 6 hour event

The start was good fun, tagging onto the back of the slower MTB’s, enjoying high gear on on the GUni. In an event like this it isn’t long before riders scatter in all directions following their own route, so after reaching my first control point it was a few hours before I’d see any MTB riders again.

First control point for the day

I had a fairly error free run in last year’s event, only going off course briefly once. This year I made two big mistakes in the first three hours that at times left me completely disorientated and wandering around in the bush looking for any sign of a trail. Firstly I missed a major turn, probably because I was enjoying scooting along downhill on the GUni too much, and didn’t realize the mistake until I reached the village of Barkstead – somewhere I shouldn’t have been until I looped back there ~3 hours later. I decided to rejoin my planned route and headed east across the map visiting a few control points on the way. It wasn’t long however before I turned off into the forest too early into a confusing network of unmarked firewood collection trails which soon disappeared and I spent a long time wandering around in the bush, finally coming out onto a dirt road, but which one I had no idea.

I sat for a while to clear my head and work out where I was with the help some munchies and energy gel. With 3 of the 6 hours already gone and having only reached a handful of control points the plan was to work out where I was, come up with  3 hour route back to the finish, and not get lost again. I’d already been to Barkstead so at least I knew where that was, so I headed west to Barkstead planning to loop south and then back east to the finish by 4.00pm. There were two controls worth a lot of points, so if nothing else I’d reach those.

~1600m of climbing, wind and rain, lots of rain

I managed to stay on course for the second three hours reaching a bunch of controls, also coming across MTB riders on their way further south down the map. The MTB Orienteering guys hold their maps in a large snazzy rotating weatherproofed board on their handlebars which no doubt makes navigating easier and quicker. My map was stuffed in pocket, neatly at the start, scrunched up and shoved in towards the end! Very few things are named on the map, just enough to give clues. The map also doesn’t show the many unmarked trails, so you’ve really got to be paying attention.

Small section of the event map

The heavy rain especially in the last hour was relentless, accompanied by cold gusty wind. It made run back to the start/finish area even tougher as you’re tiring, trying to visit as many controls as you can and still make it back before the 6 hour deadline. Unlike the MTB guys there’s no hammering speed to make up time and cover large distances super quick, though it was a lot of fun to scoot along on the GUni in high gear for extended periods and let it run more and more downhills… kind of funny when you’re fatigued, ‘don’t care if I crash just want to go fast‘

Trails became streams

The KH24 GUni ran great the whole day. The Schlumpf hub was flawless in the wet muddy conditions. The XC GUni bar really added comfort and control. The dual layers of Merino wool worked great all day – keeping me warm and comfortable. I carried a rain shell along but never felt the need to put it on. I’m glad I waterproofed my Five Ten Karvers early in the week. It was only towards the end of the day that water started to seep through to my feet.

Eureka, I made it!

I arrived back at the Start/Finish with about 10 minutes to spare, completely and thoroughly exhausted. Not a bad guess time-wise in the end though I was super impressed to see the hardcore MTB Orienteering pro’s blast across the line with only 1-2 minutes of the event remaining, having reached almost every control point on the map.

A tough epic but super satisfying. Until next year then!

A major burn had been conducted in the forest since I last rode there in September, in preparation for the Summer bushfire season. The burnt forest was so quiet today – no thumping of kangaroos, rustling of critters, hardly any birds. Usually that is one of the funnest things about being on a uni in the bush – you hardly make any noise and are traveling relatively slowly so can hear the forest.

Burnt 'Autumn-like' Forest

It felt kinda weird. Here’s what the trail was like back in July…

Forest back in July

The 24 GUni was good fun, though like the Black Forest ride the other day I tend to think the single speed 29′er is a better overall match for today’s terrain. Making use of high gear definitely on the GUni takes more commitment and energy vs riding 1:1, especially in the twisty, rough, up and down single track terrain.

The Schumpf hub is running great, as is the tubeless 24 tire. I haven’t added air to it since early September, and it feels great to ride.

Schlumpf Hub and Tubeless going great!

The lack of shade and anything much green in the burnt forest also meant no cool air. The additional heat was immediately noticeable.

No cool air in burnt forest

Another interesting thing was that there was no sign of the 100mm of rain that fell a week or so ago. The trails were hardpacked, dry and dusty, not a puddle anywhere – much different to Winter!

More burnt forest

A fun ride, not an easy cruise but that’s a good thing. My fitness has crapped out over the last month of not riding due to injuring my left leg/foot so it felt good to be out there puffing and panting in the heat. My leg feels pretty good too. I’m also really looking forward to getting back into Trials once the Cyclic Navigator is over.

Good ride!

Even though I was raised in the hot and humid tropics I don’t enjoy participating in events in really hot conditions. Doesn’t make sense really, at home I’d just wait until it cooled down – anything under 25 degrees celcius suits me, under 20 even better! I also don’t like wearing a helmet when not necessary, so donning a helmet as a requirement for events adds to the temperature.

So… I’ve been working on my heat tolerance, riding in the middle of the day heat, wearing a helmet. I overdid the riding yesterday so today had a long but easy session practicing gear shifts, followed by a 5km 25-30km/h sprint in high gear concentrating on spinning lightly, ending with a soak in the creek.

Conclusion: It was hot

Hot!

Uni Bitch opted to spend some time in the creek while I rode… clever hey!

Lulu

Just about time to wipe down the Schlumpf hub.

Hub weeping a small amount of oil

The home made GUni bar is working great, and has survived many UPD’s no problems.

GUni Bar - loving it!

On the morning of the event you receive the map. The aim is to gather as many points as you can by passing through as many of the control points on the map as you can, via whatever route you think works best. Control points are worth different amounts and you must return inside of the six hours or lose points, so strategy plays a large part in the event especially in the last couple of hours. It’s great fun.

The Cyclic Navigator is on again at the end of November, not far off at all considering I’ve been out of action the last few weeks due to a leg injury but I’m really looking forward to giving it another go. I rode the 36′er last year with 137mm cranks which worked well. This year I’m planning to ride the 24 GUni. I think it’ll be a lot tougher (and slower) on the GUni but it’s something I’ve got to try at least once

I was the first unicyclist to participate in the event last year. This year there are currently two entered, hopefully we’ll get a few more before entries close on November 24th. The local newspaper did a lead up story for the event, including some fun photos taken in the forest near my place.

WHEEL BE FINE: Unicyclist Pete Walsh will compete again in the annual Cyclic Navigator mountain biking event through Muskvale, Spargo Creek, Mollongghip and Eganstown later this month. He is hoping other one-wheel fanciers will rise to the challenge and join him for the event.

The headline for the unrelated main story – ‘Funds for Hub caps years of waiting‘ -  on the front page is kinda funny. The geared hub does come with a cap, and there was definitely some waiting while funds were gathered. Check out the full story at the Hepburn Shire Advocate and the Cyclic Navigator site.

'Wheel be fine' Woohoo! Uni on front page!

As it turned out the 24 GUni was fun, but too often the trail was inbetween – not technical enough for 1:1, not suitable for scooting along in 1:1.5. Thinking back to my other rides here, the best overall match to these trails for me is the 29′er MUni single speed, which is a relief as I was starting to wonder if there was any love left for the 29′er and whether I should sell it.

Still, today was fun and good preparation for riding the 24 GUni in the upcoming Cyclic Navigator – chances are the course route will be through much easier terrain.

Black Forest Single Track

For a relatively short ride there are many climbs and descents – + 520m climb within an hour of MUni and ~8km.

Ride Route, +520m climbing

I managed to have one especially dumb UPD, banging the side of my leg that is still healing…. DOH!

Ouch... again!

The Black Forest includes some of the best single track in the area – a great mix of easy fast sections, intermediate terrain and a couple of plain scary bits.

Steep trail, Black Forest

This is the first time I’ve ridden the Black Forest trails in dry summer conditions  – hardpack covered with a thick layer of loose dusty dirt with a surprising low level of grip, and every now and then giant marbles! TBH I think wet winter conditions might in fact be easier and more enjoyable.

Giant Marbles

I’m digging the Five Ten Karvers, great GUni MUni shoe, and lucky socks never go astray

Five Ten Karvers and lucky socks!

I took it easy knowing that probably only one awkward UPD at the moment is the difference between being able to ride and being back swimming, but had a fun ride anyway. The single track on the Twin Bridges trail has some great GUni sections – narrow, gently undulating and relatively smooth – great fun to speed through, and with a drop down to the water on one side of the trail not a place to loose your nerve!

Twin Bridges Single Track

The Twin Bridges trail connects to the track around Lake Daylesford, a relatively short but fun, shaded ride.

Lake Daylesford

The trail also passes by several mineral springs. Not a big fan of mineral water!

Sutton Springs

All up things aren’t too bad – my lower leg has gone from aching to mainly feeling tight. My foot isn’t super comfortable in the shoe yet but the plan is to take it easy for the next couple of weeks with XC rides, definitely no trials stuff until after the Cyclic Navigator.

Twin Bridges Single Track

A great way to start the day. I don’t know if there is anything more healing all round than being in and around wild cold water.

Water Therapy

Lulu

Water Therapy

I rode for about an hour on the nearby trails, stopping back in at home halfway through to fit an ankle support. The foot isn’t comfortable in a shoe ATM, and the extra support seemed to help. Light riding seemed to be okay, but the slight twist to shift down to low gear was so-so. Gentle idling on that side felt ok but nothing in the way of jumping, trials etc felt even vaguely possible yet.

Ankle support

Apart from the injury it’s amazing how rested and full of fuel your body feels after a couple of weeks of not doing much. It felt great to be outdoors, in the forest, on the uni!

Back on the uni... Booyah!

In the three weeks I’ve been off the uni Spring has been replaced by an early start to Summer with the maximum daytime temperature rising from the low 20′s to the mid 30′s. The fresh green growth is being replaced by browned-off fields, and the volume of water running in the creeks and streams has more than halved. From now until around March you’ve really got to make the most of the cool changes as the Summer heat can make it tough to get motivated.

Cooling off by the creek

Not sure if it was a good idea to go out on the 24″ GUni instead of the single speed 29′er as in high gear the GUni places additional strain on your ankles etc but I was wanting to see if the injury had healed enough to be able to shift gears okay as there is a 6 hour MTB event at the end of the month I’m still hoping to ride (on the GUni).

Overall it was great to be out in the forest on the uni again. Fingers crossed there won’t be too much of a price to pay and I’ll be able to do the same again tomorrow

Since then my lower left leg has gone all funky magic! While it’s swollen, bruised and tender to touch there isn’t much discomfort walking so the verdict is it’s only tissue damage.

Looks like a couple of days off the uni, and maybe a break from gear shifting along with some cruisey rides after that is in order.

Funky Magic Leg

Note to self: riding geared MUni when over tired is not a great idea.

Flume Track turned out to be a fun short ride, and nothing like I expected. Lots of up and down and some fun steep eroded descents. The 24 GUni is perfect for this terrain! Suitable for a school cruise? Hmm… not really, and not a Summer trail either due to limited shade.

Up and down, and warm weather

Eroded steep descents - fun terrain

The turn around point for the ride was the Bullarto Reservoir. Being a town catchment area you can’t go near the water without a permit but the cool breeze coming off the water was definitely welcome. Today was quite warm with signs all around that the cool Spring weather is unfortunately almost over

Bullarto Reservoir

One UPD wasn’t much fun at all with the inside lower left leg taking a decent belting, on what I’m not sure. What I do know though is that due to the discomfort I couldn’t shift down gears on the return ride. DOH!

Ouch! lower left leg unhappy

Oh well, there’s always Rapigel!

I took this photo on a hill near our place, just after the fire had started. It burnt for a number of weeks.

Hogans Road Fire from hill near our place

Nine months on and with summer not that far off again I thought it was about time to head back into the area effected by the Hogans Road ride, which was also used in last year’s 6 hour Cyclic Navigator.

Hogans Road Fire, 9 months later

As far as fires go it burnt relatively cool, but surprisingly visible regrowth after all that time (and rain) is minimal.

Hogans Road Fire, 9 months later

The fire has exposed many old mine shafts, which I guess is good and bad!

Exposed mines

What were once trails winding through thick forest…

Hogans Road Fire, 9 months later

Hogans Road Fire, 9 months later

Riding out through the blackened fire perimeter into the nearby super fresh greens of the unburnt forest is surreal and intense.

Straight into lush green!

There are a number of interesting structures left over from the mining days including an old two level wooden bridge – footbridge, rail bridge across the top, water below.

Old two level (foot and rail) wooden bridge

And fun single track right along the lake’s edge.

Single track by the lake's edge

End of the ride for today at the lake viewing platform.

End of the ride, lake viewing platform

It won’t be too long and it’ll be hot enough to swim!

I started messing around with mounting the GoPro camera on the KH20 – some interesting points of view and sounds!

The home trials area is coming along great!

Home Trials Area

I headed out to an area of the Wombat Forest called Happy Valley and found a couple of new trails, mainly single track made by dirt bike riders and great fun on the 24 GUni.

Happy Valley Trail

Warm and fuzzy signs, encouraging you to be at one with the forest

Welcome to Happy Valley

I hadn’t had a proper breakfast or lunch, so not surprisingly I started to feel fairly average later on in the ride, crashed a lot and bonked about an hour from home… DOH!

Pic stop, pre bonk

Quite a few UPD’s today including a couple I’ll probably feel for a day or two. All part of the fun of MUni though!

I had a couple of hours to spare today so headed on out with the KH24″ GUni to check it out.

Don't fall off!

Sections of the trail were deep and narrow, other sections had little if anything to stop you sliding down the hill on one side. There was also a lot of stuff left over from the gold mining days – even tunnels!

Old mining tunnel

It took me a while to summon up sufficient mojo to cruise sections of the trail in high gear, but once I got the 24″ GUni rolling in high gear it was exhilarating!

From what I saw today the trail would also be great on a single speed 29′er MUni due to the extra pedal clearance and speed over the 24 in 1:1. The 24″ GUni is great though in a setting like this – where the trail is too narrow with too big a drop on the side, or obstacles or anything of concern you can always puddle through it in 1:1, then get back into 1:1.5 and hang on. Good day to wear a helmet

In and out of gullies

The trail winds in and out of many gullies, passing through a wide range of terrain. Once out of the side gullies the drop down to the river at times is big enough to scare you

Looking down to the river

Trail cut into hillside

Passing through heavily mined areas another funny thing are the old mines, sometimes right up against the trail.

Passing through heavily mined area

LOTS of forest! I hope to get back here a few times before Summer kicks in as it will often be a no go area due to bush fire risk and isolation.

Lots of forest!

Out of time today, the turn around point was a big fern beside the trail.

Big fern, turnaround point

I’m really enjoying the KH24″ GUni (Geared Unicycle). My legs and brain are definitely beginning to feel ‘re-tensioned’ for 1:1.5, making riding it off road a lot more relaxed, natural and FUN

It looks like there is a LOT more old mining trail to be explored along the river. Hope to get back there in the next week or two.

I headed down to the local reserve with one of our dogs, cruising around on the GUni.

Lulu, Uni Bitch

We haven’t had good spring rain like this for so long, some of the trails are still cut by water. UB doesn’t need any encouragement to get in there and check the water depth.

Mobile Water Depth Checker!

The local reserve is a fun place to ride, scenic with a range of trails and obstacles, even mineral springs – just down the road from home.

Spring at local reserve

My leg feels pretty good after the light ride!

Waterfall Steps

When it comes to sports injury relief a popular treatment in Australia is Rapigel which funnily enough is ‘For Animal Treatment Only’, specifically horses and dogs. Buying Rapigel from a horse/rural supplies store often involves the two sided charade of ‘So this is for your horse? Yes this is for my horse’…

According to the makers of Rapigel:

Rapigel provides a clean and easy method to deliver cold therapy to joints, tendons and muscles. Rapigel provides rapid effective relief from pain, swelling and inflammation for a wide variety of injuries and conditions.

For Animal Treatment Only

There isn’t much in it – menthol, camphor and alcohol. It’s gooey stuff but feels GREAT when the ice pack effect kicks in, which can be prolonged by using bandages.

Listen to Pete’s Rapigel Testamonial

Bandaged Uni Animal

Take it easy for a day or two on the uni, especially trials, and it should be good to go.

Neigh, neigh to you all

I’d initially tightened the crank bolts to 45Nm which is working great as on all subsequent checks the crank bolts have been spot on. The bearing brackets were also just right -  just under 5Nm on the smooth side. 5.5Nm on the knurled side. GREAT.

Checking the crank bolts means removing the shifter buttons, which introduces the risk of not tightening the shifter buttons adequately when putting them back on and having them fall off along the trail. I’ve done that before, not fun! I always carry the tools to tighten the shifter buttons with me on rides – no hassle as they are so small, and it’s easy to do a quick check on the trail.

Checking bearing brackets before ride, Schlumpf Geared Unicycle Hub

I headed out to Trailer Track, the best part of which is the final descent to the Loddon River. On bigger wheels like the 36′er the rocky descent can be intimidating, on a 24″ it’s a lot of fun. I messed around there for quite a while, trying progressively harder lines.

Fun line down Trailer Track

As promised the storms passed over, though nothing crazy like the last time I was in the same area and got caught in a hail storm.

Passing storms

Along the way took a couple of minutes to double check the Schlumpf shifter buttons were on tight, no worries!

Checking Schlumpf shifter buttons

The Karvers are proving to be EXCELLENT for gear shifting – positive, quick shifts requiring minimal effort, without mashing the shifting button around. They’ve really freed me to shift a lot more out on the trail, just as well as it’s something I do a lot more on the 24″. I’ve offset the lace covers so no problems there, though they are still goofy

Five Ten Karvers

Each ride on the KH24 GUni just gets better and better. My average speed over rides is steadily climbing as I’m feeling increasingly comfortable in 1:1.5 on the 24″ whether it be climbing, descending or scooting along the flat. The strength and maneuverability of the 24″ wheel, the ride of the 3.0 Duro coupled with the speed of the 36′er off road… it’s HUGE fun!

The 24 GUni is perfect for this kind of adventure – motoring out along trails to the area you want to explore, having ‘the ride’, then motoring back home – lots more forest to explore using this approach!

Ride Route

After several days of wet and cold weather the sun blasted out this morning – a nice cool Spring day, a lot of water running through the forest creeks, and great riding conditions. Gotta get out as much as possible before Summer so did a quick torque check of the Schlumpf hub related stuff and headed out.

Burnt Forest, one year later

ATM over the length of most rides it looks like I’m achieving similar overall average speed as on the 29′er, though the ride experience is a lot different on the 24 GUni – slower than a 29′er in 1:1 but able to tackle harder terrain, faster than a 29′er in 1:1.5. You really notice the extra physical effort on the 24 GUni. I guess as time goes on my average speed on the GUni will increase. I’m looking forward to using it in a few MTB Orienteering events over Summer too.

KH24 GUni

The motocross guys have put in a lot of single track in the Swaby Lane area. Unfortunately there is also a lot of erosion on the trails due to the combination of little ground cover (burnt), rain, track design (often straight up and down hills) and big spinning moto tires – you could loose a uni in some of the grooved, chewed out trails, not shown below

Singletrack

There aren’t too many cleared hills or rocky outcrops in the Wombat Forest you can climb to get a view of the surrounding area. It was fun to find one today. With lots of large rocks it could be a great spot for natural trials course, with a view!

At the mini summit!

Found lots of insane climbs and descents on the eastern side of the rocky outcrop.

Steep climbs and descents

A good size chunk of the forest around Swaby Lane burnt a year or so ago, it’s great to see some regrowth kicking in. The combination of black tree trunks and fresh green foilage is both eerie and scenic. It’s also a reminder that Summer and the bush fire season isn’t too far off

Regrowth along the trail

I had hoped to complete a longer loop but ran out of time. I took the ‘main dirt road’  shortcut home and scooted downhill through the forest in 1:1.5, getting up over 25km/h at times. GREAT fun!

Off road unicycling at night is a hoot – ‘other worldly’ is probably the best description I can think of. Familiar trails take on a whole new life. I used two sets of  Ay Up! lights, on the helmet and the handlebar, though one helmet mounted light is adequate for most night riding.

I’m hoping to do an overnight epic ride sometime in the next couple of months.

Night GUni

Scooting down Reed Track in high gear on the 24″ GUni the tire picked up a stick which got caught in the Magura crossover line, bringing the uni to an immediate stop. Those stainless steel braided lines sure are strong – before I knew it I was catapulted forward, and rolling down the blue stone gravel. OUCH! haven’t had one of those random splats for a long time.

Offending stick and swollen, lumpy leg

At low 1:1 speeds on the 24 the limited clearance of the cross over line hasn’t been a problem, but get that big Duro 3″ motoring along in 1:1.5 and it seems to pick up debri on the trail far more readily – it happened a few times on today’s ride. I really need a longer crossover line.

Digging around in my spare parts box tonight I found an old Magura line complete with the M8 and M6 fittings, and it happened to be the correct length for a longer crossover line. NICE!

GUni on Reed Track

With the crash out of the way it was back to riding. Had GREAT fun, motoring up and down easier trails in 1:1.5, and 1:1 for the harder stuff.

A couple of things:

• It’s significantly harder to maintain sustained climbing on the 24″ in 1:1.5 (virtual 36′er) with 150mm cranks compared to a single speed 36′er with 150mm cranks (0r shorter). This should get easier over time on the GUni, but even then it’s a very different feeling. There’s also the temptation to climb too quickly on the GUni, along with getting out of the saddle too much.
• Non technical off road climbing on the 24″ in 1:1 isn’t much fun compared to climbing the same terrain on the 29 or 36′er. The smaller wheel just doesn’t roll up hills anywhere near as smoothly as larger wheels.

These are only minor things that will improve with time, and the 24 GUni is already opening up a lot more of the forest for riding. The high gear makes long distance MUni rides feasible, and the combination of the big gear and fat Duro tire really encourages you to ride trails faster than you would otherwise. Low gear means you can confidently explore any new and/or challenging trails you come across.

Reed Track

It was really satisfying to finally make it down a few sections of trail I’d previously avoided or walked on larger uni’s, even more so given the wet and slippery conditions today.

I’m 110% sold on the 24″ GUni!

When talk started about 24″ GUni’s I wasn’t overly interested in the theory. I just wanted to know how the feeling of riding a 24″ GUni in 1:1.5 gear compared to riding a real (single speed) 36′er. Would it feel similar to riding a 36′er with the same crank length? Could you crank along the trail, climb and descend on a virtual 36′er as comfortably as on a real one? A real 36″ wheel feels SO good once it’s spinning and due to it’s large diameter rolls smoothly over bumps that unsettle smaller wheels, it’s a great machine for long, fast XC rides. How would pushing a 3″ wide 24″ Duro tire along as a virtual 36″ feel?

36er vs 24" GUni

I had a break from uni yesterday to shake the sick bug, so today I had a go at flushing it out of the system with a ride on the 24′ GUni – a much more enjoyable treatment

With shifter buttons checked (don’t want to loose one again!) I headed out to a few of my favourite local trails. Due to the distance from home I’d never bothered to ride out to them on a single speed 24″ but a GUni changes all of that.

I’d been running 165mm cranks on the 36′er GUni. Not having huge feet meant shifting required a deliberate number of steps. A bit of a hassle but it did mean accidental shifts during riding were highly unlikely, just as well too as I tend to fidget around with my feet while on the move. Like on the 29′er GUni the 150mm cranks on the 24″ make shifting easier for sure, but there is definitely potential there for accidental shifts while bumping along trails, especially unexpected shifts down to 1:1 from 1:1.5. I’ll probably try two things – firstly, just be more disciplined with my foot position especially on the down shift side, and secondly adjust the shifter button on the downshift side so it protrudes a little less.

Gear changing is going ok overall. I’m still getting used to the opposite orientation of the hub compared to my 36′er. I’ve got to remind myself to change gears, especially changing up. If I’m spinning too fast in 1:1, might as well be in 1:1.5! Just like on the 36′er GUni my ankle bones do most of the shifting (I love my 5.10 Sam Hills but for me anyway they’re not ideal on a GUni). I found my old basketball style sneakers the other day that cover the ankle with padding and they made shifting gears much slicker and more comfortable so the plan is probably to get some smid style shoes for GUni, probably something like the 5.10 Karver which looks ideal – high only on the shifting side.

Trailer single track

Some guys prefer to spin insanely fast on a uni, with little if any feeling of muscle load in the legs. Given the choice I prefer to spin slower and feel load, just like on a bike. GUni’s are GREAT for that.

Climbing on a virtual 36′er (24″ GUni in 1:1.5, 150mm cranks) is fun. Getting out of the saddle or seated, grabbing the handlebar with both hands and cranking like you’re on a bike feels great. BUT it definitely takes more energy and effort compared to spinning away on a 36′er with 150mm cranks. It’s not better or worse, but different as you’d expect really as there has got to be some extra work involved squeezing 1.5 wheel revs for 1 rev of your legs.

When the going got tough today there was always 1:1 on the 24″ GUni. I haven’t climbed much on the 24″ uni in the past, it definitely requires a different approach to climbing off road vs a single speed 29 or 36′er. The 24″ in 1:1 has so much torque and so little speed compared to bigger wheels – there’s no point trying to rush or power up longer hills, just relax and take your time and let the big fat Duro tire do the work!

Wattles in flower

Descending on the 24″ GUni in 1:1.5 today was good fun too. Either let the uni roll, go with it and go enjoyably fast (not scarey ‘I’m going to die’ fast like on the GUni 36), or use the brake. Either way you still need to be smooth, more so than on a single speed (but less so compared to a GUni 36), part of which means not trying to brake too much with your legs. No need to do a lot of heavy leg braking anyway, as using the hand brake on a 24″ GUni in 1:1.5 is smooth and easy – not as intuitive as in 1:1, but a lot easier compared to braking on a GUni 36 in high gear.

Track home

The big Duro tire was a lot of fun in 1:1.5 gear, much more fun off road at speed vs the narrow 36′er tire and in 1:1, the big Duro is as fun as always. Funnily enough too, the tubeless 24″ Duro makes a very cool hollow hum at speed. The tubeless setup is still working no probs too, I’ll experiment more with tire pressure over the next few weeks. The 24″ tube is thick and heavy – tubeless is a worthwhile saving IMO.

Today was probably the most fun GUni ride I’ve had which straight up makes me think the 24″ GUni was a great choice. Don’t know if it will ever replace my single speed 36′er but the GUni 24 is a LOT of fun off road and super versatile.

As I said to my wife after the ride if I could have just the one uni, it would be the 24 GUni. I think she may have even managed an approving nod – the thought of me having only one uni must have been appealing I guess

Not so good on the home front though as I woke up weak, dizzy and shaking with the gastro flu that is making it’s way through our household and around the region lately – change of season bug I guess that seems to happen each year. It was a day of sucking it up (literally, eewww !) and making the best of it as MUni called.

Thanks to the local and Melbourne guys who made it a fun day. With minimal signage to go by everyone (well… we thought it was everyone) managed to meet up at the second entry point to the Wombat MTB Singletrack and we headed off just after 11.30am.

Group shot at start of ride

The ride route was all single track apart from the shortcut back to the cars at the end of the day, bypassing the steeper trails on the eastern side of the dividing road.

Ride Route

Joell the uni maniac came prepared with highly fashionable body armour he’d scabbed from junk in my attic the night before… it’s now a trail marker

Joell with his high fashion body armour

The group gathered around numerous challenges along the way.

John at one of the mud challenges

There was singletrack, lots of twisty, narrow singletrack!

Sid on the trail

Paddy crossing a bridge on his one of a kind 'Only' 29'er!

And quite a few rest stops along the way.

Pit Stop

Even with the recent dry weather there was still lots of greasy mud to be enjoyed.

Joell carving mud

And a bunch of obstacles to clear.

Eric on the trail

There was a lot of discussion about making a uni movie, well actually, discussing the most important thing – the title.

Nick, Uni Movie Maniac

The ride of the day has to go to Connor. His first MUni and on a 20″ — he hardly broke a sweat! GREAT ride mate!

Connor, Ride of the Day. AWESOME!

I felt dizzy and disorientated towards the end of the ride,  like we were riding in circles – not so handy when you are meant to be giving directions. Luckily singletrack is just that – all we needed to do was follow it until it crossed the main dirt road that lead back to the cars.

Heading back to the cars along the access road after the ride

The end of ride photo turned into something else. What exactly? No idea!

End of ride 'What the?!' photo

The big and small of it!

The big and small of it!

We discovered a note written on my unwashed van from Morgan. Sorry mate, next time!

Nooooo Morgan! Sorry mate, must have just missed ya. Next time!

Then the worst news of the ride – we headed into the bakery at Woodend and they had sold out of their legendary vanilla slices…. NOOOOOOO!

The Melbourne guys headed for home while the local gang messed around for an hour or so on uni’s in the nearby parklands at Woodend.

Fun day, thanks all. I’m off to sleep.

Next Monthly MUni: Sunday October 4th

Good day to grab some fun pics too. My daughter came out and operated the camera with the wide angle lens fitted, thanks Hozza!

Fish eye head

Go you big red engine

Trials area is slowly growing

Look ma, I jumped me van!

Look ma, I jumped me van!

I really like the feeling of riding a geared unicycle with a handle bar fitted – the increase in comfort and control equals increased levels of joy and happiness. The XC handle bar offers a range of hand positions, is light weight (significantly lighter than the KH Touring Bar), is strong enough to survive many UPD’s, adjustable via the bar ends, and allows use of the brake lever in the traditional position beneath the seat.

I’m stoaked about how today’s ride went as while I like the XC handle bar on my 36′er I wasn’t sure how it would go on the 24. I don’t think I’ll be taking the XC bar off the 24 GUni any time soon

KH24 GUni with XC Bar at Loddon River

Buzzing around off road on the 24 GUni in high gear was a hoot – a LOT more relaxing and fun than high gear on a 36′er for sure! While the 24 doesn’t have the smooth flywheel spin of the larger wheel, in 1:1.5/virtual 36′ mode on the 24 you can feel a nice load on your legs, something missing on a single speed 36′er. Climbing and descending off road on the 24″ in 1:1.5 feels good too, and there’s always the go anywhere 1:1 ration. It’s also fun to be able to mount and ride off in 1:1.5, something a lot harder to do on the 36′er GUni.

I hope the tubeless 24″ tire holds up because so far it feels GREAT!

I’ve swapped the orientation of the hub around so one thing I need to rewire and refine in my brain is my shifting. The 150 cranks make shifting a lot more convenient vs the 165′s I had on the 36′er.

KH24 GUni with XC Bar

After the ride I checked the shifter buttons, crank bolts and bearing brackets for loosening or tension probs. All good, phew!

Shifter buttons, Check! Crank Bolts, Check! Bearing bracket bolts, Check!

I headed up the dirt road through the forest connecting Glenlyon to Little Hampton. Though a lot of my favorite loops cross over it I hadn’t ridden the road itself for a long time. Once out the door at home it’s almost all uphill for ~8km with a few short flats and dips that come in handy for recovery – a good 36′er ‘training’ ride.

I turned off the Little Hampton road at Trailer Track as I’d never ridden the top half of the latter. Good fun, lots of downhill, and the tubeless 36′er tire felt great!

Spring Field

Spring is a great time for riding in the Wombat Forest – not too hot, water around, lots of stuff in flower and bonus storms that pass over every now and then.

Ride Route

The hail wasn’t huge but dang it got cold afterwards.

Hail Uni

The trails got kinda wet too!

Trail after storm

Can’t say I missed the 36′er GUni today. I’m back to running 137mm cranks and really do like how they feel on a 36′er for off road XC riding. I am looking forward though to getting my Schlumpf hub back, converting my 24 to a GUni and seeing what that is like.

Loosing weight is often done by fitting a smaller tube, cutting tread, drilling rims, wheelbuild, etc. When it comes to loosing weight AND improving ride there aren’t too many options — Go tubeless! With my 36′er wheel being rebuilt (by Andrew at Kaos Custom Bikes) due to my geared hub being MIA it was a good opportunity to give tubeless a go.

Gone Tubeless

All things being equal the weight saving tubeless vs a running a 29′er tube is pretty much the same. I compared the weight of my complete tubeless 36′er wheel to the complete drilled 36′er wheel I have on loan (which is running a 29′er tube and also has trimmed tread). The wheel with the 29′er tube is slightly lighter — add back in the weight saved by drilling the rim and trimming the tread and it’s close to the same, especially considering the tubeless could run lighter with less sealant goop in the tire.

Stan's Solution

As almost all of my 36′er riding is offroad (and I’m not a big guy by any means) I usually run a Nightrider/29′er tube combo fairly low at 35-40 psi, which even then can feel too stiff.

After today’s first off road ride on the tubeless 36′er my first impression is that at an equivalent pressure (35-40 psi) the ride feels nicer vs a tubed tire. Hard to pin down exactly what ‘nicer’ means – supple, livelier, springy? I hope to do some back to back tests of both wheel setups using my other 36′er before it sells.

Tubeless 36'er

Uni Bitch wasn’t meant to come out on today’s ride. I stopped briefly after leaving home to take a photo and there she was coming up the trail… Noooo! She’s not as fit these days and did it tough, luckily there were a few puddles for her to cool off in.

Uni Bitch, puddle stop

With the days of my 36′er GUni over — when the Schlumpf hub returns it will go into my 24 — I was short a hub to rebuild the 36′er wheel so used one of the new KH09 hubs. Some of the new hubs have polished flanges but I prefer the all black look.

Kris Holm 2009 Hub

I’m easily amused by weird signage in the forest

Tubeless AKA Brainless. Protection from what... or who?

Running the 29′er tube was never much of a hassle but if the tubeless setup — which offers a comparable weight saving AND ride benefits — proves to be reliable it’s a no brainer. If not, it’s back to the 29′er tube.

I’m really looking forward to seeing how the tubeless 36′er goes over the coming months. If it goes ok, I’ll probably convert the 24 MUni to tubeless too.

Had lots of fun on the 20″ uni, and took some video along the way.

Go the 20″ Uni!

First MUni of Spring, Trentham Falls

I took 20 and 24 uni’s along and had a lot of fun in the middle of the day as the storm clouds passed over, including a few self timer pics with my little compact digi—cam, shamelessly photoshopped.

Skate Park

After mainly riding the 29 and 36 off road since late last year, I’ve really been enjoying the unbreakable and springy feel of the 24 and 20 wheels while I work on improving my trials skills. Hard to say which out of the 20 and 24 I prefer when it comes to just tooling around. For sure the 20 is light and feels indestructible and great to learn new skills on, but the fatter tire on the 24 makes up for its extra weight and sometimes just feels like a more natural size uni to me, even in a skate park.

Steps, Daylesford Skate Park

Being a mixed up left AND right hander one of the hardest things with unicycling can be working out which hand/foot combination, which direction etc feels most natural, so generally I’ve been practicing all skills using the two best feeling combinations.

Steps, Daylesford Skate Park

One local BMX rider dropped by while I was there, scootering around with no chain on his bike. BMX bikes are so fluid and cool to watch in a skate park setting. We both rode around doing our own thing, stopping for a chat every now and then. The BMX’er even gave the uni a go, nice!

KH20, Daylesford Skate Park

Amazingly enough no major UPD’s today. I took leg armor and a helmet along but didn’t get around to putting either on, lucky all round I guess. My arms and legs feel well used tonight, so I guess it’s mission accomplished

I’ve ridden around the falls a few times on the KH20 so for a change I took the KH24 along to explore more of the unmapped tracks in the area and see how riding the 24 compared to the 20 in that environment.

Spring Wattles, Trentham Falls

The falls are located on Coliban River (which is more like a small creek) and often run dry. With the recent rain though there’s a reasonable flow over the falls  — great fun to practice MUni skills in the mist spray of a waterfall!

Muni, Trentham Falls

The trail down to the base of the falls is tough and a bit scary TBH – rocky and narrow, with a steep drop on one side down to the river. Will take a lot more practice  to clear it, and bring some leg armor along!

Rocky trail

There are also several sets of wooden steps leading down to the falls viewing platform that start off easy and gentle, progressively becoming more difficult. It’s a great place to practice a bunch of skills with the roar of the falls nearby.

Step Practice, Trentham Falls

It’s satisfying to feel my uni skills related to trials starting to shape up. Really I think it’s like a lot of other uni skills — you need to uni in an environment that require those skills on an appropriate uni and skill development happens automatically, else it’s unlikely those skills are ever going to magically improve.

You come across wacky things in the middle of the forest — humongous puddles across the track, weirdos on unicycles and bizarre signs nailed to trees.

BIG puddles across the track

Uni Weirdo

Say What?

After meeting up at the Boathouse Cafe we headed off around the entire lake circuit, the longest distance a few of the guys have ridden so far.

The 'Rock on' Pose

Posers!

The 'Posh' Pose

We stopped off at anything interesting along the way including a grassy hill, great place for practicing descending skills.

Grassy Hill Challenge

and jetties:

Don't feed the animals

We continued on to the less visited ‘other half’ of the lake.

Self portrait

We didn’t run into too many walkers, well actually only one… literally… OUCH!

Cruising the track

And somehow during a UPD one the unicycles slid between the wooden fence, down the bank and ended up floating in the lake

Joell riding a wall

After completing a circuit of the lake we headed down to Central Springs. Some not so great tasting mineral water but some great riding.

Crossing the spillway bridge

Elijah's first long ride, rock on mate!

Before heading back to the Boathouse Cafe.

Fizzy and the big tree

Good one guys!

As luck would have it Daniel from Melbourne had time for a ride before heading off to Western Australia so we met outside of Woodend to have a crack at the complete Wombat MTB Single Track loop.

The day started out cool and sunny with a small mob of kangaroos sunning themselves as we arrived at the trail entry in the van, love the aussie bush! The single track was already wet, muddy, slippery and chewed up from earlier rain and MTB traffic. The sky closed in and about 1/4 of the way into the loop the rain came down and we pushed on – now mega greasy clay single track, lots of water and mud, wheel spinning and sliding, UPD’s, laughing, swearing — awesome fun. Tough conditions can really bring a ride to life

Three and half hours later we’d completed the loop, soaking wet and muddy. The single track has so many great sections of riding, a perfect match for a 29′er MUni.

The pics taken during a break in the rain don’t really tell the story, awesome ride!

Birthday MUni, Wombat MTB Single Track

Complete Loop, Wombat MTB

Daniel, MTB Single Track Woodend

Mummy I had an accident or 10

42nd Birthday MUni!

Like many unicyclists almost all of my riding is alone so the social aspect of the monthly MUni rides is really enjoyable, though always sort of strange initially. From looking forward and seeing a bunch of uni’s cruising through the forest, meeting other riders,  to chatting about anything uni with people who ‘get it’,  it’s a cool way to ride and a different experience to going solo.

Pre Ride Group Shot

The looping route included fire track climbs followed by single track descents.

Single Track

After French Vanilla Slice and munchies at the Woodend Bakery, the local guys took over the Woodend Skate Park before heading home.

Liam 'All your skate park belong to us'

Thanks to everyone who came up for the ride, hope to catch up with you guys for another ride or three.

Special mention to Joell and Oscar who rode the trail on 20″ uni’s, onya guys!

Details of September MUni Ride 04 — Wombat MTB Trail

All before the morning coffee – that’s something of a miracle

Frosty Trails

Frost!

Along with the KH Freeride 29′er I also brought the single speed 36′er along just in case.

Black Forest Photo Stop

In addition to the fire trails I mapped ~13km of terrific single track.

Fun Single track

There were also extended sections of steep, rough, wet and slippery single track — no pics unfortunately, too busy riding, will return with video — challenging but great fun. The flow and clearance of the 29′er came in handy. I should’ve brought a helmet along.

As always, some classic UPD moments

Scene of the ride's best UPD

I also came across a number of old MTB trails no longer in use, including old skinnies in damp shaded gullies.

Wet Skinny

2 1/2 hours of really enjoyable 29′er MUni, BOOYAH!

MUni BOOYAH!

Time to swap to the 36′er for a cool down lap of the fire roads.

mm_wombat_7

After the 29′er the 36′er felt FAST and SMOOTH but also HEAVY!

Fast and smooth but heavy

Looking forward to returning to this area of forest!

It turns out there aren’t just a lot of tracks in the Macedon area but also a signed cycling trail through the forest, cool.

I hadn’t ridden my 24″ MUni for a while so took it along for a spin. A smaller wheel would also give me a better idea of how the trails will feel to the younger guys who come along riding 20″ Trials/MUni’s.

Entry point, Macedon Regional Park Cycling Trail

Most of the Macedon Regional Park Cycling Trail is old fire track making for easy cruising interspersed with climbs and descents, some quite steep.

Fire trail cruising

Single track cuts across the main trail every now and then — will be great to have the single track as an option for riders wanting more of a challenge.

Optional Single track detours

The official trail markers are kinda kooky at times – you can go up down, in all directions apparently and still be on the trail, doh!

Hmm... trail markers go in all directions!

After a cruise around the trail I was back at the van, definitely a possibility for the monthly MUni. I had some time to spare so then rode the loop in the opposite direction which turned out to be a lot more enjoyable.

Loop-meister

All up a great fun ride. Was fun to be on the 24″ again — while I missed the speed of bigger wheels at times, I definitely noticed the increased climbing power and control of the 24″. It still didn’t stop my shins from getting intimate with the steel pins on the pedals, and  me eating it in a muddy section just before the end of the ride – the mud here sure is deep, like quicksand!

I’ve really been enjoying riding the 20″. It’s been my main ride for the last week as I work on improving a whole bunch of skills.

Nicky, Joell and Oscar, Lake Daylesford

With the Freeride KH29′er ready to roll I took the video camera along to record some of the fun:

Once the video camera battery went flat there wasn’t much else to do but ride for the steeper more difficult section of  trail, crash many times and eat copious mud. The trail whooped my butt — by the time I got back to the van I was dripping in mud and realized my Gorillapod had fallen out during one of the UPD’s somewhere along the trail, ARGH!

Scorecard: Trail: 1 Gorillapod, Pete: Copious mud

By the end of the ride....

A highlight of the many kilometres of twisty narrow single track are the numerous log obstacles that can be taken at speed.

Before the mud festivities began

The steeper section of singletrack traverses hillsides before dropping in and out of steep gullies and includes man made obstacles such as raised timber bridges, skinnies and jumps.

Traversing hillside, Woodend Singletrack

Fallen Tree Obstacle

Riding the steeper singletrack loop reminded me of the benefits of staying relaxed and focused in difficult terrain, and going with the flow as much as possible. Sometimes on the trail you’ve got to remind yourself to relax.

A great MUni loop, only 4km drive off the Calder Freeway at Woodend.

Woodend II Route

With an average heart rate of ~160bpm there wasn’t much slouching around on the ride which included 20 or so express stops to shoot some video.

Woodend II Heart Rate Data

Five Tens, say hello to mud…

Later in the ride!

I’m already planning a return trip to Woodend to ride the final section of MTB singletrack!

The MTB crew at Woodend have created ~50km of singletrack through the Wombat Forest which has become a popular haunt for several hundred mountain bikers each weekend, but being mid week mid winter I didn’t see too many MTB’ers today – not such a bad thing when you’re riding singletrack on a a uni.

Woodend MTB Singletrack by Unicycle

Due to the recent wild weather and MTB use the singletrack was chopped up, greasy and slippery, but lots of fun – conditions that really challenge you to spin smoothly. I was mindful of not over doing it and rode only a portion of the singletrack but plan to return and ride the entire trail network. One section today included a bunch of large log jumps/obstacles across the trail that could be taken at speed on the 29′er, nice! Should make for some great video and photos in the future.

Woodend MTB Singletrack Section

The KH29′er with the 47mm reeride Rim and WTB Stout 2.3 was a perfect match for the trail, terrain and wet conditions. In drier conditions I’d guess the KH36 with 150mm cranks would also be a hoot on these trails.

Woodend MTB Singletrack

MUni, Winter Flu Relief

Yeah, nothing like a shot of MUni followed up by vanilla slice at the Woodend Bakery to get over the Winter flu!

We drove out to an area of forest called Dry Diggings which was anything but dry due to the wild weather over the last couple of days and with uni’s sorted rode along single track to Browns Gully and back.

Monthy MUni (Thanks for the pic Robyn!)

Thanks to Unicycle.Com Australia we had 24″ and 26″ ISIS Nimbus MUni’s available as loaners for the ride which were put to good use.

Ride Route, Monthly MUni 02

The single track was wet and slippery but lots of fun.

Joell, in Browns Gully

It was my first ride in a couple of weeks due to a crappy winter flu so the aim was to take it easy and not get too wet and cold. Amazingly and thankfully the stormy weather held off all day, until we returned to the Chocolate Mill.

Leaving Browns Gully, Monthly MUni

The Chocolate Mill offered a free ultimate hot chocolate for the best UPD of the Day, claimed by Oscar although Joell’s nut buster while crossing Browns Gully on a fallen tree was a close second

Thanks to everyone who braved the weather forecast and came along for the second Monthly MUni ride, especially the families who drove up from Melbourne.

Next Monthly MUni: Sunday August 9th

It’s been a week or so since I’ve ridden a 36′er — it’s fun how ‘big’ a 36′er  feels after a break when you first get on and get going, especially compared to the little 12″ and 16″ uni’s I’ve been playing around on lately.

KH36 Unicycle, Lake Wendouree

I averaged about 15.5 km/h for the ride, not bad considering 137mm cranks and how slow I tend to spin, nothing too manic today.

Always worth taking a uni along in the van, just in case there’s time for a ride!

First impression is that the Nimbus 26″ MUni is one cool piece of machinery, the standout feature being the 3.0″ tire making the working diameter of the 26″  tire only slightly smaller than a 29′er but with the ride benefits of the wider tire and smaller wheel build.

I’ll be posting a full review of the Nimbus 26″ ISIS MUni later this week!

Nimbus 26" Mountain Unicycle

Babbington Hill Top Track is a challenging climb – washed out, eroded, steep in places, slippery, lots of large loose rocks. It fooled a number of competitors in last year’s MTB Cyclic Navigator thinking a climb to the top would make for easy points. Not so, definitely a leg burning anaerobic climb and also lots of fun to descend.

Babbington Hill Top Track

Without a lot of time to spare it was straight up and down, arriving back at school just in time for the afternoon unicycle session with the kids.

Babbington Hill MUni

The 26′er has got me thinking that’s for sure…

The section of the Great Dividing Trail between Mount Franklin and Castlemaine is a hoot on a 29″ wheel, with a fun mix of descents and climbs along ridges, dropping down into single track filled gullies.

Browns Gully, Unicycling Great Dividing Trail

Quite a few UPD’s today including the biggest arse plant I’ve had in a long time, falling backwards off the uni. I’ve really got to work on my skills of jumping over stuff on the trail, especially on the 29′er. I did however clear a sections I had no chance on when I rode the trail on my 29′er in October last year, so all good!

Eric, where he ended up

I picked up a cheap Garmin Heart Rate Monitor belt on eBay a couple of weeks ago. Today was the first full ride wearing it. Heart rate data is much more interesting (and less hassle) IMO than cadence. Not a bad workout for the old ticker with the bulk of the ride over 140 bpm.

Heart Rate during ride

The only hassle during the ride were the bugs. Every now and then you’d ride into swarms of tiny flying insects, not good for eyes. Note to remember – on damp still Winter day rides wear clear sunglasses.

Browns Gully Bugs

With commitments at home calling and short winter days we rode as far as time permitted before returning back along the trail to the car. Nice one!

After meeting up at the Glenlyon General Store we drove to Bridge Road/Reed Track, a handy starting point with forest rides heading out in all directions. With uni’s sorted we hit the trails.

The ride route:

 

Ride Route, Wombat Forest

Mud puddle crossings were the order of the day, providing lots of laughs and wet gear, but unfortunately no full on face plants

Eric the Red crossing one of the many mud puddles

After looping down to the Loddon river and back up to vehicles we rode down an unnamed idyllic stretch of single track.

Paddy, infected with MUni Madness

Morgan bailing, Boundary Road

After the ride we headed back to the Glenlyon General Store for drinks and food.

Barry, Morgan, Paddy, Eric, Pete

Many thanks to Barry and Julie who came up from Melbourne, and generously helped out with a spare MUni. Barry, Morgan, Paddy and Eric, thanks for the ride. Onya guys!

Lesson learned: Everyone bring more food next time, and a few more tools.

Next monthly MUni: Sunday 12th July

Stay tuned for the upcoming 29 inch Rim 38mm vs 47mm Comparison story…

Muddy Freeride

Here’s a short video of the ride – ‘Spinning Wheel by Blood, Sweat and Tears’

Riding in the wet, slippery, muddy forest reminds me of night riding off road where you rely more on feeling what is happening through the tire at the time versus in the dry where you read the terrain ahead and often just go with that. It’s a fun feeling when you relax and go with it.

Rain, Cold and Mudguard

The WTB Stout 2.3 worked great offering a huge amount of grip which lets go progressively. I had a lot of fun trying to break traction in mud, spinning up the wheel and subsquently UPD’ing. You can really feel the side knobbies on the Stout claw into the mud while traversing slopes. Yeah I think the Stout will be a great winter tire!

WTB Stout 2.3

The Topeak Defender M2 Mudguard worked great! I found myself seeking out puddles, along with climbing and descending hills on the wet line as the rain came down vs my usual practice of keeping out of the wet line. Not that it completely makes sense – it was raining and I was getting wet anyway, just that my butt and back weren’t getting spray off the wheel. Like other unicycle related gadgets, it’s not so much what the gadget is but what you end up thinking and wanting to do due to knowing the gadget is in play – like leg guards!

Topeak Defender M2 Mudguard

As the light started to fade I headed for home, dropping down fire tracks to cross the Loddon River. It was the same place, same weather conditions, same time of day last June that while testing the Panaracer Rampage 2.35 I had a heavy UPD damaging my left knee which still aches 12 months on. Bummer.

The rain seeped in

I arrived home just on dark, soaked and elated – nothing like a crazy fun ride in cold Winter rain to know you are ALIVE!

Time to dry everything out by the fire, for the next ride…

Kris Holm 20" Unicycle, Winter Steps Challenge

After convincing myself that I really did want to start riding the biggest set of steps, slippery and muddy in the cold Autumn rain, I headed out and had a GREAT time. So peaceful riding in the rain, and not another person to be seen.

I took the tire pump along and tweaked the pressure as like the KH24″ I’d been running the tire on the KH20″ too low, leading to the tire sometimes folding sideways and/or sometimes bottoming out on landing. With the tire pressure sorted the first mission was to start on hopping all the way down, a ‘get to know you’ introduction to the steps I guess. By the end of the session rain and sweat were dripping off the helmet!

Winter Steps Challenge

It’s a cool thing with unicycling – when the time is right and you’re ready, everything seems to just fit together. Today felt like that.

Soaked through, I had to return home to find some dry clothes before heading out to Bullarto School to run a unicycle session with the kids. I don’t think they or their parents would be too enthused by a riding session in the Autumn rain, so we watched Defect instead

The highlight of the ride was a section of narrow wooded single track. Being up on the 36′er, ducking branches, clipping trees – dang that section of track is easier on a 29′er!

Narrow but fun single track

The pimped out KH36 and XC GUNI Bars cruised along no problems. One thing I noticed with the polished frame was a build of a goop on my calves where they must rub the frame every now and then – I guess hairy legs is one way to polish the frame while riding

Kris Holm 36" Schlumpf GUni

Riding in the Wombat Forest includes lots of up and down, not huge mountain climbs by any means but the changes in elevation quickly add up over a ride.

Route Elevation

I should’ve eaten a better lunch before heading out on the ride… well… any lunch would have been useful. I had to resort to a GU Gel to get me home. Not surprisingly by the end of the ride the GUNI 36′er started to feel heavy and I started to feel light headed. DOH!

Wombat Forest Loop

As a footnote I’m not sure having the GSC 10 Speed and Cadence Sensor fitted is worth it. The design of the unit and the mounting system is not good, too easy to bump the whole unit or adjustable arm into the wheel, even just lying the uni down in the bush. The cadence data is interesting for sure but maybe not interesting enough to warrant the hassle.

After a great ride on the KH29 at Twin Bridges I headed back this afternoon with the KH24 to work on clearing several sets of steep rickety steps cut in the hillsides as the trail drops down to the creek. I’d avoided most of those sections on the 29′er as they were well beyond my level of confidence on the day, with back surgery I had a few years ago nagging away in the back of my mind. Anyway, time to suck that up and get on with it!

Stairway to Heaven

I spent a couple of hours riding one short section of steps. Fast, slow, with heavy use of brakes, no use of brakes, varying tire pressure, you name it. It was great fun and a great challenge too, especially as each step has its own character – with unique drop, width, angle, surface, erosion, rocks etc, nothing regular. A narrow rocky chute approach to the step section added to excitement. Like everything else in unicycling, staying relaxed and focused is key to doing it or not. Good day to be wearing leg armor as there was no shortage of UPD’s, though I could clear the short section reliably and relaxed by the end of the day, WOOHOO!

At the end of a couple of hours I’d covered hardly any distance but was exhausted and soaked through with sweat. A thoroughly enjoyable ‘ride’.

The plan from now on is supplement my 36 and 29′er off road rides with regular sessions to work on my technical skills, either on the 24″ or 20″.  Maybe by the end of Winter I’ll be able to clear all the step sections, who knows!

The Twin Bridges loop starts at the picturesque Central Springs park at the base of Lake Daylesford. The track then splits into two, cut into the hillside on both sides as it follows  Wombat Creek, varying from walking track, fast smooth single track, technical rocky single track to dirt and wooden steps and other man made obstacles – GREAT off road unicycling! The track on the shaded side is damp and slippery, and the track on both sides narrows at times with a steep drop down to the creek on one side. Awesome!

The Twin Bridges loop is part of a popular mineral springs walk and as such is best ridden at off peak times i.e. weekdays during the day.

Start of Twin Bridges Loop on KH29 Unicycle, Daylesford

I really enjoyed the buzz and challenge of riding somewhere new, of not knowing what is around the next corner, and rode multiple laps of the loop in both directions until I ran out of time. There were sections I couldn’t clear on the 29′er, especially the large dirt/wood steps cut into the hill and ultra narrow large rocky sections, but it was a great opportunity to practice and try stuff out on the 29′er that previously with the narrow rim I probably would’ve walked. I’ll return on the 24″ and the 20″ to work on clearing those.The flow of the track when ridden in the clockwise direction is just fantastic, a great mix of terrain.

The KH Freeride 29′er with the new wide rim now fitted with a new WTB Stout 2.3 was a blast to ride today. I’m super happy with the wide rim, with it the 29′er is a great feeling off road machine. After obsessing about crank length on the 29′er I swapped back to 150′s which really suited the ride overall.  View the GPS replay of the ride

The Twin Bridges Loop would also make for an awesome evening/night ride – that is now on my list of rides I’ve gotta do this winter!

Twin Bridges / Lake Daylesford GPS Route

The dirt walking track around Lake Daylesford is an easy fast cruise – would be a hoot on a 36′er -  following the edge of the lake the whole way around. I’ve often thought of unicycling at Lake Daylesford as not only is it scenic, but there are numerous man made obstacles to practice on that you just don’t come across in the forest.

Photo Stop at Lake Daylesford

Now that I’ve broken my ‘in town’ voodoo and ridden at the lake and springs area I’m sure I’ll return many times with 20, 24, 29 and 36 uni’s especially to improve my technical skills on man made obstacles as well as exploring more of the trails that offer great riding for all wheel sizes. NICE!

I’m wiped out, that was a great ride today. Thanks to Eric the Red for putting me onto the Twin Bridges trail!

After a cruise through the bush on 29er’s as an intro to MUNI we headed down to the local recreation reserve and I had a go on Eric’s giraffe uni set up to be a 5 footer – Eric sets it up as an 8 footer for his shows.

Pete on 5 ft Giraffe Unicycle

The first thing I noticed was how heavy the giraffe uni is compared to a standard uni, and with the chains tensioned how much tighter it feels to pedal. I hadn’t ridden a 20″ wheel for a few months, add in the giraffe factor and pushing off across the dirt the first time was certainly exciting! Riding the giraffe was no worries, all up I did a couple of laps of a short dirt loop – certainly a cool and weird feeling  to be up high on a uni! Like a lot of uni stuff the main trick is to relax and focus rather than being scared. I didn’t however attempt a static or rolling mount, instead climbing up onto it using a fence rail. I’m keen to have a go on the 8 footer, maybe next time! I’ll spend some time on a 20″ with short cranks beforehand though to get my body into the right groove.

The funniest thing was riding the 29er again immediately after the giraffe – those first few seconds, talk about weird!

Riding the 36″ GUNI offroad ATM still requires a conscious decision to change up to the high gear whenever possible and hang on but it’s feeling more natural with each ride. The 36″ GUNI feels so good to ride in 1:1.5 – a real MTB big gear grind feel.

Danger, Hazardous Mental Conditions Ahead

I had my first accidental gear shift today for some time, bumping into high gear as I crossed through a narrow muddy section, bailing off the front and laughing as I almost face planted in a large puddle.

Hazardous Mental Condition

It’s easy to forget how much fun riding through the forest on a cold wet day can be. Here’s the route I took, not very long, about 19km.

Wombat Forest Loop

It’s only a small lake – the ride around the outside is 6km. It was an extremely windy day and there were quite a few people out for a lunch time walk so I just cruised around, never getting out of low gear and enjoyed a very different ride to the Wombat Forest. The exposed urban landscape really highlighted how sheltered the forest environment I usually ride in is. Lots of people and strong winds – nice for a change but I prefer the forest!

Lake Wendouree, Ballarat

Unfortunately the batteries in my camera were flat – will get some pics next time I’m in Ballarat.

I came across Ay Up!, great lights made in Australia, primarily for MTB. I have to say I am seriously impressed – these lights are bright, very light, robust, flexible mounting options, simple, long run times, great value and Australian. Not to mention great service. I opted for mounting the intermediate width beam on my helmet – given the slower speed of uni relative to MTB I thought that would be a good place to start.

Wombat Forest Night Ride, Photo by Holi Walsh

Yeah I think you can tell by the pic, I’m enjoying the night riding!

Break on the Trailer Track

It’s a great fun ride on the 29″ and 36″ single speed. Today I went out on the 36″ GUNI. The 165 cranks made the climbs seem easier than normal (I usually run 137mm cranks on both the 29″ and 36″ for XC riding) and the 1:1.5 top gear a blast, though it’ll take some time to gain the control and strength to relax and have more control.

Trailer Track Loop, Wombat Forest

The 36 GUNI has got me thinking it’s definitely time to get serious about building my XC GUNI handlebar I’ve been sketching the last month or so!

It was a hot, humid afternoon but the light weight of the 29 and leverage of the 137′s got me to the top, though not without some huffing and puffing. Mt Tarrengower is a short but challenging climb with a grade consistently around or over 10% once you cross the hillclimb ‘Start’ line. Not too surprising that it has been a popular hillclimb venue for many years.

Mt Tarrengower Grade

There are a maze of dirt bike tracks heading down from the summit but I headed back down along the road this time around – giving my braking finger a good workout in the process. I’ll return to explore the many trails in cooler weather with a MUNI setup.

Mt Tarrengower Tower

If anything the 137′s on the 29 relative to the climb offered too much leverage – a lot of spinning for slow progress, with standing up and cranking not really an option. I’ll head back to Mt Tarrengower again on the 29, but with 125′s fitted, also have to try it with 150′s on the 36.

Muckleford Railway Station

We returned to Castlemaine via the rail trail – good offroad fun on the 36.

My uni lesson for the day – don’t follow to close behind another unicyclist, especially when climbing off road. It can lead to UPD’s, ouch!

Tailgater's Knee

Unfortunately though I’d been feeling off-colour during the week leading up to the Cyclic Navigator — I suspect from an old scummy CamelBak bladder — so wondered if I was doing the right thing on Sunday by participating in the event. Taking it easy was going to be the flavour of the day.

I chose to ride the KH36 with 137mm cranks for the event as it’s a setup I really enjoy for off road rides in the forests around home. No doubt the 36′er gets heavy after a few hours off road but given the terrain and distance I imagined the event would include it seemed the best choice with the 36″/137′s delivering a compromise of speed and control off road.

I arrived not long before the 10.00am start time which didn’t leave much time to study the map and plan out a route (novice mistake). The MTB Orienteering guys were very welcoming and wondered how a uni would go. The weather was fine and cool, it was shaping up to be a fun day.

My Cyclic Navigator Route

The 6 hours flew by. The challenge of working out where you were, which control points you hoped to visit, finding the control points and doing that all within the time limit proved to be very enjoyable. I occasionally cris-crossed paths with other riders, everyone in their own episode of the Amazing Race and having a blast.

A strong wind blew up in the afternoon by which stage I was out of the forest and in the open farmlands around Musk. The wind definitely made the going tougher on the unicycle but the pressure was also mounting to squeeze in as many more control points as you could and not arrive back late. With only 45mins to go the decision was whether to catch the train back to town (a legal option in the event)  or ride. I opted to ride back which I guess due to the adrenalin was the biggest buzz of the day.

Crossing the Finish Line

I ended up arriving back at the Start/Finish area at 3.45pm, having visited ~14 control points, with a score of 450. Not a bad effort for my first orienteering event, and on a unicycle too, especially considering how I had been feeling the week before and morning of the event. Looking at the ride data from my Garmin 405 I spent almost 2 hours out of the 6 hours stationery staring at the map. Even for an event like this I think that’s at least an hour too much. Not that it really matters, the event format delivers a great adventure no matter what.

The local paper came out during the week leading up to the Cyclic Navigator, I guess a unicyclist participating in a 6 hour MTB event makes for an interesting story. I thought it might be a small story and pic tucked away inside the paper. It was half the back page, ‘A Circle of One’ how cool is that!

A Circle of One

Thanks to the Cyclic Navigator event organizes and MTB Orienteering guys for welcoming unicycles. I enjoyed the day so much I’ve signed up for a couple of summer evening MTB Orienteering events, on the uni of course!

I rode through a section of forest I often ride the other day, but in the opposite direction and for the first time noticed entry points to a few single tracks created by and for dirt bikers I guess. I headed out today on the 29′er to check a few out, and found a cracker off Bridge Road – a narrow single track that runs across a ridge then drops straight down. The trees flashing by either side make it all seem pretty intense – great stuff!

Bridge Road Single Track Entry

Down by Swaby Lane the Department of Sustainability and Environment had done a ‘cool burn’ of a section of forest in preparation for the summer fire season. Looks and smells eerie, but also exposes a lot more trails.

Burnt Forest Single Track

The festival was held in Castlemaine, Victoria and organized by the Mount Alexander Sustainability Group. About 70 riders fronted up on Saturday for the inaugural FOV ride, which headed off from Castlemaine along scenic undulating country back roads through Muckleford, Walmer and then onto Maldon.

Castlemaine Festival of the Wheel

The ride out was great fun, the KH36/125mm crank setup suited the terrain and cruisey pace. The company was great too, even the one guy who while struggling up a hill on his bicycle scolded “You’re cheating, you only have one wheel!” as I rolled past. HA!

I had hoped to ride up Mount Tarrengower at Maldon, but the road was closed due to a Hillclimb event. Next time!

After a snack at Maldon a small group of us decided that rather than return to Maldon via the same route we’d head back along the dirt ‘Rail Trail’ back to Castlemaine. Even though the 125 cranks weren’t ideal for off road it turned out to be a great ride back, lots of fun, and great company. Everyone seemed to enjoy the term UPD (unplanned dismount) and after the shock of my first UPD the bicycle guys all got in the UPD groove! One couple along for the ride lived beside the rail trail so we stopped in for a break and shoe tying lessons… you had to be there, it was funny.

Festival of the Wheel Route

The last section of trail leading back into Castlemaine was especially enjoyable, with the 36″ really in the groove. I’d highly recommend the Castlemaine/Maldon Rail Trail, especially for larger unicycles.

All up it was a great day, only 42km, but lots of fun.

I’d never ridden in an urban environment, or with another unicyclist or cyclist before today – it took some getting used too! So as not to get in anyone’s way I headed to what I thought was the back of the field prior to the 8.00am start which in practice meant walking for the first 30 minutes of the ride as the streets were clogged due the thousands of riders, many of which were ahead but also now behind.

2 Unicyclists, 16,000+ Cyclists!

After what seemed like endless stops at traffic lights (how do city riders put up with the broken rhythm of continual stop and starts!) I finally cleared the city and headed out over the Westgate Bridge. The combination of the 36 wheel and 125mm cranks made short work of the bridge, which is a much gentler climb than many of the offroad tracks around home. Great fun spinning past cyclists on the way up, and then have them fly past on the way down.

Road riding is certainly a differently experience to off road unicycling. On the road there’s not much to do except spin as fast and smoothly as you can, which is enjoyable in its own way and a great opportunity to work on spinning technique. Around the bay is generally flat that’s for sure!

After a brief stop at Williamstown for coffee and snacks with Matt, the only other unicyclist in the ride, the route continued onto Altona, the half way point. A top up with water and food and it was time to head back towards Melbourne.

The main feature of the return trip was crossing the Westgate Bridge for the second time, prior to heading back into the congestion and traffic of inner city Melbourne.

Bike Around the Bay Route

The support from cyclists was great! Lots of encouragement and fun conversation – if only they knew riding a big wheel is far easier than it looks! Next year it would be good to give the 100km route a go if they allow unicycles to do so.

Great Dividing Trail

I figured it was about time I started to check the GDT out and did an afternoon ride from Mt Franklin (yes the bottled water one!) through to Castlemaine. I’ve driven to Castlemaine many times along the Midland Highway which follows a fairly barren and bland valley and because of that didn’t have high expectations of the walk. Boy was I wrong! The Mt Franklin – Castlemaine section of the Great Dividing Trail is an awesome muni ride with +20km of single track, and almost all the ride through forest – you could be anywhere!

Great Dividing Trail Entry Point

I left the Midland Highway near Mount Franklin early afternoon – not a great start time really for a +30km off road ride you had no idea about when the days were still relatively short – but that aside, I was pumped and ready to go! I had the KH29, with the pedals in the 125mm holes anticipating a fast ride like my earlier ride through the forests from Sailors Falls to Bullarto.

Great Day of Riding Ahead

The 125 crank setting held up well until the going got tricky – a few high speed UPD’s on the single track due too a lack of control encouraged me to stop and swap the pedals to the 150 holes. How weird does that feel – swapping crank lengths mid ride! It took me some time to get a smooth rhythm going again.

Over 20km of Singletrack

The riding was unicycle bliss – endless single track, not too technical, through the forest. Mid afternoon I arrived at Vaughan Springs – the walking track comes in above the springs and swimming hole on a rock ledge – would make a great unicycling photo. I should’ve filled my water here, and considered ending the ride due to how little of the day was left, but decided to ride onto Castlemaine.

The Vaughan Springs to Castlemaine section was a lot rougher, harsher terrain, and more heavily mined. My attitude wasn’t as relaxed as I felt pressured to make it into Castlemaine before dark, and I ran out of water with 1-2 hours to go. As the last rays of sunlight fell I could see Castlemaine down in the valleys ahead. I’d opted to follow a disused aquaduct which made for flat and fast riding with the pedals now back in the 125 holes to try and make up some time, but the aquaduct track also wound its way in and out of the hillsides, many hillsides – turning out to be not an especially direct route! It’s a great section of track though and one I hope to revisit – where the single track is narrow, on one side the drop into the aquaduct, the other side the drop down the hill. Not a great place and time to have a big UPD!

Great Dividing Trail Mount Franklin to Castlemaine

I got into Castlemaine just on nightfall. Overall it was a great ride and has really got me inspired to ride the length of the Great Dividing Trail this summer.

The extra speed of the 125′s definitely helped boost my average speed, though I also managed to discover some exceptionally steep single track which made me think brakes might be worth considering if I’m to keep using the 125′s.

Wombat Forest, Sailors Falls

I’ve never ridden in the forest between Sailors Falls and Bullarto – it was something of a discovery, lots of great riding in there!

Kangaroo Creek Track Junction

Click on the map to view the GPS Replay of the ride.

Ride Route

Lyonville Springs, Wombat Forest

Click on the map to view the GPS replay.

Ride Route

Joy of XC

I’m on the look out for a better off road tire for the KH29. The 1.95 Kenda Klaw might be an ok hybrid tire but it is too narrow for heavier off road use imo.

Loddon Loop