Makara Peak shuttle day by unicycle

Makara Peak had a shuttle day on Wednesday 16th, to which I took my 29er unicycle - finally got round to posting about it.

4WD lifts to the summit allow you to do as many downhill runs as you have time and energy for. Due to a slow puncture which I wasted a lot of time messing with, the warmth of the day, the exhaustingness of mountain unicycling, and my general beginnerness, I had time and energy for only two. (Some of the fearless speedy downhill mountain bikers did dozens.)

First I tried out some of the tracks on the back of the hill - Zac's track, Varley's, and down through the woods via Wahine (at least, I think it was Wahine) to Karori Park.

Zac's was a bit narrow and slippy-sandy for me at the moment, and hard work in the heat - no shade - but should be increasingly fun as I get better.


Zac's Track


View towards Makara Cemetery and the wind farm

Varley's endless switchbacks were a bit overgrown with long grass, resulting in an interesting dismount into a spiky tree (barberry probably) as the slowly deflating tyre, the grass-hidden side of the track and my steering conspired to send me flying off the downhill side, scraping up my upper arm nicely. I was glad of the elbow pads. I actually managed quite a few of the switchbacks though - starting to get the hang of them.

Wahine was pretty steep through the woods, but an interesting change from the trails on Makara Peak itself. Lots of dismounts. Fortunately today was dry - I think this could be too slippery for one wheel when wet.

Once at the bottom I headed to the nearby bike shop to get my second spare inner tube of the day (long story) as a precaution against the worsening slow puncture. Then at Karori Park I refilled my nearly-empty 3-litre camelbak (that's a lot of water for just a few kilometres), rested a while and ate sandwiches.

Recovered, I decided to ride up Koru before going for a second shuttle run - after chatting to some folks by the BBQ at the bottom.

This time down Aratihi (by far my favourite downhill at the moment) and Missing Link (rode the whole rocky downhill part this time, but still walking the uphill). Then after surprising an upward-bound 4WD, I had another go at Ridgeline Extension. Getting better, I can do the woodland parts well enough, but still defeated by some bare rocky bits - when I'm not dodging hurtling downhill bikers!

Finally down Lazy Fern (favourite finish), then I had to struggle up to St Alban's Avenue where I'd left the car near the shuttle pickup.

See the gallery for more pictures, and captions.

Someone breaks a leg while unicycling on Mount Vic!

Snapped femur. Ouch. Can't believe he actually has video of it happening!

Muni Leg Break from Boffy Da Unicyclist on Vimeo.

I've yet to do worse than a sprained ankle - hopefully there are no broken bones in my future.

Munisano's muni video

Munisano has a new video showing some fun-looking muni action - and the obligatory fail reel at the end!

I'm jealous because I'm still waiting for my ankle to recover so I can get out there myself. I was able to walk to work on it today, but it's still a bit sore and swollen. Maybe by the weekend...

Ouch - Unicycling Makara Peak, visit 3

So it seems I need ankle braces.

My third muni trip to Makara Peak went really well, apart from when I badly twisted my ankle in one of my more spectacular falls about half-way through. (And this even despite wearing high-sided hiking boots which provide reasonable ankle support. Might have broken it otherwise.)

Thanks to a couple of mid-week trips to Mount Victoria, I'd improved my hill-climbing a bit, and managed to do much longer segments of the Koru track without rest or dismounts.

Next, I had a go at Sally Alley, the next track up from the top of Koru - this was a lot of fun; it had some rocky and steep bits I had trouble with, but I managed most of it, albeit with a good few falls including the ankle-wrenching one.

Though I still had plenty of energy, the light was fading, so I started heading back down - first to a new (to me) track, Ridgeline Extension. This was a bit beyond my current skill level - I could manage some parts, but I need to work on my hopping to get over some of the rocky areas, and I had to walk several downhill sections due to the steepness and the loose dry surface, on which my tyre (WTB Exiwolf) felt too slippery to brake confidently.

Finally, down via SWIGG and Starfish, again new to me, and again too steep and tricky for me at the moment. I managed a reasonable amount of SWIGG, but it got worse towards the bottom, with the odd drop-off and steep curves. Next time I will probably go higher up the mountain, but stick to Lazy Fern for the final exit from the park - it's annoying to have to keep dismounting and walking.

So, the ankle. It hurt when I first did it, but after a minute or so, it didn't hurt to walk on or to ride, and I didn't notice it at all for the rest of the trip, except occasionally when I dismounted and landed hard.

By the time I got home though, it was a bit swollen under the outside of the ankle bone, though still not really painful. Once she discovered this, Sally made me sit down and put ice on it for a while, then strapped it up.

By this morning, it was uncomfortable even to stand on, and walking involves a painful and awkward hobbling motion - I can put weight only on the heel. It appears I've sprained it quite nicely. Not going to be riding for a while I guess, or even leaving the apartment much. Dammit.

Unicycling Makara Peak, visit 2

I went up to Makara Peak again today on the 29er unicycle.

Having bashed up my shins pretty well on the pedals last time, this time I was using my new leg armour, and also some new gloves which seemed a good idea after I hurt my wrist in a fall a week ago. Neither of these have been seriously tested yet, but I found they improved my confidence a bit!

I also had my new CamelBak Mule, and drank the entire 3 litres by the time I got home. This is thirsty work.

Today's track route: Koru (to the end instead of turning off at the Skills Area), then down Lazy Fern (where the sloping switchbacks still defeat me on occasion). I would have gone further up but I was running out of daylight. Next time I plan to try out Sally Alley (will be tricky as it has more uneven rocky bits than Koru) then come down Swigg / Starfish.

I did somewhat better than on my first visit. This is probably partly from being less tired due to not having just finished a 30km bike ride this time, and partly from the experience from the first visit, and partly because I've been starting to hop and jump the unicycle in the last couple of weeks, which has improved my balance noticeably.

I still fall off a lot, but am becoming smoother over the bumps, and my better balance lets me take most of the uphills at a slower, more maintainable pace, instead of trying to power through them.

Afterwards I decided to ride back down from Karori to the city, instead of getting the bus back, since I still had some energy left. This was about 8km on pavements, and mostly downhill, but was probably not such a great idea - though it started out easy, my legs were turning to jelly by the end, and I had to walk the last bit down the Terrace because I couldn't control it on the steep bits. Next time I'll make time to go a bit further at the Peak instead, and get the bus home.