Night Unicycling - Makara Peak, North Face

Having bought some Ay-Up LED lights (which are absolutely awesome) in December for an outing at Unicon (which I never actually went on), lately I've been getting into night unicycling - so far mostly on Mount Victoria.

Last night I finally got back up to Makara Peak - somehow I've not been since December - for what became a 3-hour ride, half of which was in darkness.

This was also the first Makara Peak outing for my new KH24 mountain unicycle, which is the only thing I've wanted to ride offroad since I got it in December. I've been riding it on Mount Victoria and having a great time on the steep tracks there.

The KH24 really likes Makara Peak. With its long 165mm cranks and huge 3-inch-wide tyre, it's much better suited to the steep rocky parts than the 29" uni, especially with the trails in their current eroded, rocky condition. At least, it's better suited now that my balance and skill is up to it and I don't have to rely on the big 29er wheel to smooth out the bumps.

KH24 at top of Sally Alley track

Eventually, in darkness, I reached the summit, after stopping to chat to two surprised evening mountain bikers. The climb was a bit of an ordeal - my leg muscles are apparently a bit out of condition since I haven't done any multi-hour rides lately, just shorter intense ones on Mt Vic. I had to walk much of Aratihi, though the lower tracks were ok.

The summit was in cloud and very windy, so I didn't linger but headed over to the new North Face downhill track, which is now open for careful riding, and has recently been conquered by mountain bike.

I'm not going to say too much about whether it's a good idea to ride a new, unfamiliar, unpolished, rough-edged track by unicycle, alone in the dark, when somewhat tired... suffice to say that I survived.

So, what's it like? What can I say? North Face is awesome! This is already my new favourite track in the park for unicycling (previously I would have said Sally Alley/Missing Link, then Aratihi downhill). Never boring, but still good for a bit of speed. The right mix of interesting steep bits, twistiness, sudden humps and grade reversals.

KH24 resting on North Face, lights of Karori in background

KH24 and a treacherous bump on North Face, cloudily illuminated by Ay-Up lights

Some of the many steep switchbacks defeated me, but I'm still fairly rubbish at unicycling even the easy ones (even those on Lazy Fern), so that says more about my riding than the track design. They will provide a good challenge for some time I think!

After North Face I was tired enough to take the easy option, so headed up then down the 4wd track, then down Lazy Fern. Unfortunately I then got an agonising cramp in a thigh muscle, leading to an abrupt dismount, and leaving me helplessly cursing on the ground for a while until it relaxed and I could bend my leg again. Ouch! Maybe I overdid it slightly. I had to walk down from there - it felt like it might cramp again, and the results could be spectacular if descending a switchback at the time!

Fun ride. A lot of muscles are going to hurt in a day or so, but I will definitely be keen to ride North Face again soon. Just for a laugh, I might try it in daylight.

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.

Unicycling Makara Peak - summit

I've been on a few more weekend unicycling trips to Makara Peak since the ankle incident, now kitted out with ankle braces, and this week with some elbow pads as well following some scrapes and bruises last week. Ankle is mostly recovered now despite continued weekend abuse.

Last Sunday and yesterday I managed to reach the summit, via the very rocky Missing Link, and the long uphill Aratihi track.

The uphill rocky parts of Missing Link are still a bit much for me, though I can manage most of the downhill.

Though mostly not very steep, Aratihi is quite a long climb, and it's still well beyond my current endurance to ride the whole of it without stopping. Yesterday though I managed to ride intermittently for maybe 2/3 of it, and tried to keep walking up during the recovery periods in between, rather than stopping completely.

After a quick rest at the cloudy and windy summit, I came back down Aratihi and found it to be just right for my current skill level - an interesting and fast downhill route, but not too tricky even when I'm really tired from the uphill. (Last week I tried to go down Ridgeline instead, and had to walk it - much too hard at the moment.) Then back along Missing Link; the downhill first half is fun, but the climb back out of the valley is the disadvantage to this route: had to walk it. Then down the 4WD track and Lazy Fern - still a favourite. By the time I reached Lazy Fern my back was aching and I was glad to reach the bottom!

I took the camera along this time - there are only a few pictures because mostly I just kept riding / falling!


Here is the gallery with the rest, and captions.

The park will have been very busy today with the Makara Peak Rally, so I'm guessing it will be pretty torn up next weekend (as if I needed any more obstacles). Next year I hope to be good enough to enter the rally on a unicycle - would be an interesting challenge. At the moment though I would just be a semi-stationary obstacle in the way of the mountain bikers!

In a week or so there is a shuttle day (4WD lifts to the summit, so you can repeatedly ride the downhills) - I'm taking the day off work to go along if the weather is decent.

Unicon XV schedule and race routes

The schedule has been posted for Wellington's upcoming Unicycle World Championships & Convention. Less than a month to go.

Also the details of most of the race routes, which are right on my doorstep.

The 10km race (pdf) is on the flat, all along the waterfront round some favourite places from my rides to work, and my first ventures out and about after I learned to ride: Queens Wharf, Frank Kitts Park, Te Papa, round the Overseas Terminal, then back to the start - 3 laps.

The 44km marathon road race (pdf) is around Scorching Bay, Shelly Bay, up the hill to the prison, over the hill to Scorching Bay again - 4 laps, with a fair bit of up and down.

The trials competition will be right behind where I work, at Odlins Plaza.

The muni crosscountry course is all over Mount Victoria, looks really steep. Here's the map:

Full size original is here. Uphill and downhill tracks still to come.

It includes some of the tracks I've been riding up recently, but some that are steeper - and 3 laps! On my 29er, at my current strength and fitness I wouldn't finish even one lap without a few rest stops.

These events should be impressive to watch.

Unicycling Mount Victoria, visit 3

Ankle still sore after 6 days of resting it, but my ankle braces (SixSixOne Race Brace Pro) arrived today, so I decided to risk riding to work.

That went well enough, so after work I headed up to Mount Vic again. Up the usual route from Pirie Street, then over the top and round this loop on the south part of the hill, which I hadn't tried before.

I found the hill climbing quite tough today - lack of practice? The ankle braces, although they certainly prevent twisting and rolling pretty well, also restrict front-to-back flexing a little; that caused a few falls at first, as my feet kept losing contact with the pedals.

The new track was fun though, if rather hard work - lots of climbing to get back up from the velodrome.

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 Mount Victoria

Having recovered from Saturday's entertainment at Makara Peak, today after I finished working I decided to have a go at unicycling some tracks on Mount Victoria.

Starting from the top of Majoribanks St (which was itself a steep climb) I picked some random paths and found my way up to the summit near the lookout, then back down to where I started. Quite by accident it turned out that I'd more-or-less followed this circuit, though I managed to choose a steeper downhill route.

I did better than I expected on the rocky and rooty tracks. Most of my dismounts on the uphill were because I ran out of leg stamina on the steeper climbs and needed to rest, rather than loss of control - which I was very pleased about, since it feels like a further improvement over Saturday's Makara Peak effort. I also managed to ride down a path that was very steep by my previous standards, without plummeting to my doom or faceplanting into a tree or anything.

I amused some people, alarmed a few dogs, and one curious mountain biker stopped to chat for a bit while I recovered on the uphill bit.

This will become a favourite place to ride. The tracks are great, there are so many routes to explore, and it's only a few minutes from work. Pretty steep though!

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.

Exhausting day, part 2 - Unicycling Makara Peak

Two epic cycle rides today: the first with two wheels and the second with one wheel. Here's part 2:

After a big lunch, I still had plenty of energy, so I took my 29-inch mountain unicycle and caught the bus up to Makara Peak mountain bike park. I've been up there once before on a mountain bike, and ridden to the summit, but this was the first time on a unicycle, and also my first 'real' offroad riding on a unicycle. I don't think riding around Waitangi Park (which I often do after work) really counts.

I went up the Koru track, had a look at the skills area and stopped to drink a lot of water and recover, then rode back down via the Lazy Fern track.

On a mountain bike this would be a pretty easy ride, since the average uphill gradient of Koru is quite gentle, it's easy to control your descent of Lazy Fern since you actually have brakes, and it's easy enough to balance when riding slowly down sloping switchbacks.

On a muni though, for a complete beginner at least, it's a real challenge! Many many falls and dismounts. Overall I guess I was pretty rubbish, but I had a lot of fun and got a bit better as I went on.

On the uphill part, my ability to retain balance and control at low speed over uneven uphill gradients and bumps is a bit of a work in progress, so instead I often end up relying on just standing up and powering through, trying to maintain enough speed and momentum to carry me over the bumps. This only works for short intervals, because it gets me seriously out of breath quite quickly. I gradually started to improve, focused on keeping more weight on the saddle, trying to maintain smooth wheel revolutions, and anticipating the changes in balance better, but I fell off a lot and had to stop and catch my breath frequently. After some weeks of hurtling home from work on the uni, up the steep hill of the Terrace (with shopping), my leg muscles can now mostly keep up with the demands, but my aerobic fitness doesn't yet.

On the downhill, I did better - still plenty of dismounts, but less frequently than on the uphill. The thing that repeatedly got me was the switchback turns, which are steep enough to make it hard to slow down on a muni, at least on a 29-inch wheel with 150mm cranks. (My unicycle doesn't have brakes, though they are certainly available. I have a long way to go in terms of balance and control before I could make practical use of them.) The trick then is to quickly plan the line you're going to take, and lean the right amount, riding round the corner smoothly while leg-braking as well as you can. This is going to take some more practice.

Something I did learn: it's worth paying for some leg armour, and I will be doing so shortly. I have several nice bruises, cuts and general pedal bites on my left shin from various falls and failed mounts - one of the downsides of grippy metal pedals. And that was through trousers. Nothing serious or painful, but it could easily have been worse.

One day I hope to be able to reach Makara Peak's summit on the uni, but besides improving fitness and balance, I will probably need to learn to hop / jump the unicycle too, since the trails to get there are a bit rougher.