Riding with Colin and Taylor

I am not aware of many local muni riders. But two of them are Colin and Taylor. Colin is a college student and his brother is younger and in high school. Five months ago, I stumbled upon a link to the Tryon forums and then stumbled upon a post from Colin that had a link to one of his muni videos. It looked like something I wanted to get into.

Colin is in town for the holiday and we planned a ride at Dryer Park this morning. His brother Taylor also went.


It was cool to finally ride with other muni riders. It can be easier to learn skills that way. I rolled over a few logs I wouldn't have tried in the past, once I saw Colin do it.

I also learned about an access road that goes up to the top of Dryer. We used this every time we went up because it's pretty direct. I was able to climb that hill a few times. That's the longest hill climb I've ever done.

Thanks for a great ride guys. I hope we ride more in the future.

Tryon Take 2

This afternoon I took the advice I was given yesterday and headed back out to Tryon. This time I parked in the apartment complex and rode in from the south. On the access road I met up with two Tryon Bike shop guys. They were cool enough to show me the way into the red trails. (see map) The ride in was a lot of fun, because I was pushing to keep up with their bikes.

The red area on the map has a lot of fun man-made skills obstacles. Things like jumps, log piles, wooden structures to get over, and logs to ride on. A lot of it looked broken apart, and the guys said it kind of comes and goes over the years. They had to leave and I was left to explore.

I had a ton more fun in this area than I had in the blue area yesterday. The trails were challenging but not frustrating. And while I could not quite do the man-made obstacles, I gave some of them a try and I know they're within reach.

My camera crapped out after a few pictures, so I couldn't capture some of the cooler ones, but here are a few of the simpler kinds of log obstacles (jumps for bikers) that I gotta learn to hop up, over, and down.


The camera flattens everything. That's a 24" wheel, to try to give some perspective. And where there are logs next to each other, they go up progressively more vertical. The camera really hides it somehow.

Kyle's Uni

Last week I saw another unicycle on craigslist. This one was a 20". It was of the China factory made style, not something that would hold up for myself. So I thought maybe my son Kyle would like it. He has had some interest since I've been riding, and Syd got hers.

The guy wanted $30, but it seems like a brand new uni of this caliber can be purchased for about $45-50 on eBay. So I told him so, offered $25, and he accepted. But when I went to check it out, I found one of the crank arms was very loose. The guy (college student) only had pliers, but I was able to remove the crank arm on the spot and and see the damage. The spindle and crank arm were both worn from being ridden loose. I wasn't sure I should even both buying it. If it was worn too bad the crank arm would always wobble no matter how tight it was tightened. I explained this and the seller lowered his price to $20. Sold!

I took the entire uni apart, cleaned it up, and swapped the crank arms to opposite spindle sides, tightening them extra hard. In the end the uni looks great and seems to work fine. I rode it a tiny bit, nice and easy. As a bonus, the rim is double-walled, which means its stronger.
For $20 it was a great buy.

Euro Sticker

I put my MUNI sticker on my car about a week ago. I forgot to show it off.
I wonder what people think it stands for.
I didn't take a picture of the whole car. It's a Lexus Escort LX in case you couldn't tell.

Tryon

I rode at Tryon Park this morning. I spent most of my time in the blue area and the immediately adjacent white trail. (See map)

It was hard. A lot of roots, rocks, hills, and some off-camber sections. Looks like a lot of fun on a bike, but at my current skill level on a uni, less fun and too much walking.

There were a few good sections that were smoother but still offered some challenges, so I might try parts the blue area again sometime. If I can figure out a continuous path.

I saw a couple of the Tryon Bike guys on my way out. I got the suggestion to try the lower red or green areas next time. Apparently I can more easily access them from the apartment complex just south of Tryon.

I might try those tomorrow morning.

The Battle Continues

This morning I went back to the Whiting Rd trails to attacks the hills some more.

On lap one of two it took me 3 tries to get up the first hill. I was a little disappointed not to make it the first time, but hey, it's an improvement. And it's the second time I've ever made it.
I didn't do all that good on the second big hill. Oh well.

On lap two I again had trouble on the first hill. I can't remember if I just tried once or a few times, but I do remember that my tire slipped on the wet dirt and I fell forward. I just put a hand on the ground, so it was no big deal. But after that I was feeling a bit whipped so I moved on. The second hill gave me even more trouble. The approach is really a couple of very short but somewhat steep mini hills. I UPD'ed on both somehow. By the time I was attacking the main hill, I was pretty spent and not concentrating a whole lot.

Maybe I should spend more time on these hills, and do only a single lap next time.
Or maybe I'll take a break from Whiting and check something else out.

Uphill Battle

This morning I rode at Whiting Rd again. I've been trying to get through my usual route without being stopped by any hills. I'm making progress.
When I started this morning, there were only two remaining hills, both on the Orange trail, that I hadn't ever ridden up successfully. On my first of two laps I didn't make any real progress. On my second lap, I failed the first hill, but kept resting and trying again. I began to tune my technique, and on my 5th try I made it! Basically I just need to lean way forward, hold onto my seat with my left hand, and put my reach my right hand way out in front of me to keep more weight forward.
I'm hoping that next time (tomorrow?) I'll make it up first try and just keep going. That's the real success I'm looking for, and now I've got the confidence that I CAN do it.
The second hill is longer. With my new confidence, I was able to make it up farther than ever. And there's hope because just a little bit further up the trail gets easier for about 4 feet. That spot might be just what I need to take compose myself and finish the rest. The end looks to be the steepest part, but it's not very long. So I'm hopeful.