By Andrew McLean
I'm usually not tempted to stray from snow covered mountains while there's snow on them, but the annual Moab MUni Festival is worth making an exception for. Mountain Unicycles, known as MUni's, have been around for about 5-10 years and according to Mountain Dew now qualify as "an emerging sport." This year's Muni fest attracted roughly 200 riders from all over the world, ranging in age from six to sixty. The two and a half day event is mainly a good excuse to get together and ride in a great setting. For the first time in the event's history it rained, which hardly slowed anyone down. If anything, it made things a little tougher, which MUni riders seem to thrive on.
Muni riding is a multi-faceted sport that ranges from trials to trails. Trials riding is all about hops, drops and riding seemingly impossible lines such as boulders, fence railings and jumping off of out-houses. Trail riding is more about longer distances on single track trails, similar to Mountain Bike riding. One of the great things about the Moab Muni festival is that it not only attracts some of the best riders in the world, but you can also find plenty of people who share your own uni-riding interests and skills.
I got into MUni riding a few years ago when I was looking for something fun and challenging that I could do with my dogs in the summer. For me, an average ride is about 5 -10 miles on a single track at the speed of a trotting dog. MUni riding also has the extra benefit of being a perfect cross training sport for skiing, as both require a quiet upper body, leg strength, and a combination of mental focus and relaxation at the same time. Plus, it's a lot of fun...
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Comments (4)
that big drop picture is sick. did he stick the landing? are shocks involved? what a bunch of nut balls, i may have to pick that sport up.
Posted by micah hinton | April 9, 2007 1:51 PM
Posted on April 9, 2007 13:51
Did he stick the landing....? Almost, but not quite. The rider and his friend tried it about five times while I was watching and biffed to various degrees each time. They were landing in deep, soft sand, so they weren't going far anyway. This is a fairly big drop for a MUni, but not outrageous. A kid jumped off the top of an outhouse during the MUnifest, which was even higher and had a flat, hard landing.
To do a big drop on a MUni (not that I do) you pull up on the seat, which helps keep your feet firmly attached to the pedals. Just before impact, you rotate the seat forward and absorb the impact with your legs, not other parts of your anatomy.
Although it looks like he is holding another unicycle in his hand, it is a seperate uni that has been left sitting on a ledge behind him.
I learned how to ride a uni on flat ground when I was a kid, but got into trail riding two years ago. As a steep skier, I hate to fall, which is not so great for learning how to ride a unicycle, as you have to fall a lot to get better. My main interest is long trail rides with my two dogs, although I've been very inspired by what other riders are capable of riding and jumping over.
Posted by Anonymous | April 23, 2007 1:00 PM
Posted on April 23, 2007 13:00
This picture was featured on the Flickr Blog at: http://blog.flickr.com/flickrblog/2007/04/newbies_guide_t.html
...As well as a flickr group, "Caught in the Act": http://www.flickr.com/groups/caughtintheact/discuss/72157600028650351/
Posted by Robin Avery | April 23, 2007 1:05 PM
Posted on April 23, 2007 13:05
i am learning to muni on my Sun unicycle, partly converted to a muni
Posted by Anonymous | April 14, 2008 4:06 PM
Posted on April 14, 2008 16:06