Gray is the Brightest Colour

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By Shaun Murphy

I haven’t thought about a unicycle in a long time. Strange. Not the thought itself you see, because where majority of the population consider a unicycle to be a weird, fringe machine reserved for clowns and circus performers I find it perfectly normal. In fact, some of my closest friends are performers of the circus variety. Jugglers, stilters, indulgers of the slackline. And of course, unicyclists.

I find the thought strange because I am a unicyclist. Part of a small, tight knit community of people that are warm, welcoming and accepting to whomever attempts to tame a single wheel. This friendly community is always willing to help, offer advice and come together for a ride. Perhaps, its because our numbers are few… but I like to think that this contraption entices a certain person. A particular mind set and energy draws in a unicyclist. Moth. Flame. Sunshine. Braai. You get the idea.
Once you’re in, you’re in. Sure, people come and go. Life happens, but you’re always welcome back.

The past few years my balance has shifted from a wheel to a life path. My family and I are trying a new way of living. Away from any corporate machines and nine to five J.O.B’s. We are traveling through Asia, teaching English as we go. It has been marvellous so far and has taken my full energy. Dimming the lights on any thoughts of unicycling I should add.

Recently, many unicycle memories have flooded my thoughts. All great memories, but what triggered them unfortunately was devastating news. We lost such a bright, glowing member of our tribe. A wonderful family has lost a loving father and husband. I have lost a friend.

Gray Braadvedt tragically passed away. It still feels surreal. I can’t believe he is gone.

Gray was such a big part of the South African cycling scene. It was always a pleasure riding with him because we would always be greeted with smiles, waves and banter. Always banter! It wasn’t because we were riding unicycles either. It was Gray… every cyclist we passed seemed to know him. “Where’s the other wheel Gray!?”  followed by giggles. Always answered with a razor sharp comeback like “I took the training wheel off!” cue more eruptions of laughter. That was Gray. Always smiling and willing to stop for a chat. Always willing to lend a hand anywhere he could. Need help with that flat tire? No problem. Derailleur giving you issues? No stress, Gray was the man offering assistance. He had this energy about him. You felt you had known him since childhood as soon as you met him. Coffees after a ride were an unwritten rule. His love of coffee was immense, but it was the ritual of swapping stories with any other riders at the local coffee shop that he enjoyed most. People would come to our table for a chat or he would glide from table to table checking in with friends or telling a funny story. He had many of those! It made finding Gray in a crowd easy. I would simply listen out for laughter and head in that direction.

When he entered the world of unicycling he quickly became one of the stand out road unicyclists. No surprises there, Gray was strong and tenacious and loved a challenge but it was his personality that quickly cemented him into the local uni scene. It was just fun to be around him!

I first met Gray at Giba Gorge, a local park in Kwa-Zulu Natal offering trails, fresh air and single track. I was a complete noob to muni and quickly found out I had an uncanny ability to find minuscule stones to knock me off my unicycle. Consistently. Gray was patient as ever, his face always wrapped in a smile even though this particular ‘ride’ was him watching me fall. Many times over. Haha, what a gentleman. That ride sparked a friendship filled with laughs, rides, coffee and conversation. Some deep and meaningful, some classic bullshitting. Mostly classic bullshitting.

When I started riding unicycles, I planned on doing so because of the charity organisation I was running called auSOMEtism. Our son Nic is on the autism spectrum and we were raising funds for Nic’s school by riding various road rides. The magnificent tribe I mentioned earlier jumped on board riding for our cause, while the amazing OddWheel Unicycles even made us there official supported charity! Gray was no exception, he raised funds for these events like it was his own and crushed the rides along the way. He loved Nic and he loved being part of anything that was helping others. He truly was a great ambassador for auSOMEtism and unicycling. Whether he was grinding it out on a unicycle for auSOMEtism or towing an ice-cream cart for CHOC he never stopped giving.

Gray was a fantastic human. He will be missed by many. I will miss my friend, but I will not forget him. Hamba kahle Gray.

To Heather, Rivers and Emma our deepest and sincere condolences.

From the South African Unicycling community/ tribe.

Here are some links to familiarise yourself with Gray and his life through unicycling:

Kwaai Neh? Gravel and Grape

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A few month’s ago I stumbled upon this stage race that fit the bill for a unicycle. It was close to home, affordable and most importantly the distances were manageable. This was Gravel and Grape’s third edition offering 2 versions; the Extreme and the Adventure. You’ve probably guessed that the Extreme was the more demanding of the 2:

  • Day 1 – 66km, 1480m elevation
  • Day 2 – 65km, 1210m elevation
  • Day 3 – 50km, 1000m elevation

The Adventure is what I would call “Unicycle friendly”:

  • Day 1 – 35km, 484m elevation
  • Day 2 – 30km, 670m elevation

My personal goal for 2017 is to get out of Cape Town every month. Get away from this computer and get out of my bubble. This could be May’s adventure. I sent Shaun Engelbrecht a seed planting email. It didn’t take long for that seed to germinate. Shaun was in the process of a career change. Out with the desk job and in with the hiking and mountain bike-guiding job. He is also officially the first unicycle guide in South Africa and has a little card to prove it. Both frothing to take up the challenge of a stage race we paid our entry fee on 27 Feb. This was the cut-off date that entitled us to a 50% refund if we retracted from the race. Money out the bank meant it was official we needed to start training. Both frothing to get outside!

Training began, we ventured out on long rides virtually every weekend. We have a sub-mission for all the muni rides – we are linking up, piece-by-piece, the Table Mountain National Park MTB routes from the city bowl to Cape Point. Why? We want to do a multi-day tour of the Cape Peninsula. I so loved having a riding buddy again! Someone that was always psyched to ride, gave words of encouragement and was a strong muni rider. Admittedly Shaun just kept getting stronger because he was out exercising more than me. Something about a desk job versus an outdoor job. We spoke gear geek about vans, motorbikes, uni’s, hammocks, tents, bikepacking. He didn’t mind my snot rocketing. I packed us little gourmet riding meals that repeated on us in various ways. It was muni buddy bliss! But one of the best parts is we rode hard. We were training for everything – heat, rocky terrain, steep climbing, forested single track, sandy descents. But most importantly – ‘TITS = Time In The Saddle’. We needed to be able to ride 2 days of roughly 30km’s without being broken. We even went as far as Barrington and rode some of the trails at the Garden Route Trail Park.

The Tuesday before the race Shaun decided to meet Hilton Smyth for a Uni session. Shaun was hopping around on his 20” when he landed poorly and broke his ankle. Yes you heard me. My riding buddies ankle was kaput, broken, stukkend! Eish, that sucks for Shaun big time. He literally left his desk job a month prior and was starting to establish himself as a freelance guide.

Now what? What are the options? Not do the race and loose the money or maybe 50% of the money. Find a new riding partner, who? There are not many people that are skilled and fit enough to ride this race on a muni at the moment. There is Jonathan Benjamin, Van Zyl Gunter and Piotr Wolski in the Cape region. I also considered asking Rob Bulloch but I had a strong feeling he would decline because he pulled out of Argus this year due to lack of training. What are my back up options? Find someone to ride with me on a bicycle. A uni / bicycle team. The person on the bicycle would need to understand that a uni is slow and needn’t be MTB fit. I considered Ethan Roberts and Brent Boswell. I proceeded to mail the race organizers asking about refunds and the option of riding with a bicycle if I couldn’t find a unicyclist. I proceeded WhatsApp Van Zyl, Jonathan, Ethan, Brent and Piotr. Slowly over 2 days the various responses came back and to my delight Piotr took up the challenge in true Piotr I-don’t-plan spontaneous style. Beata, his wife had encouraged him to do the race. Thanks for that Beata!

Fortunately there was a long weekend before the race, which enabled us to get 2 consecutive training rides in. The rides cemented that we could do this race as a “team”. I knew Piotr had the ability because we had just done 24 Hours of Oak Valley. Our first training ride was in Tokai MTB Park. We all know Tokai is not an easy park to ride especially the climbing aspect. Our 2nd training ride was from Newlands Forest to Constantia Neck and back. Both rides were about 17km’s. They revealed that Piotr has the heart of a true Unicyclist – regardless of the challenge he has perseverance, which is coupled with a positive attitude. Two of the most important traits of a unicyclist. It was a good thing that we did these rides. Whilst coming down Boulders in Tokai we bumped into Rob Bulloch and Andrew Barkley sneakily riding on 2 wheels, tut tut. They noticed that Piotr’s saddle was on backwards. Immediately corrected by the trio, a bit more chitchat before parting ways. Whilst riding down Vasbyt Piotr’s crank came off. The grouped parts went flying off in various directions. First we picked up the crank / pedal group, then found the crank bolt further up but the spacer had shot off into a mound of dry leaves. Gone. Luckily I always have a full selection of tools in my hydration pack. There’s nothing worse than a long walk home because you don’t have tools. We put the crank back on and managed a successful arrival back to the parking lot.

Friday afternoon on race weekend, we toddled off to Goudini Spa near Rawsonville for registration and then to our safari tent at Slanghoek Mountain Resort. A very picturesque location. I set about preparing my gear, replacing the lost spacer and putting Loctite on Piotr’s crank bolt. I definitely didn’t want a repeat of our Tokai ride. Piotr made dinner, hehehe… a little bit of gender role reversal. We had a lekker kuier sessie before getting some shuteye.

Alarm sounding, pulled from our slumber. Two cups of coffee too activate the brain. Oats with fruit for fueling. A large smearing of “Ass Magic” on the nether regions and we’re ready to go. On arrival we had a little warm up pedal. I dislike the part where you know everyone is staring at you because you have one wheel. Especially in the world of super serious lycra clad mountain bikers. Riding a unicycle is not a discreet affair. Geared up we started riding at the back of the pack in a very anxious state. It was hard to shake that feeling of you know you are in a race but can’t compete seriously but your brain keeps informing you otherwise. It took some time for us to relax and just get into the uni flow. We pedaled out in a southwesterly direction toward the Hawequas Mountain Catchment Area on some dirt roads, a combination of pebble and sand. Then hit our first section of single track, ascending sharp rock. Quite technical with constant stop starting. It was frustrating. Fortunately this didn’t last long. Back on the dirt roads on the Lorraine Private Cellar farm. We cycled passed a local who asked us if we were doing the race. We obviously said yes. This was Schalk the farm manager. He darted off to fetch his fat bike so that he could join us. Apparently he had built the MTB route that was on the farm. After more dirt road we finally hit a good section of flow single track that had a continual ascending gradient. I loved this section of riding because of the flow; I could stay on my uni. Piotr had devised and executed his riding strategy for the race on our training rides. Any hint of a climb he was going to walk. And walk he did, head held high. I discovered that Piotr particularly loves downhill. Most of Piotr’s riding experience is rooted in doing DH and not cranking climbs. Partly my nature and partly the training, my approach was that I was going to ride everything I could possibly ride. The climb had to be unmanageable or I had to be super fatigued to not ride. This is when Piotr started calling me “Donna the beast”, especially when it came to the climbs. This is how I felt when I was training with Shaun. By this stage we had lost Schalk due to a faulty hub on his bike.

Back to the dirt roads and the eventual arrival of our first refreshment point. What we found very amusing on approach was how chilled out the refreshment vendors were. They eventually noticed us and rushed to turn on the kak commercial tunes and man their sweet stand. They were amazed to see us on unicycles. They asked if we wanted to continue and we said yes. A call was made to the event crew that had started striking the first section of the race to inform them of our desire to continue and finish the course for the day. We mounted our steeds to resume our sandy adventure. Stopped again by the gentleman that was striking the course. He gave us directions with a general overview of the remainder of the course. Off we went. This is where the riding got annoyingly sandy. We road along a dried out riverbed, half way into the course I found a wild watermelon patch. Being the forager that I am I picked one and shoved it into my hydration pack. More loose sand, aaaarrrgggh! We arrived at what was meant to be an amazing piece of single track called “The Maze”. It was kak! Sandy became the dominant terrain for the day. Around here we merged with the riders that were doing the longer version of the race, the Extreme. Back on the sandy dirt roads with the 2 wheel variety receiving numerous encouraging, respectful comments. Another refueling break at the dried out riverbed where we watched people collect and bag white pebbles that you would purchase at nurseries. A tediously long stretch of straight tar was next. We took a few nether region breaks. Finally our second refreshment point had arrived at the Du Toit Kloof Winery. An impressive spread from the previous one. This is where I discovered small boiled potatoes that you dip in salt. Yoh, they hit the spot! Salt, potatoes and biltong, yum yum yum! I’m not sure how it happened but someone shoved a bottle of Red Muscadel into my bag. Heavily laden with a wild watermelon, bottle of Red Muscadel and at least 1 liter of water in my pack we continued on the sandy roads. The grump was slowly creeping in but we managed to remind ourselves that we asked for a challenge and this was it. We forged on and eventually made it back to Goudini Spa. The onlookers were mightily impressed that we had crossed the finish line. Some people rushed at us to take photos. Kinda weird. We found a patch of shade on the outer ring of the lycra clad cyclists, stripped off all the extra’s so we could cool off quicker and hunted down free beer and food. That was day 1, a slight let down from a riding perspective.

Day 2 started in a similar vein. Alarm, coffee, food, Ass Magic and packing for check out. Piotr had said, “I wonder what the cleaning staff will think when they see all the sachets of Ass Magic in the bathroom dustbin”. Mind in gutter – right? A late arrival to the start line meant we were forced to walk up the start shoot in front of a large group of ready riders. We had to throw our uni’s over the fence and muscle our way behind the start line. The last in the string of cyclists we headed out on Slanghoek Rd in a northeasterly direction. The tar was a good warm up for the legs before all the climbing began. Today was the climbing day, 670m of elevation over 30km’s. Ushered off the tar road and onto dirt. We zigzagged through the vineyards whilst constantly gaining height. The course also took us through some monster-sized buildings that housed stainless steel tank after tank, an unusual but interesting addition.

We’d had gloriously overcast weather on both days. A blessing in disguise because the next section of riding demanded focus and strength. You were constantly engaged with very little time to relax. This is what made the entire adventure worthwhile for me. Guided off the dirt roads onto beautiful flowing single track. Roughly 12km’s of constant unbroken single track. It just went on and on and on. I will be the first to admit it, I’m a bit of a single track slag. It’s my ultimate happy place! The first kilometer or 2 was more like a warm up. It was mostly smooth with enough obstacles and undulations to keep you in the zone. Slowly we gained elevation. Then came the switchbacks. I’m not a fan of switchbacks because they are designed for descending bicycles that do tight 180º turns. These had a particularly pleasant gradient for climbing on a unicycle. There were no rocks or roots which meant all you needed to do was crank lock crank. Piotr was exercising his uni portage abilities again and decided to cut a straight line up the mountain instead of winding with the switchbacks. I continued to ride. Every now and then I would hear Piotr say “Donna the beast”. I did walk the top few switchbacks because I was pooped. Cheerfully walking along I found myself talking to Valiant my unicycle, “Aren’t we having so much fun today Valiant?” Grinning from ear to ear. Nearing the top we started traversing the mountain. I was in my happy place and had to force myself to stop and wait for Piotr occasionally. We are a team and teammates look out for one another. Approaching the end of our 12km single track there was a sign that said split. When we arrived at the split there was no indication whether we should go left or right. We decided to call the emergency number for directions because even the smallest detour would add more time to our snail paced journey. Right was the short route to the base of the mountain and to the only refreshment point of the day. “Where are the salty potatoes?”.

The journey home began. Another 12km’s of flat straight district dirt roads. It was boring. The most exciting thing that happened on this section was passing a field of butternuts. I obviously had to pick one. Eventually the mountain bikers stopped passing us. Then the motorbike support rider passed. Then the ambulance. We were the last people on the course. The last of the marshall’s were patiently waiting for us to arrive home. “One kilometre to go”, they said. We matched our pace so that we could ride to the finish line together. Welcomed home by the commentator he ensured everyone was aware of our achievement and presence. People ran up to us to take photo’s. There was even a quick interview on the finish line. I think we both enjoyed being acknowledged for our efforts.

Prize giving started soon after our arrival. The first people called to the stage were Piotr and myself. Why? That morning when we were leaving the start line the commentator had promised us both a bottle of wine if we finished the race. We were collecting our gift. It was clearly stipulated by the organizers that we were not entitled to any of the prizes because we were in the non-competitive category. We truly appreciated this kind gesture. Overall I found all the people involved in the race to be really nice. Oh, there was that angry grumpy mountain biker in the red jersey who had poor communication skills. He was the only unpleasant aspect of the entire event.

Let’s Get Sleepy – Dawn of the Riding Dead, 24hrs of Oak Valley 2017!

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By Shaun Engelbrecht

What are you on about now Shaun! Well before I waffle on further, let me give you a bit of background so that things make a bit more sense. 24hrs of Oak Valley, is an annual race that takes place at the Oak Valley wine Estate in Elgin. It is a 24hr mountain bike race around the farm, where you can either enter as a solo rider, or as a team. In 2015, four of us took part and it was epic, so myself and Donna get chatting to enter again in 2017, and from there things got underway.

This time around we managed to round up a team of 5, including myself, for the 2017 event, and all of us would be doing this on our unicycles as we did in 2015. We were the OddWheelers and the event was to be known as the “Dawn of the Riding Dead”. The reason for this being that after having a rider on the trial non-stop for 24 hours, we all begin to look like Zombies. This now leads me to the introduction of our mascot, Mr Death Wheel, who was plastered on our team T-shirts.

Mr-Death-Wheel

So, as I have already alluded to, the idea is to have a uni rider on the trials at all time for the full 24 hours, with the ride starting at 12:00 PM on Saturday 28 Jan, until the same time the following Sunday. We would be riding through the heat, darkness and whatever else we were dealt, all the while trying to stay on our uni’s and not get run over by those training wheels, AKA bicycles. After all we were those guys, you know the kind that enters a mountain bike race, but only pitch up with the front wheel. Damn, now even I am making horrible, where is your other wheel jokes…

The Team

Donna: Ladies first, we have Uni Mom, the face and soul of OddWheel and the South African unicycle community. She always keeps the rest of the team on their toes, and puts up with the boys.

Donna Kisogloo by Mark Sampson

Van Zyl: The yoyo master, and all round great rider, who in a short time has been able to accomplish what many riders with plenty more years under their belts, could not.

Van Zyl Gunter by Mark Sampson

Rob: Speed machine on and off road (thankfully for me he did not train that much), and for the weekend, our potjie master. All I can say is we were well fed on Saturday night, nom nom!

Piotr: Our polish scientist friend, whose name is forever mis-spelt and mis-pronounced, but politely takes it, but don’t let the politeness fool you, because he is a strong rider. Piotr, thanks for taking the last leg, I think I would have died if it were not for you!

Piotr-Wolski-Finish-Line

Yours Truly: The speed freak (only cause I have been riding longer than Van Zyl, Rob had not trained much, same for Piotr due to his travels and Donna tweaked her back the week before the race). I was the unofficial ring leader for the team I guess. My take on the team, what a bunch of clowns, pun intended.

Shaun-Engelbrecht-by-Mark-Sampson

The Trail

The initial planned trail was around 12km with about 250m in elevation gain. However, we experienced heavy rain the day before the race. The organizers were forced to change the route as some of the trail was damaged; the new route was now around 12.5km with 350m in elevation gain. Not too bad, but over 4 laps, which is 50km of riding and 1400m of climbing, all on one wheel. Eina!

The route started on a rugby field, and for a uni rider, grass is one of the worst things to ride on. It tends to pull you in all sorts of directions. The trail then shoots off right and straight into a climb running along an apple orchid, then through a flatter section between rows of pine trees before looping around a rather dry dam. The climbing continues through a short single track section before hitting a nasty and steep section of jeep track, which tops out at a dam full of flowering lilies. It may seem as if the climbing is over, but alas it is not.

A small downhill section, and then you guessed it, more climbing. Now just a short, steep and muddy section lay between the rider and relief. Now comes relief from what feels like never ending climbs. From here it is pretty much downhill. The only section causing a few problems are what I like to call baby heads. Imagine closely packed rounded bumps, making you UPD if you are not fully in the zone. The builders had also placed and few log bridges over fences and low walls, they are fun during the day, not so much in the dark.

The route has now looped back, heading in the direction of the camp site, a steep decent leading you into the best part of the entire route. Flowing forested single track, compacted and wet thanks to the recent rains. No matter how tired you may be, it would always bring a smile to your face, and as a bonus you knew you were almost home. Coming in, you are greeted by friendly smiles of the first lot of campers, situated right next to the trial, then riding up onto the field for a last push to the start finish straight for the changeover.

Oak Valley

Van-Zyl-Tag-Point

The Event

To recap, 24hr mountain bike race, solo or team, running from 12 until 12, with a loop totaling 12.5km from start to finish. The aim is to cover as many laps as possible with in the 24 hour period.

Although the race only began at 12, the day started a lot earlier for us. The camp site opened at 7:00, registration at 7:30 and we still all needed to drive to Elgin, just the other side of Sir Lowry’s Pass. Rob and Donna were the first to arrive, finding us a suitable campsite nice and close to the start, Van Zyl and myself arrived not too long after, whereby we commenced operation camp set up.

Tents, awning, chairs, pots and pans were flying, however not nearly as much as the general banter and chirps. We were yet to start on the mountain bikers chirps which would come later. After much internal fighting and chirping and giving each other our 2 cents worth, we had a home for the next 24 hours plus, and it was something to behold…

Donna-Camp

Inside-Camp

Not really, some cyclists had full camper set ups, husbands, wives, children waiting hand and foot on riders. Never the less, it was our camp and it contained the most important piece of kit for the weekend, our unicycles. From there we went to register, get our tags and scope out the start/finish areas. The music was already pumping. There were a few stalls to buy food and drinks, but tucked away behind it all were hot showers which would come in handy later.

We were joined a bit later by Piotr, who had only arrived back in Cape Town at 12 the previous night, returning from Lusaka. Piotr took the minimalist approach, proceeding to take out a sleeping bag, sleeping mat and his unicycle. Camp set up done.

The next question was, who would go first. The idea was that the individual with the lowest number goes first, and that was Piotr. Well he needed to catch up on sleep so that would not work. I then volunteered to head out first, being the unofficial team leader and all. Suit up! It does take me a while to get all my gear on. Let’s see, shoulder strap for the constantly dislocating shoulder, ankle guards to the ever twisting ankles, knee guards to protect the knees from the inevitable falls, not to mention the standard stuff like helmets, gloves etc. Now I am ready, let the race begin.

The event started at 12:00 on the dot, beforehand though we had to be at the rider briefing where the MC was kind enough to ask the training wheels (mountain bikers) to stay out of our way because we are sssoooo much faster than them.

Briefing done, we place our metalic steeds at one end of the rugby field, and then line up at the other end, and when 12 o’clock comes we race to find our bikes or unicycle in this case, and begin the race. Being in no particular rush, I walk across the field and let the racing snakes do their thing, and I wait a bit for the masses to head out, and off I go, beginning our 24 hour endeavor.

The route profile shows that majority of the elevation gain of 350m is covered in the first half of the route, and tappers off for the remaining half. This means that I was picking off the training wheels one at a time during the first few kilometers, with the weekend worriers battling to keep up with me. The second half is another story, with all the freewheeling training wheels catching me again. I must say though, I am pretty sure I still finished the first lap ahead of some other cyclists which always makes me happy happy.

To ensure smooth hand overs, we had a set of two way radios, whereby the rider would let the team know when they had passed the tag points. The next rider could then start to get ready and had a rough idea when the current guy or girl would be in.

Donna took over the reins on my return, flying out the gates and showing the boys how it is done. She was followed by Van Zyl, then Rob and lastly Piotr who had caught up on some sleep. Our lap times varied between 60min and 1h30min.

Change-Over

Starting at 12 worked in my favor, it allowed me to scope out the trail. When it came time to do my second lap in the heat of the day meant that the 2 wheelers started to fade and the riders had spread out a bit. I was adamant then to do a sub 60min lap, and my second lap would be the best time to do it. Piotr came in at 18:00 and I was up. I shot out of the gates, determined to beat the hour. I was out the saddle on the climbs, gunning it on the flat sections and bombing it on the single track. I knew I could do it. Coming onto the rugby field, I began to slow, satisfied with my pace and feeling I had it in the bag. Then I see Rob waving his arms wildly and shouting at me to hurry up. Oh crap, this is going to be close! Sprinting for the finish I fly across the line and swipe my timing tag. I had done it, the team had timed me and I had done the 12.5km in 59min37sec. That was close, high fives were given all round, I was happy. I did however have another 2 laps to do and pretty much spent all my energy on this one lap. It was so worth it, even if I had reached my zombie state earlier than expected.

While I was out, Rob and Van Zyl got working on the chicken and veg potjie, with enough chow to feed the masses. Their timing was perfect, with the food being pretty much ready by the time I sat down after my hot lap. Nom nom nom ☺

IMG_1650

Jumping ahead shortly, when results were shared the Monday after the race, I perused the lap times and the results showed I completed that second lap in 1h 00min 2sec. Can you believe it, 2 freaken seconds! But our team scientist, Piotr, had reminded me that the team had taken two independent lap times, and even if we take the average of the three (one timing tag, and two by the team), I would still be under the 1 hour mark. This was the second time Piotr saved me, the first being when he enthusiastically took to doing the last lap of the race for the OddWheelers.

Okay, back to the present, sort of? We had now started our second laps in the same order we started with. By now lights were required as it was getting dark. Riding in the dark is a whole other story. You can’t really plan your line as you are unable to see too far ahead. Even the smallest of bumps can throw you off if you are not careful, and judging variations in terrain is also on the difficult side. UPD’s (unplanned dismounts) are the order of the day, sorry night.

Things were running pretty smoothly with the transitions of the night laps. My next lap was at around 12:45 AM, I could not sleep so I was up and ready long before Piotr radioed in with his location.  Off I went into the darkness on his return. As tough as it is riding trails in the dark, it more than makes up for it in it’s tranquility and beauty. Riding around the dam. I took a break, switched off my light, and just watched the stars, no light around to ruin and pollute the glittering night sky. I still have to finish my lap though. Onwards and upwards. There were plenty of Leopard toads on the trail, they even seem to play chicken, sitting in the middle of the path. They do not flinch one bit, I am surprised not to see any flattened with tread marks across their backs, but I think most riders were keeping an eye out for them. The next interesting thing I came across was something I could hear long before I could see it. Coming upon one of the dams, I heard a strange sound I could not place, and it was loud. Once at the dam I stopped and began searching for the source, and noticing some ripples coming off the lilly pads I realized the noise was being produced by dozens of frogs. I enjoyed the spectacle for a while and remembered that someone must be waiting to take over for me, so I better get a move on.

After my hand over to Donna, I went to bed satisfied, feeling that things were running smoothly, well little did I know. Not long after my return, Donna had made her way back to camp. Her light had died about half way into her lap, and the problem with LED’s, is that they give no warning, poof and they are gone. Donna did check how much life was in the battery before her departure, which was sitting on 70% full. She cycled home against the flow of traffic by means of her cellphone torch, dodging speeding cyclists that were blinding her with their dual lighting systems of 2000+ lumens. On Donna’s return Van Zyl was loaded with extra batteries to complete her lap, so into the darkness he soldiered. Can you guess what happen to him? Well his light died too, and unlike Donna’s light, his died well passed the halfway mark near the end of the course. Instead of changing to a back up battery he soldiered through the dark on his wheel, or not. To add insult to injury, the batteries for the radio died too…

With the evenings issues behind us, the sun decided to join the party, with Rob bringing in the new day while out on the trail. Our order was a bit of a mess now, but I was ready, and off I went for my fourth and final lap on his return to camp. By far my slowest of the 24 hours. My legs were lazy, my head was sleepy, and the muscles in my back did not know what hit them. Onwards and upwards, it must be done, even if there are some extra UPD’s added to the mix!

The team had settled into the new days pace, the only thing was that at the current pace, Van Zyl would finish his last lap at around 11. While on route he decided a bit of tom foolery was in order, and started posing silly selfies on the WhatsApp group while doing his last lap.  Timing wise we still had an hour to go. Although you do not need to ride for the full 24 hours, we needed to show what we were made of, so keep on riding we must. No one seemed to be keen to take on the final lap. I was mentality preparing myself to take on the responsibility as team captain. Piotr then pipes up with vigor, that he wants to do the last lap. Thank goodness, I think to myself. I found out later, Donna was doing the same thing in her head after thinking she may have to do the last lap.

Off Piotr went, with a renewed energy to complete his, as well as the team’s final lap. This brought us to a total of 17 laps in the 24 hours. I was also to be his favorite lap of the race. On his entering the start and finish straight, the team raced to the finish line to support and cheer along with the MC cheering.  Piotr had packed a beer in his bag at the start of the lap, he took it out and opened it up ready to taste its sweet hops. However there was one last UPD in store for him, needless to say, there was beer and unicycles flying, but he recovered, took a sip of his beer and crossed the line in style, like a boss!

We were now all looking and feeling like zombies, and visually Mr Death Wheel had nothing on us. We did however do it. 24 Hours of Oak Valley, tick! We had completed 17 laps, placing us 18th of 23 teams. That is right, we are on unicycles and still managed to finish ahead of 5 teams. Not too shabby I dare say.

Laps-for-OddWheelers

Shova on a Unicycle for auSOMEtism

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By Gray Braatvedt

Last year I promised that if I did a sub-3 Shova on my road bike I would do it this year on my unicycle. When I snuck in at 2:57:10 I was elated … until I remembered my promise, and suddenly a bit of angst set in.

I roped in my good friend and fellow unicyclist, Shaun Murphy and together we set our minds on the challenge of doing the 2016 Tsogo Sun Amashova – 106km from Pietermaritzburg to Durban. We contacted the organisers to see if they would allow such madness on the course (secretly hoping they would say no). Not only did they allow us, but they went out of their way to accommodate us and the cause we were riding for, auSOMEtism.

And so it was that Shaun and I found ourselves on the start line outside the Pmb town hall at 06h35, 10 minutes ahead of the pro/elite group, staring down an open piece of road with the daunting task of 106km ahead of us.

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I haven’t mastered the art of launching the 36” wheel properly and often need 3 or 4 attempts to get going. The added pressure of TV, photographers, announcers and all the pro’s looking on was a recipe for an epic fail going viral on YouTube. My BMT shone through and I mounted the Yardbird like a boss. 1st attempt and I was rolling.

For about 10km the Shova was officially led by two unicyclists. Once over the big F-word; Fox Hill – a 13km climb designed to hurt a unicyclist, I got into cruise mode and was making excellent time all the way to Cato Ridge – and then the wheel came off. Something jammed my brake and one moment I was cruising at 22kph, and the next instant I was flung on the tar like a child tossing a rag doll in a temper tantrum. Bruised, bloodied and a bit shaken, I never quite regained my rhythm or confidence. My disk brake was not working quite as well as it could have and I still had the downhills of Drummond, Botha’s and Field’s to negotiate. None was easy.

It was never going to be a walk in the park and the last 20km proved to be very challenging. The wind had picked up by the time I hit the city bowl and the swirling gusts between the buildings almost undid me again. It was great having my son Rivers come riding out to meet me at Tollgate bridge and keep me company for the last couple of agonising kilometres.

Crossing the line just shy of 6 ½ hours to the applause of the crowd lifted the spirits and then discovering that the whole East Coast Cycling Club had waited for me to arrive at the hospitality tent was especially touching. Shaun had his own tales of attrition as he battled through loose cranks, cramps and saddle vs buttocks to finish in 7:08.

It’s amazing how quickly the thoughts of pain fade, only to be replaced by the awesome moments of African life captured in the indelible film of ones memory;

  • The three herd boys who tried to race me with their puppy barking madly
  • The sun lighting the spring green slopes in the Valley of a Thousand Hills
  • The cries of “Shovashova” (isiZulu meaning ‘push push’ as you pump the pedals) from the road side
  • The teenager who pointed me out to her parents and then could have died when I waved back
  • The rural special needs children lined up on the side of the road in Cato Ridge
  • And of course, the huge generosity shown by so many people in donations towards the auSOMEtism NPO.

Thank you!

Next year I’ll go for a sub-6.

If you would like to donate to this worthy cause go to www.ausometism.co.za

Charl’s House of Fun

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By James Dicks

A short while ago, a friend contacted us about constructing a spacenet for his new house. This may seem an odd task to be asking a unicycling company to undertake, but naturally there is a back story. A mutual friend of myself and Donna, Sylvain Burki, passed away tragically at the end of 2015. As a memorial and honour of him we held a Park Play Session and constructed a massive spacenet reminiscent of those constructed by Andy Lewis and the Moab Monkeys. The spacenet resembled a glorified dream-catcher design. Based on this, we were apparently the most qualified team to take on the task of building Charl’s net.

The Moab Monkey's "Mothership Space Net Penthouse"

The Moab Monkey’s “Mothership Space Net Penthouse”

Park Play Sessions Spacenet for Sylvain Burki

Park Play Sessions Spacenet for Sylvain Burki

Many nets are constructed by using a bend or knot that does not isolate each mesh of the net, the dream-catcher design for example. This was unsuitable for our purpose, as we wanted to ensure maximum safety and even spacing between each mesh. It was clear that children would be the predominant users of this net, so small mesh sizes and safety were absolutely imperative (not that safety isn’t imperative for adults too!). It became a toss-up between a reef knot net configuration and a traditional fisherman’s netting knot. Both are aesthetic knots, and suitable for our purpose, but would create a slightly different weaving pattern. In the end we chose a traditional fisherman’s netting knot.

We managed to find samples of each colour we intended to use. We chose a Dyneema Super Lite rope for a couple of reasons. Dyneema has a wonderful specific strength, and in combination with a resilient polypropylene sheath allows for a small diameter rope with sufficient strength and durability for the task at hand. We chose 5mm as it retains a good strength, whilst not being too thick and cumbersome neither too thin and painful under foot. Luckily Southern Ropes makes this rope in a number of vibrant colours.

OddWheel Unicycle HQ went on a road trip out to Grabouw to investigate the much anticipated space we would construct our net over. The house is situated in a stunning location, overlooking the Grabouw mountain range. The house is modern and industrial in its architecture, yet elements of playfulness are apparent throughout the house. Getting to business, we measured up the space for the net at 3050 x 1900 mm, and mentally measured up the task we faced.

In order to give a rough approximation of the length of rope required for the project, some simple algebra could be implemented. If our length is seen as the hypotenuse of each triangular block of the mesh, then by dividing the total length by the root of the sum of the square of the other two sides (mesh size) c.f. Pythagoras’ theorem, we can work out how many blocks the length and width of the net will comprise of. Furthermore, we can then work out how much rope is required for each block, and “hey presto” we have an approximate length. In this calculation I incorporated the length of a knot for each block when dividing by the total length to ensure we didn’t make too many blocks. Likewise, the length of rope necessary to make each knot was also included into our rope length calculation.

In our endeavor to get rope with pretty colours, we went on quite a wild goose chase around Cape Town. In the interim time between our telephonic enquiries and actually procuring the rope, someone seemed to have bought out all the 5mm Dyneema Super Lite rope! After a trip into the CBD, whereby a shop owner gave me a false promise of ocean blue 5mm Dyneema Super Lite (it was actually 6mm on closer inspection) I was off to the manufacturing plant of Southern Ropes for a brief sojourn around the factory floor trying to find the manager, who could sell me a roll. Eventually the day came to a close with all three colours in hand, just in time for evening traffic for my victory lap home.

The next day we set about actually starting the weaving process. After a significant portion of time trying to establish the intricacies of “casting on” the rope to begin the process, we were eventually under way. The bulk of 100m of rope proved a struggle whilst weaving, but we were apprehensive to cut the rope into sections. Hence it transpired that we pulled through the entire rope on each section of tying the knot. Work to make severe callouses and tired forearms. Whilst we threaded spaghetti, I tried to do some mental maths as to how many meters of rope we would eventually pull through in the entire construction, but sheer horror inhibited a final result being estimated.

We scrapped the concept of a frame to build the net onto, and instead created a rudimentary loom system. By using two pieces of 38 x 38 mm wood and spacers the knots could be tied onto the previous row of loops with even spaces to create a neat net. Pulling, pulling, pulling… Day 1 resulted in a mere single row of usable net, with a width of 26 meshes. The length was proposed to be 32 meshes; we were going to be here pulling rope for months!

We found that by wrapping the rope around the 38 x 38 mm wood and knotting the next loop around another piece of the same wood, a spacer of 100 mm was required. However, after the first row we realised that the 38 x 38 mm wood wouldn’t slide into the mesh since space had been taken up by the knots on each side. Another trip to the hardware store and one 32 mm diameter round curtain rail rod later, and we were back in business. This was now the back piece of our loom, whilst the original 38 x 38 mm wood was implemented on the leading end.

Slowly but surely we refined our technique at making each knot, until we didn’t have to talk our way through each step of the process. By day 3 we could complete a row in two hours; not bad, but still highly time consuming. Now I can see why the industrial revolution came to fruition! Fantasies of winches to pull the rope through and robots to intricately knot each mesh wafted around my head whilst we kept on pulling, pulling, pulling…

However, a couple of rows down, the net was starting to look beautiful, and I was truly proud of the fruits of our labor. There is a beauty to a hand crafted product. Maybe its my sweat droplets glistening off the rope that makes it look so beautiful.

At about this point in the process, we found that pulling the latest row of loops off the square 38 x 38 mm wood was ever so tiresome and serious time consumer in the process, so we decided to implement a round object instead, which could easily twist out. By working out the perimeter of the square wood, we found that 50 mm diameter round pole give us an equivalent sized loop.

OddWheel's Net Loom

Whilst Donna skipped off to summer in San Sebastian, Spain for Unicon 18, I spent approximately 45 grueling hours hauling rope in grizzly Cape Town winter. I will save details at this point, since I think my mind has blanked much of it out. I would like to make a special shout out to Sir David Attenborough though; whose soothing voice depicting the scenes of our natural world took me through the darkest hours.

Countless rows of knots later (probably 46 in actuality) and I had run out of rope. The three colours – red, purple and blue – looked spectacular together. Although I felt proud of the accomplishment thus far, I still had trepidation towards the installation. I had stretched the net out in the garden with a pulley rig and it JUST made the required length. Moreover, it was debatable whether my technique of tensioning the net in situ would be effective. I planned on attaching three edges with cable ties, then pulling it taught with a pulley and bar. I guess I’d just have to wait and see.

Well the day finally arrived, and we set off to Grabouw once again. It was a pre-frontal day and highly atmospheric to say the least. After cutting out the original net, we lay the new net down under the space; it looked very small.

Anyways, we badgered on, and started by attaching it at the far short end with numerous cable ties. Next, we attached the two long edges. We then took cable ties to a row of knots 5 spaces from the end and attached a steel bar off which we would tension the net with a pulley rig. Thankfully Charl had another pulley rig so we could equalize the tension easily. However, my steel bar was a bit too long so Donna and Charl ran off to a neighbour to source a hacksaw. I took the opportunity to hop onto Charl’s garden midline, which was a lot of fun in the wind.

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Upon return, progress proceeded, and we hauled in a fair amount of the net – but not nearly enough. I attached the far short end with rope to alleviate the cable ties when they started popping under the tension. At this point we had a delicious lunch to ramp up our motivation and energy, strong coffee included. Things post lunch moved along slowly yet methodically. We de-tensioned and re-tensioned, to get the long edges roped up and in place. We de-tensioned again, this time to adjust the pulleys as they had run out of distance to pull in any more. We got to the final tensioning act, and the net was almoooooost to its full distance. We made a call to attach it with rope anyways, with longer spaces. The reasoning behind this was so that we could hop onto the net and hopefully stretch it in and set all the knots – anticipating we could eke out a wee bit more distance from the net. Well, that seemed to work! We re-tensioned the two long sides, and set about the task of hauling in the final edge. Completion was nigh!

By some miracle, we managed to get the net to the other side eventually. It looked truly magnificent. Borderline biblical. Joseph’s Techni-colour Spacenet. After a frolic on the net and some celebratory pictures, we pursued our odyssey home at the ungodly hour of 7.30pm. That made for a 12 hour round journey. But longer than this physical journey was that of the entire net’s construction. I learnt a lot from it, both in terms of rope work and about myself. Patience. Methodical planning. Perseverance. Etc. Etc.

As happy as I am that the net is successfully constructed and rigged, I was a little sad to see it out of my hands. My calloused hands. But hopefully I shall return to Grabouw sometime in the future for a luxurious afternoon nap on the net – no weaving allowed!

UniDaba 2016

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By Owen Venter

With corrections and slight elaborations by Donna Kisogloo. The core of Owen’s write up is rad as…. and I’ve tried to not interfere too much.

I’m a 14 year old who can’t live without his unicycle. I’ve been unicycling all by myself in Limpopo for about 6 months. I think the loneliness started getting to me so I went onto just about “the only” unicycle website I know of in South Africa, www.oddwheel.co.za. There I found my way to the events tab. After pages of events all saying location: Cape Town, I saw a picture of a rhino on a unicycle with the title: UniDaba 2012. This is where it all started.

It looked like it was a ball, even though the event was 2400km from my home town of Louis Trichardt. I was keen, super keen! I then spent the next few hours Whatsapping and posting on Facebook to find out if anyone knew if there was going to be another UniDaba? The next morning I saw a reply and from there onward the date, location and all the rest were organized!

About a year later, I was finding a way to fit a unicycle into a bag with all my other clothes. I did’nt know what to expect of UniDaba but from all the chirps and funny comments on the Whatsapp group I knew there would never be a boring moment and there wasn’t!

On the first day we kicked off early at the Bike Park on the Constantia Uitsig Wine Estate. This was my first time meeting everyone where I wasn’t asked, “Where’s the other wheel?”. We had an awesome morning rolling around the pump track and expert course of the park but then the competitive side began to surface. We separated into teams of 2 and fought our way through three laps of rocks, logs, drop-off’s and much more!

Lapping it at The Bike Park at Constantia Uitsig Wine Estate

Cyclocross start line.

After the morning fun at the Bike Park we decided to get some grub in Muizenberg. We filled up our tanks and were ready for the afternoon ride. We left the Tiger’s Milk and headed towards Kalk Bay, a 3km fun ride along the beach front. We stopped often and tested our Trials skills on benches, stairs, skinny wall rides, etc.

Feasting at Tiger’s Milk

Shaun Devenish getting some air time with his stair hopping.

Van Zyl Gunter carefully negotiating a skinny wall. Notice the tongue.

Decorating a lighthouse with unicyclists and their uni’s.

The next morning we kicked off early to be at Jonkershoek Nature Reserve by 9am. This was the start our Muni adventure! We split into two groups and headed in different directions.  One group went up the mountain to enjoy the downhill of Upper and Lower Canary, this is the group I stuck with. The other group traversed the base of the mountain on gravel roads. It was a more flat ride. My group spent the next hour, maybe hour and a half “riding / walking” up the logging roads of Jonkershoek, when we finally reached the top we settled down for lunch, tucking into a variety of nuts and biltong! Once fattened up we hit the single-track because what goes up must come down. We enjoyed 3 solid hours of downhill single-track with lots of laughs and lots of bails! We arrived back around 14:30 where I immediately ordered a MASSIVE milkshake and slice of carrot cake at the coffee shop by the entrance.

A very happy bunch of Mountain Unicyclists!

Something about Jonkershoek and elevation.

The next day was the “day of balance”! We all met at The Shed in Stellenbosch and prepared for a day of circus fun! The first hour was a mixture of electric uni’s and giant pogo-sticks. Then later the hockey began! This was my first time playing unicycle hockey so I was quite nervous but I quickly adapted. We spent the next few hours playing match after match of uni-hoki It was a really awesome experience and I recommend that everyone gives it a shot. The next while was spent trying to ride a giraffe and ultimate wheel. An hour later Unidaba slowly came to a end.

Owen Venter experiencing a giraffe for the very first time. Can you see the stoke?

Gavin Stockden mounting the monster pogo.

101 Uni-Hoki

The convention was an amazing experience and I recommend that EVERYONE should come to UniDaba 2017. UniDaba was not just a whole lot of people riding unicycles, it was a place were you could grab a few tips or try out some new tricks. It was a place where you could have a decent conversation about unicycling or anything related to unicycling. UniDaba is not just for experts, it’s for everyone! Its for the real pro’s to the one’s who are still looking to learn!

I would like to say a huge thanks to Donna Kisogloo at OddWheel Unicycles for setting up such an amazing weekend!

UniDaba is now a permanent event on the South African unicycle calender. It happens every year and happens during the mid-year school holidays. Tell other unicyclists about the event! It’s fun!

Between the Rocklands and a High Place

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I spent the three days before the highline festival in the southern Cederberg hiking with my family. I wondered why it was that I was feeling a slight apprehension towards arriving at the festival on Friday. I have subsequently come to realise that a large reason for it was a slight trepidation towards the actual rigging of the highlines. I am passionate about rigging, and enjoy the process to a large extent. However, the vast majority of my rigging has been done under the guidance and supervision of Sylvain Burki. As many in our community may know, Sylvain tragically passed away late last year. Sylvain was also the creator of the Rocklands Highline festival some three years prior. The notion of rigging without his extensive knowledge and guiding hand seemed somewhat intimidating and unappealing to me. That combined with very irregular highlining in the past year was not a great combination to motivate me.

Well Friday eventually rolled around, and my sister and I rolled into the dusty camp of De Pakhuys in my rattling Toyota Yaris. I had barely set foot out the car and was already unravelling a few hundred meters of webbing and sorting gear into my pack to head straight up to the highlines. Kyle Pratt, Burghen Siebert and Jeff van Breda amongst others had already done a stellar job of doing the preliminary rigging of the vast majority of the lines. Andy Court and I were the new old-hand riggers on the block that morning, and we set about finalising the lines with the others.

Riggers don't obey the laws of day and night

Riggers don’t obey the laws of day and night – Mike Kent

By the gentle glow of late afternoon light, the lines were all successfully rigged, and walking ensued. Immediately it was noticeable the increased number of people at the festival, and more so the huge increase in people successfully walking the highlines! The jarring whip of a highline as someone took a leash fall interspersed the relaxed chatter along the sidelines, invoking spectators to rubber-neck at the downward spiral. To see friends that seriously struggled to stand up on a highline in previous years now send lines with ease and finesse was a truly wonderful sight. Likewise to see new faces appear out of the woodwork and share with them the intricacies of highlining was deeply gratifying. The psyche of a fresh send is contagious and stoked my fires to give the lines a burn. I did not have serious inclinations to send my project from last year – the 45m highline – but nonetheless had a wonderful time giving it some proper attempts.

Dramatic air high-fives - Caroline Ruiz

Dramatic air high-fives – Caroline Ruiz

It was also great to see those with a different talent integrate it on the highlines, such as Toni performing her lyra and vertical silks skills up high. It just goes to show that with a creative mindset there are endless possibilities!

Toni doing some alternative highlining- Peter Samuelsson

Toni doing some alternative highlining – Peter Samuelsson

On both Friday and Saturday night Karma played her unmerciful role when I spent a soggy night in a friend’s very unwaterproof tent to pay my dues for being too lazy to set up my own tent – which is very well waterproofed! The rain cleared up with the sight of the rising sun both days though, and conditions for highlining were quite ideal (we don’t dissolve like an Aspirin in a bit of drizzle like boulderers do).

As similar to previous years, one of the great beauties of the festival was the diversity of activities on offer for all. It was somewhat inconsequential if you weren’t a slackliner let alone a highliner, there was something for everyone to share and get involved. During the day juggling, unicycling, POI, acro-yoga, miniature bike riding, heavy chilling (yes, that is a legitimate activity) and a number of other shenanigans were undertaken. Few due to the weather braved the waterline, and those that were brave enough were generally spat off into frigid water in an unceremonious fashion!

Whilst I bustled into my warmest attire and cursed the imminent winter in the evenings, the boulderers amongst us were at the point of nigh sexual arousal by the friction conditions for this time of year. Self-proclaimed as official moral support and spotter I provided superior beta insights and safety marshalling for those with a fetish for wrestling pebbles.

On both nights Caitlin Louise instigated fire jams after dinner. The night owls’ talents of fire staff, POI, ropes and fans were on display to the accompaniment of drums and didgeridoo. Andy Court gave a wonderful debut fire breathing performance, keeping the crowd with baited breath as he taunted his facial hair with a firey trim.

It was inspiring to see Kai and Rogan Samuelsson (10-and-three-quarters and 7-and-two-thirds years old respectively) heading out for a zipline across the highlines, and I noticed their keen enthusiasm and rapture over the entire experience. Later that evening I caught up with Kai around the campfire and was delighted to hear that he was keen on progressing his slacklining with the aspiration to possibly attempt highlining the next year. It is this kind of young enthusiasm that will take South African slacklining and highlining to the next level.

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Young talent - Peter Samuelsson

Young talent Kai and Rogan Samuelsson – Peter Samuelsson

Although it was definite to myself and others that were close to Sylvain that his absence in the hills was present, it was still inspiring to see the community come together, and hopefully see its further expansion in the future. We have had the pleasure of visiting American Bria Shurke returning to our festival, whereby she deemed our festival both the most welcoming community and safest in terms of rigging. This came as quite a compliment as she has attended numerous international highlining festivals!

The owner of De Pakhuys, Thys Kruger, installed a beautiful plaque in memory of Sylvain at the entrance of the trail leading to the highlines. Thank you Thys, for both your hospitality and empathy.

Beautiful plaque added by De Pakhuys owner Thys Kruger - Donna Kisogloo

Beautiful plaque added by De Pakhuys owner Thys Kruger – Donna Kisogloo

By Sunday I was beginning to walk like a cowboy from one too many catches on the highline; my inner thighs aesthetically resembled an abstract artwork in pink, blue and purple hues. I was battered, dusty and ready to head homewards, but ultimately highly satisfied with a lovely time out in the magical Cederberg.

Thank you to everyone, from those that helped organise to the bystanders, who all made the event a beautiful experience. In particular, a massive thank you to Charmaine Retief Kritzinger for continuing with the organisation and management of the highline festival in true style and finesse this year, all in attendance deeply appreciated your hard work!

Harry the hound taking in the panorama - Peter Samuelsson

Harry the hound taking in the panorama – Peter Samuelsson

A pot of gold and a field of magic over Rocklands - Peter Samuelsson

A pot of gold and a field of magic over Rocklands – Peter Samuelsson

Ariel view of the camp and Andy Court on the 65m line - Caroline Ruiz

Ariel view of the camp and Andy Court on the 65m line – Caroline Ruiz

Flying with the birds - Donna Kisogloo

Flying with the birds – Donna Kisogloo

Drone footage of the festival and surrounds capturing the expanse of Rocklands – Mille Foto

Trail Review – Meerendal, Durbanville, Western Cape

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Let’s Get Sweaty

By Shaun Engelbrecht

Now summer is in full swing and it is time to get that sweat on. After a busy winter a bit of an ankle injury, I felt it was about time to hit it and elevate that heart rate.

Hey! Focus and get your mind out of the gutter. I am talking about hitting the trail, on a unicycle. To get you in the mood, I have put together this report of yet another one of the Tygerberg MTB routes, Meerendal.

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This is a great trial for the beginners and seasoned riders alike. Offering a number of route options and difficulty levels, all of which I am yet to try. I usually find myself properly stuffed, so much so that I am in no state to explore further. Instead of taking you through all eventualities of what you could find, I will share with you insights into a morning out on my route in this beautiful part of the Cape.

Starting as always in the parking lot, I make my way on the main route past the trees and fields towards the vineyards where the single track, fun and perspiration begins. As with all the Tygerberg routes, route markers are everywhere and it is pretty difficult even for the likes of me to get lost. At the top of the Jeep track, with the wine seedlings on the right I slip off left on a short single track which I take to get me in the swing of things. Alternatively you can turn right and continue on the jeep track heading to a pump track where the short single track joins up to later. From here I turn left and ride along a rocky ridge halfway up the valley. Approaching in the distance are two switchbacks and a steep, rocky and loose decent. “Gently on the breaks”, is all I repeat over in my head until I reach the bottom. I made it, self-five! Now the route begins to climb and just as I am out of breath it plateaus just enough, and then all hell breaks loose.

There is a sign marked Stairway to Heaven, what the sign fails to explain is that to get to heaven, one must first scale a climb from hell. This hill comprises for an unfathomable number of switchbacks ascending the hill side, and instead of a natural or manicured single track, some sadist decided to create a pathway made of submerged cinder-blocks. The sound of heavy breathing and tyres shredding can be heard for miles, until you reach the pearly gates, which in this case is actually a wooden bench where you can get your breath back. I know what you may be thinking this guy is dramatic. Well you know what, this is exactly how it feels at the time, but the odd occasion I have managed to reach the peak with no UPD’s and dismounts, the reward is equally euphoric and dramatic.

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Air once again filling my lungs and I have some feeling returning to my legs, I continue forward to yet another hill to climb. However this time this hill is somewhat insurmountable by wheel (one wheel that is). This is where I practice the art of hiking, a skill I have honed and refined on said hill. This beast is a jeep track that comprises of steep climbs and large rocks making life impossible on the wheel. Don’t let this deter you, because once I reach the top I am rewarded by another conveniently placed bench and some sweet views of Durbanville, Blouberg and Table Mountain. This is also the part of the trail where the actual fun begins and gravity for a change is on your side. The single track begins to descend and winds its way down the very hill I was hiking and crying up earlier. The tears shed now while descending are tears of joy. Some sections have recently been graded and flattened though after the winter rains, which made them a bit boring, but I am sure this will be rectified once more wheels pass through. Reaching the bottom I am greeted by applause of gawking cyclists for my feat, as this section comes out at the bench where the stairway to heaven ends.

From here things get a bit easier as I hit a section named after a legend in the cycling fraternity, Burry Stander.  A few climbing switchbacks takes you to the beginning  of a fast and flowing sections where you can get some pace or alternatively take it slow and take in the views. At the bottom I am greeted by more vineyards and them cutting off into a winding forested section for a bit of last minute fun before ending at the parking lot.

Like mentioned there are other variants to be taken and easier routes on hand to help build up your skills and confidence. In summer now, I do recommend lots of water, sun block, a snack or two and try to get out and about earlier rather than later. The heat can be a bit much later on, and there is not all that much shelter from the African sun. So I look forward to seeing you there soon, showing up a cyclist or two.

http://www.tygerbergmtb.co.za/trails/meerendal.html

Kilimanjaro 2 by 1

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Kilimanjaro-2-by-1-Logo6 Years. 6 Year’s of what? Being involved in the development of unicycling on the tip of the African continent. OddWheel has been approached a few times by numerous riders wanting to mark their names down in the history books for large-scale unicycle adventures. Desiring to be the first, to tackle whatever they choose, on a unicycle. I’ll always cock an ear to listen to all the ‘wonderbaar’ expeditions that could potentially excite myself and the community. Often is the case that these adventures don’t see more than the creation of a Facebook page and a sponsorship enquiry with OddWheel.

One day at one of our Park Play Sessions. Casually going about the play-to-play activities of an OddWheeler, I was in conversation with Jonathan Benjamin when he dropped the adventure on me.

He is going to attempt the highest descent on a unicycle. We all know that Lutz Eichholz rode down Mount Damavand in Iran and recently set the world record. The total descent was 5671m. Lutz faced challenges with high altitude (of course), team injuries and weather fluctuations between 40˚ and -7˚ Celsius. It is quite a feat that Lutz has accomplished. I’d be so proud of myself if I were he! Although Lutz’ trip is billed as a height record the actual highest mountain descent was attempted by Kris Holm on a volcano in Bolivia in 2006. The height of Licancabur is 5920m. Apparently riders have gone higher than Kris’ attempt but not as a mountain descent.

Where does Jono intend breaking the world record? It’s on the African continent and the only unicyclist I know that has been up there is Dave Walters. Funny one; Dave actually carried a 12” to the top of this peak with the intention of taking a photo of himself unicycling on top of the highest peak in Africa. Unfortunately Dave’s camera froze so there is no photographic proof that he did it. Bummer! I’ve walked the Annapurna Circuit and up to Everest Base Camp in Nepal and it’s flippen cold at those heights. Altitude sickness is no joke either, especially when it’s happening to you up there. Lot’s of garlic soup I say.

Kilimanjaro is 5895m high. That’s only 224m higher than Lutz just did… at altitude. Eish wena! Luckily for Jono he has a trusty sidekick, Ben Carlyle. Ben is more than a sidekick. Ben has been handling a lot of the logistics around preparing for the adventure and will be documenting the actual trip. They are a team and they call themselves ‘Kilimanjaro 2 by 1’. Why not hop onto their Facebook page to show your support – https://www.facebook.com/kilimanjaro2by1?fref=ts.

A classic formula for adventuring is to choose a cause to raise awareness and funds for. Jono and Ben have chosen Inclusive Education South Africa (IESA). They are an NPO that works with parents, teachers and school communities to provide support for children who have learning difficulties and learning barriers to overcome – http://www.included.org.za. They have setup a campaign on the crowd funding platform Back-a-buddy. If you’d like to donate to IESA or even show your admiration for this adventure then click here. I’m sure you’ll put a smile on Jono and Ben’s faces.

Let’s talk a little about Jono’s unicycling experience over the years. He is a damn good rider! What I like the most is that he is super sincere, humble and polite. Legend has it that Jono started riding at the age of 13. He pretty much got the basics and hit Tokai Forest. In 2012 he rode the Cape Cycle Tour and came first in the Uni category with a sub 7 finish. He is the youngest person to have completed the Cape Cycle Tour on a Uni. He was 15 at the time. After Argus Jono took a break from unicycling because of a knee injury. In January this year myself, Jono, Brent and Shaun Engelbrecht did the Oak Valley 24 Hour MTB Relay race. We were the only team on unicycles and surprisingly didn’t come last. Besides being well accomplished in Muni and Road he is still the only unicyclist in SA that can ride on a slackline. He also reminded me of his Trials skills at one of our Park Play Sessions. As you can see he is a well-rounded unicyclist.

Jono Uni Slackline

Ben is a 19-year-old high school friend of Jono’s who apparently has a knack of persuading Jono to do crazy things. Being adventure buddies is familiar for the duo, as they have worked as river guides on the Orange River in Namibia. It was Ben’s original suggestion of a trip up Kilimanjaro that inspired Jono to undertake an attempt to ride down the mountain on a unicycle. Ben’s job on the mountain will be to support Jono and whisper words of encouragement in his ear. The parts that we are interested in are the photos and video footage, which Ben will undertake. Lugging the camera gear and hauling it out for those perfect shots.

The 2 by 1 duo has secured sponsorships with Wizardz Print & Design and Quiver Outdoor Gear. Obviously OddWheel is on board to ensure Jono has everything he needs for his descent of Kilimanjaro. Sir Ranulph Fiennes is backing the duo by “lending his name” to their venture and sending them a personal message.

It would be wonderful to see another SA Unicycle endeavor go down in the history books like Alan Read and Johnny Cronje’s Muni tour along the Freedom Challenge route.

Kilimanjaro 2 by 1

I wish Jono and Ben all the best for this legal / illegal / official / unofficial world record attempt! They will be hopping on a plane to Kilimanjaro on the 2nd of September.  That’s 7 days away!

 

 

 

Trail Review – Bottelary Hills, Kuils River, Western Cape

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Let’s Get Wet

By Shaun Engelbrecht

So I think it is about time for the second edition of my trail reports. I have been riding mostly in the Tygerberg area with one disappointing ride at Jonkershoek due to all of the single track sections being closed still.

My idea was to give some insights into another of the Tygerberg routes (Meerendal), as I have become rather accustomed to what is has to offer. However Donna (further to be referred to as Uni Mom) and I missioned to Bottelary Hills one recently rainy and wet Friday. Let it not be said that unicyclists are scared of a bit of bad weather, or so we thought…

Bottelary Hills

Let me start with the actual trails and what you can expect to find if you decide to give one of the numerous routes in the area a try. There are about 5 main routes which all seem to interlink giving you almost endless option to explore, and to get lost, but more on the getting lost later.

For those still getting acquainted with the wonderful world of Muni and UPD’s (unplanned dismounts), these trails are a brilliant place to start. Why, you ask? Well, although extensive, the routes are mostly based on the Jeep tracks that cut through the vineyards covering the hills. This means climbs are, for the most part, steady and not very technical and greater distances can be covered in a shorter period of time due to the less technical nature of the tracks. There were a few sections of single track with a rocky section here or there, but nothing that would give you much trouble, unless like us you chose to ride on a day that even sent the duck running for cover.

This is ultimately the reason why this write up, not nearly as detailed with regards to the description of the route, when comparing it to my previous report. The weather was so bad, we were unable to see 10m in front of our noses, let alone the route we were riding.

And this Muni friends, is where the actual story of our mini adventure begins…

So there we were, Uni Mom and I had a rough idea of where we needed to go. There are a number of places you can start your ride, and a number of places to buy your permit, but after driving between farms and security villages, we finally found where to buy permits and where to park at Zevenwacht.

We began our climb to the top of a hill, with the wind at our backs. I would imagine you could get the same effect by offering children sweets if they gave you a push. Luckily we had the wind because I don’t like sharing my sweets and trail snacks. The fun did not last when the route starts cutting back and forth between the vines. Once at the top, we were being attacked from all sides, by the wind, which had now covered the hilltop in mist. It was like riding in an extremely angry cloud. This also limited visibility to about 10m. I must say there is something magical when shadowy trees and landscape begins to appear through the fog as you approach.

Once we found some of the single track, we began to descend from the cloud / mist where the rain now became our biggest problem. As I mentioned previously, the trails are not overly challenging, BUT with the gusting wind and relentless rain I would not have liked to have been on a more demanding trail.

A common saying goes “what goes up must come down”, and one thing I have learnt is the opposite is also true when out on a ride. Once we made our way to the bottom on the switch backed single track, we found ourselves climbing once more through vineyards. By now we had been riding for what felt like hours, we were drenched and cold, my shoes we carrying more water than my hydration pack, but we thought it best to keep warm and continued riding. The mood up to this point had been good, laughing while being blow sideways, as well as when I decided to wring out my sponge socks.

Shaun in the Wind

I am sure Donna, sorry I mean Uni Mom, will agree with me that there was a bit of worry once we reached the top of another long climb which we mostly walked due to fatigue, and on reaching the top was directed by the signage that the green route we were on goes both to the left and right! With the thick fog and heavy rain, we had no sense of direction. I said right, Uni Mom said left, but who knew? A signboard did not offer any reassurance, as it was impossible to decipher where we were in relation to the start / finish spot and whether we should go left or right. There was no civilisation in sight; we had not seen any other riders the entire day. It could be argued for a change that the cyclists (the guys with the training wheels) were doing the right thing by staying on their indoor trainers.

So, short of drawing straws or playing a quick round of rock, paper, scissors, lizard, Spock (Google it), we had to trust some technology. Out came the smart phones! Uni Mom’s iPhone was pap, so this was the moment for my CAT brick to shine, full battery, waterproof, drop proof and idiot proof. All the boxes ticked to get us out of here, but no wet finger touch screen functionality. The only thing we had to dry the screen was a bandage from the first aid bag, everything else we had was stupidly drenched. Google maps, satellite view, compass orientation, landmarks found! Expert map reader is something I have recently added to my CV.

We have a way out, and by the way it was right, yes the way I suggested. See children, mom is not always right. With a new found energy we missioned down the trail, back on some of the single track we had followed earlier that day. Things began to look familiar, and the prospect of dry clothes and a hot beverage helped us to press on. We made our way down the misty hill and to the parking lot, threw the uni’s in the car and headed straight to the restaurant where there was a warm fire and a rest room to change and dry off.

This was one of those occasions when at the time, I had thoughts of “Why the hell do I do this to myself?”, but once some time has passed you say, “Well I think I would like to do that again sometime”. Like mentioned previously, the trails are not all that technical, but throw in low temperatures, gusting winds and some horizontal rain and you have one hell of a Muni ride in store on any route. So come people (well those in the Cape at least), the rain is here, time to get out there and get wet.

For more information on what Bottelary Hills MTB has to offer, check out their website for all the info: http://bottelaryhillsmtb.co.za/