The annual Lilydale to Warburton Rail Trail Unicycle Ride is on again, Sunday 6th March 2011. Meet at the Lilydale railway station car park at 9:11 am. The rail trail is mostly flat with a graded gravel surface. It is an 80 km return journey with lunch at Warburton. This is the only annual unicycle ride held in Victoria so don't miss out!
On Sunday 20th February 2011 there will be a muni ride at Forrest Mountain Bike Trails. This is a social ride along the awesome trails designed by the award winning trail builder Glen Jacobs. Forrest is located in the Otway Ranges, about 2.5 hours drive west of Melbourne.
Meet up at the carpark off Boundary Rd, northern section of the park at 10:30 am. Riders of all skill levels are welcome however we recommend you bring a suitable mountain unicycle fitted with a knobby tyre. You should also bring a helmet, gloves, knee/shin pads, sunglasses, sunscreen and sensible shoes.
Map of trails link
If you require assistance with transport to Forrest from Melbourne, please contact Geoff Robinson at geoff.robinson@csiro.au we may be able find a car for you to share.
A blue Northcote sky in the early afternoon saw the concrete warming up for a top day of street unicycling at the local skate park. A collection of riders from Melbourne, regional Victoria and interstate made the journey to compete at one of the few events held for street riders in Australia.
The spectators arrived early whilst the competitors turned up at a more traditional time (in the unicycle world) of about one hour after the official start. The riders spent some time warming up and familiarising themselves with the Northcote skate park before the competition began in earnest.
After a short rider briefing, our judge Luke Collalto took up pen and paper as the first competitor George took to the course. The only entrant in the “Masters” category, George put on a solid display of basic skills. After his two minutes was up Isaac rolled on and attempted some technically difficult tricks. Isaac had pulled off some admirable moves in the practice but found the pressure of live competition a challenge. A newly moustached Dan followed; he impressed the crowd with a drop in from the top of the quarter pipe and a well executed sequence of manoeuvres. Joe put on an excellent performance but struggled under the pressure of trying to match the world class efforts of Dan. Sam laid down some great moves, working hard to make the most of the course despite the limitations of the Northcote venue. After some last minute repairs to his vehicle, Andrew was the last man to make his way onto the course. A lesser rider might have been intimidated by the high standard of the previous riders but this did not bother Andrew who knew what needed to be done to make the final round.
This summer the Melburn crew are hosting the Unicycle Monster Street Comp at the Northcote Skatepark (Dennis St, Northcote; behind the shopping plaza). The action starts at 1pm on Saturday 22nd of January 2011. This event will be a good opportunity to practice street riding at a competition level in between UniNats, meet other street riders and learn new skills.
There is no entry fee for the event but you must be a member or temporary member of the AUS to ride. Click here for details on how to join if you are not already a member. You can join on the day if that is easier.
Follow the event on facebook to keep track of the details.
Map:
[gmap markers=big red::-37.76694351152738,145.0026626593899 |zoom=15 |center=-37.767050940611725,144.99854564666748 |width=400px |height=300px |control=Small |type=Map]
If you're feeling like doing something a little challenging this year, how about unicycling through South-Western China?
Ken Looi is organising the Yunnan Unicycle Tour (aka Yunnanuni), in the mountains near Tibet. Participants will be riding from the Tibetan town of Shangri-La, through a few mountain passes and finishing at the Tiger Leaping Gorge above the Yangzi River. It's going to be pretty mountainous but with lots of amazing scenery.
If you're interested, check out the Yunnanuni website.
Dates: 8-19 August 2011
Included: support vehicles, local guide, tour leader, most meals, spare bicycles
Group Size: maximum 20
Days Unicycling: 7
Cost: US$1900
Distance: approx 410km
Difficulty: depends if you like hills!
Unicycling Conditions : sealed roads all the way but all at altitudes from 1900m to 4200m - you need to be prepared for mostly uphill or downhill riding and a lack of oxygen.
For those of you who missed Ken Looi's Mongolia Unicycle Tour last year, check out the photos and videos of that tour!
The 2011 Asia Pacific Unicycling Convention will take place in Seoul, South Korea.
Dates: 29th July - 1st August
The draft program looks as follows:
29th July, Friday - welcome event
30th, Saturday - 10 km and marathon
31st, Sunday - Track events (100/400/800m, one-foot, wheelwalking, slow, obstacle etc)
1st Aug, Monday - Unicycle hockey tournament
There is also a proposed optional extra 3-4 day trip to Jeju Island - more details to follow. This should be a wonderful event in a fascinating country.
Australia has performed well at previous Conventions and we hope to have a great turn out for the team for Seoul. Contact the AUS secretary to be added to the team list.
Updates will be posted when they come to hand.
The International Unicycling Federation (IUF) define the standard rules for competitions. The AUS follow these rules for UniNats, wherever possible.
The AUS keeps a list of the records held by Australians (citizens and permanent residents) in IUF-style events, both in Australia and around the world.
Here is a collection of all the media stories, videos and public photos we know about for Uninats 2010.
If you have photos or videos we can add here, send details to the editor or contact us. Either links or attachments are fine.
There's a $50 voucher from Unicycle.com Australia for the best event video submitted by 31st October 2010!
Here are the entries in the Uninats 2010 Video Competition that was held on party night, Saturday 2nd October.
All the videos were fantastic - brilliant efforts by some very creative people! Well done all who entered. The winning entry was from Dan Cowling and Tim Hobson.
This page will be updated as the videos are released online - if you entered and have uploaded your entry to Youtube, Vimeo, unicycle.tv etc., then contact us to be added to the page.
The full Uninats 2010 Program of Events is now available as a PDF.
The program has all the venue information, maps, timetables and other information you need to find your way around and enjoy Uninats 2010.
You can print your own colour copy, or pick up a black & white one at the registration desk on arrival.
