Good luck to all members of the Australian team heading to Hong Kong this weekend (21 - 23 August 09) for the Asia Pacific Unicycle Convention - Ashley, Nic, Ty, Rod, David, Tom and Ruben. No doubt the hockey will be fast and furious - so enjoy!!
Last month, 7 unicyclists spent 12 days riding through northern India; we had a fantastic time. Since then, we've worked on assembling photos, newspaper articles etc and I'd like to share some of these with everyone.
First up, here is a listing of the participants, showing showing the tour's elevation profile, and a table of links to GPS data that Nathan Hoover assembled, with links to view each segment in GoogleEarth and GoogleMaps.
From the rider's point of view, this tour consisted of 7 riders (plus Jason Williams of Grasshopper Adventures on bike, 2 support vehicle drivers, and a local guide).
Here is Nathan Hoover's journal, which he wrote during the tour. Day 5 (3rd riding day) was the "money day", with a 40km climb that ascended a full 2000m. We got some great photos that day and it was incredible riding. We started that morning in the hot lowlands and finished in the afternoon in the Himalyas in a little town that could've easily been high in Nepal.
Ken Looi organised the tour and has more information available at the official website.
Ken Looi would like to extend a warm invitation to all AUS members to attend Unicon XV, The 15th Unicycle World Championships and Convention. It takes place in Wellington, New Zealand, from 27th December 2009 to 7 January 2010.
UNICON is the biggest event in Unicycling, with hundreds of unicyclists attending from up to 30 different countries. This is the first ever Southern Hemisphere UNICON, and the first UNICON held over New Year. Come and celebrate with other unicyclists, ride in spectacular scenery, duel it out on the hockey court, or just meet other unicyclists from around the world. It's a great opportunity to represent Australia in your sport, or enjoy the many unicycling activities so close to home.
Registrations are now open on the Unicon website: www.uniconxv.co.nz
Enter early and save with a reduced entry fee before 1 Sept 2009.
For more questions, email: unicon15@gmail.com
See you later this year!
Ken Looi
UNICON XV
Organising Committee
After Uninats, Tony Melton and Tynan Rollo have headed straight to Tasmania to join Aubin Gill and a few other keen Australian riders in a ride from Launceston to Hobart via the scenic route. You can follow their progress at the 2nd Tasmanian Unitour website.
Geoffrey Huntley from Sydney is with Ken Looi and 5 other big wheel riders in the last few days of their 12 day, 500km ride across north-eastern India. Internet access has been rare, but you can see some photos and follow their adventures on the Induni blog.
Registrations for Unicon XV in Wellington, NZ are open, as of 1 March 2009. Registration costs will increase over the year, so register early!
Competitor
01-JAN-2008 to 01-APR-2009 Fee: NZ$ 200
01-APR-2009 to 01-SEP-2009 Fee: NZ$ 250
01-SEP-2009 to 01-DEC-2009 Fee: NZ$ 350
01-DEC-2009 to 08-JAN-2010 Fee: NZ$ 500
Non-competitor
01-JAN-2008 to 01-APR-2009 Fee: NZ$ 75
01-APR-2009 to 01-SEP-2009 Fee: NZ$ 100
01-SEP-2009 to 01-DEC-2009 Fee: NZ$ 125
01-DEC-2009 to 08-JAN-2010 Fee: NZ$ 150
At current exchange rate:
NZ$1= US 49c = AU 77c = UK 35p = Euro 39c
Register Here
Hope to see you in Wellington this year!
Sunday 5 April 2009 (Day 1) - Thursday 16 April (Day 12)
Ken Looi is organising another fabulous Unicycle Tour for April 2009, this time in India. Numbers are limited to 30, so best in, best dressed. For information about the tour, cost, itinerary and registration, see the unicyclist.com website and the tour website.
For those who are heading off shore, here are some events to keep you entertained...
Hosted by JUST
27 February - Sunday 1 March 2009
Hamsterley Forest, County Durham
For more information about the first British Muni Weekend for 2009 and how to register, see the unicyclist.com website.
Reims, FRANCE
11, 12 and 13 April 2009
Information is available about this event (in French).
Sunday, 26 July - Saturday, 1 August, 2009
Kennedy High School, Bloomington, MN
Hosted by Twin Cities Unicycle Club
See the NAUCC09 website for information about this event and how to register.
In the British Medical Journal, Sam Shuster, Emeritus Professor of Dermatology, analyses the responses he received from the general public over the course of one year when he was out riding his unicycle. Public responses to unicycling were quite different between people of different genders and ages - from openly supportive and praising to verbally and physically aggressive.
See the entire article in the BMJ 2007, vol 335 (22 December) pp. 1320 - 1322. Thanks to David Buchanan for sending this one in!
While UniNats is only a few months away, don't forget that next summer UNICON is coming to a country near you. Check out the website for information on the program, registration, venues, and accommodation in Wellington and have your say in the forums: http://www.uniconxv.co.nz/about/unicycling/
Hope to see you all in the land of the long white cloud.
The Chronicle (14 November 2008) reports on on Kevin Wharton's ride down Toowoomba's Table Top mountain on his unicycle. Footage:
It was only a matter of time before we saw the first unicycling robot. At the Ceatec electronics show which opened in Japan in September 2008, the Kyoto-based electronics company, Murata Manufacturing, showcased Seiko, a robot that rides a unicycle.
