Is it absolutely necessary that Mountain Unicycling be called Muni?

[Goats_On_Unicycles]

I mean, Mountain Biking isn't called Miking.
That's just plain old stupid.

It dosen't require that much more physical nor mental exertion to say "Mountain Unicycling" instead of "Muni".

Also, that way you aren't confused with the San Fran Muni.


As for my reason for putting this in JC; I just thought that since it was more about word choice than unicycling, JC would be better suited.

peace

[dudewithasock]

yes

[Goats_On_Unicycles]

typical 20 year old.
Thinks he knows everything.

[Jerrick]

When talking about it, I dont think I ever specify what style im gonna ride, its always "Im gonna go unicycle." and im gone. Either winding up downtown or in the middle of the woods.

Online, here at least, I type out muni, just cause its quicker to type out. Among unicyclist ill say it a little, just cause we all know what it means. But really, I hardly say it out loud.

[dudewithasock]

typical 20 year old.
Thinks he knows everything.

yes

[Goats_On_Unicycles]

Is that the only word they teach you in that fancy college of yours, sonny?

[Jon B]

It dosen't require that much more physical nor mental exertion to say "Mountain Unicycling" instead of "Muni".
You're right. Lets just get rid of all the acronyms all together while we're at it.

[Jerrick]

You're right. Lets just get rid of all the acronyms all together while we're at it.

Sounds good, I dont really use them anyways.

[dudewithasock]

Is that the only word they teach you in that fancy college of yours, sonny?

hell nah foo

i lern sum gud stuf hear

[Julia B]

We don't use Tuni, Suni, or Funi, so why do we need Muni? Or Guni for that matter.

[dudewithasock]

Because people don't say 'I ride trials unicycling/street unicycling/freestyle unicycling', they say 'I ride trials/street/freestyle'. Conversely, you never hear people say 'I ride mountain', it's 'I ride muni'.

[DoctorPunch]

When talking about it, I dont think I ever specify what style im gonna ride, its always "Im gonna go unicycle." and im gone. Either winding up downtown or in the middle of the woods.

Online, here at least, I type out muni, just cause its quicker to type out. Among unicyclist ill say it a little, just cause we all know what it means. But really, I hardly say it out loud.

I just say "Ride". I ride unicycles and bikes, and whomever I go riding with rides that specifically so I'll just call one of my friends and be like "Yo, wanna ride today?" and they'll get it.

[Jerrick]

If you tell a non-rider "I muni" they give you that look and then you go "mountain unicycle." Its always easier and quick for me to say "Im a mountain unicyclist."

[Caterpillar with a hookah]

If you tell a non-rider "I muni" they give you that look and then you go "mountain unicycle." Its always easier and quick for me to say "Im a mountain unicyclist."

You took the words right out of my mouth. "Muni" sounds silly, anyway. It's easy to type, sure. But to me, saying "Muni" in conversation would be like saying "lol" or "omg".

Yeah, as a general rule, I hate acronyms.

Edit: While I'm ranting, another unicycle-specific abbreviation that I hate is UPD. Not only do you have to explain it to non-riders (if you ever use it in conversation, which would be weird), but it takes a short, one-syllable word ("fall" or "bail") and "abbreviates" it into a three-syllable initialism. Unplanned dismount? Why?

[johnfoss]

It's all a matter of context. People outside of unicycling won't know what MUni means, so you don't tell them you MUni. You ride unicycles. Or you ride unicycles on mountain bike trails.

Similarly, I'm getting ready for the upcoming MUni Weekend. I call it MUni Weekend when talking about it amongst us unicyclists, but for any public descriptions, including T-shirts (if it's up to me), I call it the California Mountain Unicycle Weekend. Long-winded but descriptive.

George Peck would say it should be called Rough Terrain Unicylcing. After all, that's a more accurate name. Only some of us have access to mountains, and we ride MUni we're not always on them. I've been on great MUni rides or races in Iowa and Michigan.

But you're in an Internet forum here. Aside from the fact that we're unicyclists on top of being forum nerds, some of us are going to insist on using obscure acronyms and jargon no matter what.

So the next question is, should you captialize the U? (Most spell-checkers say no) :)

[MuniAddict]

Mountain biking-at least in that community-is often referred to as "mtb" or mtbr, as in www.mtbr.com (http://www.mtbr.com). We say "Uni" all the time, and even the magazine is called by that shortened version of "Unicycle".

So we've only added an "M" to the beginning. Having said all that, I almost alway use the full spelling for the beneift of those outside the uni-community, and verbalize it as "Mountain Unicycle/unicycling/unicyclist as well. But then I also always follow that by letting them know that we routinely call it, "MUni", and every newspaper, tv appearance, magazine article-they all include that acronym. But I usually say the Mountain Unicycling first, and MUni afterword, not the other way around.

I was just sent a shirt from the author of the book I was in, and it came with a marker to write directly on the shirt, what your "Active life" sport is. It would have been much easier to just write "MUni", but most non-uni people would not know what that meant, so I spelled it out fully. But within our own uni community, I'll continue calling it MUni. :)

(And remember, a lot of people shorten "Geared uni" to "GUni".)

36871

[Goats_On_Unicycles]

Because people don't say 'I ride trials unicycling/street unicycling/freestyle unicycling', they say 'I ride trials/street/freestyle'. Conversely, you never hear people say 'I ride mountain', it's 'I ride muni'.
Yeah, but first off, muni sounds dumb. Second off, bikers say they ride trials, freestyle and mountain so why shouldn't we?

Riding muni means you're on a Cable Car.
It's all a matter of context. People outside of unicycling won't know what MUni means, so you don't tell them you MUni. You ride unicycles. Or you ride unicycles on mountain bike trails.

Similarly, I'm getting ready for the upcoming MUni Weekend. I call it MUni Weekend when talking about it amongst us unicyclists, but for any public descriptions, including T-shirts (if it's up to me), I call it the California Mountain Unicycle Weekend. Long-winded but descriptive.

George Peck would say it should be called Rough Terrain Unicylcing. After all, that's a more accurate name. Only some of us have access to mountains, and we ride MUni we're not always on them. I've been on great MUni rides or races in Iowa and Michigan.

But you're in an Internet forum here. Aside from the fact that we're unicyclists on top of being forum nerds, some of us are going to insist on using obscure acronyms and jargon no matter what.

So the next question is, should you captialize the U? (Most spell-checkers say no) :)

If it's called Muni, it should have a caps U to get the full nerdiness.

[Goats_On_Unicycles]

Mountain biking-at least in that community-is referred to as "mtb" or mtbr, as in www.mtbr.com (http://www.mtbr.com). We say "Uni" all the time, and even the magazine is called by that shortened version of "Unicycle".

I was just sent a shirt from the author of the book I was in, and it came with a marker to write directly on the shirt, what your "Active life" sport is. It would have been much easier to just write "MUni", but most non-uni people would not know what that meant, so I spelled it out fully. But within our own uni community, I'll continue calling it MUni. :)

(And remember, a lot of people shorten "Geared uni" to "GUni".)

36871

Cool shirt!

One thing though Terry, try saying mtb. ;)

[Goats_On_Unicycles]

Oh, speaking of mountain riding... I'm awful out of shape...

Haven't ridden since Moab....

[MuniAddict]

Cool shirt!

One thing though Terry, try saying mtb. ;)Haha yeah, I just say each letter individually, not as a whole word, unlike MUni, which I think most people do say as a whole word.

But I do always refer to it as "Mountain Unicycling", etc, and then follow that by saying "MUni" is used (usually) for short. I guess I'm just used to that acronym, and until now haven't really given it much thought.

Old habits are hard to break I guess, lol. Like when people get nicknames they hate, and once they stick, it's hard to change it. :o

[Michaelgoround]

What could be more necessary?

[MuniOrBust]

Oh, speaking of mountain riding... I'm awful out of shape...

Haven't ridden since Moab....

Oh sure... complain about acronyms and then go and use one yourself.

Don't you mean "Haven't ridden since Mother of All Burgers"?
Yeah, that WILL get you out of shape.

YouTube - MOAB - Mother Of All Burgers

[Jerrick]

Moab is the name of a city.

[hobo_chuck]

The only time I've ever said "MUni" out loud was the time when I was trying to figure out whether it was pronounced "moo-nee" or "myuu-nee."

Online, though, I have no problem with MUni, especially when the U is capitalized.

________________________-

@ MuniOrBust:

http://img524.imageshack.us/img524/7502/gifbinkidkickingfootbal.gif
This is you right now.

[Goats_On_Unicycles]

Old habits are hard to break I guess, lol. Like when people get nicknames they hate, and once they stick, it's hard to change it. :o
Yeah, I know what you mean Terry Bigwheel!! :D

[BillyTheMountain]

it's called M'bikey.

Just like MUni has the whole beginning of the vehicle name in it, M'bikey also has the whole beginning vehicle name in it.

Calling it MIkey would be like calling MUni "M'ni"

[MuniAddict]

Yeah, I know what you mean Terry Bigwheel!! :DHaha! But I gave myself that name. But thanks for reminding me, Lovely, Lovely Milly! :p

[Goats_On_Unicycles]

Hey, I still like that name!
It's gonna be at least five more years before that embarrasses me.

[johnfoss]

We don't use Tuni, Suni, or Funi, so why do we need Muni? Or Guni for that matter.Because Tuni, Suni, Funi and Guni are all low-budget copycats. Newspaper and magazine articles do not get written about them. Accept no imitations! Only the original Muni/MUni, giving out fun since 1995! (or was it '94?)

One thing though Terry, try saying mtb. ;)This is best accomplished with a mouthful of saltine crackers.

[MuniAddict]

Because Tuni, Suni, Funi and Guni are all low-budget copycats. Newspaper and magazine articles do not get written about them. Accept no imitations! Only the original Muni/MUni, giving out fun since 1995! (or was it '94?)Actually, it was 1965 for me! (Less than a year after the Beatle's first Ed Sullivan appearance!) I rode my first uni on a campground trail in Yosemite during a family trip, 44 years ago! I think it had a whitewall tire, lolypop bearings, rubber pedals, a sparkly saddle and about 12 spokes, lol! :eek::D:cool:

All I can say is, There's no place like "Holm". :)

[MuniOrBust]

Moab is the name of a city.

Who would name a city "Mother of All Burgers"?!!
Crazy!!

[saskatchewanian]

I like MUni

It is a nice little contraction and it is way faster to say than "Mountain Unicycling" at least when talking to other unicyclists.

[Goats_On_Unicycles]

but why don't we abbreviate freestyle or trials or anything like that!?!?!


Ugh...

[MuniAddict]

but why don't we abbreviate freestyle or trials or anything like that!?!?!


Ugh...
Maybe because "Mountain" refers to an area or type of location; a place where one typically goes to ride offroad. Freestyle, trials, flat, refer specifically to a style of riding. Idk, just a thought. :) Plus, "MUni" has been used for quite a while now, and "FRUni", "TRUni", "FLUni" just don't have the same "ring" to it, lol.

[munirocks]

I do agree that MUni sounds and looks kind of strange. But for communications between unicyclists it is pretty useful. I would never use that word when talking to non unicyclists either. One alternative name might be freeride, which I think sounds great. Although it doesn't really make clear that it's done on a unicycle.

[BillyTheMountain]

The committe considered your question very carefully, and it turns out that YES, it is absolutely necessary to call Mountain Uni MUni.

Settled!

[Mikefule]

MUni is a model name trademarked to the UK cycle manufacturer, Pashley. I have a Pashley 26" MUni to prove it.

As for using it as a general term - I do, although it took me a while to get into the habit of it. When talking to non unicyclists, I say I do "cross country unicycling" because that gives even the most stupid person an immediate picture of what I mean. ("Muni" must sound funny in a thick man's world.)

It's only a word. You can use it or not as you choose. It's a free country as long as you conform.

[johnfoss]

You called it MUni in 1965? I first rode on dirt in 1979. At that time, I think I called it "getting to where the good pavement was". :)

Duncan Castling is credited with coining the word Muni but I'm not sure the exact time. I added the capital U in 1995-6. This was immortalized in the Trivial Pursuit 20th Anniversary edition a few years back...

[MuniAddict]

You called it MUni in 1965? I first rode on dirt in 1979. At that time, I think I called it "getting to where the good pavement was". :)

Duncan Castling is credited with coining the word Muni but I'm not sure the exact time. I added the capital U in 1995-6. This was immortalized in the Trivial Pursuit 20th Anniversary edition a few years back...Haha, no I didn't call it MUni since it wouldn't even be invented until decades later! I just meant that I went offroad with it, not realizing the potential..I was only 9, lol.

[johnfoss]

but why don't we abbreviate freestyle or trials or anything like that!?!?!Those are already one word. Not much to shorten there...

For whatever reason, the press seems to like MUni. Except they always want to call it "MUnicycling," even when I say "Nobody calls it that except journalists." I guess hearing it come from a journalist makes it a word?

Pashley "owns" Muni with a lowercase "u". Not sure how far that ownership extends, or even whether that matters since they don't seem to make unicycles anymore. Or do they?

[Emile.m]

I always say Muni when I'm with other unicyclists.

[SirSkillz]

I've never really liked the name muni. I think it sounds goofy, and no non-unicyclist know what it means. 'Mountain Unicycling' is easy enough to say.

On my crappy Norco uni, there was a sticker on it that said 'muni'. My not-so-bright friend said to me, "Hey, your one wheeled bike says 'money' on it! And it's even spelt wrong!" Not that I care, but I thought it was funny:D

[nubcake]

it's clearly called muni just to p you off.

why does anything get called anything? some are named through technical reasoning and some are named through ease of use.

time to cure cancer.

[juggleaddict]

I wonder why Milk is called Milk. : ) I also wondered why I capitalized that.

[crazyjoe]

...no non-unicyclist know what it means...

Not entirely true.

I have many non-unicyclist friends and many of them know what Muni is when I say it.

Also, we don't say Tuni, Suni, or Funi because trials, street, and flatland (or freestyle) are all one- or two-syllable words. It's easy enough to say them as they are. Mountain unicycling, however, can have 6 or 7 syllables, depending on how much you enunciate the "-cycling" at the end. Therefore, instead of saying 6-7 syllables, we say muni around other unicyclists because they know what it means and you only have to pronounce 2 syllables. That isn't because we're lazy, but because a sentence may just sound better like that.

When I'm around non-riders I will always make an effort to say "mountain unicycling" because I know most of them don't know what muni is.

[Zzagg]

In France we used to say MTT (for "monocycle tout-terrain") but some random guy copyrighted the acronym to use it as a brand for his business (or was it "non profit association"... I don't remember). We all used this name on a daily basis when speaking about off road unicycling until he got angry about it and stopped being a major actor of the french unicycling society.
Now, we say Muni: Unicycling is not a matter of "french cultural exception" any more.;)

[tomblackwood]

Dorks! I can't believe you've managed to get 4 pages out of this topic. Go for a ride!

With all due deference to Mr. Bigwheel, for all of my many TV appearances, magazine interviews, book signings, and retirement home visits, I skip the acronyms and jargon entirely.

It's either:

Road Riding

or

Off-road Riding

Although I hear there is a mixed drink for teetotaling unicyclists called the Mickey Runi.

[Mikefule]

There's also Puni - that's for really weak riders.

And Harpuni - that's for really weak riders having a whale of a time.

Of course, in my day, most of the MUnis were MOlytechnics.

[MuniOrBust]

When talking to non-unicyclists, I usually just call it Off-Road Crotch Wheeling.

They never question it. In fact they never say anything to me after that.

[Johann3s]

good question.
i dont like the expression muni. i prefer downhill and cross country. for me it even makes more sense to say downhill and cross country cause when someone talk about muni i m sure nobody knows about what he really talks.


it s not absolutely necessary to call it muni.

[maestro8]

I just say "Ride".
It's either: Road Riding or Off-road Riding
Beauty lies in simplicity.

[johnfoss]

When talking to people unfamiliar with our world, I'll often say "We ride unicycles on mountain bike trails." Accurate, but not short.
Dorks! I can't believe you've managed to get 4 pages out of this topic.Are you kidding? We're just getting started. Have a nice ride BTW... :)

[SkierAlex]

Is it absolutely necessary that Mountain Unicycling be called Muni? No

Is it a hell of a lot easier than saying Mountain Unicycling? Yes

[MuniAddict]

Is it necessary that "laughing out loud" be referred to as "lol"? :D Here's a few more (http://www.muller-godschalk.com/acronyms.html) that may beg the same question. :p
Sometimes people use popular abbreviations as kind of verbal "shorthand" because it's just an easier and faster way to convey and communicate the same thing, like "phone" instead of telephone, and "TV" instead of television.

Years ago, Chris Farley from SNL was in a funny sketch about using shortened words to save time. Like instead of "Supercalfragilisticexpialadocious", Farley was thrilled when he found a "much shorter and convenient" way to say that as, "SupercalfragilisticexpialaDOSH!" :D

[uni57]

We're just getting started. Yes. I haven't even offered my two cents yet (which usually takes several dollars worth of words to express).

"phone" instead of telephone, and "TV" instead of television.I still like those longer words. I rarely say TV. I never say fridge. Don't call me on my cell. Call my on my cell phone (my cellular telephone). And I have a computer, not a comp or a 'puter. Not every word needs to be only one or two syllab.

[tomtrevor]

This thread is pretty long, only if we could abbreviate it...........

I guess it's personnal perference, I say muni to other unicyclists, and off-road unicycling to non-unicyclists. I say tv, fridge, phone, lol, g'day, mountain biking, I couldn't care less if I abbrieviated or not, just as long as the other person im talking/typing to knows what I'm saying.

[Klaas Bil]

If you tell a non-rider "I muni" they give you that look and then you go "mountain unicycle." Its always easier and quick for me to say "Im a mountain unicyclist."As if they don't give you that look if you say you go mountain unicycle :)

[Emile.m]

I will revise my statement.

I pretty oftenly say 'muni' with non-unicyclist, at school, to teachers for example, mom, dad, friends, and with unicyclist too of course.

I think I hear the word muni at least every day.

[Klaas Bil]

Is it necessary that "laughing out loud" be referred to as "lol"? :D Here's a few more (http://www.muller-godschalk.com/acronyms.html) that may beg the same question. :p
Sometimes people use popular abbreviations as kind of verbal "shorthand" because it's just an easier and faster way to convey and communicate the same thing, like "phone" instead of telephone, and "TV" instead of television.


If you say you bought a new television, you're really still using shorthand. Television originally is the word for the system, not the appliance. I'm not sure about English, but in Dutch when I was a kid the word for the apparatus to watch moving images with sound that were broadcasted using the television system was "televisietoestel" (literally television apparatus).

This goes to say, often new words start out long, and when they are used often, they wear off, extraneous parts that stick out break off, and you end up with a shorter word.

[GILD]

"FLUni"
Getting frightfully close to "flo" right there...


I say g'day

You're Australian, you're genetically incapable of NOT saying g'day.


Mate.

[stag]

I prefer RTL to Ride The Lobster

[uni57]

A few years ago, my nephew was talking about getting a "PS2". I was quite confused because to me, PS/2 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IBM_Personal_System/2) refers to IBM's unsuccessful line of personal computers in the late 80s. How could I have known he was talking about a Playstation 2?

Acronyms and abbreviations get reused, but at the speed that technology moves, this can be confusing.

[Zzagg]

^^
You're old, man;)

[Phil_on_uni]

I agree with you jackie....

Personally I hate calling it Muni...

Its like when people in the climbing world call urban climbing...... Buildering ......


ugh...

It makes me twitch a little bit out of annoyance

[Michaelgoround]

I agree with you jackie....

Personally I hate calling it Muni...

Its like when people in the climbing world call urban climbing...... Buildering ......


ugh...

It makes me twitch a little bit out of annoyance
But buildering sounds awesome! Haha.

[ħǻřрέŗ]

Long, long ago I became as self-conscious as Jackie is now about MUni, Muni, muni, and mountain unicycling in conversation. It became so disturbing to me that I was no longer able to say any of these words anymore. I can still write them effortlessly but the idea of pronouncing them publicly has become positively horrifying. Whenever these topics come up anymore I, more often than not, just burst into tears and run out of the room. I recommend that you do the same. It saves a lot of stress knowing how to correctly deal with a situation like this.