Unicon Registration Cut Off - not properly cut

[johnfoss]

Originally Posted by Rowan

Or are the rules bendy and you just have to know the right people to get late discount instead of penalty?

Maybe you just have to ask nicely.

Originally Posted by Rowan

And yes some of them were given special treatment but that is another thread about unavailability of track racing unicycles. I was lucky enough to borrow some good uni's on track racing day.

Wait a minute. What was that one you lent me? Definitely not a good one for the Obstacle Course, but that's a topic for a different (non) thread. Unavailability of track unicycles? I saw tons of them. It's best to bring your own of course, but flying limits your choices...

Originally Posted by siafirede

The U.S. rider that couldn't make it last minute was most likely me.

Sorry you couldn't make it. Also the Sindelar family from MN apparently couldn't make it (3). Bummer because Matt would have been one of the few US entries in Freestyle, and surely the best one.

Originally Posted by Rowan

If rules can be bent then they should be bent for everyone- and that would defeat the purpose of having the rules.

Registration rules are set by the host. Competition rules are much less appropriate to bend, but nobody's perfect.

BTW Rowan is a strong, competent rider. I could not keep up with him on a practice ride of the (hard!) XC racecourse!

[Rowan]

Originally Posted by johnfoss

Maybe you just have to ask nicely.

So maybe they could add that on the front page of the Unicyclist.com forums...
"Registration cut-offs reminder

The next registration payment cut-off is November 30 at 11:59pm New Zealand Time. The registration price is currently NZ$350, but increases to NZ$500 on December 1. Pay for your registration early to get the lower entry price.

***You CANNOT edit your entry after 1 Dec 2009 unless you pay the full NZ$500 registration fee or ask nicely for a discount***".

Originally Posted by johnfoss

Wait a minute. What was that one you lent me? Definitely not a good one for the Obstacle Course, but that's a topic for a different (non) thread. Unavailability of track unicycles? I saw tons of them. It's best to bring your own of course, but flying limits your choices...

It is a long story about the non-unicycle-riding Qu-ax dealer in NZ stringing me along about a racing wheel that didn't exist so I didn't look elsewhere until too late. So I threw together the heaviest 24x1.75" unicycle that I could muster, and that is the pig that you rode around the obstacle course. Living in NZ limits your choices of track unicycles it seems- unless you know the right people to contact overseas.

Originally Posted by steveyo

For crying out loud, he's probably the top uni rider in the world. Just look at the UNICON XV results pages...oh wait, my bad...don't look at those, the other riders were probably given some kind of advantage or special treatment.

I was quite proud of my result in the track coasting event. I only started coasting relatively recently (2 months ago), and I placed 5th in my age, behind Felix Dietze who is really good and got 6th in expert male. I even went further than Gilby which I wouldn't have expected to do.

In the age group categories I came 8th in 800m, 15th in 400m, 10th in 100m, 14th in Downhill Gliding, 10th in 30m wheel walk. I'm definitely not the best rider but I reckon I'm doing OK for someone who doesn't train. I coasted a downhill bumpy section at Frank Kitt's park at the learning workshop the other day! There is another teaching/learning workshop there tomorrow and the 10k results will be announced (I rode the standard 10k).

Originally Posted by johnfoss

I could not keep up with him on a practice ride of the (hard!) XC racecourse!

Me and John walked most of the same parts- we both ride with no brakes and know our limits. The course sure is hard! I've been hearing a lot of riders say they are going to ditch their brakes on the downhill and I'm wondering whether brakes or no brakes will be most successful on the day. The 10k unlimited was won by Scott on a fixed 36" with a bike saddle- so anything seems possible. Unicon is the perfect place to test out the theories of which gear works best up against other setups.