Good Luck...Good Riding Kris!

[ally1776]

Personally I'd say 5th in a race like that is good on a bike, and on a unicycle is amazing. It really shows the type of athlete Kris is and the amount of compassion he has for the sport. Way to go!

[MuniOrBust]

Originally Posted by MuniOrBust

Comparing Kris to the 4th place rider so far, it doesn't seem likely that Kris will overtake him.

Of course, Kris doesn't do what's likely! Now Kris IS in 4th!

It's kind of hard to see what happened on the chart. Did the previous 4th place rider do really bad? Did some other top rider miss the whole day? There are a lot of possibilities. All the time info it there, but the day rankings are only current for the current day. So it's hard to see what changed from one day to the next.

[UniMD]

It's kick-ass that Kris is going this, but why do the top riders doing Epic distance have the same times as the people doing challenge? Am I missing something or is all the real competition up in Epic?

[AustinLee]

That is absolutely insane!!!!!! Kris is racing against the top riders from around the world and he is in fourth place. They have him on the downhills, but I guess Kris can catch them on uphills and technical areas.

Great Job!

[siafirede]

Originally Posted by UniMD

It's kick-ass that Kris is going this, but why do the top riders doing Epic distance have the same times as the people doing challenge? Am I missing something or is all the real competition up in Epic?

Yeah, I would guess the real competition is in Epic, the top mtb riders are going to be entering in that, not the Challenge class, and the times are reflecting that.

[PeterG]

Well Done Kris for coming 4th after 7 and 1/2 days!
Its singletrack and to come in 4th after 7 days of racing is a 1st so well done!

For the one's that are saying that He was in the easy race. Show us your best next year! !!

[Wired]

That is amazing, I can't believe how well he's done!! Its amazing, I find it hard going to ride for 3 hours straight, let alone at speed in a race!

Well done Kris

[mbalmer]

That is impressive. I wish there were some video of the race. The only way I would be 4th in a race is if there were four total riders.

[UniMD]

I'm not trying to put Kris down AT ALL! I think its a fantastic start for unicycling. I just don't want people to have the impression that he is 4th while competing against the best mountain bike riders in the world. That misinterpretation could be more damaging for unicycling than helpful. What would be truly awesome would be to stack the challenge class with 10, 20, or 30 unicyclists to really make a competition for us. I don't give a damn about how we do against bikes, but having a major bike event accomodate us is a major accomplishment.

[siafirede]

Originally Posted by PeterG

Well Done Kris for coming 4th after 7 and 1/2 days!
Its singletrack and to come in 4th after 7 days of racing is a 1st so well done!

For the one's that are saying that He was in the easy race. Show us your best next year! !!

Oh, I agree, it is quite insane that he came in 4th, that much singletrack is quite the challenge - you can see that his training paid off!

I am competing against bikes in a 50 mile mtb race soon, and I am going to be lucky if I finish the race in the time allotted, let alone beat a few bikes!

Congrats to Kris for showing what unicycles can do and beating far more bikes than I am sure he imagined.

[MuniAddict]

Absolutely astounding! Doing almost 19 miles per day, 7 days in a row, at RACE speed, without so much as a single day's rest in between! That's about 133 miles total! And coming in 4th place against serious mtbers, some of which became NOR (not officially ranked) because they missed at least one day!

I will be printing out and laminating the results, and carry it with me on the trail to show people! This is a HUGE shot in the arm for our sport, even though it's not likely that anyone else could do what Kris did. It's testament that MUni is as serious and legit a sport as mtb, and of course, much more challenging! Congratulations Kris, you are the man!

[danger_uni]

Hey,

Thanks for all the kind words and support! Here's a race report:

It was fantastic to be invited to do this race. Initially I hesitated as I usually prefer personal challenge rather than competitions, but ultimately I couldn't resist the temptation to spend a week riding some of the best singletrack on the planet.

As far as I know (correct me if I'm wrong) this was the first multiple day, major mountain bike stage race entered by a unicycle rider and I didn't know what to expect. I was a bit nervous given some major media exposure about my involvement leading up to it. My stated goal was not to finish last, but secretly I wanted to place in the top 50% of my category (Solo Men, Challenge course), if possible.

The race has two categories, Challenge (20 to 43 km stages, 30 km average over 7 days), and Epic (20 to 67 km stages, average just under 50 km over 7 days). Within these there were sub-categories (e.g. Solo Men, Solo Women, Teams of 2, etc.). The Epic attracts the top riders including some riders who have competed at the Olympics and World Cup level. The Challenge riders were strong, but in general would not be considered world class. However, both categories shared the same course on Stages 5 and 7, so there was also some opportunity to compare cross-category.

According to race rules, Epic riders could drop into the Challenge category if they couldn't continue the longer course. If this happened they forfeited their chance at the overall title but could still compete for Stage results. This was the first year for the Challenge category; as such it had far fewer riders (45 total at Day 7, 25 in my category) compared to about 450 (minus dropouts) in the Epic.

I trained quite hard over the spring months, focusing on climbing, increased riding volume, and learning how to be technically better at riding in 2nd gear on singletrack.

In sum, it seems like the work paid off and it was really fun to be keeping pace with some of the mountain bikers. The major strategy was to push hard and try to pass on the climbs and then try not to lose too much on the descents. On some stages it helped to have some technical downhill skills as some of hardest downhills were fine on the uni but forced many out-of-town riders to walk some sections.

The highlight for me was Day 5, at 43 km the longest Challenge stage and one of two shared 100% with the Epic category. By now everyone was tired and the benefits of training and willingness to suffer were starting to show.

Off the start we had a fast rollout on pavement out of the town of Sechelt, in light rain, heading for Gibsons. Lucky for me the pavement switched after about 4 km to gravel, and the start of a brutal climb up to high on the forested slopes above town. This area has a gorgeous, purpose-built, technical XC mountain bike/uni trails that weave their way across the hillside to a couple of high points, before an amazing 7 km downhill spin to a ferry terminal.

I felt strong on this segment and the gentle singletrack was twisty enough to limit speed on the bikes; the rain helped also against those inexperienced with slippery roots. Somehow I ended the day with a 3rd place podium finish in my category (Solo Men, Challenge), ahead of 203 mountain bikers cross-category amongst the Epic and Challenge riders.

Day 6 and 7, the energy attrition really started to set in, and again it became a battle to will yourself up the climbs and just keep pedalling fast enough to stave off the bike riders on the descents. At the top of a fierce climb, Squamish had an amazing descent with fast, smooth berms (think BMX pump track on a mountain side) followed by technical bouldery downhill that was much more of an equalizer for bike versus uni speed. There was just enough climbing to maintain 5th place in my category, 3rd amongst those still vying for the cumulative title (e.g. not counting those who dropped into the Challenge distance from Epic).

The Whistler route headed up a steep climb into the ski area bike park and then down a smooth, flowy bermed DH trail (2nd gear = awesome!!), followed by exhausting, up-and-down, rocky singletrack and a final climb to a short descent at the finish. Whistler was again the same course for Epic and Challenge Riders, and I felt strong enough to stay ahead of 149 bike riders over the 23 km course.

That was enough to maintain 4th overall in the Solo Men Challenge category, out of 10 solo male riders who completed every stage in the Challenge distance. I felt really happy; that was in the top 50% and way more than I expected going into it. At least 500 mountain bikers also went home with some changed expectations regarding what XC muni is all about =).

It was also fantastic to be riding a uni for equipment-maintenance reasons. While everyone else was fixing the day's worn/broken parts, I just gave bolt tightness a quick check and that's about it. Nothing went wrong on my uni; I didn't even change the tire pressure or seatpost height all week. All that was needed was one minor wheel truing and a few brake adjustments.
I used a geared KH26, with a short T-bar (see attached). The T-bar was key - it helped a lot with control as well as maintaining comfort. The short extension meant I could pull up over bumps and keep better control when braking on the descents. I did use a higher volume tire than standard spec due to the harder downhills in the course; if it had been less technical I would probably have stuck with the standard tire.

In sum, the South Coast of BC has unbelievably good singletrack riding, and seemingly endless kilometres of trails specially built for mountain biking/muni. The race helped compress a lot of that into one very intense week, but whether racing or just riding for fun this is an area well worth visiting.

Kris

[MuniAddict]

Originally Posted by danger_uni

Hey,

Thanks for all the kind words and support! Here's a race report:

It was fantastic to be invited to do this race. Initially I hesitated as I usually prefer personal challenge rather than competitions, but ultimately I couldn't resist the temptation to spend a week riding some of the best singletrack on the planet.

As far as I know (correct me if I'm wrong) this was the first multiple day, major mountain bike stage race entered by a unicycle rider and I didn't know what to expect. I was a bit nervous given some major media exposure about my involvement leading up to it. My stated goal was not to finish last, but secretly I wanted to place in the top 50% of my category (Solo Men, Challenge course), if possible.

The race has two categories, Challenge (20 to 43 km stages, 30 km average over 7 days), and Epic (20 to 67 km stages, average just under 50 km over 7 days). Within these there were sub-categories (e.g. Solo Men, Solo Women, Teams of 2, etc.). The Epic attracts the top riders including some riders who have competed at the Olympics and World Cup level. The Challenge riders were strong, but in general would not be considered world class. However, both categories shared the same course on Stages 5 and 7, so there was also some opportunity to compare cross-category.

According to race rules, Epic riders could drop into the Challenge category if they couldn't continue the longer course. If this happened they forfeited their chance at the overall title but could still compete for Stage results. This was the first year for the Challenge category; as such it had far fewer riders (45 total at Day 7, 25 in my category) compared to about 450 (minus dropouts) in the Epic.

I trained quite hard over the spring months, focusing on climbing, increased riding volume, and learning how to be technically better at riding in 2nd gear on singletrack.

In sum, it seems like the work paid off and it was really fun to be keeping pace with some of the mountain bikers. The major strategy was to push hard and try to pass on the climbs and then try not to lose too much on the descents. On some stages it helped to have some technical downhill skills as some of hardest downhills were fine on the uni but forced many out-of-town riders to walk some sections.

The highlight for me was Day 5, at 43 km the longest Challenge stage and one of two shared 100% with the Epic category. By now everyone was tired and the benefits of training and willingness to suffer were starting to show.

Off the start we had a fast rollout on pavement out of the town of Sechelt, in light rain, heading for Gibsons. Lucky for me the pavement switched after about 4 km to gravel, and the start of a brutal climb up to high on the forested slopes above town. This area has a gorgeous, purpose-built, technical XC mountain bike/uni trails that weave their way across the hillside to a couple of high points, before an amazing 7 km downhill spin to a ferry terminal.

I felt strong on this segment and the gentle singletrack was twisty enough to limit speed on the bikes; the rain helped also against those inexperienced with slippery roots. Somehow I ended the day with a 3rd place podium finish in my category (Solo Men, Challenge), ahead of 203 mountain bikers cross-category amongst the Epic and Challenge riders.

Day 6 and 7, the energy attrition really started to set in, and again it became a battle to will yourself up the climbs and just keep pedalling fast enough to stave off the bike riders on the descents. At the top of a fierce climb, Squamish had an amazing descent with fast, smooth berms (think BMX pump track on a mountain side) followed by technical bouldery downhill that was much more of an equalizer for bike versus uni speed. There was just enough climbing to maintain 5th place in my category, 3rd amongst those still vying for the cumulative title (e.g. not counting those who dropped into the Challenge distance from Epic).

The Whistler route headed up a steep climb into the ski area bike park and then down a smooth, flowy bermed DH trail (2nd gear = awesome!!), followed by exhausting, up-and-down, rocky singletrack and a final climb to a short descent at the finish. Whistler was again the same course for Epic and Challenge Riders, and I felt strong enough to stay ahead of 149 bike riders over the 23 km course.

That was enough to maintain 4th overall in the Solo Men Challenge category, out of 10 solo male riders who completed every stage in the Challenge distance. I felt really happy; that was in the top 50% and way more than I expected going into it. At least 500 mountain bikers also went home with some changed expectations regarding what XC muni is all about =).

It was also fantastic to be riding a uni for equipment-maintenance reasons. While everyone else was fixing the day's worn/broken parts, I just gave bolt tightness a quick check and that's about it. Nothing went wrong on my uni; I didn't even change the tire pressure or seatpost height all week. All that was needed was one minor wheel truing and a few brake adjustments.
I used a geared KH26, with a short T-bar (see attached). The T-bar was key - it helped a lot with control as well as maintaining comfort. The short extension meant I could pull up over bumps and keep better control when braking on the descents. I did use a higher volume tire than standard spec due to the harder downhills in the course; if it had been less technical I would probably have stuck with the standard tire.

In sum, the South Coast of BC has unbelievably good singletrack riding, and seemingly endless kilometres of trails specially built for mountain biking/muni. The race helped compress a lot of that into one very intense week, but whether racing or just riding for fun this is an area well worth visiting.

Kris

Great writeup Kris! What a fantastic, exciting experience that must have been. I congratulate you and know now that anything is possible if you work hard and dedicate yourself. But you are indeed in a rarefied league of your own. Cheers!

[Super G]

Congrats Kris!

This is very inspirational and a huge boost to unicycling's image.

Great job and thanks for the write-up!

[UniMD]

Seriously awesome!!!! Great job and congratulations!