Monguni: The Mongolia Unicycle Tour- and we're off!

[nathan]

Originally Posted by MuniAddict

Mph? I find that beyond impossible to fathom! (Since you're an American, and we don't use the metric system (officially) I just assumed you meant mph. But since you didn't specify, you *must* be referring to km/h, which would equate to a range of speed of 18.6 to 21 mph.)

Of course it's kph. Whatever country we are in we use that country's units. That's pretty much kph everywhere except home in the USA.

Normally I don't go over 30 on dirt, but there were many sections in Mongolia where you could go any speed. A faster rider would've had no trouble cruising at 40. This was the first time I found it comfortable to go so fast (for me) on dirt.

---Nathan

[unireed]

i wonder how fast my average speed is...i had my mom follow me with her road bike (with cyclometer) and she said my top speed was 14.2 miles per hour. i know i have gone faster, but i didnt want to crash.

[rogeratunicycledotcom]

Nathan is being modest, he is/was fast. I had no chance of keeping up with him at times!

There were certainly sections of the ride where I wished I had my Schlumpf with me. Since the ride was generally very relaxed a lot of the time I was happy with the fixed, it also had the advantage of the disc brake.

Roger

[unireed]

what were the average speeds?

[nathan]

Here are the GPS plots for the days I rode:

Day 5 37.27km http://connect.garmin.com/activity/44193085
Day 6 37.97km http://connect.garmin.com/activity/44193061
Day 8 45.78km http://connect.garmin.com/activity/44193047
Day 9 30.96km http://connect.garmin.com/activity/44193025
Day 10 31.19km http://connect.garmin.com/activity/44193016

For instance, stats for Day 6:

Time: 07:22:55
Moving Time: 02:43:58
Avg Speed: 5.1 km/h
Avg Moving Speed: 13.9 km/h
Max Speed: 33.7 km/h

So the average speed is walking speed (5.1). There was lots of hanging out and regrouping. Even with a fair amount of time at over 30, the average is still slow due to a fair amount of (slow) climbing. I never had as much as 3 hours moving time on any day.

---Nathan

[unireed]

so its really more of a hike than a run, to use a pedestrian analogy.

[nathan]

That's right - it's anything but a race. The idea is to see the country, meet the people, and have a good time. I had to pinch myself all the time to remind me I was in Mongolia! You ride up to some nomads, and they want a go on the uni and want to see you ride their horse. The riding is fun and all, but it is secondary on a tour like this. We were in Mongolia for 2 weeks but I spent 13 hours riding (I was sick 2 days so it should've been more like 18 hours).

[GizmoDuck]

Originally Posted by unireed

so its really more of a hike than a run, to use a pedestrian analogy.

Yeah, what Nathan said.

It's a cycle tour, not a race. You want to stop, take photos, chat with the locals and jump on a horse from time to time.

I made a point of NOT taking my 36" Schlumpf because I'd be compelled to hammer hard instead of enjoying the scenery.

I'm crunching through the photos now, should have them uploaded on the website in the next day or two.

[GizmoDuck]

Monguni photos are now online on the website

Best viewed with the piclens option.

Enjoy

[GizmoDuck]

I've put some of my favourite Monguni pics into a video.

Enjoy!

YouTube - Monguni 2010

[Dane M]

That was really nice. Looked like a good time was had

[bouin-bouin]

Great photos for great souvenirs. Thank you Ken for this video.
Didier

nb : time to ride right now with Christian and Teddy of course !