Welcome to AmaOneTya

Mon

Oct

2011

The AltX UNIque Challenge

Written by Donna Kisogloo

Life is full of challenges, riding a unicycle definitely falls into this category. OddWheel took the plunge to put ourselves into the public's eye. For our sport to grow we need to create an awareness and a stronger presence. This opportunity came to us 6 months ago when a good friend put us in contact with the organiser of the AltX Sports Expo - an alternative and extreme sport expo which focused on giving Joe Public the chance to try the various sports that they've never had the opportunity to.

OddWheel started with preparations for the event, which was held on the same weekend as Heritage day. Since this was the first time we were going to be exhibiting we had a lot of work to do... designing artwork for banners, flags, business cards, flyers and t-shirts. Getting all of this printed to our specs, prepping stock for display, booking flights and accommodation, putting it out on the web and finding a kick-ass tent. AltX also required us to do a lot of head scratching stuff like operational plans (all sounds very grown up) and step up demo's for visitors. On an official basis we had Tansy, Zippy and Lisema doing this. On an unofficial basis it turned out just how we wanted - a group jam session on the trials course. We were pleasantly surprised by the Shaun's (Devenish and Engelbrecht). For simplicities sake I have given them nicknames - Engel and Devenish, you can do the math’s.

Besides having to deal with the above-mentioned load, OddWheel (who are also trustees of the CounterBalance Trust) had to arrange a 24 Hour Challenge. Zippy Benn sent CounterBalance a proposal about doing this challenge, bells rang and it was decided that it would take place at the expo with the nominated charity being the Starfish Greathearts Foundation. Preparations began for this... designing artwork for banners and t-shirts, setting up an online registration form on the OddWheel site (now that I think about it, it should've been done on the CounterBalance site, oh well, essentially it's the same incestuous circle), typing up waivers, donation forms and putting it out on the web. The Challenge followed the format of 48 1-hour slots, which would allow a minimum of 2 riders on the course at all times. Registration was slow but eventually the Jo'burg community pulled through, we even had Tansy from Cape Town and Martin from Durban fly up.

With everything in place the OddVan swallowed a lot of stock and hauled us up to Jo'burg. After 2 days of chilling in the van we arrived in Jo'burg for the next wave to hit us. Plotting the 24 Hour MUni course with 2 of AltX staff that were very familiar with the unicycle (they worked on Big Brother SA who hired some uni's from us), collecting additional stock from Ruan (OddWheel's PTA agent) and collecting the tent. Done, now to set up shop for the weekend. Now this tent was no easy task! The friend we hired it from was in Mozambique and hence a lack of knowledge on how to erect this organic monster. Fortunately Devenish and Engel offered up their time to tackle the tent with us. It went up, fell down, went up, fell down, went up, looked less than perfect and was once again intentionally taken down. The next attempt worked wonderfully - "hey kid, don't hang on that pole, please?"

Day 1 of the expo - according to BuyCycle (who arrived at 7:30) we arrived in true Cape style, at 10:30, ok maybe it was closer to 11. We knew that nobody would really come to the expo on the Friday, it's Joburg, EVERYONE'S working. We used the day to build unicycles, Alan was a unicycle building factory! A trials course was built with pieces from a set building company and some pallets. I put arrow's on the MUni course with Devenish, got food, did last minute printing and collected Tansy from the airport and had a cup of tea on Julian's very comfortable chair.

Day 2 was an early start, absolutely no time to pull a Cape stylie. We had so much stuff we had to use 2 cars. We setup the stand; it looked awesome for a first attempt! The CounterBalance chill tent was setup the day before so we were ready for the onslaught of visitors, which didn't really happen. From the organiser's POV the expo was a failure and a massive learning curve. Nonetheless we were kept very busy with whoever attended the expo because they had to try UNICYCLING. Every unicyclist pitched in to help with whatever was needed; it was a true show of community.

Twelve o'clock arrived for the start of the 24 Hour Challenge, headed by Zippy and Alan. It went off like clock work, everybody took responsibility for their slots. Slowly over the day the campsite was setup for our night session and interrupted sleep. Sunset was announced by a spectacular show of 4 Microlights flying in formation with industrial strength sparklers trailing behind them. Very pretty! Huddled around a fire for the evening we got to know each other. We shared stories, laughed, made a braai, and generally had a lekker kuier session. Lisema arrived after 8 on Saturday night, we tried to convince him to fill Engel's slot because Engel had done 4 already and was feeling pooped. I prepped Lisema's helmet with a MJ808 Magic Light. When it came to filling his / Engel's slot he was nowhere to be found. Lisema arrived back at camp 1 1/2 hours later; he somehow missed the part where we ride coupled. We couldn't resist ripping him off repeatedly.

Just before the hour someone would stir from his or her tent, have a loud conversation (not pointing any fingers, Lisema) and disappear into the dark. Then another tent would unzip and it would start all over again. Apparently the sunrise slot was beautiful! A communal breakfast was cooked and washed down with BOS Ice Tea. Thanks Jules for supplying most of the food and Ronald for bringing his camping trailer. We generally had a very comfortable setup, even though Julian insisted on sleeping under the night sky on a very cold eve (some hardcore army training according to Lisema). Before breaking down camp we rigorously rocked the Passion Wagon (Hannes’ owns a 40 year old baby blue VW Combi), but I don't think anything would have roused Hannes from his slumber. Time to move back to the OddWheel stand and CounterBalance chill tent.

We kinda setup the stand, partly lazy and partly a lack of attendance to the expo. Riders played on the trials course and continued with the 24 Hour ride. Lisema cracked an interview (with SuperSport or Inside Sport, there were a few interviews over the weekend) and had a spectacular bail on the trials course, nearly flattening the pretty presenter, giggle giggle giggle. Just to throw this in, I've decided that Tansy is the best female rider in the country!

12 Noon arrived and an anti-climatic cheer was made. By this point enough was enough, but everybody stayed behind to help OddWheel breakdown the stand and trials course. Goodbyes were said and we once again parted ways, until the next gathering. We had such fun!

All in all unicycling was very well received and the 24 Hour Challenge was successfully completed without any complications or injuries. A total of R2635 was raised for the Starfish Greathearts Foundation.

Injuries of the expo were a Microlight crashing into a scout’s tent, broken Parkour thumb and a broken leg for a MMA fighter, not bad.

The OddWheelers would like to say a heart felt THANK YOU to everyone involved! For your participation and contribution to the expo regardless of how big or small it was. The list of people to thank, and for what they did, is too long. You know what you did and we really appreciate it! You guys rock and continue to surprise us!!!

We also wish Gary (AltX Organiser) all the best for preparations for 2012; we absolutely loved being involved in the expo. It's a great concept and should definitely be pursued, the more they do, the more refined they will become.

BTW, 'Home' was our song for the trip performed by Ed Sharpe and the Magnetic Zero's. If you don't know it then we highly recommend finding it on YouTube.

Last Updated ( Monday, 03 October 2011 10:14 )

Fri

Jun

2011

ZA Uni-Daba 2011

Written by Donna Kisogloo

I sowed the seed for a convention months ago and nobody bit. Gatvol, I decided to go gorilla on my own... and thanks to the unicyclists that be, we had our first national convention in the Western Cape from the 16th to the 19th of June 2011.

Slowly the convention was taking shape and riders were confirming their attendance from as far as Grahamnstown, Durban and Joyburg.

Martin offered up the first lot of names for the convention (AmaOneTya Indaba and Een Wheel Indaba), this triggered Johnny to come up with the name, ‘ZA Uni-Daba’ (‘ZA’ representing ‘the’ and pronounced like ‘da’ or rather ‘za’). What a perfect name and truly South African. A series of designs were sent in by Julian, Shaun, Roshan, Hannes and Jeremy for our convention t-shirt. But I couldn’t resist Andrew’s ‘Uni-Sucker’. I saw it months ago when he designed the CounterBalance logo and it stuck, like suckers should. Everyone who attended the convention got a goody bag of a t-shirt and an awesome keychain (slick or knobbly) that one of the Shaun’s (Devenish) made.

Weather looking bleak for the weekend we had a rough itinerary in place that changed on a daily basis. Nonetheless, we had an awesome few days of varying disciplines, skill levels and faces.

Thursday saw the start of the convention with a double MUni session in Tokai Forest. 1st Session had 12 riders and 2nd session had 7. It was a true wet Cape winter ride with lots of rain, mud, slippery roots, puddles to fall into (hehehe, Julian) and of course Tokai happens to be part of a ‘mountain’ reserve which equals awesome technical downhill. Exhausted, wet and tired we wondered home for a meal, some sleep and replenish our reserves for the next day.

Before Friday, OddWheel dusted off the hockey sticks, found them old trashed tennis balls, washed the old t-shirts and found the missing floating trophy. Convening in Kalk Bay we nestled into an abandoned tennis court wedged between the ocean and the mountain. Not a bad spot to spend the day! The tranquil ocean sounds filling the air, with the occasional train speeding past. 3 Games were played, we even had a $@*%ing ref with a Fox 40 whistle (I’m convinced that it will blow your eardrums). The first was a warm up and opportunity to familiarise yourself with a stick and ball. The second game was a vast improvement from the first. Although nothing could change the unmanicured weed and grass edges of the court. Having the convention in the Cape meant that there were a lot more Capies. So the last game was the Western Province versus the rest of the country. It was the game that gave the trophy a new home until it is snatched away at the next Uni-Daba. Guess who won? WP, but not by a large margin.

On this clear still evening we powered on our headlamps and did the night ride along Tafelberg Rd. For the unknowing, it’s the road that the cableway is on that takes you to the top of Table Mountain. This road is barriered halfway down because of rock falls and slides. It makes for a very scenic, undisturbed, pleasant ride with a little bit of jeep track at the end.

Saturday was the perfect day of beautiful weather on Camps Bay Beach. We started with setting up a slack-line, then the juggling began, a bit of footbag and of course, unicycling and a picnic prepared by Tes (Johnny’s mom). There were natural trials on the boulders that are scattered along the beach. Many tried their hand, or rather feet at the geared hub on Johnny’s 26er, 36ers, giraffes and ultimate wheels. We later gathered our toys and moved to the other side of the beach for a flatland session. Here we met a bike trials rider who impressed us, a lot! After a full day at the beach it was time to pack it up. But the day was not over.

The evening was spent chilling on the floor or the couch at the OddHome. We have a TV connected to the net and a small collection of dated unicycling DVD’s. Soup in cup and bread in hand we watch ‘Defect’ (old school but classic compilation made by Dan Heaton) and ‘Into the Thunder Dragon’ (documentary of Kris Holm and Nathan Hoover riding in Bhutan).

On Sunday we woke up to rain. Tired from the previous days, we decided it was the perfect excuse to cancel the long distance ride along the Sea Point Promenade. Being Cape Town there are four seasons in one day, it cleared up in time for our wrap party. Tes and Neil Cronje have a pizza oven, how cool? Tes graciously invited us into their home to make merry. We stuffed ourselves on gourmet pizza’s and Gavin’s jokes.

All in all we had a great gathering! We were face to face with people we only know online. We pooled together to create the first of many gatherings.

When an event like this is arranged, there is normally a batch of people that need to be thanked for their participation:

Tes Cronje - for providing the riders / friends and family with delicious meals on a daily basis. They loved it! And opening your home to us.
Andrew Whitehouse - for designing the ZA Uni-Daba 2011 logo.
Shaun Devenish - for making slick and knobbly unicycle keychains. It was the cherry on top.
Johnny Cronje - for coming up with the name.
Attendee’s - for making the massive effort of being there. It was more of a mission for some travelling longer distances.
Shawn Benjamin, Martin Bentley and Paull Lawrence - for taking some cool pics for us to publish on FB and AoT.
Ethan Roberts - for doing little scouting mission’s with me in Tokai with the GoPro.
Community - for being passionate about our obscure sport.

I must apologise for the shotgun Uni-Daba, but it was now or never!

Preliminary plans for next year are Easter weekend in Pietermartizburg. I think the MUni out there is going to be awesome since it accommodates the UCI World Champs. Does anybody want to be more involved with arranging next year’s gathering? For the time being, we need a location scout.

Last Updated ( Monday, 03 October 2011 10:08 )

Mon

Nov

2010

A change is as good as a holiday

Written by Brent Boswell

I've been very quiet over the last few months, and subsequently the website hasn't seen much change. I haven't been riding much over the last 5 months for 2 reasons mostly. Firstly, my son is now almost 5 months old so I've been quite busy with him as anyone with children will atest to, and secondly I had a nasty fall 3 months ago in which I snapped a tendon/ligament in my left shoulder. It's healing well at least.

I've also been quite involved with the CounterBalance Project. The awesome guys and gal from Team CounterBalance are on their way from Durban, leaving on Saturday morning very early from the Blue Lagoon in Durban. They're currently in the Natal Midlands dealing with some dodgy weather.

So I've eventually gotten back on the Wheel, and so happy to be riding again even if it's riding on the pavements and roads at the moment. The Forest is beconing and calling me and I so want to be out there in the fresh mountain air .... soon ....

I've been riding my KH26 for the last couple of weeks getting used to riding again, and trying to handle the 26 inch as it's a different beast to the 24 inch. I was rocking the 26 well before my fall, but not riding for a while takes some toll on the skills. I've been wanting to change the colour on the 26 inch for a while now but couldn't settle on a colour. I've recently reprayed my 29'er an awesome maroon, but wanted something a little different. Eventually I settled on a Flat White, which looks awesome .... especially with the new white Magura HS33 brake.

To start off I setup a small prep area to strip the existing paint off the frame (I seemed to have some subliminal encouragement from the newpaper I was using). Got the paint stripper out and layered it onto the frame with a small pain brush. It did not go well.... This was the 4th time I've stripped a Unicycle frame, and it was definitely the hardest. The paint stripper did very little, which was very annoying to say the least. The wire brush came out after the paint stripper, again not doing a very good job. Granted it's not really what you want to use to strip paint. Next was some course sand paper which thankfully worked a bit better, but needed a lot more physical excertion. Finaly the last of the existing blue paint was stripped/scraped off. A final sand with some water sand paper and the frame was ready for painting.

A makeshift spray area was setup away from anything that could get overspray as it was quite windy outside. Sprayed 5 coats of White followed by 4 coats of Matt Clear and the frame was ready for reassembly. Assembly after some respray work is always exciting because the final product is quite satisfying. To give my Unicycle a little more "flair" I added on the new Magura HS33 brake, which I felt I needed on the steeper downhills as the 26 can run away from you quite easily. The brake is going to take some getting used to, and will need to be played with carefully. A couple quick rides in the backward pulling the brake resulted in some near faceplants. Moral of the story... don't pull very hard on a newly installed brake ... you will go flying.

I'm chuffed with the end result mostly because it's something I did myself and am very happy with. A change is as good as a holiday ....