Welcome to AmaOneTya

Sun

Apr

2012

The 35th Aaarrrr… gus

Written by Donna Kisogloo

The Cape Argus Pick ‘n Pay Cycle Tour has become one of those epic events that every unicyclist would like to add to their list of accomplishments. There is good reason for that; it’s a long race, an epic experience and earns you the respect of the thousands of cyclists and spectators along the route and of course your peers! It’s 110km around the Cape Peninsula, with lots of climbs, descents and flats. And depending on what the weather is doing it can make or break your Argus experience. For the 2nd year in a row the weather was purrrfect, at least there was no wind but OMG was it HOT, peeking at 34º.

This year there was an assortment of 5 unicyclists participating. The collection consisted of Jonathan Benjamin (15 yrs), the Eave duo (father & son), Jim Sowers (from the USA) and myself - Donna. I’m not one for being ‘boy’ techie but it’s relevant to know what set-ups everyone was riding:

• Jonathan Benjamin – Nimbus 36” with 127mm cranks & rim brake.

• Dylan Eave – KH36 with 125mm cranks & rim brake.

• David Eave – KH36 with 125mm cranks & rim brake.

• Jim Sowers – Geared KH24 with 137mm cranks & rim brake.

• Donna Kisogloo - Geared KH29 with 135mm cranks & disc brake.

Besides knowing the techie stuff you should know who did what for and for whom:

• Jonathan Benjamin – Rode for Ma Afrika Tikkum for the project Each One Teach One / Be a Sport. He impressively rose around R30 000 for the charity.

• The Eave Duo (David & Dylan) – Rode on behalf of Darling Brew.

• Jim Sowers – Was travelling the southern countries of Africa on a motorbike with his uni mounted to the back of the bike. When arriving in Cape at the start of his trip we told him about the Argus, he proceeded to restructure his itinerary to be back in Cape Town for the event.

• Donna Kisogloo – Rode for the Boland School for Autism and raised around R2000 for the small school.

OddWheel Unicycles also got a surprise email from Primi Piatti who wanted us to be apart of their ‘Everyday Heroes Team’. A little campaign they designed specifically for the Argus. They also supported Team Bonitas (Don’t know them? Follow the link). In exchange for being an ‘Everyday Hero’, each rider got a R600 Primi Piatti voucher, a little branded orange cape that would make us look like super hero’s on the day and a pair of Primi printed arm sleeves (what a blessing those arm sleeves were). We also did a small photo shoot with them, which would be used for their viral campaign. Jim was in the DRC (I think) when we did the shoot.

Night before the race we all met at Primi in Sea Point for a carbo-loading evening. Made merry and left much later than we had planned, unlike Team Bonitas, because they are part of that elite category in the cycling world. We even managed to get Thomas – a 5FM DJ - onto a unicycle.

Race morning we all head to our gate. Riding towards the start arena you can hear the whispers and see the double takes from the crowd. I’m sure you all know this, but there is no way of being discreet on a unicycle. Ushered up to the start line we await our turn, 7:03am, I was fairly certain that was the last I’d see of the guys. BTW, I mounted first time and what a relief because there were a lot of people looking at us.

The M3 is a really long stretch of flat road. The saving grace there was that there are enough people dotted along it to make it worth while and you know this because when you pass them their cheers are much louder than when any other riders pass the same group. Occasionally there is something that you just can’t top - I saw a group of 4 BMX riders in Borat mankini’s, funny at first but slightly unpleasant when noticing the typical cycle tan and hairy bums. I can’t imagine it being a comfortable ride. Ya, like riding a unicycle that distance is a comfortable experience! And then there was the man in a reindeer outfit - padded and covered in fake fur. Remember 34º, he couldn’t have lasted long.

End of the M3 was the start of the first climb, Boyes Drive. There is something very rewarding about passing lots and lots bicycles on an uphill. It’s also fairly amusing. My favourite, and I think this applies more to being on a 29, is when you start to pass a rider, they look at you with familiar eyes and then do a double take when they realise your on one wheel. 36er’s are higher so other riders notice immediately that you're a unicyclist. It’s more discreet being on a 29 or 24. Then comes the ‘wow’, ‘it’s hard enough on 2 wheels’, ‘you’ve got to be joking’ and so on…

Eventually Boyes Drive comes to an end. We survived the descent into a sharp left hairpin bend approaching the next flat - St James to Simon’s Town. This is where you cruise and say hi to familiar faces (Rob & Andrew) that are offering up delicious homemade banana bread and to-the-core-cold water. Thanks guys!

As I said earlier – I thought I wouldn’t see any of the guys again. Guess who I bumped into at Miller’s Point? Jim. Wheel set detached from frame, trying to find the puncture point. We both examine the tube again with no success of finding the microscopic wound. We need water! The ocean is right beside us with a 20-metre drop to the water, so that wasn’t a feasible option. I turn around from looking over the water to find Jim’s backpack off, camelbak reservoir open. Like surgery we insert the tube into the reservoir opening to find this hole. Success! Patch it up, pump it up and start reassembling. Then 40 minutes to late this man on a motorbike with a foot pump sticking out of his backpack stops to offer his assistance. He had a backpack full of tubes. We ask for a 24” just in case Jim needs it again. He said he didn’t have one but he had a 23”. That’s a weird size, doesn’t matter, we’ll stretch it on. Exchange tube for R50. It was a good mental security blanket – after the race we get home to discover it was nowhere near a 24”. I leave Jim with Mr Motorbike and start the Smitswinkel climb now that he is in good hands.

In this section of the race the bicyclists seemed to be going much slower than earlier on, and there were so many more of them. I had to constantly communicate to people riding a head of me that I was coming up behind them, which side I’d be passing on and that they must keep their line. This made a lavender clad lady wobble and fall over because of the dreaded cleat. Like domino’s she took someone else out. I had to stop and check if she was ok. She was. I restarted the climb to hear lavender lady say: “Does anybody know how to fix a derailleur?”. I couldn’t resist and had to respond by saying: “That’s why I ride a unicycle, LESS maintenance!”. I know I should’ve kept my mouth shut, but how often do those opportunities come about?

Soon after Cape Point I saw Jim again. He was a machine even with all his woes. I think there were 2 or 3 more occasions after Cape Point where Jim had to stop because of severe cramping. Near the end of the route I discovered that he had been doing all the hills in hi-gear, WTF! This guy is a machine, I’d love to see him ride when his fit and been training. From there on myself and Jim kept bumping into each other but he always ushered me ahead because we both new that I couldn’t afford the down time, every minute count.

The next point that I felt a definite change was going through Misty Cliffs. There was a cool temperature coming off the ocean that was incredibly refreshing. Wow! Then I remember going through Ocean’s View where I found Jim laying on the pavement like a Bergie having his first cramp session. I bummed some Cramp Ease off a cyclist and insisted Jim stop at the next physio. He was also ravenous by this point. I dashed off towards Noordhoek where I found Rob and Andrew again, this time with Energade and banana bread. I drank the Energade and insisted they feed Jim when he came by. Jim refused their offerings and soon after that bummed a banana off a spectator.

Now it was early afternoon and Chappies was a scorcher of note. Cyclists were dropping like flies and cowering in the shadows away from the sun. I made it all the way up Chapman’s Peak until I and every other cyclist were forced to dismount because of a bottleneck. A word of advice to the organiser’s – it doesn’t work having a water point at the top of Chapman’s Peak, move in along the road by at least 300 metres. I guess the walk gave me some time to text my friends in Hout Bay.

The last climb of the day was approaching, the dreaded Suikerbossie. When I was training, Suikerbossie was a really nice hill to climb, not a big deal at all. Although after far to many hours in the saddle and the blistering sun beating down on you all day you come to understand why it is such a challenge. I can’t believe I made it up, but I did. To top it off Robyn said she would be waiting for me on Suikerbossie. There was absolutely no chance I was going to stop and chat, but Robyn accommodated by running beside me for a quick chat. At the top of Suikerbossie I found Jim cramping again. This time it seemed much gentler than the first one, I think I got the back end of it.

Back on our uni’s for the last stretch down into Camp’s Bay. FYI for future Argus riders, the last hill of the day is when you are leaving Camp’s Bay. It’s a baby one and very doable after everything you’ve just done. I don’t think there’s been a time where my lady bits or I have so longed to be off a unicycle more than on that last flat stretch.

We all crossed the finish line, crying or smiling. Dylan’s record of 5hrs 17min (I hope I got it right) from last year is still in tact. So, get training!

There were three firsts this year:

• Jonathan Benjamin is the youngest unicyclist to complete the Argus and get an official time of 6hr 40min 28sec

• Donna Kisogloo was the first female to complete the Argus in 9hr 20min

• Jim Sowers was the first foreign unicyclist to complete the Argus in 9hr 24min

• Dylan Eave’s time was 7hr 8min

• David Eave’s time was 7hr 30min

What can I say about doing the Argus on a unicycle? It’s an incredible an incedible experience and everyone should try doing it! I’ve also decided that you are not a true Capetonian until you’ve experienced the Argus whether it be as spectator or a cyclist. One thing I would change for future attempts is more training and less working. I think something we all struggle to balance in our lives.

Last Updated ( Sunday, 22 April 2012 10:38 )

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 ( Sunday, 22 April 2012 10:03 )

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 )