Well, two Muni rides in two days - I must like this new tyre!
In fact, today started with me feeling a bit low. My legs were tired
from a sequence of evenings that went: unicycle hockey, fencing, Morris
dancing, fencing, followed by a 12 mile MUni ride yesterday afternoon.
The weather was cold and grey, and it took me all morning to get into
the mood to ride.
And now I have a problem choosing a wheel and a route. My regular run
out towards Beeston Marina is spoiled by the roadworks that mean I have
to ride for a few hundred metres on a busy main road with traffic
lights. And my last experience at the nature reserve on a Sunday
afternoon nearly had me selling the Coker and taking up macrame. I got
in a real knot over that, you may recall.
But the other direction? Surely not more laps of the Water Sports
Centre? If I ride clockwise round that big lake one more time, I
reckon there will be a perceptible change in the Earth's period of
rotation.
But I haven't taken the MUni to the Water Sports Centre for, ooh,
years. Not since I had the Coker, I think. Let's see what it can do.
So I drive down and park near the skateboard ramps. These are crowded
with kids on skateboards and BMXes. (Thinks: should the plural be
pronounced "Bee Emices"?)
I mount the MUni at the car, ride a short distance along the road, and
through the "wiggle gate". Here, the manoeuvreability of the MUni
helps. The Coker's wheel is too big to be sure of riding through this
gate without catching it, and I have this irrational fear of falling
and impaling my handsome face on a gate post. MUni wins a point.
Coker 0: Muni1.
No one on the skatepark comments (good) and I turn quickly from the
main path to ride along a trodden grass and mud path across the field.
I concentrate on keeping the speed up, determined to learn to ride a
MUni "properly" rather than plodding along and taking each obstacle
slowly. Soon I am on the riverside path, and here the MUni shows its
limitations. It feels painfully slow compared to either the Coker or
the 28. The cranks are the same as on the Coker, but the MUni has less
"flywheel effect" and it takes more effort to keep the cadence up. The
28, of course, has much shorter cranks, making it easier to keep up
high rpm for longer.
Coker beats MUni on normal riverside path. Coker 1: MUni 1.
I reach the sailing club, and a "family cyclist" holds the gate open. I
"sail" through with a nod of thanks, I zig zag between the boats that
are being prepared on the grassy apron in front of the club house, and
soon I am alongside the rugby pitch. Here, heavily built young men are
jogging in unison, looking awfully manly. A young boy (from the junior
team?) shouts, "Oi, mate, the circus is that way."
Didn't his mummy teach him not to talk to strangers? I give him a
signal that might be taken to suggest that there are two circuses. I
get a round of ironic applause from the rugby team, who have to stop to
do this. Presumably asking a rugby player to jog and applaud
ironically is like asking George Bush to walk and chew gum.
And on that amusingly satirical note, I reach the car park of the Water
Sports Centre. I have a half-formed plan (more George Bush?) to ride
most of my usual Coker route and see how the MUni compares.
Here's the comparison of specifications before I ride the route. The
Coker and the MUni have 150 mm cranks, and identical pinned pedals.
The Coker tyre is 2.5" section, quite rounded in cross section, and
with a simple tread pattern made up of small round studs of rubber.
The new MUni tyre is 2.4" section (i.e. as near as dammit the same),
similar in cross section, and with a simple tread pattern made up of
small square studs of rubber, slightly deeper than the studs on the
Coker. Apart from differences in weight, and the fact that the MUni
has a handle, the two unis are very similar, with the Coker being
around 38% bigger.
So, the plan goes out of the window immediately, because the nimbler
MUni impulsively leads me up a rough ballast path I seldom ride. From
there, there is a short and steep little climb that I don't think I
could do on the Coker, and I find myself on top of scoreboard hill,
overlooking the rowing course. I can get up here on the Coker, but by
a more gradual climb. Coker 1: MUni 2.
Then the MUni leads me down a steeper part of the hill than I would
risk on the Coker, and I feel in control enough to let the uni have its
head a little bit. Losing control on a descent on the Coker could be
nasty, so I always keep it on a tight rein. Looks like the MUni is
faster down short steep hills. Coker 1: MUni 3.
I then follow my normal "skyline route", ducking under the arrow
sculpture. I take a different gap in the sculpture than usual, and my
wheel falls into an unexpected wheeltrap and I UPD. Hmmm. The Coker
wouldn't have tripped, but I would have hit my head on the sculpture,
or chosen a different gap. Honours even? Still Coker 1: MUni 3.
The MUni eats the steep ballast track up to the top of the next hill,
and I feel confident to take a steep descent I would never try on the
Coker. The hill is short and grassy, and at the bottom there is the
tiniest step down onto a ballast path, then a tiny little step up onto
the grass and a short but steep uphill. I have ridden the Coker many
many times from the first hill to the second hill, but never risked
this short cut before. I do it confidently and easily on the MUni.
Coker 1: MUni 4.
More grassy hills and then some muddy riverbank path past fishermen's
cars. The expected volley of commentary never arrives (good) and soon
I am cutting through long grass to the parallel path which has uphills
and downhills, with occasional muddy puddles crossing my way. Not much
to choose here: The Coker would probably be slightly faster, but the
MUni feels better balanced. I just enjoy this section of the ride,
watching wild rabbits scatter before me, and feeling that I'm long way
from the crowds that are, in reality, only 100 metres or so away by the
main lake.
I cut through may favourite little zig zag between and beneath the
trees - slightly easier, slightly less exciting, on the MUni - then
plod across rough ground to the lakeside.
Next, the big test: the climb up to the back of the waterski lodge.
This is the hill where I fell from the Coker and chipped a bone in my
hand a couple of years back (on the easiest bit of the hill!). Before
I had the Coker, I used to attempt to ride it on the MUni, but that was
before I was confident at freemounting, and there were times when I was
near to tears of frustration and exhaustion. Today, with a few hundred
more miles under my belt, and a better tyre, I ride up the hill fairly
easily. There's just a little bit of arm waving in the long tussocky
grass at the very top, but never any real danger of a fall. Then I
take a steeper descent than usual to the side of the waterski lake, and
approach the ski lodge. Honours even on this section. Still 1:4.
Most of the skiers move to one side, all apart from one young lady who
has her back to me and is bending over to sort something out in a kit
bag. For a moment, I can't decide whether to aim for her right or her
left, or something in between, but my good upbringing cuts in and a
say, "Excuse me," and wait until she has stepped to one side.
Then it's the narrow railway sleeper bridge where I had a few falls on
my last Coker ride. I make it across on the MUni, but ironically, I
feel less confident than I normally would on the Coker. The problem
with this bridge is all in my head.
My route then takes me back to the main lake, and I do a few circuits
of bits and pieces of rough ground and poorly-trodden paths. Once
more, I attempt a climb that I've never tried on the Coker. I make it
to a summit that I've never reached before, and I spin down the long
side of the hill, feeling very chuffed. Coker 1: MUni 5.
Back along the tarmac for a bit, and here the MUni is terribly slow,
despite my determination to keep the wheel spinning. Tarmac, not good:
Coker 2: MUni 5. Bored, I swerve off onto the grass, cut through a
gate and along a short rough path before coming out near the main
building of the Water Sports centre - all the hospitality suites and
offices and stuff. I find a low wall (nil height at one end, 6 inches
high at the other) and ride along the top and drop off. Mikefule, the
trials god!
--
Mikefule
So, do you ride with a club?
No, but I carry a heavy spanner.
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