2003 California Mountain Unicycle Weekend

Registration:
Please read the registration info. and register early. We need to know how many of you are coming, your plans, etc.!

Where: Rockville Hills Park on Friday, Auburn State Recreation Area and Granite Bay on Saturday, and the Downieville Downhill on Sunday.

Accommodations: See the Accommodations page.

Rockville Hills Park is in Fairfield, about 50 miles to the Southwest (from the Foss house). Auburn is about 30 miles to the Northeast. Granite Bay is kind of in between, along the edge of Folsom Lake. Saturday evening's big group dinner/video screening will also be in Granite Bay. For Sunday, Downieville is about 100 miles to the Northeast, in the Sierra Nevada boonies. Don't underestimate the distance, as much of it is slow and windy. But the Downieville Downhill is the featured ride this year.

Friday, October 17: Rockville Hills Park has a very wide variety of trails in about 700 acres. There will be plenty of fun for all skill levels. Games are also planned for the afternoon, with details to be announced.
Read about it on the Trail Page

Saturday, October 18: MUni Weekend returns to its roots! Auburn is where it all started, in 1996. It's the place that gave me the idea, and the main location for the first of all-offroad unicycle event anywhere. We will ride one or more of the many trails there, and have a repeat of our original competition event, the Confluence Uphill. Saturday afternoon/evening, we will go to Granite Bay for more fun along Folsom Lake, or at John Hooten's house. Then we will go to Mark & Monica's Sports Bar, where we will have our own room for a salad and pizza buffet. UNiVERsE 2 will be shown on five TV screens simultaneously!
Trail Page descriptions of Clementine Loop, Stagecoach Trail
More trail info
More more trail info
Additional more trail info

Sunday, October 19: This is the big one; Downieville. The Downieville Downhill is a famous mountain bike race and trail, descending over 4000' (depending on route) from the Sierra Buttes. It's a long ride, and all that downhill can be hard on the knees. The main route will be approx. 15–17 miles. Make sure you can handle this distance if you elect to do the whole ride. Riders will have to board a shuttle bus or van in Downieville, for $12 each, to get to the trailhead.

Riders who are not confident about being able to do the full ride will be able to instead do alternative rides that are shorter. But the Downieville Downhill itself is a point-to-point ride with basically no civilization along the way. If you can't ride it you'll still have to walk it!

The trail has many fun technical sections, plenty of easy rolling sections, and also about 1000' of uphill along the way. Brakes are a plus, though I don't have any myself.

Trail info

Places to Stay: Spots in the homes are now closed. There is only so much hot water to go around, you know! See the Accommodations page for more information on where you can stay.

Getting Here: If you are flying, the Sacramento airport is closest. Reno and Oakland airports are each about 100 miles away. San Francisco International and San Jose are farther. We will be able to carpool to the rides, though at least some flyers will probably need to rent cars for us to have enough to go around. People arriving at the airport may be able to join in with other flyers to share driving/car rental costs. For other we may be able to arrange pickups. If you want to be picked up at the Sacramento airport, make sure John Foss has your flight information.

Keep Us Informed: If you will need transportation or have any other special needs, please let us know. Also if you will have space(s) in your car, please let us know that as well. People renting vehicles might be helped out by others who hitch rides with you. Flyers, please send me your flight information if you are willing to share your airport ride with others who may be arriving/departing around the same time as you.

What to Bring to a MUni Weekend:
The Downieville ride starts at around 8000' altitude. This means sunscreen! The weather will likely be dry, could be very cold in the morning, and could potentially very hot in the afternoons. At lower altitudes, the weather is usually pretty nice that time of year, 50s at night, and 70s or 80s in the afternoon but could be hotter. It could actually snow on the Downieville trail. If there is significant snow or other bad weather, we will have to move the Sunday ride to a different location (the shuttles won't run). Possibly the South Yuba Trail.

Helmet. They will be required for anything we call a competition or a game for prizes. You're on your own for group rides, but helmets and other safety gear are highly recommended.
Water. You can attach water bottles to your belt, get a Camelbak, or carry a thermos, but we will require all riders to carry water (or sports drink) on the Downieville ride.
If you want to participate in the competitions, kneepads and gloves (or wristguards) are also required. For the rest of your riding they're highly recommended.

Useful items that you should bring:

Unicycle(s)
Tools, a patch kit or spare tube, and a small pump if you have them.
Sunscreen. You burn faster at high altitudes especially.
A change of clothes for after the longer rides. You won't want to wear your riding clothes for the long drive back!
Swimming clothes if you want to swim (weather permitting) or use the spa.
Cell phone. Service may be limited or nonexistent in remote areas, but it could be a lifesaver.

What to Wear:
Rockville and Auburn will likely be a little chilly in the morning, and warm later on. Weather conditions change fast in the mountains (Downieville) though. Check local weather forecasts to get an idea of temperatures. It will likely start off pretty cool so you might need layers for that ride. It could rain or even snow. If it snows in advance, we'll have to move the ride to an alternate trail. Probably the South Yuba.