North American Unicycling Championships and Convention 2008
Rapid City, South Dakota
Hosted by the Rapid City Unicycle Club
While visiting the Rapid City, South Dakota area, Richard, Julie and Hugh took time for some sightseeing at the Mount Rushmore Monument

Hugh, Julie and Richard also visited the Crazy Horse Memorial. This mountain carving has been under construction for 60 years with no definite completion date. A scale model is in the foreground. The mountain is in the background.
Trials - The purpose of Trials riding is to cross an obstacle by riding and/or hopping. Obstacles range from easy to extremely difficult. Here the goal is to ride the length of 2 boards with a turn in the middle.
Trials - The goal here was to hop up onto the platform then back to the ground.
Trials - The goal here was to get up the slanted log. A trials "line" is completed only when the rider finishes crossing the obstacle then is able to ride away.
Trials - The goal is to get up onto the board, cross to the other end and hop to the ground.
Trials - The goal was to get up onto the platform and back to the ground. Click here to see how Hugh completed this "line".
Trials - The youngest trials rider on one of the easier "lines".
Trials - The goal of this "line" involved dropping down onto the green bar and riding across it.
Trials - Riders had to hop onto the tree stump then ride across the "skinny".
Trials - Another relatively easy "line" involving a "skinny".
Trials - Hop onto the tree stump, ride across the "skinny" which was hinged in the middle then hop up onto the platform before hopping to the ground
Trials - Hop from rock to rock to rock .....
Trials - The goal was to get across the rock field by hopping on the rocks
Trials - The goal was to get from the platform in the foreground to the platform in the background without touching the grass. Some riders could jump over this bar in one hop.
Trials - This one was really hard. Hop across the tops of the pipes.
Trials - One of the few advanced female trials riders. The goal here was to hop up the stairs to the top of the platform then jump down. There were 3 different routes down.
Trials - This route down involved a series of steps each about 2 feet in height.
Trials - This rider was going up the steps to the top of the platform.
Trials - Another view of a rider coming down the steps.
Trials - A trials rider coming off the platform onto the car. A distance of about 3 feet. Riders then had to jump down to the ground.
Trials - A rider jumping down to the red platform, a distance of about 5 feet, then to the ground.
Trials - After getting up several steps on the other side, riders had to hop down.
Trials - The goal was to go up this slanted surface. The board was covered with a coarse wire mesh (for traction) so falling on it was like sliding across a cheese grater. This was a tough one.
Street - Street riding is similar to Trials but involves more riding skill and not so many obstacles. This rider could hop over the bar in one jump.
Street - This rider hopped from the top of the platform to the ground with a 360 degree turn along the way.
Street - This rider hopped from the low platform to the ground with his feet in the air and the wheel turning. The rider had to land on the pedals so he could complete the skill by riding away.
Street - Similar to the previous photo except this was from a higher platform.The rider had to land on the pedals and ride away in order for this to be a successful skill.
Street - This rider hopped from the top of the platform, over the rail and to the ground.
Street - This rider was "grinding" the rail. There was a metal plate on the rail which allowed him to slide down the rail on his pedal.
Track racing - Hugh, racing in the rain.

Track racing - Racers lining up for the 400 meter race.

Track racing - Some of the younger riders headed for the finish line.

Track racing - The rider in red won this race with an incredible final burst of speed.

Track racing - Richard (outside lane) racing in the 100 meter race. The rider in the next lane crashed just before the finish line.

Track racing - This is called "track coasting". Notice the rider's feet are not touching the pedals or the wheel. Judges would mark the point where the rider stopped then measure the distance from the start line

Track racing - Another technique in track coasting. This rider won the competition with a coast of about 50 meters

Track racing - In the one-foot race, riders pedal with only one foot.

Track racing - This was the wheel-walking race. Racing heats were held for different age groups.

Track racing - This young rider was competing in the obstacle course. This is a timed event to see who can finish in the least amount of time.

Track racing - Hugh racing the obstacle course.

Track racing - Hugh in the high jump. You can see he jumped much higher than his official 9 inches.

Freestyle - Freestyle gives riders the opportunity to demonstrate their best skills. The event also includes riders from beginners to advanced.

Freestyle - Another of the youngest riders in the freestyle competition

Freestyle - This competitor did her routine as a chimney sweep and with appropriate music.

Freestyle -

Freestyle -

Freestyle -

Fun ride - Hugh and Richard participated in a fun ride that ended up here.

Fun ride - The picturesque fun ride destination. The last 1/4 mile was a challenging hike without unicycles.

Fun ride - There was a mountain pool and waterfall. Local residents come here to swim. Some of the unicyclists came here to swim too.

Fun ride - One of the unicyclists taking his unicycle for a dip in the pool. The unicycle floated.

Fun ride - Hugh along the fun ride route.

Fun ride - Richard along the fun ride route. This area was the location of a wild fire several years ago. Thus there are few living trees but new growth has turned the hillside green.

Off-road racing - Hugh starting the uphill race. This was a timed event to see who could cover the short route in the least amount of time.

Off-road racing - Hugh finishing the downhill race. This was another timed event.

Off-road racing - Richard at the finish line of the 10K race. This race followed an old railroad track bed through a very scenic area.

Crazy stunts - Rider "A" jumps from unicycle "B" over person "C" and lands on unicycle "D" then rides away to complete the stunt.