Hi there,
I am a long time caver- first time poster on here. I have had this page linked to me by some of my friends who follow these forums who are concerned about some responses to the Cave Unicycling video which I feature in. I hope I can address some of these concerns as I have no interest in upsetting people and I fear conclusions may be drawn without knowledge of the facts.
First of all it seems wise to establish my caving credentials, I have been leading trips into the three caves included in the video for the last 6 years. Thomas and Mike are not leaders but have plenty of underground experience and for Katie it was her first time underground. I consider myself a competent cave leader with a good understanding of these caves and a healthy respect for good caving practice, which, as with every caving trip, was communicated to the rest of the group.
With regards to unicycling- it is easy to assume that it would be irresponsible to do it underground as they are notoriously difficult to ride and everyone hears stories of someone trying to ride one and falling and hurting themselves.
However, unicycling is what Tom and I do for a living, (shameless plug for our business: www.uniquecircuspromotions.com) we have been riding for 11 years and 7 years respectively and are extremely capable. We don't fall off and damage ourselves or anything around us unless were trying something particularly ludicrous and if you actually watch the video you can see that the nature of the terrain we ride in Agen Allwedd is relatively tame. I would go as far as to say it poses no greater risk to the rider than walking (provided you can ride to a decent standard- which we can), its just a shame we didn't have sufficient lights to show just how massive and awesome some of that passageway is!
I can clarify that absolutely no damage has been done to any of the caves we visited, conservation was of paramount importance to us as we knew this video would be scrutinised. We even included a short section on cave conservation at the request of a CSS member but unfortunately the lighting wasnt great and it didnt make the final cut.
If anyone has any further concerns I'd ask that you PM me and I can respond appropriately.
Finally, I cant help but feel it is a shame that this video which promotes caving and has been viewed 1000's of times, is the focus of hostility on here. All jokes aside, this was only ever meant to be a bit of fun and the overwhelming majority of feedback we've received from both inside and outside the caving community has been positive.
Steffan
I am a long time caver- first time poster on here. I have had this page linked to me by some of my friends who follow these forums who are concerned about some responses to the Cave Unicycling video which I feature in. I hope I can address some of these concerns as I have no interest in upsetting people and I fear conclusions may be drawn without knowledge of the facts.
First of all it seems wise to establish my caving credentials, I have been leading trips into the three caves included in the video for the last 6 years. Thomas and Mike are not leaders but have plenty of underground experience and for Katie it was her first time underground. I consider myself a competent cave leader with a good understanding of these caves and a healthy respect for good caving practice, which, as with every caving trip, was communicated to the rest of the group.
With regards to unicycling- it is easy to assume that it would be irresponsible to do it underground as they are notoriously difficult to ride and everyone hears stories of someone trying to ride one and falling and hurting themselves.
However, unicycling is what Tom and I do for a living, (shameless plug for our business: www.uniquecircuspromotions.com) we have been riding for 11 years and 7 years respectively and are extremely capable. We don't fall off and damage ourselves or anything around us unless were trying something particularly ludicrous and if you actually watch the video you can see that the nature of the terrain we ride in Agen Allwedd is relatively tame. I would go as far as to say it poses no greater risk to the rider than walking (provided you can ride to a decent standard- which we can), its just a shame we didn't have sufficient lights to show just how massive and awesome some of that passageway is!
I can clarify that absolutely no damage has been done to any of the caves we visited, conservation was of paramount importance to us as we knew this video would be scrutinised. We even included a short section on cave conservation at the request of a CSS member but unfortunately the lighting wasnt great and it didnt make the final cut.
If anyone has any further concerns I'd ask that you PM me and I can respond appropriately.
Finally, I cant help but feel it is a shame that this video which promotes caving and has been viewed 1000's of times, is the focus of hostility on here. All jokes aside, this was only ever meant to be a bit of fun and the overwhelming majority of feedback we've received from both inside and outside the caving community has been positive.
Steffan
Perhaps if the lads in the video want to show off their skills they should enter Britain's got talent! 
