AROC Adventure Race (Season Final) - Lake Macquaire

Yesterday morning as the time approached to get up and head off to
Lake Macquarie, I could still hear the rain that had been failing when
I went to bed. It seemed like it was going to be a very wet day. The
car had been packed the night before so all that was required was to
get dress and get breakfast.

As I pulled out of the drive way, the rain was still coming down and
it still fell pretty much for the 90mins or so it took to get to
"Rafferty's Resort" on the shores of Lake Macquarie. Plenty of people
had already arrived, some had spent the night at the resort. I met up
with my team mates Dan and Konrad, we were all in good spirits and
ready to go. After registering the team #124 (140 odd teams), we reviewed
the finer details of the event ahead of us.

It would start with a run about the resort, to collect 93 points worth
of control, no more, no less (or penalties were to be incurred). There
was a bit of a fluster amongst us, as our ability to add up seemed to
leave us all :-). Once the points were collected, it was onto the
bike, to the first TA (transition area) then a run along the coast.
This was the highlight for me, it involved crossing 2 inlets that
required us to jump into the surf to cross. The first was about 3
metres, the next was about 15 metres, it was great. Once out of the
water we were to head up the hill to the TA to collect our bikes and
head off to the next TA to another running section. Once this was
completed, it was back onto the bikes to the next TA for the paddle
across the lake. This was interesting in that we didn't have any idea
were the controls were located until we found the first control, that
told you were the next one was. Finally we were paddling (need some
more practice here, but did better than last time) back for the final
(bike) leg to the finish. The tracks all day were muddy and slippery,
it made for a fun day. I managed to stay on my feet all day, although
I can all too close to kissing the earth a couple of time.

While the weather started out gray and wet, by the end the sun had
come out and made for a great afternoon.

We did pretty well, coming in, in 4hr26mins, 33.2kms (Official Results). A couple of simple errors cost us about 15mins, tantalisingly close to the 4hrs cutoff for the bonus leg section.

Official Photo's

Happy Trails.

Autumn Series - North Ryde (Series Final)

It was a very wet ANZAC Day that found the final event in North Ryde
and as I arrived at "ELS Hall" Park I could see everyone gathered
under shelter. At a quick glance the map looked like a good deal of
points were to be had, but the wet weather would slow everyone down.
Paths and tracks were slippery and creeks were running. My goal for
tonight was to get over 400, and so I did 410. But oh how cruel a
mistress is time, I was also 7 mins late, so off came 70 points. 330
(490 was the highest) points it was.

Now I'll have to wait till October before I can make amends.

Happy trail.

Super Series Event 2 - Yellowmundi

I'd been looking forward to today for a while. It was a humid
afternoon and with the threat of storms we kickied off. It was a line
course that meant we collected controls in order, this time we wore
Sport Identity tags that we used when we reached a control. It was a
little slower than i wanted, but i had fun. 97mins to complete the
course (26 controls).

Official results and Course Map



View from the "Hawkesbury Lookout" down into the Sydney basin.

Australia V the rest of the world!

The challenge was set, so the much anticipated indoor cricket match with the guys from work was played on Friday night. Much fun was had and poor cricket was played. Of course the Aussie dominated and carried off the victory with style.

Autumn Series - West Chatswood

My honour restored :-) After the last couple of events it was time to make amends. The course posed a few challenges, plenty of hills and bush tracks. Due to the past endeavors I decided it would cost me more points than gain if I tired too many tracks (a wise decision). So minimising the number of bush controls that I could, I hit the road. The last couple of weeks running were starting to pay off, I was making good pace and my navigation was becoming a smoother. I collected 16 of the 30 controls, but got 310 points (highest score for the night was 410). Very happy.

Happy Trails.

Today's the day... who needs a car.

Time to get serious. It was up @ 6:00 this morning, the backpack had
been packed the night before, it was on with the shoes, a cursory
stretch of the legs and calves, and I was off to work. I've ridden the
work plenty of times, but this was my first attempt at commuting by
foot. The first couple of km's were hard (as they always are), but
after the body was convinced that I wasn't going to stop, I settled in to
rhythm.

The cool air and morning light over the bay was worth the pain. What
is about 11.8 kms to ride actually took me 10.8kms (63mins), cutting
through the parks and reserves saved me about 1km in running. I
arrived feeling great, now all i have to do is run home tonight. :-)

Happy Trails.

Off to Balmoral

Well, I decided to drag a few people out with me this weekend. Cal, Michiel, Phil and Cath for a "leisurely" paddle to Balmoral and back with a coffee stop in between. A good time was had by all. Next time it won't be so leisurely ;-)

Autumn Series - Burns Bay

This week was a week of expectations. After the debacle of last, I wanted to make amends, but I was foiled by my own enthusiasm. It all began well enough, but quickly went to pot. While attempting to locate 14 I became disorientated and ended up missing 3 controls (80 points total, bugger). The next nine controls went to plan, but being close to home, I attempted a route that really wasn't on the cards and it cost me time! 220 points this week (missing the controls and being late had cost me 150 points).

Lesson learnt this week: on night events stay on the tracks unless it open fields.

Happy trails.

Easter Weekend

4 Days away from work. What to do? The weatherman wasn't very inspiring, rain, overcast, unstettled. It wasn't what I wanted to hear, but the sun did manage to shine over the break and I took the opportunity to get out doors and explore a bit of Sydney (Middle Harbour & Tamarama Beach)

Autumn Series - Ermington

Disaster! After putting together a great run for 370 point, I noticed I had lost my control card within 200mtrs of the finish. What to do? I decided I needed to find it so, back tracked about 600mtrs till I saw it lying in the middle of the road. Bugger. I had to cop a 150 point penalty, so I end the night on 220.


This week my sibblings, Cal and Phil joined in, and while they overshot their first control, they made it back under time and 140 points in the bag, well done. They'll be back fo next week.

Joss Stone Concert

Joss Stone rocks!

It was amazing to hear such a voice coming from anyone, let along a 19yr old.

A quality concert.