Randon pic posts

3 Weeks down

Well my road trip has come to an end, it's been fantastic!

 

The Canadian Rockies have been awesome, Banff, Jasper and Yoho National Parks are fantastic, but the trip back to Vancouver has also been just as enjoyable, the country side has been remarkable. The best find on the way back was Nelson BC. A really laid back town, certainly a "Byron Bay/Nimbin" feel to it.

 

But there has been no rest back in Vancouver, I headed off for a trail walk with the girls, to the "Chief" (more details to come), it was a pretty steady climb up, the calves got a real workout. That went for about 4 hours and then after a quick bit we headed up to Whistler, the mecca for skiers in the winter and downhillers in the summer. I would have loved to gotten on a bike and had a go coming down the slopes.

 

Out tonight for a drink or three.

 

P

The Canadian Rockies to East it's time to head to Vancouver

My road trip is nearly over, I've found a bed for myself in "Grand Forks", BC tonight. The national parks have been a real trip! Everywhere you look it's a kodak moment, what can I say. I even managed a couple of quick trail walks, just a couple of hours each, you can certainly see how people can spend a lifetime here.

 

Of course there will be pics to come. :-)

 

Till then, happy trails.

 

P

Coffee, Jet Planes and Software

From the home of Starbucks, Boeing and the Mecca of geeks, Microsoft, Seattle was a pretty cool place to visit. I was able to hangout with a friend of mine and his family. I was able to visit the Boeing factory, do a bit of trail walking and check out the "EMP" Experience Music Project and Pike St market.

While the bus trip down to Seattle from Vancouver was great, the return journey was a nightmare, delays and a blown front tire was way too much.

Tomorrow, we're heading out to the wilds to camp and checkout some natural hot springs, after an discussion that usually happens over a couple of drinks. Then it's off to Calgary for my Rockies experience.

P

Seattle WA (USA)

Camping and Hot Springs

Like all great camping trips, it was decided to go camping (the next day) after a couple of drinks at about midnight.

Part of the deal was to also check out some natural hot springs that the guys had visited a couple of years previously. So at midday the following day we headed down to Harisson lake. It was a beautiful spot, perfect weather. Then after a quick dinner we head off at abotu 8PM to the springs somewhere in the mountains. Well the fact that the others hadn't been there for a couple of years was going to play a factor in the trip. What should have taken us 45mins or so, to get to ended up taking 2hrs. But it was certainly worth it. The springs had been setup by some locals and it was great. We finally dragged ourselves away and made it home by 2-3am. A great time was had by all. Sorry international rules apply here, so that's all your getting. :-)

Chillin' and other stuff in Van (BC)

It was a pretty chilled yesterday, It was a slow start after checking out the oceanside night markets in Richmond, and mix between  an asian Paddy's Market and Beijing's food market. We headed off to Commercial Drive for brunch and a bit of people watching, and then off to  Granville Island a sort of farmers market/artist/harbourside hangout. Tara too me for a walk along the beach front to the beginning of "Kits" a well to do suburb, originally populated by the the hippy folk and now taken over by the well to do.. that like to think their hippies...;-)

 

Checked out a couple of bars, but being a long weekend this weekend it was a bit quiet in town, looks like everyone was heading out to somewhere else.

 

 

Back from Johnston Strait (BC)

Well it's been a week already and I've already put a few km's under my belt so far. My Canadian buddies Almira and Tara have been fantastic and I don't think I could have had better hosts. Vancouver certainly has a charm about it, especially for those who have visions of being and getting outdoors. Not too many couch potatoes here. Super impressed by the fact that so many people are riding.

Tara had been great enough to organise sometime up at her parents weekender on Bowen Island, with a group for their friends. Genuinely a great group of people. The Bowen Island festival was also being held the same weekend we were there and we checked out the festivities. The girls were kind enough to sign the guys in the group for the best legs competition, sadly (or was that thankfully) I was knocked out in the first round, but Andy had the tide of expectation thrust upon him by making it to the second and final round. A great laugh.

A quick trip back on Sunday to Vancouver saw me head out to "Campbell River" on Vancouver Island. It was form here I joined the Coastal Spirit Tour and headed up to Robson Reserve Marine Reserve in Johnston Strait. Unfortunately the weather wasn't great for kayaking with some 25knot winds and plenty of chop so it was limited, but the Orca sight's were still fantastic from the beach side camp. I'm looking forward to loading up some pics when i get the opportunity. Awesome. As with group tours, it can be a luck dip as to the others on the tour, but, I'm happy to report the group was great and had a good laugh in all the conditions we experienced there.

Well I'm back in Vancouver for the weekend and heading off to Seattle Monday.

Catch you all later.

P

It Begins!

Time to saddle up and hear out... next stop San Fransisco, then Vancouver.

The Beginning is Nigh!!!!

The planning was started, the packing has yet to begin... but ready or not, Friday is D-Day! This year's adventure is about to begin. A month to absorb Canada, catching up with great friends, the chance to make new ones. Experience the pristine environment. Bring it on.

 

I'm hoping to try and post a couple of blogs on the way too. So you'll have to comeback and see how I'm going.

 

Happy Trails,

 

P :-)

Found a new feature with my Canon :-)

Single Speed is the Word

After 3 weeks in the shop, I've finally got my trusty workhorse back a little bit lighter, but a whole lot more fun.

The GT has been converter to a 42/16 single speed.... there's no turning back now.:-) Thanks to the boys at CBD for all their help.

Pics to come.

MaxAdventure Royal National Park

Kathmandu Adverture Race was run yesterday in the "Royal National Park".

More to come..

Official Results
Official Photos

Max Adventure - RNP

Canada... ready or not ... here I come!

I've finally pulled my finger out and got my leave approved... and booked my ticket.

 

9 Weeks to go!

 

One of the big items on my list is kayaking with the Orca's off Victoria Island... this should be mind blowing.. (http://www.kayakbritishcolumbia.com/tour1e.html ) Coastal Spirits.

 

 

And let there be light!... Ay Up!

After much anticipation my new riding lights from AyUp were delivered, and they have been we worth the wait. These unassuming beauts (except for the bling colours) pump out more than enough light. I took them out for a spin last night, man they're awesome.

Back on the streets... well sort of... the " Winter Solstice" has arrived

Last night it was a frustrating trip form Rhodes to Woolwich with a set of traffic lights out on Victoria Road, but i made it just in time to be the last starter for the night. The format was just the same as the Autumn Series.. 30 Controls (600 points in total) and 45 mins to get as many as possible.

 

After the rogaine on the weekend, it was pretty easy going on the foot paths and roads. But being the last to start, there was no time to plan the route.. so it was going to be a locate and scoot sort of approach to orienteering. Get to one control and then decide on the next one to get, as result my points score wasn't to high (280?)... but I was happy with the run ( a little soggy under foot and slippery in parts). All the training I'm doing is starting to pay off, bring on the Summer Series.

 

Happy trail

 

Which way is North???

With backpacks packed, compasses dusted off, maps contacted. We were all ready to begin the 44th Paddy Pallin Rogaine at Rydal. With all the rain that had fallen over the last 2 weeks, the river that split the course was now a hazard, so the organisers made the area out of bounds.

This was going to be Cal, Michiel and Phil's first rogaine, we started pretty conservatively, but as the day continued we started to make more of a bee line to the controls. It was a pretty hilly course and fun was had by all, but I think the others realised that a bit more endurance training would need to be done before the next event. With the course shortened a max of 1050 points were up for grabs, we gathered 480 (in 5hr30min).

Paddy Pallin 6Hr Rogaine

Check out our route, a few mistakes, but pretty happy we just need to increase out pace.

(official results, pics and maps to come)

Team 93 -----------
Points: 480 Finish Time: 1:14:34 (day : hours : minutes)
On course: 5:34 (hours : minutes)
Penalty: 0
Score: 480
Control Points Time Split Description
--------- ------- --------------------------------
B5 0 1:08:55 Brief
21 20 1:09:13 0:13 The Watercourse junction
33 30 1:09:33 0:19 The Watercourse Junction
52 50 1:09:54 0:21 The watercourse
58 50 1:10:32 0:38 The watercourse junction
44 40 1:11:05 0:33 The watercourse junction
11 10 1:11:20 0:14 The Road Junction (west side) (W
60 60 1:11:32 0:12 The knoll
43 40 1:12:04 0:31 The watercourse
42 40 1:12:27 0:22 the watercourse (small dam)
50 50 1:12:46 0:18 The watercourse (northern branch
40 40 1:13:06 0:20 The spur (flat part)
37 30 1:13:25 0:18 The Watercourse
22 20 1:14:12 0:47 The Watercourse
S8 0 1:14:34 0:21 Stop

Happy trails

A GeoQuest Weekend

The long weekend just gone has seen the running of GeoQuest (48hour Adventure race). It was the first time I had attended this event, so I was here as a Marshall not a competitor, just to get a feel for the event and what is required to compete. It didn't take me long to realise that I was going to sign up for next year. Check out the pics on the official website, the kayak start in a big swell was an exciting way to begin the race.

While it poured back in Sydney and the Central Coast, the weather was perfect in Sawtell (Geo HQ). As a Marshall, i was placed at specific checkpoints, to time in and out the racers. It was a lot of fun great to interact with the guys and girls. Some were doing it easy others were doing it tough, but all were having fun, well almost all.

The winners did it in less than 29hrs the last team to cross did it in 51hrs.

Checkpoint 20/21 was the point where the teams were allowed to split into two for the rogaine section.

MTBO SS-3 Penrose State Forest

It was back to the Southern Highlands and Penrose State Forest and it was a perfect day for riding, sunny, clear and a slight cool breeze.

I'd ridden about this forest a couple of time now so I felt confident that I could put together a pretty good time today, but that bloody course setter had other ideas. What was scheduled as a 36km long course, ended up being closer to 50kms (without the self inflicted additional mileage). It start out easy enough, pretty open and nice long sections, some hills but nothing to stop you in your tracks (coming out of control 5 was a challenge). It wasn't until the later section that, the hills just wouldn't stop, and there was a lot of criss crossing tracks you had already done. I think that made the day seem longer too.

There were three critical mistakes i made that cost me time, but it was something that I'll know for next time.

for the record, I did finish and wasn't last (but not far off it :-) ).

23 Chan Peter MDN 252:33min

Official Results


Sorry, my camera broke this mooring so no pics for the moment.

Happy trails.

Dirtwork 07

The dew was heavy on the ground and you could taste the moisture in the air. At 5:00 my alarm went off, time to get ready. The day had finally arrived, “Dirtworks 07”, a century of dirt lay ahead of me. Now was this going to be a repeat performance of the “Highland Fling”? Was I going to blowup 40kms into the day and suffer the remaining 60km, only time would tell. I had a set myself 4 goals for today, 1. Finish in less that 7hrs, 2. Don’t come off, 3. Don’t cramp up and 4. Don’t cry :-)

The elite riders were sent on their way at 6:30, these guys and girls are machines, they just eat this course up, in gulps, where I just seem to nibble a bit here and there. With so many riders for the 100km ride they sent us off in groups of 40-50, I was sent on my way in the 3rd group. The first couple of km’s are always take a bit to warm up, it was not until the 13km mark we hit the first big climb of the day, and with in 30seconds, my heart rate went through the roof, so knowing that I had 80 odd kms to go I decided to just walk the bike up the hill, OMG capitulation already!, what will the rest of the day hold.

But once I got to the top of the hill, it was nice to get back on the bike and get some speed again, the first thing I noticed was how great the view was, we had reached the ridge line and were traveling along it. It was now a matter of riding along it for the next 50kms, undulating but ridable. Even if it meant getting into granny gear, I rode all those hills. We ended up on the “Great North Walk” for a bit then headed back down to the valley, and across a pontoon style bridge (72km point) Gary (MaxAdventure’s) had rigged together.

The next phase of the ride was to be the sting of the day, the last 25kms, was to include killer climbs and pinch turns, sand traps, more climbs and sand traps, did I mention the climbs? Here I lost about 30-40mins as my legs gave up on me at times. The last decent into the valley was a wild ride, not technical at all, but fast, very fast! I daren’t take my fingers off the brakes as I wasn’t sure I could have stopped or even slowed down enough to stay on the road/track. The last 8kms on the road seemed to take for ever, but when I saw St Ablan’s all the pains and aches left my body as I rode across the finish line in 8hrs 12min. Not quite under the 7 hours I wanted, but certainly less than the 9:15 of the highland fling and the 10:30 the last rider would eventually clock up. Anyway, it gives me a goal for next year :-)


100kms, 8hr12min.

FinalPos
455 (total 545)
RaceNo
393
OverallTime
08:12:55
First50K
3:32:35
50KPos
438
Sec50K
4:40:19
Pos
453

Official Results





More to come watch this space.

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.