TriAdventure Noosa

Latest News - December

2011-12-24T15:14:00.000+10:00

The Aunties dress up for New Year's Eve!

Well…we have come to the end of another exciting year at Tri Adventure and have had so many great times with so many great people…. Here’s a month-by-month account…just to remind you all….

JANUARY

We started the year camping in the beautiful Yuraygir National Park….tucked away nicely at Lake Arragan…. When we got back home we had some amazing adventures including our day of paddling/riding/running up to the Cooloola Great Walk

FEBRUARY

Aunty Jan’s birthday adventure is always the focus this month….this year we did the Tri Peaks….that’s a little ride around the hinterland with a few peaks thrown in to get some views…..11 hours later we rocked in for some champagne….well deserved, I think!

MARCH

The Kathmandu Adventure Race is always on our calendar in March….MD’s won the day J….but this year we combined it with a wedding and some MTBO….and lots of rain and mud….an interesting weekend to say the least…

APRIL
Amongst other things we made the trip to the inaugural M2M Multisport Race in Victoria….Jules D blitzed the field in the vintage female division after some interesting camping with us Aunties….I did the road trip with my 83 year old mum and we came home via the goat track over the Great Dividing Range….Funny! Following this we had the 8hr rogaine/Australian Marathon Mtb Champs/Mt Barney climb….all in one weekend….then later that month we staged our Easter Adventure….3 days of fun….

MAY

The ARA came to Noosa. Tri Adventure entered many teams…. MD’s won again, with Tri Adventure boys hot on their heels…. Tri Adventure Vintage won the all-girls….It was a great day for all concerned.

JUNE

Huge month starting with our trip to the 3d Rotorua in NZ….Fantastic event….want to go back next year! Geoquest was the following weekend….it was the wettest Geo ever and the event was subsequently called off…..however, the Tri Adventure Apprentices managed to finish their race….and place 2^nd in the Geo-Half…well done boys and Audrey!

JULY

Huge month starting with a lovely ride/climb to Mt Pinbarren…on a perfect winter day….We took some time out on the Gold Coast to help our friends at Rapid Ascent with the run & bike course for the Anaconda…. Later in the month we had our amazing Rail Trail Adventure at Yarraman…and followed it with the MTBO….what a weekend!

AUGUST

Adventure Racing 101…..it rained, but was a fantastic weekend….Lots of people having a go at some exciting adventures….Thanks to all of you who came along and supported this….especially the lovely Katy Kirby J

SEPTEMBER

We are stepping up the XPD training…. We race Dark Side/Dawn Attack Champs in northern NSW….MD’s win again… Tri Adventure Vintage have a win also J Aunty Jan races the next day at Gold Coast Anaconda….running and riding for Pete who does the swim and paddle. We have a lot of fun…. Hells Bells is next…..MD’s win again….they are on a roll….even with Gigantor on board!

OCTOBER

We Aunties walk/run 90 km’s on the Cooloola Great Walk….it is very beautiful but very hard as well….we camp out 2 nights….then spend a luxury night at Rainbow Beach before riding home…. We fly to Tassie at the end of the month for XPD….

NOVEMBER

XPD….this is an amazing event to be part of….even as a volunteer! We watched the highs and lows for 2 weeks as teams tackled everything that XPD threw at them….

DECEMBER

We snuck in Anaconda Lorne….which was a bit beyond our ability this year!....then we were very privileged to be part of the Mark Webber Challenge….in volunteer role first, then competing on the last day…and we Aunties finish the year with a win in the Challenger Cups...what a surprise!.....What a contrast to XPD….. It was a great experience….

So that’s the year in a nutshell…. I’m a bit exhausted just thinking back on it all….but excited that we could pack in so much great fun and adventure. Thank-you all for joining us this year! Hope you have a great holiday season. We are going away at our special camping spot again…but will be home on the 3^rd January…and straight back into it…

See you out there!

Jan & Kim

Latest News - November

2011-11-17T15:38:00.000+10:00

We are back from our epic adventure in Tassie! Wow…what an amazing couple of weeks!! Sorry, I only managed one update while we were there, but I hope those of you who were interested were tracking the teams on the live website…. Aunty Kim will write a full account of her race…and I’m sure the Tri Adventure team will write their account as well…. I will give you an insight into my adventure as a volunteer/support crew/etc….

Mountain Designs-Tri Adventure looking fit and ready...

TUESDAY 1^stNov…..While the teams were at their course hand-out, us Vollies were in an all-day session which revealed our activities for the next 10 days. We had already been given an idea of what we were doing….but now we found our WHERE it all was happening… Over 50 volunteers from all over the world gave up 2 weeks of their life/holidays to come down to Tassie and support this epic event…. I was pleased to find out I was still doing the big trek to retrieve CP’s on day 3…and now I knew this was over Black Bluff…the highest point on the course! Yay…we were hoping for good weather….. When I arrived back at our cabin on Tuesday evening the teams were in their last phases of packing and organising…. ‘Towers’ of food were stacked all over the table…bike boxes were laying open with gear all over the place…..but now it was all clear to them and they finally knew where to put everything….. It was also Melbourne Cup Day…but no-one here was slightly interested….

WEDNESDAY 2^nd Nov…. Race start was right in Burnie…. They would paddle out around the shipyards, then head east to the town of Penguin…via one CP along the way…. When the gun went off – so did Susie and me…. We were headed to Penguin to set up the TA where they would come off the paddle and head for the hills on foot. We set up the area and had the help of 15 students from the Devonport High School…they were very good with carrying all the boats up to the waiting trucks…. This TA was absolute chaos…..the first one always is as all the teams are still so together at this point…. The racers were freezing and unable to sign in properly on our sheet…. Luckily it wasn’t raining too! When the last team had come through, we packed up the area and took off up to Riana to drop off the TA box for the next person….. While we were there the 3 top teams came through and we were privileged to watch their amazing transitions…..this one they had to unpack their bikes…which became an automatic skill for all the teams as the race went on…. It was great to see our friends from Blackheart in 3^rd place at that point….. Suse and I then took off again…on the most amazing drive out to Leven Canyon where we would be based for the next 2 days…..Very basic camping here including no power…..so luckily we had stocked up on all the essentials…..food, wine, etc…and Suse had here little fuel stove for us to cook dinner and make coffee…. !! We manned the TA here with a few other people for 2 days and nights…..and I experienced one of the coldest nights I can remember….sitting up all night waiting for the teams to come in. It was great to see all our teams though….they had already been through so much…..and had so much more to do…..this was only the beginning!

THURSDAY 3^rd…. Still at Leven Canyon waiting for the last team to come in…..Team Driftwood from the US…they had gotten themselves quite lost on the way there and were a very long way behind. Suse & I were hoping they would not sleep in this TA as we wanted to go out and get our first CP before dark this night and then head out on our big trek the next morning. The boys finally left and we followed them down into the canyon towards CP 13…they dithered along…and didn’t really know the way to go…. We shunted them in the right direction and we all headed out along the track beside the river to find the CP…. This was the point that Suse and I felt we were in the race too…. The CP was on a track/creek junction….. We all searched at the first creek…which was way too soon….. Luckily we had brought our lights with us…as it wasn’t as easy as it looked…. Eventually the CP was found in a beautiful little creek, the Driftwood boys punched and we grabbed it and headed out back to the road…. We spent a relaxing night at Leven…..before our big day on Friday.

Atop Black Bluff with snow in the background!

FRIDAY 4^th…. Packed up and ready…we started our trek at 07.30….. I had pre-dropped the car the day before…and we had organised for one of the other vollies to take our tents and extra gear and put it in the car for us….. This was great as we wouldn’t have to take it all over the mountains with us…even though we did take our sleeping bags as you never know what’s going to happen out there….and it was compulsory gear for the teams going out…. We found CP 14 outside the cave…some nice person had brought it outside for us…otherwise we were going to have to crawl into a very tight space…with spiders and bats…. Thanks Driftwood boys! We followed the path along beside the river and then we started the climb up to Black Bluff…at its highest point about 1339m…..and we had the most beautiful clear day…..it was absolutely glorious! We collected the CP at Paddy’s Lake…and then made our way over Winter Brook before descending down towards Tiger Plain and down to CP 16….. We had left the track now…and really felt part of the event… The going was hard…and we felt sorry for the teams who did this part of the trek in the dark…..not only was it dangerous underfoot…they would have missed the most spectacular views….on one side we could see all the way to Bass Strait…..on the other side we had views of Cradle Mtn and Mt Ossa… Suse & I were feeling like the luckiest people alive that we had been given the opportunity to do this….. There was no sign of the Driftwood boys…so we hoped they found their way and were ahead of us…but we found out at the end they got quite lost coming off the top and when they finally got to CP 16 we were long gone (even though we sat and had lunch there before we left!..) and then they didn’t even try for CP 17…. They were not too worried, and luckily ended up DNF so it didn’t matter anyway….! Meanwhile Suse and I trekked on…downhill…crossed some very nice creeks and had some more awesome views on the way down. We finally got near CP 17…..and had a bit of trouble finding it as we were distracted by an little bush shack with some great carvings out the front…. By the time we got the CP we only had about 1.5 hours of daylight left. We decided to take a bearing south to the road where our car was…and hadn’t counted on the thickness of the ti-tree scrub in Tasmania…just great if you were a wombat…plenty of wombat highways in there…but if you were more than ½ metre tall it proved a problem…..we bashed our way through this bit of scrub for at least an hour…starting to panic a bit as there seemed no way out…we did not want to spend the night with the wombats…Susie, wearing shorts and low gaiters was getting cut to pieces but the prickly undergrowth…so I was up ahead trying to break it all down and make a way through…usually gentle and with more respect for the bush….I was now on a mission…standing on broken down scrub…breaking branches…we had to literally fight our way through there…I walked along a fallen tree eventually and saw the power lines and there was the road…we had made it out…and we quite relieved that it was only about 2kms to the road by track…and the waiting car!!! Wow…what an experience! It had taken us 12 hours…and we almost thought we wouldn’t get out before dark! Getting in the car off our weary feet was a great relief…. We zoomed off in the car…..and arrived at Tullah where we booked into a motel for the night…before a very memorable dinner at the Tullah pub…they graciously re-opened their kitchen for us…amidst the darts game and pool comp…we felt a bit out of place…but thoroughly enjoyed the steak and chips on offer!

SATURDAY 5^th….. I left Suse at Tullah where she was to go out to another TA and I took the road to Strachan where mid-camp was set up…. The teams all had a compulsory 6 hour stop here and got a hot meal and a tent for some rest. Lots of teams here had already been struck by the gastro that seemed to plague over 50% of the field…and they were a sore and sorry sight as they walked around like zombies…I think it was at this point I decided I never want to do a race like this…. There was so much for the teams to do at mid-camp…besides washing and scrubbing their bikes, shoes and packs (when they were tired and hungry) and then having to do a compulsory blog, gear check etc…..it wasn’t any wonder a lot of teams spent way more than 6 hours here. Some of them spent more time recovering from their sickness…..and most seemed to recover ok….. It was a dim and depressing place though…and I was also here that I re-acquainted myself with Audrey who had pulled out of the race due to chest and breathing problems…. I had booked a cabin for the night…..so I bundled her off for a shower and bed whilst I spent most of the night manning the TA……

SUNDAY 6^th….. Still at mid-camp…and getting organised to drive back to Burnie…. I now also had Ali Wright with me who had pulled out of the race too with knee problems…. It was a bit sad for them….. We got back to Burnie and nothing was going on……so Audrey and I had bit of a rest before I had to go back on duty at race HQ for the next 5 days….

MONDAY 7^th…. Audrey and I went for a drive out to Wynyard and Boat Harbour…..It is such a nice part of the world…..We visited my cousin’s farm again and enjoyed a ride around their beautiful property…..The weather was hot and sunny…not what we were expecting at all! I headed into HQ eventually and we all got ready for the first team to finish. The big controversy in the event was that the leading team, Seagate, had copped a 4 hour penalty for not carrying their spot tracker for part of the event…this was compulsory gear…..so penalties were harsh…In the end, this lost them the race…..as they had to sit out their penalty in the last TA at Boat Harbour…meanwhile teams Thule and Silva breezed in and out on their way to the finish line…. I was the lucky one who waited with their flags to hand to them for the final victory lap around the velodrome….. and they were excited and happy…well, all but Seagate, really….

TUESDAY 8^th….. Spent lots of time at HQ updating the leader-board, handing out champagne and pizzas….. Teams were coming home…. I was watching Team MD’s/Tri Adventure on the tracker and waited up all night for them to finish…..

WEDNESDAY 9^th…. MD’s/Tri Adventure cross the line at about 0700…..with Pikey on tow…They’d had so many problems…it was amazing they got there at all…I will leave Aunty Kim to tell their story….. So, after the obligatory champers and pizza, I bundled them up and took them home for a shower and sleep…. They had finished in 13^th place and had hoped for top 15… Fantastic! We all slept for quite a few hours…I was very sleep deprived myself at this point…and when they all woke up their bodies were puffing up like balloons…. This happens in these long events and is the result of fluid build-up when the kidneys and other organs can’t quite keep up with the processing of toxins etc….. Their feet all looked like they would burst if I put a pin in them and they had plenty of black toenails and little infections all over their bodies…It wasn’t a pretty sight!

Tri Adventure at the finish!

THURSDAY- FRIDAY…. Spent more time at HQ…..watching many teams finish including our gallant Tri Adventure boys, now with Audrey, who had joined them for the last trek and bike (9 hours…lucky she had recovered from her health problems…) It was a great moment on the finish line when Tracey arrived with the 2 boys…and we were all there to welcome them home…..boy, they will have a story to tell….. Friday night was the big presentation night and BBQ feast…everyone was in good spirits…volunteers, finishers, short-coursers and also DNF’s….. They had all experienced an incredible event…so many highs and lows…..many of them had done XPD’s before saying this one had topped them all…in all the extremes…. I was very proud of all of them…

Latest News - September/October

2011-10-04T10:40:00.000+10:00

So much has happend in the last month...We had the ARA Dark Side and Dawn Attack event in early September where Team Mountain Designs (with their full XPD team competing) took out the event convincingly....and the Tri Adventure Vintage gals took out the all-female category of the 12 hr Dawn Attack event.....also the Tri Adventure Turtles raced really well to a podium position in this event - well done girlys! The same weekend was the Gold Coast Anaconda....and Aunty Jan backed up to do the run and bike leg with Solo-Man Pete Fidler....and then promptly fell in a heap the next week!

Team MD's finish victorious!

Tri Adventure Vintage gals - looking happy!

Next on the agenda was HELLS BELLS....and, once again Team MD's were victorious....smashing out 12 hours of racing to come in ahead of their nearest rivals - the lovely guys from SCAR.... The Tri Adventure Turtles were victorious in the female category of the Fairy Bells event...and the Tri Adventure Pickle Lickers (?) got a podium finish in that one too! Aunty Jan, alsongside Susie Blissner and Julie Wiseman tackled the full Hells Bells course and raced for nearly 22hours to placed2nd female team in the difficult event....

A quiet weekend with some MTBO followed...and then we Aunties went on an amazing journey - the Cooloola Great Walk....Stay tuned for story and pics....

See you out there!

Jan & Kim

Lates News - August

2011-08-08T12:15:00.000+10:00

ADVENTURE RACING 101
Adventure Racing Clinic + Interactive Bike Maintenance Session
Dates: - Friday 26^th August (PM), Saturday 27^th August & Sunday 28^th August

Day 1 Friday Interactive Bike Maintenance Workshop

6.00-8.00pm Let those groovy guys at Venture Cycles entertain you whilst guiding you through a bike maintenance session where you will learn some basic skills and some more technical things about your beloved Mtb….bring your bike for a hands-on experience….as that’s the only way to really learn! A spare older bike available if you are not comfortable doing these things on your own precious machine! Glass of champagne or beer on arrival – just to make it more fun….and hang around for pizza afterwards….

Day 2 Saturday Paddle Nav session + Mtb/Foot Nav/Mtb

7.00am Paddle Nav Session…Meet at Noosa Lions Park for a paddle session where you will navigate around Noosa’s waterways….amongst the mangroves and bird wildlife….and test your skills in this environment.
10.00am Coffee/snacks at Café le Monde
11.00am Mtb/Foot Nav/Mtb…Meet at Noosa Lions Park for a guided Mtb ride out to a spectacular location in the Noosa hinterland…..then ride down to a point where you will leave the bikes and embark on a foot nav experience through some challenging forest…. Then get back on the bikes and ride home via country roads and scenic coastal paths….
6.00pm Social night a RACV Resort Noosa Heads…. Eat, drink and chat about what you are likely to expect at up-coming adventure races….

Day 3 Sunday Archery + Mtb Nav though Parklands

7.00am Archery...Meet at Sunshine Beach High School for some fun (?) with Archery....you never know when it's going to pop up in an adventure race!.... All equipment supplied.

9.00am Mtb Nav through Parklands…Take the Parklands exit off the Bruce Hwy….Meet at Radar Hill entry to Parklands. Enjoy a ride through some of the best single tracks on the Sunshine Coast whilst following a designated route on the map issued to you at the start. Small groups will work together to get themselves through the courses depending on skills and experience…..See how different it is to ride and navigate at the same time!

COSTS
$70per person which includes all sessions + pizza and a drink Friday night + finger food on Saturday night… plus $20 Tri Adventure Membership for non-members
BYO all your adventure Gear (Including mini first aid kit)
Ski/Kayak/Paddle Craft & Paddling Equipment (must wear life jacket and footwear)
MTB & MTB Equipment incl. compass (map board would be beneficial if you have one) Pack sufficient to carry shoes for foot nav and food/drink during sessions
Hydration/nutrition for all sessions
Bookings Essential – Register by Monday 22^nd August
Email triadventure@optusnet.com.au for registration & further details
Forms & payment due Wednesday 24^th August

Latest News - June/July

2011-07-12T13:56:00.000+10:00

We've had a busy couple of months training and racing.... Here's a recap...
3d ROTORUA

Aunty Jan riding with the big boys!

Aunty Kim was invited to attend this fantastic event in the exciting area of Rotorua (world-renowned Mtb fun-park...) It was the Australasian Multisport Championships consisting of an 8km flat water paddle, 30km super-fun Mtb and 12km trail run. A strong Aussie contingent made the event really fun and socal (always a factor for us..) and we also enjoyed the company of our Kiwi compatriates as well.

The race panned out really well for us - with the initial pre-race drama out of the way (Kim's hired boat arrived without a rudder....!) and we thoroughly enjoyed the paddle in the pristine Lake Okareka; really, really enjoyed the 30k Mtb ride through the Redwood forest; and really enjoyed the 2-lap 12km run on wonderfully soft forest floor amongst the Redwoods and other beautiful Kiwi flora.....

Aunty Kim finished 5th overall female (and that was in the prize money..) and I was crowned Australasian Multisport Champion in the F 50+ agegroup....and there was actually someone else in it! We enjoyed the rest of the trip riding in the amazing forest then relaxing fireside at the hotel and sampling delicious pickings at Zippy Central - our fave cafe in town....

Next year we hope to take a Tri Adventure group over to this event - it has a half event as well so is achievable to all....and the riding before/after on those awesome trails is sure to make for happy, happy people.... :)

GEOQUEST
Having missed this iconic event last year due to a clash with Race Vanuatu, we were all keen to race well and enjoy the experience.....however, the whole thing panned out a little differently.....and it was really our Tri Adventure Apprentices who had the race they hoped for.... The Cowgirls and Team MD's were not so lucky.... Here's a link to The Apprentices story http://www.geoquest.com.au/race11/GeoQuest_2011_Triadventureapprentices.pdf
and here's one to the Cowgirls experience http://www.geoquest.com.au/race11/geoquest_2011_report3.htm
and here's the one from Aunty Kim recapping Team Mountain Designs misfortune http://www.geoquest.com.au/race11/Geoquest_2011_teammountaindesigns.pdf
...some fun (?) and games were had as you can see.... Despite our disasters this year we will continue to support this fantastic event and we feel for Craig and Louise when nature decides to put a real spanner in the works of something that took many, many hours of hard work to plan and implement.....
WINTER IN NOOSA
Here some pics of a recent day out in our most beautiful hinterland - our winter here has been cold but mostly fine - so these sort of days are just amazing - as you can see.... :)

on the saddle going towards Mt Pinbarren

Howie, Mel & Kim explore the caves on Mt Cooran

WHAT'S COMING UP? So....we're back to business now with lots of events in the pipeline for the rest of the year.... The Tri Adventure Apprentices have secured a spot to race in XPD the Adventure Racing World Championships this year being held in Tasmania. Aunty Kim and Team Mountain Designs will be there and most of our AR buddies as well. Aunty Jan will be on-board as a volunteer and we are really looking forward to this very special event......
See you out there!
Jan & Kim

Adventure Race Australia - May 2011 - Noosa

2011-05-18T14:09:00.000+10:00

Sabina & Aunty Jan at the finish

Tri Adventure had 6 teams entered in the Qld edition of the Mountain Designs Adventure Race Australia, held on May 8th in the Noosa hinterland. The 7 hour ‘Hard-Core’ event consisted of a ‘Surprise Foot Leg’ which involved finding 3 check-points (CP’s) around the expanse of the Teen Mission Camp property on McKinnon drive, before heading off on a long trek which took competitors through the Tewantin National Park, over the back of Mt Tinbeerwah, collecting 6 CP’s in the bush before returning to HQ. Leg 3 was a mountain-bike ride up into the National Park, once again, with a crucial CP at a high-point on the way. Next was a descent down through some very thick bush, some creek crossings….carrying bikes….and on to Lake MacDonald for the paddle leg. Collecting 4 CP’s at various land points around the lake gave their legs a rest…..but they were back on the bikes soon enough for some more riding…. Picking off the 4 CP’s on the way to the TA at Ringtail State Forest teams were taking lots of different routes….and most found their way eventually. Leaving the bikes and heading out on foot, they had to find 5 hidden CP’s before returning back to their waiting bikes. Then it was just a ride back to HQ, for the last leg which was an obstacle course to complete the event……with lots of fun and laughter as they made our way though tunnels, tyres and a rope swing over a muddy waterhole to the finish…..

Team MD's & Phoenix Adventure share the podium

Aunty Kim, racing in Team Mountain Designs with Gary Sutherland took out the Hard-Core event well and truly clear of their closest rivals….local knowledge had some advantage here….however, that doesn’t work all the time! Aunty Jan, racing with local masseuse Sabina Allemann, had a great time and took out the all-female category ahead of some stiff opposition…and Tri Adventure all-male team of Paddy Meldrum, Howie McCann & Justin Wyatt got a podium finish in the all-male category….and placing 3rd overall….cemented their team dynamics for the up-coming Geoquest Adventure Race in 4 weeks time….

The boys at the finish

In the ‘Raw’ course, designed for those who wanted less distance, 3 teams of Tri Adventure girls (Hayley & Jodie, George & Mel, Marie & Tracey) took up the challenge…and they all finished happy and excited to have achieved their goals!

See video made by James Pitman of Photoevents.....

Lates News - March/April

2011-04-29T15:57:00.001+10:00

Well....lots to catch up on over the past two months...some highlights were our weekend which included the Kathmandu Adventure Race/Wedding/MTBO....We started the weekend with a 4.00am wake-up alarm…..harsh, I know….Car was packed the night before as this weekend was going to be huge…. Kathmandu Adventure Race – Wedding in Brisbane – MTBO on Sunday……This sort of planning would have been easier if there hadn’t been a wedding in the middle of it…but we couldn’t have asked Kim’s brother to change his wedding day – just for us….what a challenge already – we had to organise dresses!.

PART 1

We had 5 Tri Adventure teams lining up for the Kathmandu….so had to be there early for the bike-drop and then get the tent set up ready to go…At this point it wasn’t raining….but it had been quite heavy on our way down from Noosa….. Map hand-out at 6.30am saw everyone with their eyes down for quite a while planning the course they would take and then doing the all-important contact job of the map….as it was sure to get wet somewhere on the course…..and as you will find out….it did! The course started on foot….and it was probably the downfall of the Vintage Tri Adventure team that we planned our first CP to be the top of Wild Horse Mountain…..guess I was thinking that since I was racing with one former Queen of Mt Cooroora we could do this hill on our ears…..well, I had sort of forgotten that I was never Queen of the Mountain myself…and I had to go up there with her…..The fact that I am feeling quite crippled today might have something to do with that I reckon….Anyway, after the quad shattering run down the hill we got going in the forest and found our way around the remaining 5 CP’s before getting to the bike TA. Quick transition – we opted to just ride in our running shoes – and off we went…..About ½ a km down the track my rear tyre went flat…..Funnily enough I knew it had slow leak, but somehow chose to ignore it! Pumping it up at the time of bike drop was just not adequate, obviously….!!!! So, here’s where the fun starts…..tube number one won’t pump up…..good on me for finding this out after I had already put the wheel back on! Tube number 2 is broken by my helpful partner trying to help us get going again…..not her fault….it was probably about 10 years old anyway…. In the meantime, we had noticed between us that one pump had the wrong attachment on it and didn’t suit our valves…..but that didn’t matter because we had no more tubes anyway!!!! Some really nice guys came along and gave us a tube……ok….I have a dodgy pump on my bike – cos I’m using the ‘commuter’ bike as my good bike is in bike-hospital…. Finally the air is going in….but pump is so hot I can hardly hold on…..Toughen up old Aunty (I say to myself…) this is not the worst thing you have done….. Exhausted, and with hands almost burnt from friction….I now put the wheel back on the bike…Yay, we’re ready to go again….and we do. Very behind now….probably almost last….and the pace back here is a bit slow….but VERY relaxing…..we almost forgot we are in a race….. Eventually we decide we better try and pass a few people…..and we cranked it up a little bit and found our way easily to the next TA. Going out on foot we reeled in a few stragglers….and had no trouble with the easy nav…..Back on the bikes we took the challenge of the creek-crossing between CP 13 & 14. The bikes floated brilliantly….and we swam across with a couple of vintage guys watching on. I dared them to follow two vintage females…and when they saw we made it to the other side, they followed us in! Just goes to show that we oldies are still up for that extra bit of adventure! Zooming into the kayak TA we were informed that the paddle leg had been cancelled….due to a bull-shark scare in Coochin Creek…..we laughed and wondered if they would cancel the swim leg of the Noosa Tri as bull sharks lurk in those canals all year ‘round!!! Anyway, we just had to get the location of the mystery CP 24 before we headed off and I got out my super-waterproof-permanent marker and it would not write a thing on the wet, but contacted map! The swim in the creek probably didn’t help….but the map stayed dry – we must be very well trained in the art of contacting. Thinking laterally, I punched a hole in the map at CP 24 and then we were off again. There was nothing hard about the last bit of the race….except we were now riding in steady rain and the track was getting a bit ordinary…..but we had a good old chat on the way back…..and finally finished the race about 2 hours after Kim & Gary! They were guessing something had gone wrong – and they were right! Having said all that, Corallea and I had a great time together….and I hope I get to race with her again some other time…and what a bonus, she’s now a ‘vintage’….

Kim & Gary (Team MD’s) had won the race outright…great news!...although not a surprise really, but the news that our all-male team of Howie and Paddy had won their category and came in 3rd overall was very exciting…..and these guys had never raced together before….they were awesome! We had also sponsored some juniors (one of Kim’s junior triathletes) from Boonah into the event….and they had finished the race – come 8th in the premier mixed category – and had the most fantastic time. Then there was Justin and his wife Tracey who had escaped the family to run around in the mud for a few hours…..doesn’t everyone want to do that??? They loved it too, and placed 7th in the premier mixed… My vintage partner, Corallea was off to a birthday party in Caloundra after the race. Hope you can use their shower, I say as she is heading off – mud-caked and exhausted….. And WE are off to a WEDDING! I have a very improvised shower from the water pooling on top of the tent…..and then another…..as it’s still raining…..and then we pack up the wet gear….and drive to Brisbane.

PART 2

Luckily we had booked a motel….with a good shower, so have a better scrub once we get there. The wedding is great – all undercover – and the bar staff get to know that I will say ‘yes’ when they come around with the champagne and my glass is empty – again…!!! This was all so good at the time… In bed at mid-night….by 6.30am we were up again. I was hung-over and crippled…. But we were going MTB orienteering…..and it was still raining…..I could hardly wait!

PART 3

Our dirty bikes were still atop the car – chains rusted and brakes almost non-existent. We rock up to the start of the MTBO very late….Kim still had to change pedals and put on her map-board…..I’m ready and go to the start line – but not really because my home-made map-board doesn’t have any plastic and I put the map on and it’s wet instantly…..but it would have done that anyway because it was still raining. I move through the start and realise I don’t have my compass….think I’m going to cry….must be left over effects of champagne…. I probably didn’t really need the compass for the rest of the event….but it would have been good to know which direction I was facing to start….Oh, and the other thing was I couldn’t see the map properly. Well, just barely….the eyes hadn’t warmed up yet, I guess….. I contemplated going back to sleep in the car. Kim was lining up and going through the start. I ride back to the start….No-one does that……they wonder what I’m doing! Kim gets through the start and I tell her I don’t have a compass and my map is already wet…etc…etc… We decide to ride together…and then, if I fall off in a puddle it won’t matter – as her map-board has the plastic cover….it’s a bought one! Off we go and I’m not having fun…. I can’t keep up with Kim…but I have to because at any time I could destroy my wet map completely by falling over in a puddle…. Kim is very patient….she waits for me…..I don’t want to talk…. We find all the CP’s and are happy to finish – 3 hours later! Only one lot of people still on the course – the ones on the tandem bike. I wondered how they had gotten through the tracks that were under water…..the must have walked the whole course….Oh well, at least they didn’t give up. We meet my Vanuatu race partner Ali at the finish line. She has had a bad race too….but with a new boyfriend – who cares! Chatting to her and Jack makes the day a bit better….but it is still raining….I’m so glad we are heading home! But the work is never finished when we get there. Kim gets her muddy, rusty bike off the car and washes it….I leave mine there to rust forever….I don’t care. We get wet, sodden tents and chairs, putrid clothes and leftover food out of the car…. I go upstairs, have a shower and read a book…. Kim comes up later and sleeps for 3 hours. It’s time well spent in bed for her.

Couldn’t you just guess that we had fish & chips for dinner????.....but no champagne….not today…..think it was still in my system from the night before anyway…..So that was our epic weekend – don’t we seem to have so many of those???...but usually not with a wedding in the middle…..

M2M MULTISPORT - The Longest Day in Victoria!

It's hard to know where to start with this one…. Could probably start at the drive down to Victoria with my 83 year-old Mum in the car….but you don’t really want to know about that….although we did have a bit of fun getting Mum in and out of a boat (as stayed with an old friend in Sydney on the way…who lives across the water…..and up a steep cliff…..my friends don’t live anywhere boring….) but with the promise of wine at the top, she was brilliant….!! Day 2 of the drive took us all the way to Victoria along the Hume Hwy….and a short-cut to avoid Melbourne took us on some of the M2M bike course….it looked amazing!

Kim arrives on Friday and we head to Andrew’s place – he was going to be our crew for the race…..and as you heard from Kim….he managed to crew for all 4 of us!!! Great job for an IT geek….well, not really a geek….more like a genius, we think.

Jules had arrived in Vic as well and on Saturday morning we pick her up on our way up to the race start at Marysville. Following behind the car with Andrew and his brother Paul, we drive over the ENTIRE bike course on the way up…..it was getting late…..we hadn’t registered….and we also had to put up tents…..I was absolutely exhausted from driving…..so riding this 90kms was going to be a huge challenge….

Arrive in Marysville (now partly rebuilt after Black Saturday bushfires) and go straight to rego….bond with some of our AR & multisport friends while waiting in line….then it starts to rain…. We have booked a campsite as there was no other accommodation available for 100 miles around…..it’s now dark and we really struggle with our tent….as it’s the broken one. Fix one of the bits of pole by taping a stick to it ….it’s cold, dark, raining and we are starving….not to mention in need of a good glass of wine!! If we were really serious about this race, we might have had a better lead-up….. I think Jules and Kim were more serious than me….After discussing the logistics with Andrew over wine later….I was ok if my bike wasn’t at the TA….and my boat wasn’t at the next one….don’t worry about me, I said….just look after the others!! However, all my things were there when I arrived in….so had to keep going….

Race morning….start in main street of Marysville….it’s dark and raining….Jules is standing next to me with her snow gear on…..we wish each other a good race….the gun goes off – and so do we. The first run is 19kms (20.5 actually…) up to Dom Dom Saddle which is where the road goes over the famous Black Spur. I run within my ability as there is very long way to go…. I’m not last, but near the back…it’s muddy and slippery but I manage to chat to a very nice girl along the way which makes the time go a bit more quickly. Pass by Richard the photographer and stop for a hug…then see Bridget Jacoby and enquire ‘where’s the wine’….then a big, big uphill to the finish….Andrew is there with the camera…he tells me to run….so I run a few steps for the camera…that’s all….

Find my bike – as it’s the nearly the only one left there….change into bike clothes….and start the long ride. Make a mistake with my clothing here as the first bit of the ride is a long 15km downhill, it’s cold and wet….why didn’t I put on my jacket??? Some of the few people behind me go past….I’m being super-careful….and feel like I’m now dead last and will not make this ride. I am glad to finally get to some uphill after going through Healesville…and warm up a bit. I (sort of) enjoy the 8km climb up to Kinglake….see Richard again and he takes some pics of me smiling on the uphill…..but I’m all alone again….so much for the drafting advantage in this event!

Get into Kinglake and put on my jacket…..good move as it’s a big, big downhill….(with some up as well) into the next TA where we hit the Yarra Trail for a 15km run. I enjoy the 2nd part of the bike a lot more as the road has now dried up and can ride a bit more confidently…..but I spend a fair bit of time looking for bush on the side of the road to empty my bursting bladder….did this about 5 times on the bike course….I was now paying the price for drinking 1.5litres of Endura on the first run – but, hey, I didn’t get any cramps!!!

Roll into Eltham and meet Andrew at the TA….he tells me Kim was in the lead going into the paddle….that’s exciting….he takes my bike and now I’m off and running. Surprising really as I wasn’t sure if I could actually run a second time. The Yarra Trail was very nice – a little bit too much footpath for my liking – but I was happy to be chugging along….and passing a few guys who were now struggling with the entirety of the event….. Apparently this run was only 13.5km and not the 15km advertised….so lucky as we did extra on the first bit…. I was overjoyed to get to the paddle TA…and some really nice people helped me with my boat. Got on the river and felt fantastic….

Really enjoyed the first 16km twisting and turning on the Yarra….energy levels were good and I had survived the worst of this race. At the Dight Falls portage I had a lovely girl help me with my boat. It was about 400m around the falls and rapids…..and I could never have done this on my own! Before getting on the river again I downed a chocolate frog and put on my jacket….knowing I would get cold as the sun was setting in an hour or so. The 2nd paddle felt longer….as the tide was coming in….but I felt strong and happy that this long day was coming to an end. Picked off a few slower paddlers….and enjoyed the city lights when the sun went down over Melbourne. It was great to get under those last 2 bridges….and I remembered to turn left (and not paddle on to Port Phillip Bay…) into the Marina at Yarra’s Edge where Kim spots me from the shoreline. I struggle to make it under a low bridge (hit my head going through..) and then pull up at the dock where someone lifts me out of the boat – at that point I was incapable of doing this myself….however I did have to run (hobble) to the finish line about 200m….and finished in a time of 12hours and 15mins…..Wow, what a day….Sam Maffet from Rapid Ascent said some really nice things as I crossed the line….thanks Sam….I was happy to get this one under my belt. Road-bike riding just isn’t my thing anymore….so ticking off the M2M was a big achievement….but I was so happy to make the 2 runs in this event….as had not done the training required….and just thought I might get through it without wearing myself out beforehand….a strategy that seems to work well for me in my vintage capacity….!!!!

At the finish, Kim tells me she was out-paddled to the line and came in 5th….but 1st Veteran…..and Jules came in 45mins earlier than me for 1st Vintage female…there were only 2 of us…..strangely enough! All good results – but the need for a hot shower and food was the most important factor now. I was whisked home to Andrew’s place and spent a bit longer than I should have getting clean and warm again…..You’d never guess that we had champagne (French…thanks Andrew!) and the obligatory fish & chips before a very well earned sleep – on the luxury of Andrew’s floor….with his brother Paul on the nearby couch….

This event had some amazing views….but pity the weather hadn’t been better….in the days leading up to it we experienced picture perfect Victorian days….with about 27 degree temps….by race day that had changed dramatically….so luckily we had factored in clothing for all-weather…just needed to remember to put it on!!!

My trip home consisted of a stop-over in the lovely town of Bright – with Mum again – and then we had a very interesting drive up the New England Hwy….where we diverted after Tenterfield to drop her off at the Gold Coast….after finding out the Bruxner Hwy was closed for 3 hours for bridge repairs over the Clarence River – we took another route over the Great Divide….the goat-track road I think – we seemed to twist and wind our way over the hills with some dirt road as well…. Here we were in the middle of the mountains….2 women in a car with 2 ocean racing ski’s on top….one of us 83.... We were an interesting sight for some of the local farmers we came across on the way! Our route took us through Woodenbong, Kyogle, Murwillumbah and then over Tomewin to Currumbin. No-one in there right mind would go this way….!!!! That says it all…. But we made it and when I got back on the highway for the last leg home to Noosa, managed to get stuck in that awful traffic congestion on the north side of the Gateway Bridge…..so was a very happy girl to make it home to Noosa and Kim waiting for me!!!!

8hr ROGAINE – AUST MTB MARATHON CHAMPS – MT BARNEY

We decided to back up our M2M experience with a long weekend consisting of 3 different adventures….so after I arrived home on the epic drive from Victoria we did a quick turn-around and headed for the 8 hr rogaine which was held SW of Brisbane, near Lake Moogerah…. Kim was racing with her Team MD’s partner, Gary…and I had roped in an old friend from the Gold Coast – and conveniently didn’t tell her about the barbed wire fences, cow poo and other exciting rogaine experiences…. “Come and join me for a little walk in the countryside” I said….with a really good meal provided at the end….and being an endurance athlete, she was enticed by the offer of food…..so was in… Hayley and Jodie had made the trip out there as well – as were keen to improve their nav skills….and rogaines are a great way to do this….

After our Marysville camping experience – we had no qualms about setting up our tent in the cow paddock….we had brought the good tent – so were in front this time. Map hand-out was at 10am….all eyes down after that. Hayley and Jodie were a little late arriving – but were probably hampered by the two green aliens they brought along in the car???…..Julie and I planned a course which would get us home before sunset (so only 6hrs for us) and Kim and Gary were keen to try and clear the course…..or almost, which would take them the full 8 hours. When the gun went off rogainers scattered in all directions – except Hayley & Jodie who stayed back for some helpful tips from the organisers. Julie (who was purely a road cyclist & triathlete…but has begun work with the Kokoda foundation, so has done the 96km epic journey and experienced the required dirtiness…) was a thrown in the deep end as we were promptly under a fence (commando style) and through a creek (wet feet already!) before we hit the first CP! That in itself was a great relief (hitting the CP..) as I was not confident, at all with my ability to find anything….but as it turned out we did find them….not as fast as others…but managed to find everything we set out for….and only one in a round-about way…..that is, overshot it the first time but found it on the 2nd attack…..way to go us! Coming in just after 6pm, we only used our lights to come down from the knoll that was CP31….and were very happy with our achievements! Hayley and Jodie were already back after a few mishaps…one being the loss of their compass…..not a good thing in a rogaine….and the other being a scare from a herd of cows…..they found a couple of CP’s and got the idea of what to do next time – that’s what it’s all about….. We were firmly into the bottle of red when Kim & Gary ran past on their way to CP31 at about 7.45pm….they had done really well….getting all but 4 CP’s….even with a few mishaps like a sprained ankle (Gary) and tummy problems (Aunty Kim) …but nothing that really stopped them…..and as we would find out at presentations they had won outright with a score of 2450 points!!! That is a great effort for a mixed team – as quite often it’s an all-male team who takes the victory!! They are very excited to have the huge trophy for a year as the Qld 8hr Rogaine Champions…..and a lot more nav experience for up-coming adventure races…..

One down – two to go….. Alarm goes off at 5.00am….we pack up camp and are on the road by 5.30…..Arrive at Wyralong Dam – the new venue for the Aust Mtb Marathon Champs. This venue is not even open to the public yet…..it will be a very popular spot when it is, with kilometres of purpose-built mtb trails…and they are fantastic. Kim, Richard & Howie are entered in the 86km championship event – Hayley and Aunty Jan have sensibly opted for the half marathon – not a championship, but a good ride on the course that the others will go over 3 times…..well, only a few of them….as we found out…. The race started at 8.15am for the females – and ½ hr later for the males….and then those of us doing the half marathon had a bit more time to wait before we started at 9.30…… Noosa local, 14 year old Jack Jude was also lining up for the half – a huge distance for him but he got special permission from the MTBA to compete…..and rightly so as he won the event outright – very convincingly…..and it was not that long ago Jack was one of our regular Tri Adventure members on our early Wednesday mtb ride….he has come a very long way since then! Back to the race and it was brilliant…..besides a bit of grassy track at the start, the trails were absolutely fantastic…..mostly all rideable for me except the big climb up to Mt Joyce in the sketchy fire road….but I used this walking as an opportunity to get some food in….there were a couple of tricky rocky sections I was a bit wary of too….but had the big ‘ear to ear’ grin for most of the ride…..and was a bit sorry it ended all too soon…. The full marathon riders had a cut-off of 12.30pm to start the 3rd loop…. Only a few of the elite riders made it through – so for those who had planned an 86km training ride, it would have been a bit disappointing….however, most of them were actually glad to finish and not have to climb up that P-F-B hill again…..!!!! Great results for Tri Adventure with Howie taking 1st place in his category….and Richard bringing home the bronze medal in his age-group. Yours truly managed to take the silver medal in the old-ladies category ….and it was great to see the lovely Kylie Maduna and afore-mentioned Jack Jude take line honours in the Half – and bring home some nice prize money too! Aunty Kim didn’t have a good day (tired from a ‘not so perfect’ lead up of 8hrs running the day before)…she crashed quite badly on her 2nd lap….and was very glad not to have to go around for a 3rd…… We hope to go back to this venue and do some riding in the future….maybe we will organise a Tri Adventure ride when it finally opens for business….

Everyone was heading home, but we Aunties had one more item on the agenda…… We had wanted to go and explore the Mt Barney (2nd highest mountain in Qld) area for quite a while….so thought it was a good opportunity to do it while we were out this way anyway…..and Aunty Kim was now on school holidays….. Mt Barney Lodge (camping and cabins) is about 1km from the base of the climb at Yellow Pinch….and this was perfect…. We picked up a hot chicken from Boonah on the way….set up camp and served it up with a salad and washed it down with a bottle of red…..it was a beautiful and relaxing place to be….oh, and we had a well-earned shower after being a bit feral from the rogaine and mtb race….. Aunty Kim had printed off the topo maps of the climb….and we had a discussion with the Mt Barney Lodge people about our plans the next day…..always good to let someone know where you are going….. It was a very lovely and peaceful walk…and we had no trouble with the climb except a couple of slippery, rocky sections towards to the top…..the summit was in cloud but see pics of some beautiful pics on the way up….

EASTER ADVENTURE

It started badly when we arrived at Elanda Pt camp ground on Thursday night to a “House Full” sign….oh dear….what to do now???? Aunty Kim wanted to press the issue and went in to discuss our problem with the Colonel Clink of camp-grounds….. Me, on the other hand, was a bit over camping anyway….especially in this sort of crowd….and said why don’t we go back home and run this camp from the “Canoe Launch area…..” To my disappointment, we were allowed to camp if we could find a spot….so we squeezed in between a road and another tent…and had 2 nights of very disturbing sleep amongst very un-likeminded people…..we weren’t happy campers….. This, however, didn’t detract from our activities of the camp – we only cancelled the night nav – for obvious reasons….but everything else would go ahead as planned…. Aunty Kim has put together a slide-show of the weekend….and we have loaded it on our Tri Adventure Group Facebook page….but here’s a reminder of what we did…

FRIDAY – Mtb Trails to Kin Kin and beyond….

Great ride with 12 of us tackling the trails, cow-poo, mud, hills…..only hampered by a small split in the herd at the start of the climb up to Simpsons Rd ridge….

SATURDAY – Paddle/Run + MTBO in Ringtail

George had her best experience ever on Lake Cootharaba….with a very pleasant paddle back in light winds….and Sue enjoyed exploring some of Noosa’s beautiful hinterland that she hadn’t seen before…. The girls also did the MTBO and Peter came along and went out with Aunty Jan…..on the long course….but Aunty Kim disqualified us because we didn’t tell her we were doing that – slap on the wrist for us….

SUNDAY – Mini Adventure Challenge

The Tri Adventure Apprentices, minus Paddy, lined up for this course – which proved a good opportunity for some team dynamics to be sorted out before up-coming Geo …..Peter and Mel also took on the challenge….it was certainly a good test of paddling and off-road navigation!
So besides our dodgy camping experience – we had a great Easter….the weather was perfect….and the company was too – thanks to all of you who came along

Latest News - February

2011-03-07T15:32:00.000+10:00

The highlight of February was our Tri Peaks day…..but, amongst other adventures, we also put on some nav training and were down supporting our Juniors at their State Tri Champs….

TRI PEAKS – AUNTY JAN’S BIRTHDAY ADVENTURE
Tri Peaks was a wonderfully long outing….11 hours for us…but good company, great scenery, lots of hard work and plenty of laughter made the day just fly along….

Leaving the BP Tewantin just a little behind schedule we headed up Gyndier Drive to start….just to ‘ease’ us into the ‘dirtiness’ of the day….We were all excited/apprehensive about the big day ahead. We made our way to the base of Mt Tinbeerwah via the ‘demoralizer’ (know the name really well now….)….and found the track in off Old Tewantin Rd….rode up out of sight of the road where we changed into our trekking shoes, stashed the bikes and went off on foot. The lovely single track takes you up the back of the long ridge that is Mt Tinbeerwah with stunning views of Noosa River’s lake systems and beautiful flora on the way up….Mel and Jules took a bit of a detour but were located with a loud Coo-ee from Paddy….and we all enjoyed the view from the top bagging peak No 1….

Sabina & Hayley in transition

Down the hill and back to the bikes, we opted to ride the big hill on the Old Tewantin Rd up to the water towers….Aunty Kim had the tow-line and anyone was welcome to it….just a handy little device to keep everyone together…cos that’s what you do in Adventure Racing….We got onto Trail 7 and headed for Pomona…only to be distracted for a short time with a huge python that was almost over the track just as we left Lake Macdonald...must’ve had something in it’s belly as it didn’t move when 10 riders went within cm’s of it’s tail end…. Trail 7 is a beautiful way to ride to Pomona….and luckily 6-Mile Creek had gone down a bit since the big rains a few weeks ago…however the muddy bank out of it was still un-rideable for all of us….

Little Bean took the easy way down...

Arriving in Pomona we met Jules (T), Pete (aka Solo-man) and Bean (the wonder-dog) who were joining us for the trek up Mt Cooroora….The rain started about now…and we all got a cool wash….Jules (D) was happy as it cleaned her up a bit after an unplanned ‘sit’ in a mud puddle on the way there! Richard took the civilised option to wait it out at the bakery…but the rest of us stashed our bikes and went off on foot, once again. Did I mention it was a hot day….and humid….????? Well it was, so when the rain pelted down on our climb up, we were refreshed beyond belief…..No pics at the top though , as it was too wet to get out the camera…. Little Bean powered up the mountain with a few rides in the arms of Mum and Aunty Jan…..but on the way down he took the ‘easy option’ on the back of Pete…..with the bottle of coke! Very cute…

The group atop Mt Cooroy with Tinbeerwah in the background

Back down at the bikes….we re-filled our bladders….did a quick shoe change, picked up Richard at the bakery and were off to Cooroy via Trail 8…..Jules (D) and Hayley took the road option here….and the rest of us enjoyed the ride along Trail 8 and regrouped in Cooroy before we headed off out along Cooroy Mountain Rd. We all struggled a bit on the ‘beautiful’ undulating road out to the mountain….and were very hot and tired again when we reached our ‘transition tree’ at the base. Gail opted for a little nap in the soft grass under the shady tree….it was very inviting….while the rest of us took off on foot once again…. The grass was very long….but all the snakes were hiding, thank goodness… It was extremely hot on this climb – as we were out of the wind…but we forged ahead….all just wanting to get there…. Arriving at the western viewing point….we were absolutely exhausted…there was no shade on this side…so we enjoyed the view very briefly while Aunty Kim got herself into a precarious position to take a photo…and Howie did a little dance for us! Then we were off again, over to the eastern side where it was much, much cooler….a nice breeze and a bit of shade. We all flopped down and took in the view…..had a snack….and looked out over our most wonderful ‘play-ground’ the Noosa Hinterland….we were happy with ourselves….sitting on the third peak of the day….and knowing we had gone all that way by bike and on foot…. But posing for the shot of us with Tinbeerwah in the background was rather difficult….Richard, I don’t know how you got down in that position….my knees were not working too well at that point….they refused to do so when I asked them to ‘kneel down on a rock!’…..

Jules on the tricky descent

The trip down Mt Cooroy is always a bit hairy with the loose, slippery rocks….but we all made it in tact….and Jules (D) here’s a pic for you….just so you know you did it…. We found Gail at the bottom….rested and refreshed…and packed up and took off for the final leg…. The few little pinches on the road back to Dath Henderson were quite difficult…but we were heading for Wooroi….and the promise of the new Heifer track to put smiles on our faces at the end of a BIG day…..finally there….and down we went….and thanks to whoever built Heifer….it was a lovely ride! We said goodbye to Gail and Howie at the crossroads in the forest…and then there was just Mel, Sabina, Richard and us for the ride home….Mel, then Sabina peeled off, then Richard when we were ½ a km from home….Riding up our street we clocked up 11 hours of ‘fun’ and adventure.

Wow….what an amazing day!! Not quite finished though, we had a quick shower and went out on foot again (the promise of champagne always gives you that extra energy) up to the Reef for a meal and of course the obligatory bottle of bubbles to round off the adventure…..Thanks to everyone who came along and made the day so enjoyable. We are already planning what we’ll do next year….hope you can join us then! (You have a whole year to recover, ok!)

NAV TRAINING IN RINGTAIL
Our Nav training session in Ringtail was very hot and ‘snakey’… but we only saw one ‘black’ when we were putting out the CP’s on Friday evening…though I’m sure lots of them saw us as we were trudging by…... The crucial tracks were extremely overgrown and it was difficult going through the long grass and lantana…. Aunty Kim managed to scratch herself up quite well on the Friday too….so lucky most of you brought your gaiters or long socks….as that ‘barbed wire vine’ was rather nasty also! It was great to see everyone out having a go at some Nav – under the watchful eye of Aunty Kim…..Howie cleared the course on the Mtb (not bad for someone who hadn’t done any nav since Timbertop) and Jules (D) was amazing getting the most points as she did 8 out of the 12 CP’s on foot! Even though it was hot, everyone still enjoyed some of Aunty Jan’s cake and a coffee afterwards….but we were all looking forward to a refreshing swim when we got back into town…..

PADDLE/RUN
Our recent Paddle/Run turned out to be quite a bit longer than expected…..in time, that is…Surprised? We know you’re not! Ant braved the king tide (which was ripping in at an incredible rate of knots) on Aunty Kim’s 18ft surf ski (which was a little too short for her in leg length….). All we can say it is that lucky it was hot – and the water was very refreshing…..as she spent a fair bit of time in it…..and not on the boat…..But, hey, we’ve all been there, done that….haven’t we?? Anyway, we positively flew up the river…..and when we decided to turn (earlier rather than later, luckily…) we faced half the Pacific Ocean coming at us (well, that’s what the force felt like…) Every time Ant fell in we went backwards very fast…..Our aim was to gain ground each time, but it was rather a challenge….. When we finally made it to our transition spot on the North Shore Ant was exhausted…..and very water logged. Luckily the next leg was a run…..and she was up for the challenge. The king tide had come up so high that some parts of the track were underwater…..oh well….it was hot so we didn’t care about getting wet (and Ant already was….)….. We ran up the the Esplanade and onto the Wallaby track….then when we were looking for the Quarry track we took and unknown track which led us almost back to where our boats were…. This one was very pleasant….nice and shady…..and a good one to take if we were riding too! When we got back out onto the beach we went in for a nice dip in the ocean before walking back to the boats…. Even the paddle back….now with the tide racing out….was another challenge…..The boat traffic in the river mouth was relentless….and poor Ant was struggling again…..However, she finally made it back and was still talking to us when we went and had bacon and eggs at Raw Energy afterwards……Like we said, it’s all a learning curve….and we all started that way…..so a good session in the bank – and it should get easier…..really, it should….!!!

JUNIORS AT STATE TRI CHAMPS

We had a very busy week with our Juniors at their State Tri Champs (Feb 24 - 26)….. Our squad (and the entire Sunshine Coast team) excelled themselves over the 3 days at Redcliffe….helping the Coast win the Championships for the 3rd year running…. We are extremely proud of their efforts, attitude and exemplary behaviour over the course of the event…. Brigitte Fischer won her individual event and also her relay event and is now in the Qld line-up when they compete at National Champs in about 4 weeks time…. We wish her all the best for this hotly contested competition!

So now we're into March and have the Kathmandu Adventure race on the 19th....followed by much, much more in our wonderful outdoor playground....
See you out there!
Jan & Kim

JANUARY...continued

2011-02-02T15:36:00.000+10:00

AUSTRALIA DAY AWARDS…

On Australia Day Eve we attended the Sunshine Coast Regional Council Australia Day Awards where Tri Adventure received recognition through our nomination in the Sport and Recreation Category…..it was a great afternoon and the MC was Steve Bradbury, Winter Olympic Gold Medallist in Speed Skating…..he was absolutely hilarious and we were thoroughly entertained and relaxed by his Aussie humour and wit….and proud to be amongst the other award nominees in all the categories – some very amazing people!

TWIN PEAKS ADVENTURE…

Richard & Howie relax under a shady tree

Meeting at Pomona – 7.00am – we only had Howie joining us for the first climb – Mt Cooroora…. The climb was great and bagging peak number 1, we made our way down. We were hotting up for the big day ahead… Richard met us at 8.30am – he had chosen to miss the mountain climb and ride out to Pomona….and we took off on the exciting Trail 5 for the ride out to Cooran. Transitioning at the cow-shed, we went on foot up the fence-line and started on the steep, rocky track up the mountain. On our climb the previous Sunday we had marked the trail…so it was easy going and we bagged the 2^nd peak in 26 minutes….not bad for a couple of veterans, a vintage and a legend! Ant, who had come straight from work, met us at the Cooran turn-off and we took off out along the scenic Kin Kin Rd to Camphor Rd… We were heading to Middle Lookout…and in the Garmin stats of the day it actually looked like we had bag 3 peaks as Middle Lookout is almost as high as Mt Cooran – and you can ride all the way up there! Off we went up the steep road, then onto the steep, grassy hill… Up a few false summits before eventually getting to the top……Yay!! We doused our heads in water from the over-filled tank, and then cooled and refreshed we rested and got some food in….. We looked in the visitors book and noted that “God” had passed by and signed in – dated 2053….Mmmmm….Ant thought we were possibly high enough to be in heaven….even though it felt like Hell…… We reassured her it was downhill all the way back to Pomona….except for those extra little hills we forgot about….. It’s all character building we said…and we all rode on. Richard left us at the Porters Rd turn-off for his ride home and totalled 89kms for the day – with a mountain climb thrown in….What a great effort. We finished the ride on Trail 7 back to Pomona and filled up on a great breakfast at the Mountain Stop Café….with a bit of amusement thrown in, once again!

COOLOOLA ADVENTURE

This is one we had been planning for quite some time – and it didn’t disappoint – but the harsh conditions we encountered were definitely a challenge that we won’t forget for some time!

After dropping our bikes at the TA (aka Richard’s place) we met and set off from the Lions Park a little after 7.00am. Howie was amazing in his first paddle of the Fenn XT, Kim & Ant were in the double Fenn and yours truly took Aunty Kim’s Epic. The gusty winds whipped up by approaching cyclone Anthony proved to render us quite a challenge on the normally benign Noosa River….lucky the wind was behind us….we were dreading the way back! The Epic was misbehaving after a previous rudder problem (the Lake Weyba saga) and a lack of steering was proving a problem for Aunty Jan….so a boat swap was in order….as Aunty Kim can handle her own boat in ANY state…with no steering…AND filling up with water as it was on Lake Weyba! So, Jules & Howie were powering along….Aunty Jan was now at the helm of the Double with Ant in behind…. We docked at the beach right before the ferry….and Jules was sitting, waiting with helmet on and ready to go…. We explained we had to stop and change boats…..and hurried our transition to catch the next ferry….. Over the river and onto the horse track…..Swamp, rocks & mud were a challenge….as we took the ‘hard way’ to the beach…via the airstrip….(we do that...) A small amount of bush-bashing was the only way to go before we emerged on the dunes….only to be nearly blown away by the increasing cyclonic winds….see pic

We hardly had to pedal for the next few km’s as the wind just blew us along…..we would pay the price for this easy ride on the way back – big time! When the walking trail was not obvious from the beach, we decided to go into Teewah village, leave the bikes and head off on foot….

..bit like Geoquest...walking to beach, looking for the track!

and after a few failed attempts (nearly walked up to the hang-gliding platform) we found it…. ‘Eureka’….and in we went. This is what we planned the whole day for….and the Cooloola Great Walk was amazing….undulating through coastal scrub then small pockets of Scribbly Gums it gave us peaks of the ocean to the east and spectacular views of Lake Cootharaba to the west. Jules, Howie and Aunty Kim made it to Brahminy Walkers camp and then we all re-grouped and met on top of Mt Seawah on the way back….It was so beautiful….well worth the trip if anyone is considering it!!! See pic below… Now it was time to get back down and onto the bikes…..We were all a bit fatigued at this point and we were not looking forward to what lay ahead….but….these are the challenges that make us stronger…. As we had feared, the headwind was incredibly strong….and we couldn’t see into the distance where it was going to end….but it was the only way home and there was no helicopter to pluck us out of this difficult situation. Aunty Kim was a machine with Ant on tow, but was struggling to keep up until we formed a little echelon against the wind….it was great, all working together to get us home…..this is what adventure racing is all about and what sets it apart from other individual sports with an ‘all about me’ attitude….. Our little ‘riding machine’ forged ahead….into the wind…cars going by on the beach were slightly amused at us….but we were now on a mission….and eventually the end was in sight…..In better conditions we would have ridden the entire length of the beach – but opting out at the 3^rd cutting was our only way of staving off being killed by the company! Jules muttered that it was the hardest ride she had ever done…..and recently she has completed Hawaii Ironman with a 180km road ride through the lava fields….! The few km’s of tar road was a ‘breeze’ (now that we were out of it) and we just made the ferry for the trip back across the river. Ant had decided she’d had enough…and took the easy option of riding home…the rest of us got ready to face another onslaught of the cyclonic winds and started the paddle back down the river…..Sadly, we were still going against the tide….and now that unforgiving wind as well…. We took the mangrove tunnel around the back of Sheep Island which kept us out of the wind for a little bit…but getting back into the main river and crossing to the right side was one of the most challenging paddles we had done….especially for Howie as he had hardly done any at all….He was a master of the XT and stayed upright the entire way! Jules was a machine in the back of the double and Kim was challenged just trying to keep us all in her sights! We gave Howie a rest for the final stretch home….put Jules in charge of the double and away we went….We were tired, hungry & wind blown…but no-one stopped paddling until we got to the Lions Park….What an amazing effort….sliding into shore at 3.30pm….we had made the day stretch out to 8.5hrs! Well, we didn’t plan it to take that long….but sometimes that’s what happens when you go out with the Aunties! We had a lovely feast at Café le Monde….obviously had missed breakfast and lunch….it was more like dinner by then…. c’est la vie!

Peace offerings at the summit of Mt Seawah

...so now we're off and running into February....with plenty of adventures coming up...

See you out there!

Jan & Kim

LATEST NEWS - January

2011-02-01T10:00:00.002+10:00

Looking out over Lake Cootharaba from atop Mt Seawah

Hi Everyone and welcome to 2011! We have an exciting year planned here at Tri Adventure with some great training sessions and plenty of events to keep us motivated. Here's a look at what happend in January.....(wow, 1 month gone by already!)
Our first week back at training saw us conducting a Junior Tri Camp....We have some amazing Juniors and they had 3 days of training to kick-start the year. Most of them are getting ready for the state Tri champs in February....so they enjoyed the week with some other athletes who travelled from out west to join us....

Of course January was the month of FLOODS here in Qld....and we spent a few days glued to the TV watching Brisbane and a good part of of north Qld go under water..... All of Australia has been affected by this disaster in some way....and we hope that the people who lost their homes can rebuild their lives and take some sort of positive from the experience....We have since heard of the 'family' atmosphere that was developing around Brisbane when the power went off.and the waters were rising...everyone was going outside and meeting their neighbours...good to see that people can still talk to each other without a phone or computer involved!
PADDLING - AUNTIES STYLE....

Well….with all the water around at the moment, we decided to do a long paddle up into Lake Weyba. Usually this lake is very shallow….but there is a channel there….you just have to know where to find it. We were going looking for the entrance to Eenie Creek, which runs into the shallow lake….and Aunty Jan had discovered the channel years ago when she watched a boat go up there….. We left from Noosa Sound…and already a gusty SE wind had developed. Heading up towards the lake with the out-going tide and then the blustering head-wind was quite a challenge…but we were pleased with ourselves when we got to the lake and we tackling the conditions quite well…..at this point it was a bit like a nasty day on Lake Cootharaba for those of you who have experienced that…… We had been paddling for quite a long time and slowly making progress towards a rocky point we could see ahead of us… Kim was ahead and not able to slow down much in the testing conditions for fear of capsizing and Aunty Jan was behind not wanting to go ahead any more into a rocky area just off the headland…instead she was looking for a place to land and have some food. When calls out to Kim went unheard, she turned her boat and scanned the shoreline. Now getting blown by the howling wind she drifted a little closer to the shore for comfort….and scratched her rudder on some rocks lying just below the surface…oh, that’s such a horrible sound!.....Meanwhile Aunty Kim had turned around too and was coming the same way when she too hit some submerged rocks…..hers were a little more vicious though and, when she discovered she had no steering, thought she had broken off her rudder…. We were now being buffeted and blown towards a distant shoreline – Aunty Jan’s boat was steering ok….just the pilot was a bit distressed – not knowing if she had a hole in her boat…..and Aunty Kim discovered her rudder was still there – it had just partly made it’s way into the hull of her precious Epic and the boat was filling up with water……Hmmmm…..getting back was going to be tricky…… Paddling into the side chop is never easy….but paddling a very lightweight, long boat with no steering was an extreme challenge at this very time! Luckily we were now going WITH the tide AND the wind….and Kim’s boat was gradually getting heavier as the water crept in through the broken hull….Just so we could gather ourselves, we stopped on a bank and Aunty Jan ate her biscuit…..that’s what she was trying to do when we drifted into the danger zone…. On checking her boat, it was fine, just a little scratch on the bottom of the rudder……We had the option of one of us going to get the car for a rescue, but Aunty Kim decided to have a crack at finishing the paddle in the dinged-up boat…..and she did…. Wow, she was amazing. The tide and wind were pushing us….but a few tricky bits of navigation were required to get under bridges and around some corners…..her body is now a bit sore from the one-sided paddling and her great effort doing the teetering balancing act to get the boat home….and she didn’t fall in once J J At one point Aunty Jan felt she had weed on her rudder…..but it was probably not a good time to complain about such a trivial problem….. We made it back 3 hours after we started out….it took both of us all of our strength and about 15 minutes to lift up the boat to empty the water out…..and we never did find the entrance to Eenie Creek….that will now have to be another adventure…..!!!! Aunty Kim’s boat is now in for a major repair job…but paddle sessions will still go ahead…lucky we have some spare boats!

THE COFFS CONNECTION...

Tim & Carolyn atop Mt Cooran

We were lucky to have our friends Tim & Carolyn from Coffs Harbour staying up herefor a week and they joined us for lots of our sessions including some big days in the hinterland....We took them on a 'test' climb of Mt Cooran.....it's always a bit dangerous going into unknown territory with the Aunties....however, we had no incidents, found our way up - and down - and went and climbed Mt Cooroora after that....a great feat for Carolyn especially....as she suffers from vertigo.....and coming down these mountains was a big challenge for her!!

2010 The Year in retrospect

2011-01-07T14:55:00.000+10:00

JANUARY

Aunty Kim was in strict rehab from her shoulder injury in NZ….however, we still managed to have a fantastic climb of Mt Eerwah on Australia Day – it’s amazing what you can do with one arm!

FEBRUARY

We celebrated Aunty Jan’s 50^th birthday with an exciting adventure – and then of course had a great celebration afterwards as well. Our Tri Juniors excelled themselves at the Schools State Tri Champs – we were very proud of their efforts!

MARCH

Kathmandu Adventure Race – Had a great time introducing Scott and Hayley to the joys of adventure racing…and we took out the Female category….not bad for a novice and a vintage! Also our Bribie Multisport Training Weekend was a hoot – especially as we met the Coffs girls – who made the trip up for the weekend and had a great time with us in the mud…. J

APRIL

Our 3-day Easter Adventure was enjoyed by lots of Tri Adventure regulars…. Bribie Multisport was another highlight this month – this was the start of a 5-week block of events – lucky Kim had her shoulder back intact. We followed Bribie with Anaconda NZ – what an amazing event – especially as Aunty Kim took 1^st place and sealed her Series win with this one!

MAY

Back from NZ – we loaded up the car and did the big road trip to Forster for the finale of the Series. Backing up from the last 2 events was not easy – and we ended up racing together and having a great time on the 2^nd day…. Then we headed out to Alice Springs for the Mtb Enduro – this is a fantastic week, if you are thinking of going – do it! Back from Alice – we had one last event – an 8hr Adventure Race near Mt Warning – we raced together and were surprised to take the win again…. J

JUNE

A bit of recovery this month – we did hold our David Williamson Memorial Night Nav session though!

JULY

Started off at the Gold Coast cleaning up the Anaconda run & bike course and held our Unofficial Training Day. After the cancellation of the Noosa Enduro we decided to do it anyway – and had a fantastic turnout with some legends of multisport and adventure racing coming out of the woodwork for the morning….. Aunty Kim ran King of the Mtn and took out 2^nd place for the second year running – but blitzed her time from recent years – how does she do it? Must be those quads….

AUGUST

We raced solo at Dusk to Dawn – it was freezing and Aunty Jan suffered the cold badly – it wasn’t looking good for the 24hr World champs in Canberra after this one! Richard, Howie & Kim seemed to cope better – maybe they just went faster….??? Next weekend was the Cyclegaine at Hiddenvale….we raced with our respective Vanuatu partners…. Aunty Jan & Ali only meeting for the first time at this one… We attended and helped out at the Anaconda Famil Day in mid August….. Then we were off to the inaugural Vanuatu Adventure Race…what an interesting event…..very different from the AR’s over here. With the Vanuatu culture mixed into the normal format it was always going to be ‘out of the square’….. Pity we missed Geoquest this month – but we’ll be back there again next year, for sure!

SEPTEMBER

Backing up from Vanuatu, Aunty Kim took out her 2^nd Gold Coast Anaconda win….and we had the greatest weekend with ‘wins’ all round J J We also took the trip out to Passchendaele for the 15hr Rogaine which was a great test for our Nav skills.

OCTOBER

The Rogue 8hr Adventuregaine was on the first weekend….Aunty Jan teamed up with Susie Blissner – our first outing as the Vintage Femmes…. Next up was the World 24hr Solo Mtb Champs in Canberra. What an amazing event to be part of – 20km laps, so no boredom there! Aunty Jan – assisted by PCM Aunty Kim, rode her way into 1^st place for the 50-54 females….and then managed to back up the next weekend for Hells Bells…..racing with vintage mates, Susie & Glen. Aunty Kim raced with MD’s and after some confusion on the last mtb came in 3^rd overall. Our Tri Adventure girls took out the female category in Fairy Bells – way to go Hayley, Ant & Miss Jane!

NOVEMBER

Noosa Tri weekend is always huge. Besides only spectating the main event – we participated in much social activity with friends and acquaintances who flock to this event annually…. Our Juniors also excelled themselves in their events this weekend!

DECEMBERLorne Anaconda – and it’s always beautiful down there… After a huge year, Aunty Kim took 3^rd place, Aunty Jan 1^st Vintage and Hayley completed the most gruelling event of her life…..and we finished off the year with a Splash & Dash and BBQ down at Noosa Main Beach! It was a lovely evening and we enjoyed your great company as we have all year….

Thanks so much for being a part of Tri Adventure this year. We hope to see you all back next year for some more fantastic adventures….

J Jan & Kim

Latest News - October

2010-11-04T11:12:00.000+10:00

Aunty Jan & the girls at the finish

ROGUE 8

October started with our participation in the Rogue 8....a great adventure race put on by the Qld Rogaine Association.....Aunty Jan teamed up with Susie in the vintage female category...and our girls Hayley, Jodie & Ant had a crack at the event as well....what a great effort by the girls getting around for 8 hours in very testing conditions...Not everyone can say they have completed an 8hr adventure race!

24 HOURS OF ADRENALIN - SOLO MTB WORLD CHAMPS - CANBERRA

Not sure what my motivation was for entering this event…..it must have started off last year as I was approaching 50 and I was trying to find some challenging things to do during my big 5-0 year…..Of course, we are lucky to have the gorgeous Andy Fellows (previous age-group winner of the event and 3^rd place elite male last year) living in our midst here in Noosa….he was probably a starting point for my motivation…..I forget the other things….So it was a long path actually getting to the event – with qualifying last year in Victoria (you must all remember my story about the Kona – cold, rainy and muddy….and massive bruising an blistered rear-end after the event…) and doing some lead-up events where I felt pretty crap….I was a bit nervous about the whole ‘world champs’ thing….and wondering if I have bitten off more than I could chew here….. It’s happened before – but I must be a good chewer…it seems….

I had roped in Aunty Kim to be my Pit Crew Manager (very important job…) and also had organised her into a team of 6 for the event (just to save her from 24hrs of boredom – while I was having 24hrs of Adrenalin….) In Canberra we were invited to stay at the home of Jackie Fairweather (friend and former pro-triathlete, marathon runner and wife of Simon Fairweather – 2000 Olympic gold medallist in archery….) and she made us feel very welcome amongst the trophies and medals – but their amazing wine cellar was also very appealing…..Jackie cooked us some of her special pizza and gave us some extra special red wine – great pre-race nutrition…and we relaxed and enjoyed our time before the event.

Race day…..and I was feeling pretty nervous. I was set up in my pit area amongst really serious looking athletes….and it was a bit daunting to say the least. I didn’t have my own mechanic (although Aunty Kim can fix almost anything….) and didn’t seem to be quite as organised as some – my food was looking more like I was at a picnic than a race – albeit a World Championships…. So I was going to eat chips and chocolate frogs???? Of course I was – that’s my race secret…..put in the things that taste good….then they’ll actually go in and stay in……It’s works a treat every time!

Riding through the flowers!

Start line….it was a ‘Le Manns’ start….which means a short run to the bike – leap on and off you go. Spreads out the field (sort of) and hypes everyone up a bit before the first pedal stroke….and makes a really great noise with 400 people running with bike cleats on bitumen…!! So, found my bike, and I’m off and riding. Being very conservative I let lots of huffy puffy boys go past at every occasion…..This was my first time on the course, so just having a look on the first lap, I think, was a good plan. The track for the solo riders involved lots of climbing….(thank goodness I did some good training for this on Log, Wooroi, Noosa Trail etc over the last few months….) So up the side of Mt Stromlo we went…..traversed nicely, and all rideable at this point. Over the top we then got to some interesting stuff…..I took the ‘B’ line down some technical rocky section off the top….which was still very tricky…(can’t imagine what the ‘A’ line was like – maybe they just launched in the air over all those rocks) and then got to a rather nasty track called ‘Pork Barrel’. This steep, rocky downhill section was the hardest part of the track, and of course on the first lap everyone was concertinaed up so we came to a stop and most of us walked down…..Hmmm… Then when it evened out again I was having trouble clipping my shoe in. Did some amazing tricky sections with a free-ranging leg (spectacular to watch but terrifying for the rider doing it…) and then thought I’d better stop and have a look under my shoe. Finding my cleat had disappeared completely was a bit upsetting at this point. Hey, I’m in the world championships, on the first lap…..wouldn’t you have thought I’d got my equipment organised better than this…??? Made a mental note to self ‘this will never happen again, ok’….and got back on the bike for what was to be a rather difficult next ¾ of a lap (of 20kms) riding with one cleat in and the other one gone! The next section was a climb back up the other side of Mt Stromlo, quite steep…..so I managed to lock my shoe it at the heel and tried not to pedal in circles with one leg…..sort of like doing that ‘rub your tummy, tap your head’ thing....I was hanging in there, and trying not to get more upset with myself….because I was probably the only one in this world championships who has equipment failure on Lap 1…..oh dear! Finally made it to the top – it was all rideable, even without a cleat, and then got onto the big downhill run to the finish….Tracks called ‘Skyline’ and ‘Luge’ should conjure up a great image of what it was like – and if only I could clip in my left shoe!!!! Anyway, I still enjoyed the super-fun bits and made it down to the bottom trying to plan what to do next. Riding into the pit area I came across Andy Fellows’ pit first and shouted at them (nicely) ‘has anyone got some spare cleats??’ They looked a bit amused but some guy from another pit said he had some – so we rode up quickly and he had it on in about 30 seconds flat…..This was great, I thanked him profusely and off I went - over to my pit where Aunty Kim was waiting. I had seen her as I was finishing my lap – she was finishing her first ‘team’ lap…and told her of my problem. She went straight to the mechanics and bought me some new cleats too, and was amazed that I already had one put on…So I sent her off to replace the one the other guy gave me after she organised me and sent me off on Lap 2.

Dusk at the Observatory

Lap 2 was much better now I could ride properly and I settled into a pattern of riding a lap, stopping for a few minutes then going out again all fuelled up on chips and chocolate frogs! Later in the day I had some hot pizza and coffee waiting for me – Mmmmm, yum… and all of a sudden it was getting dark and we were into the night. The track wasn’t too bad in the night – except for Pork Barrel, and I walked a few bits of this over the course of the night…..the safest way I think. It wasn’t so bad when I was completely on my own, but if I could hear someone screaming up behind me I was very nervous about holding them up/crashing in front of them etc, so just decided getting off was the better option….

Kim had been keeping tabs on my progress and she could see I was a long way ahead of my nearest competitor…..so when I came in at 3am, we decided I should have a rest and ease my aching body (mostly hands and neck) for a while before daylight. I had a lie down but didn’t sleep and it wasn’t very comfortable on the hard ground, but enough to revive me when dawn arrived. After some coffee and other food I went out again – all rugged up as it was a bit cold now….Day 2, and I’m still ok.

I was quite fatigued during the next few hours and only managed another 2 laps before I was allowed to finish. There was a compulsory clause to finish a lap after 23hrs if you wanted to claim a podium spot – so I padded out my last lap so I finished after this time. It was really great, actually. I stopped up on top of the mountain and chatted to the volunteers who had been up there all night, then walked a bit of the last climb (as it just used different muscles…) and took my time getting down the other side to take in the awesome views…..At the time, I wasn’t sure if I had to start or finish at the 23hr mark…..as I knew I could have completed at least one more but 2 more would have been stretching it – and I had committed to racing Hells Bells (24hr Adventure race) the next weekend as well…..I should be committed somewhere else, I know! Anyway, the officials said I was ok to finish – so I did! 10 laps completed – almost 200km on a very technically demanding course, I was satisfied I had done my best, and I had won a ‘world championship’ for my efforts!

As most of you know, getting off the bike doesn’t ever mean you are finished – the tedious job of packing up and trudging up to the car with loads of stuff always makes a hard race longer and harder. My PCM did her very best to make it easier for me, but I still had to do the chores too! We stuffed everything in the little hire-car. Everything was covered in dust (better than mud, I guess…) and sped off towards our hotel. The Crown Plaza was the ‘event’ hotel and we had booked in there for the night to relax after the race….and it was where they were holding the awards dinner as well. However, at the last minute they changed the venue for this to the ANU, which was slightly inconvenient, as now we would have to catch a cab there – walking 2km’s was not an option….

Showered and clean we had a little sleep and watched some of the Commonwealth Games before heading out to the presentations dinner….It was a fun and relaxing night – and we enjoyed plenty of champagne as the night went on. I was awarded 1^st place in the 50-54 age-group category….and even made a little speech (they should never give me the microphone….) before getting up on stage with all the other ‘winners’ and enjoying our World Championship moment.

Wow, I had done it and was glad it was finally over. What had started off an amusing thought about a year earlier, had come to fruition with a chance to say I was a ‘world champion’……at the age of 50. See, if you wait long enough, it’s not that hard!

I probably had not done the training miles on the bike I should have done leading up to this event…..as most of you know our sport also involves paddling, running and swimming….but sometimes going into these things a little under-done is a good plan. I have to thank everyone who helped me get there, especially for all the encouragement from elite riders during the actual event – they were most patient with my slow riding even though I found it hard to get off the track sometimes, so as not to hold them up! Aunty Kim, my PCM, you were awesome…..I felt very special and you made it that way……thank-you J J The attitude of most of the riders on course was fantastic – The really pointy end riders, especially, were polite and respectful – good to see they have learnt this lesson along the way… It makes the sport all the more appealing…… J J

Riding with Ay-ups blazing

Would I do it again……???? Well, I think I’ll try some other masochistic thing next time….. This one is well and truly ticked off now and I am satisfied and happy with my result…. J J J

HELLS BELLS 24hr ADVENTURE RACE - MOOLOOLABA

Hells Bells was a very hard event for me personally…..especially after the goings on over the last few weekends! The event attracted record numbers as the Fairy Bells option is appealing for newer adventure-racers (and older ones as the winners were our friends Gerbs & Kelly who have scaled down their activities after having baby Iggy…)

The Tri Adventure teams had some awesome results – especially our ‘Rainbow’s team (Hayley, Ant & Jane) who took out the female category in Fairy Bells – great job gals, you were amazing and we are very proud Aunties!

Other great winners were team RUSH. Tri Adventure group member Shaun, along with Ali (my younger, faster partner in Vanuatu..) teamed up with Russ Stringer to take out the Hells Bells premier mixed category…ie: the overall winners…..and even though they came in ahead of Aunty Kim in team MD’s, we are so excited for them – a great win and very well deserved!!! Our other good mates SCAR took out 2^nd place and MD’s (after encountering a lot of bad luck and having no local knowledge..) came in 3^rd. In the end they were really lucky to find their way out of that cow paddock…!!! It sounds funny, but probably wasn’t at the time for Kim, Gary and Bryn….!!

Vintage riders!

Tri Adventure Vintage (Susie, Uncle Glen & Aunty Jan) had a fantastic time getting through the event. We went out slowly and came home fast – in fact we were the 3^rd fastest mixed team on the last MTB – not bad for a few old vintage adventure racers! From start to finish we had a happy race – and quite a few very funny moments on the boogie boards trying to get flippers on an off. Susie was a machine on the bike, Uncle Glen was the ever-present gentleman and also got the camera out at every opportunity and Aunty Jan took the map on the rogaine and we all worked together wonderfully. We really wanted to test what the over 50’s can achieve and I think we showed everyone that it’s entirely possible to have a competitive race even though you are over the ½ century mark! This was my 6^th time at Hells Bells (only missed 2008 – the cold one!) and the event is always challenging and different…..Thanks to Craig and Louise, once again, for a very successful and enjoyable event!

Lots more stuff in the pipeline for the next few months.....stay tuned.

See you out there!

Jan & Kim

LATEST NEWS...September

2010-09-09T09:34:00.000+10:00

Spring is finally here and we are full steam ahead at Tri Adventure. Our Wednesday mtb rides are always a highlight and we have a good group now coming along for our Friday paddle sessions too. We aunties are out and about racing have some amazing experiences at events from Dusk to Dawn,

Vanuatu

to our race at the Gold Coast Anaconda last weekend. Read on for details of these…..Here is an amazing photo I took when coming back along the rocks on one of our Tuesday twilight run sessions….doesn’t get much better than this….

DUSK TO DAWN – 12hrs of riding ‘fun’…..

Arriving at the race venue, a private property near Canungra, the sun was still shining and we were wearing shorts…but not for long!!! We met up with Richard and Howie and got our tent set up and gear organised before going over for registration…..Suddenly the sun was gone and we were in our snow gear…. Yes, temps dropped quite dramatically…..so we were now waiting anxiously for the event to begin… Glen popped in for a visit – it’s funny who you meet out in the sticks….Thanks for the encouragement Uncle Glen! Peeling off a few layers before lining up for the start, we huddled together for warmth whilst listening to the race briefing….All of a sudden we were off…..bikes everywhere, lights blazing and dust flying….. Winging the first lap – who needs a warm-up when you’re going riding for 12hrs – we jockeyed for position on the track amid all the frantic riders gunning for a super-fast first lap…..Always good when Lap 1 is out of the way…..those huffing and puffing boys aren’t so full-on after that. The course was technical and mentally tough…..and I’m not sure how long it took me for the first lap…but there were plenty to come! Last year this event was held in mid summer which was a little more enticing - Ride all night and avoid the heat of the day concept….It worked well. This year – ride all night and just get colder and colder….not so nice we were to find out!! Terry, you were right….a warm, cosy bed was a far better option!!!! Anyway, we were there, and I kept telling myself it was great training for Canberra….. So around we went….Stopping occasionally to stretch and eat (which ended up being not so good as when we started again the bitter cold was almost unbearable). I had a real down-turn during Lap 6 and came in, feeling like I wanted to give up….

So, I boiled the billy and made some coffee, ate some chocolate and contemplated my situation. I had to go back out, but that tent and sleeping bag were beckoning too….Not that I was tired, I was mentally drained from the course and feeling like I was riding like Grandma at times (most of the time!)….But I had to think why I was here and that was to toughen myself up for my World Champs over a 24hr period coming up in October….Ok, I had done this before, remember the Kona 24hr where I qualified for the Worlds…..I rode all night in the mud, rain AND freezing cold, without a support crew or anyone I knew for that matter…..So, I convinced myself to get back on the bike – at least my rear end was not complaining yet…..

Starting off again, I didn’t warm up till I reached the first check-point on the course. The screaming girl was still awake – she kept me going at this race last year – I thanked her and kept riding. All of a sudden I didn’t feel so bad – I was still struggling with some parts of the course, but mentally I was on top of it…..Wasn’t really on top of my aching back, neck, shoulders, and hands…..but, that’s only physical….It’s always the mental challenges that are hardest to overcome….. It was past midnight by now…and I stopped and started a little bit, often meeting up with Richard, Howie and Kim during this time. Richard & I were seriously questioning our reasons for doing this – quite a few times – but Kim and Howie were going great guns…..Well, so was Richard as he was riding his ‘very Richard’ 2-speed bike, and being 65 years old was smashing it, I thought!!!! I continued on and reached 10 laps….and decided that if I can do 12 that would be enough. My main problem now was the toilet stops I needed – obviously the cold was a factor here, but the coffee probably didn’t help the situation either. On lap 11 I decided not to stop at the main area for the toilet but to use one on the course, which would mean I didn’t stop for long and get too cold….So I smacked out 2 laps (hardly smacking really…) as it was just starting to get light…. That was enough – I had raced till Dawn. I crawled into the tent and managed to get about 1.5hrs sleep as the others rode on like champions…. Kim finished at 7.30am and came in 2^nd female (same as me last year!)….and was only beaten by our young friend Kylie Maduna (who is half her age..) by one lap…..Surprising I missed out on 3^rd by one lap – didn’t really care at this point ….And Howie and Richard excelled themselves with many more laps than me……and Richard might have been hallucinating those ‘wee furry things’ on the track…..I’m not sure, I didn’t see anything furry except the furry jackets that all the non-riders were firmly encased in…..Here's a pic of Richard in the race...

Most of the teams on the course were friendly and polite – as most Mtb riders are….but one team especially were rude and arrogant…which is a real shame in an event like this…..and I can tell you it wasn’t the Ay-Up teams or the For the Riders boys…..who showed exemplary manners throughout the event…. Thanks for the encouragement too guys!!

So, that’s the story…..I can honestly say, I would much prefer doing this event in the summertime ….so hopefully they’ll have it back in February again next year! And as far as Canberra goes…..I’ll find some way to deal with it, I know…..Andy and the Ay-Up guys did a great job sponsoring and commentating the whole show….and it was a beautiful night with bright stars and no mud…..and the big, yellow crescent moon rose just before dawn….. But, the cold factor is something very hard to deal with – do you think it’s an ‘old-age’ thing???? I don’t know, but it doesn’t get any easier…..

VANUATU

ADVENTURE RACE

Staging an adventure race is not an easy occupation…. The amount of time spent planning and setting a course can never be recouped in dollar value…..so the race organiser was extremely challenged doing this event….and we can fully understand why…. With a major earthquake to contend with (the cross-island trek on the last day had to be moved as part of the track fell into the abyss at one point…), native people (have to be the friendliest people in the world) souveniring the CP’s (as they looked great hanging up in their little houses!!) and many other factors made his job very, very difficult to say the least. So when we look back on the event – we think he did an awesome job under the circumstances……Here’s how it went….

Friday 20^th…

After our flight was delayed 2 hours (I saw out the window of the departure lounge a guy up a ladder with a torch looking at something in the engine…serious!) we finally took off (without an operating auxiliary engine..) Trying to explain to Aunty Kim that this must be alright as they wouldn’t risk their own lives (would they??) she only really calmed down when she had some champagne inside her body..!!! We landed in Port Vila and entered the terminal to the sounds of the South Pacific and when we finally made it through customs (only one man working on the desk!…) and got our bags and bikes were adorned with the beautiful shell and bead necklaces – the

Vanuatu

custom obviously. Whisked away to our hotel – we now understood why they said beware of the bus and taxi drivers – as the chaos that unfolded in the 30 minute trip was terrifying…. I think sitting at the back of the bus would have been a better option…..

At the accommodation (which was the official race hotel) we were hustled into a room – with not enough beds to sleep the 3 of us – we all looked at each other and the porters (really the security guards) very kindly brought another one in….. Literally, they dismantled a whole bed in another room and brought it in piece by piece and then put it together while we stood there looking on with great amusement….They drew the line at the bed making…we can do that ourselves, we said….and off they went back to their real jobs…!! So a very small sleep (it was now about 2am) was shortened a bit more by the chorus of dogs, roosters, pigs etc which started up at dawn (actually I think the rooster went all night – I was hoping he would loose his voice – no such luck…) In the morning we realised why we were hearing all these noises as our hotel was adjoining some sort of community housing area (and all their animals which roamed free) and it was such a contrast to the world as we know it. We also had the smoke from fires all around us…..this got quite overwhelming after a while and we decided a hotel a little out of town might be an option next time!!

Saturday 21^st

At 9am we went down to breakfast and rego…and met up with all our AR friends who made the trip over as well….The race would begin with a ride through town out towards Mele village (under police escort – we soon realised was the only option….the town area was definitely not rider friendly!!) We finally stopped at a grassy area at the beach and were given our maps for the first stage which was a Prologue with a 2 hour time limit. We plotted a course to collect all the compulsory CP’s and planned to get as many bonus CP’s as we had time for. The mass start at 5.00pm gave us only 1 hour of daylight….teams scattered everywhere and we were going ok until I fell on a rock going for the 2^nd CP…..oh dear, I have blood gushing out of my knee and have been warned that cuts and scratches are even more dangerous than the bus and taxi drivers….must remember to smother it with that special ointment when I get back!!!! Ali (my much younger and faster race partner) and I were struggling a bit with the labyrinth of tracks and finally found the CP hiding in the bamboo, before making our way back through the village with some interaction from the villagers as to the CP’s planted somewhere there. We then headed out to the beach for the last one before finishing at the Warhorse Saloon where we were treated to a huge feast (and some free wine!....) Here we were given our maps for the next day – so off we went back to the hotel to plan the day…. Kim and Gary (team MD’s) were

downstairs doing theirs and Ali & I made short work of ours and tried to get some sleep as the next 2 days would be huge.

Sunday 22^nd

Up at 5am we had to get our race and bike boxes out the front for pick up and at 6.00am we got a bus out to where our bikes were left the night before and got ready for the start. Day 2 course would take us up the hill (very big one…) and over to the western side of the island on our mtb’s and then heading north where we would drop our bikes and go on foot to the crossing to Moso Island. Here we would have heaps of fun (not) with the heavy weight outrigger canoes….We had to use a shanghai to knock down a Tam Tam (native phallic symbol) to pick our outrigger…..I told Ali I was good at this as I had my own shanghai at home…..Well, I couldn’t hit a thing – so she finally took the weapon away from me and hit one pretty quickly at close range….and off we went in our yellow outrigger with concrete paddles…. Kim & Gary were crossing the channel as we paddle past and Kim yelled out ‘you’re paddling a banana!!”….well, we weren’t paddling for long as we found it was easier just to walk on the bottom and push the heavy thing along – at least we could keep it going straight that way!! Heading north to CP 31 we were out of our boat with about 5 other teams searching for a CP that clearly wasn’t there….Wasted about 1 hour before we gave up here…. Not happy but decided to try and find another one. So many were taken by natives, taken with the tide or just not there at all in the first place….and we finished the ‘paddle’ leg completely devoid of any CP’s!!!! Didn’t feel so bad when the same thing happened to Kim and Gary though….. It seems the teams who were there earlier when the tide was out and the wind hadn’t picked up were much luckier spotting these little prizes….Frustrated, we only had time for one CP on the foot rogaine before we had to go on a coasteer around the NW side of the island to the finish line for Day 2…..which was near the village of Siviri. Once there the clock stopped but there was more activity up until 6pm where teams would split and had the choice of a rope ladder climb then abseil or archery and a snorkel rogaine. I got in first and did the climb and abseil which left Ali to do the archery (she’s a much better shot than me, I found out earlier…) and snorkel. I couldn’t face getting in that water again today either…..

After this we were taken to our little camping spot at the community hall (little tin shed)….but most of us had tents so went about showering under a cold tap before getting some boiling water to add to our dehydrated food, eating chocolate and finally getting our maps for the next day. It would be a 4am start…. OMG….Didn’t sleep well again as chorus of animals was here too….!!!!

Monday 23^rd

3am wake up call and we were up, packing our tent, trying to eat some (stale) food and drink some coffee whilst waiting for the start. We finally set off at 4.10 for a short run along the road before heading up into the jungle. This day was a trek over the island and would finish back at the Beach Bar (near where we started on Saturday) A very long way on my tired, old legs!!!! After a lot of confusion at the start – with some obscure information about the where the marked track would start – we finally found the track (which we saw on the way up but it was way before the time they said..) and it was marked with pink tape (not red) and decided to travel for the day with another girls team (who were friends of mine) for the whole of the day. So the 4 of us trekked through the jungle, stopping occasionally to search for the red tape and eventually finding all the compulsory CP’s – plus 2 of the bonus ones – along the way. We were amazed when we went past the earthquake area and saw the biggest fig trees (that you could live in….) as we went. Emerging from the jungle we tracked through a farm and then onto the road where we managed a slow shuffle on the downhills….(that’s the marble rule – only run if a marble can roll down….) and we found the creek where we would go in and finally made our way to the waterfall abseil. This abseil was done by the one who missed out the day before…..so Ali and Sharon got organised whilst De and myself went down the thousand steps to meet them at the bottom. A few more CP’s and we were almost at the finish. Once again the CP in the rivermouth was not there at all….so we shuffled our way to the finish line to the cheers of those already there. It had taken us 12hrs 10 minutes…but we had a fantastic day and thoroughly enjoyed the company of our fellow competitors….

Tucking into the roast pig we drank champagne and chatted about the event with Kim & Gary (who had finished 3 hrs earlier – but had failed to go for the bonus CP’s that we got….) It was late when we got back to the hotel….and I think we slept very soundly that night!!!

Tuesday 24^th

Presentations over breakfast revealed that MD’s were 3^rd place overall and were rewarded with a Tam Tam (much laughter…) and my team placed 19^th out of 35…..Not that great, but who knows how they did the scoring…!!!! Ali left for a 3 day stint on the island of Santo (for diving and other fun activities…) and we had time now to relax and enjoy

Vanuatu

as tourists…. We had breakfast in the hotel and decided to go for a walk downtown. A look at the produce market and the art & craft market was all I could manage and had to go back and lie down as my tired and shattered body was starting to protest. Pizza and wine in the room was all we could manage that night…

Wednesday 25^th

Susie and Gav (lovely AR friends) invited us to join them on a drive around the island in their hire car…. This was great. We drove along, stopped to take photos, go for a swim, eat and relax. We enjoyed a bottle of champagne on the way at the Havannah resort (as a complete contrast to visiting native villages and stopping to drink coconut milk from freshly chopped coconuts…) It was a great day and we finished up, once again, at the Beach Bar for food and drinks before falling into bed after another wonderful day in paradise.

Thursday 26^th

Our last full day in

Vanuatu

. Kim and I had put together some shoes and clothes and had been given some swimming goggles that we wanted to give to the school children who don’t have much of anything. We rode our bikes about 10km out to Mele village and visited the school there. We met the principal and she allowed us to go into a classroom and observed schooling

Vanuatu

style. Our donation of things was greatly appreciated and we thoroughly enjoyed wandering around the village again and seeing it in the daylight. As poor as they all are, these people were meticulously clean and neat and were all very friendly as we rode around.

Friday 27^th

Time to go home….We opted to stay in the hotel before checking out. Kim had a swim in the pool and I relaxed and dozed in the sun. Our bus was on time to collect us and we got to the airport with plenty of time to spare. We reflected on the event and shared stories with Ali on the flight home – and were amused with her rendition of her stay in Santo and all the things she experienced there. So…… that was our week….. We experienced many highs and a few lows throughout the event – typical of most adventure races….. Next year the race will be much more organised as everyone gave their honest feedback which was greatly appreciated by them. Would we go back? – I think so….. Even if it was just to experience those beautiful, friendly people over there. They put our society to shame, really…..

ANACONDA GOLD COAST

What a fabulous effort by everyone who took part in the Anaconda Adventure Race on the Gold Coast over the weekend. The day was even more difficult as a result of the ocean conditions (choppy, gnarly, unfriendly) and the wet weather which persisted for most of the day making the run and mtb course slippery and dangerous…..sometimes it makes us question our reasons for doing this sport…????? But we seem to be gluttons for this kind of punishment – and when we finish an event like this get some great satisfaction and a sense of incredible achievement by doing so……I think that’s the reason……!!!!

If you haven’t heard already, Aunty Kim, once again, came away with the GOLD medal – storming home 20 minutes ahead of her nearest rival. She braved the ocean conditions and as a result had her shoulder dislocate no less than 6 TIMES during the swim and the paddle….OMG…..that’s a bit scary!!! For the first time ever in this race she was helped out by a support crew!! Gary, her Team Mountain Designs race partner, gave us the heads up on a legal portage option at the treacherous Tallebudgera Bar …….and as she had a support crew and a strong outgoing tide it was an option worth considering! So Kim was relieved so see Gary frantically waving his arms to come in before the bar….he assisted her with a portage which saved her from risking further damage to her shoulder. So feeling no pain, she soldiered on to take out the Open Female title for the 2^nd year running…..and that achievement is the all the more rewarding as Kim is a Veteran….and has many years (of experience, maybe?) on those younger girls.

My race however, panned out a little differently…..Surprise, surprise! I hear you say….. I, too, had a support crew for the first time ever….Gary’s lovely wife Kylie and their 3 little girls helped my out for the day. I forewarned them on swimming ability ie: don’t look for me at the pointy end….and keep an eye out for the drowning ones at the back of the field….that will be me….and, as it turned out I wasn’t quite last out of the water – about 3^rd last I think! Well, that was Leg 1 out of the way…..

Heading out onto the paddle I was just wishing for a clear run out of the Currumbin bar…. Well, you sometimes don’t get what you wish for – and that’s exactly what happened! I was following behind a guy on a wave-ski (small, novice paddle craft….) and I was a little concerned about what he would do when he hit the surf zone. Now I’m just that one step up from novice (see: Aunty Jan on big, longer ocean racing ski..!) and I thought I’d better give Mr Wave-ski paddler a wide berth – big mistake No. 1 – as I went slightly sideways at just the wrong time and immediately got wiped out by the first wave. Having had some trouble getting stuck in my boat on previous occasions…..why wasn’t I surprised when it happened again…. My foot was jammed in the foot-strap so had a semi mild panic when I couldn’t struggle free of the now free range juggernaut coming towards me with the smash of the waves…Finally I got free and then got back onto the boat but my left rudder pedal was stuck fast – I had no steering.... oh dear, big problem…so had to wash into shore with the boat and have a look underneath. I noticed my rudder was twisted around backwards and there was nothing I could do (with my great vintage female strength) to get it back around the right way…..It was then I saw Tri Adventure regular, Hayley, on the beach waving at me….she had obviously watched the whole debacle and was a bit concerned for me – to say the least. She had a go at twisting the rudder too – but to no avail. I wasn’t sure what to do then – so I asked Hayley to help me with my boat and we carried it back up to the transition area. There I spied Sam Maffett (who is the former owner of my boat) and told him of my dilemma…. He found a screw driver (cos I wasn’t carrying one myself!...) and got the insides of the boat sorted out after some poking and prodding…. Now for my big test – did I really want to go back out again? The short answer was NO….so why I attempted it has got me stumped….first attempt I was washed back into shore (and so was Hayley for that matter….I was hoping she had some dry clothes….) I tried a little bit further down the beach and with some uncanny streak of luck I found myself out over the breakers and bobbing up and down in the choppy, unfriendly ocean. My greatest fear now was that all the rescue boats were up at the bar (sorting out the carnage…) and I was way back here all on my own and nobody would know I’m here….So….I paddled along, up and down over the quickly rising swells (looking mountainous to me) and hoped I could managed to stay on my boat which was now working perfectly….as Kylie would be waiting at the Tally bar for me – and we had pre-arranged a portage like Kim had – so I hoped she hadn’t given up on me – as I was now about an hour behind time after all my problems. I could see a jet-ski ahead with a struggling paddler – and hoped they could see me coming too…..and finally I caught up to them, which eased my worry a bit as now I would be saved if I needed it…. I could see the beach ahead and spotted poor Kylie on the beach – gave her a quick wave – and she waved back with excitement to see me still coming. I managed to get in through the surf zone with little fuss – phew…. I was stressing about that so much after having a near-death experience in this same place about 5 years ago at the first training day Rapid Ascent held for the race….. With assistance from another guy on the beach Kylie carried my boat and I walked beside them, over the rock wall to the other side where the lovely calm water was waiting for me….Oh, relief. I thanked them profusely…and paddled off on my way upstream to the transition at Connection Rd. I have to say a HUGE thank-you to Hayley as if she hadn’t been there on the beach I probably would have given up.... but, there you go, I didn’t!!

Gliding into the paddle/run transition I was met by Kylie once again – and got myself ready for the run – stuffed some snakes into my mouth and off I went. The rain had set in and the course, which is technical and difficult at the best of times, was even harder and I was slipping and sliding all over the muddy bits – but I was happy to be off that ocean so nothing was going to upset me now…. Had a chat to a few other runners along the way – I was feeling ok and got through the run a little slower than other years, but glad to get it under my belt once again. Onto the bike and I knew it was then under 2 hours to go to the finish. Most people had already finished by this time – but I was a bit cautious on the slippery track and I was determined to finish this in tact now that I had come so far and conquered everything that had been thrown at me!! When I rode into the bike transition I was met by Gary who had retired Kylie and the girls (they had been out all day looking after me in the pouring rain) and he also told me Kim had won the race (yay, big smiles) so I ran off for the 2k home run a very happy, muddy and relieved Aunty…..

The news got even better when I crossed the finish line….Our Tri Adventure Girls team had won their category, our Tri Adventure Bridesmaids team of Jules & Gail had lived up to their name and taken out 2^nd place – again….and the male team we had helped organise (with Andy Fellows and Jay Pattison joining some Gold Coast hot-shots) had won as well….. Andy had smashed the bike course and no-one can believe how he did it in 51mins…..to take out fastest bike ride of the day….and everyone else we knew who started had finished the race…..What an amazing day!! Guess it called for some champagne – so we had some!! Great to see lots of friends down there racing too – The Coffs connection (well done Tim) and many Noosa locals including the lovely Simon Gilder braved the tough conditions to finish well.

A huge thanks, once again, to our support crews, Gary & Kylie, who were absolutely great on the day and we wonder how we have done all the other races without them. Also many thanks to Hayley who helped me out and got nearly drowned for her efforts…..sorry about that!!!

It was great to see 6 junior teams entered in the race this year – and one junior individual. Makes us feel there is a great future to this sport…..which is awesome!!! And, thanks to Rapid Ascent who managed to take me out of my comfort zone once again (to add to the countless other times they have successfully achieved this…!!)

So, what’s next for the Aunties……

This weekend sees Kim team up Mountain Designs to race the 12hr Dark Side Adventure Race….2^nd October Aunty Jan is racing with fellow Vintage female Susie Williams in the Rogue 8hr Adventure Race…..9-10^th October Aunty Jan racing at 24hr World Solo Mtb Champs in Canberra…..16-17^th October both Aunties racing Hells Bells in our various teams…...and we are now going to line up for Anaconda Lorne on December 5^th……It’s all happening…..!!!

See you out there!

Jan & Kim

LATEST NEW June-July

2010-07-12T13:34:00.000+10:00

Some photographic memories of a recent paddle to Harry’s Hut….

GOLD COAST ANACONDA TRAINING & COURSE MAINTENANCE…

We Aunties spent a few days in the holidays out slashing and marking the famous run course on the Gold Coast Anaconda…..you know we love this sort of thing….. Armed with an array or garden implement supplied by Aunty Jan’s Mum we took on the course with gusto, slashing our way though a whole year’s growth of lantana, wait-a-while, fallen trees and washed out sections on the creek crossings. Satisfied we now had a track we were confident everyone would find their way on the training days ahead.

We had the lovely Kev as our guinea pig for the run section – and he was suitably impressed and thought it a ‘true John Jacoby style’ course…..and he hadn’t seen the bike course yet!!! Meeting us at the Double D ranch were George, Al and Thomas….so 6 of us set off on the famous course which takes us up to the track along the Qld/NSW border….Our legs were certainly warmed up after the climb up the tar on Bains Rd….Al’s comments were…”Hmmmm, how do they put tar on a cliff?....” It was pretty steep but we all stayed in the saddle….Bikes over the fence and we commenced the lovely undulating trail which gave us plenty of highs and lows – and some incredible views we were about to make an awesome descent into the valley…. With no dramas to report, but plenty of energy burned – who needs gyms – we rolled back into Palm Beach Parklands around 4.30pm….and Duncan took this lovely shot of us at the water’s edge….

It was fantastic to see Thomas – who escaped Brisbane for the day – and our Victorian visitors Kev and Al – up for a taste of the Anaconda style of Multisport racing….and hope we see many more of you there on race day – September 5th! Let us know if you would like to join a team and we can put you in touch with others…
TRI ADVENTURE NOOSA ENDURO
On the eve of the cancelled Noosa Enduro 100km mtb event, we decided to do it anyway. Why? Cos it’s such amazing course – and a great day out in the hinterland! We also decided to use it as a small (but every little bit helps) fundraiser for our friend Sam Naudin who is battling liver cancer…..

Well, what an amazing turn-out! Twenty-four riders rocked up for the day to ride either the 50k or continue on to do the entire 100km. And what a line-up of legends….John Jacoby, Russell Prince, Kev Piercy and the amazing Sharon from Christchurch – to name a few…and Kenny was there too!! Thank you to everyone who came along and made it such a great day – we literally finished the 100km just before sunset…. We didn’t open the white envelope of donations till we got home and it came to $455!! We have rounded it up to $500 and will present a cheque to Sam in the next week……A thousand thank-you’s to all you generous friends!!!

With the overnight rain easing that morning, we knew it was still going to be a muddy ride as we set off together just after 6.30am. Aunty Kim, at the helm, gave everyone a little bit extra before we got on the right track out to Porters Rd – thanks Aunty Kim!....we always love to go extra, don’t we….????...and no, Alan, we won’t charge you any more for it….ok!.... Our groups ended up riding together till we got to Ringtail forest and then we split into 3. Eventually groups 2 & 3 merged before the Sideburn single track….and Alan, you wanted to pay more after that ride, I know….Terry led us down ‘his’ track – woo-hoo, what a ride! We wove through the Ringtail Forest trails and then up the ‘Rock & Roll’ which took us back towards Forest Acres. Riding along the road, and about to get onto the trail we spied the first group coming out of the Lake Macdonald loop…..and then decided to join up and ride back together. Our second group probably missed a loop of about 5km – but as we had done extra at the start, we didn’t mind at all. On the way back we got a few showers and just nicely mud splattered before the finish….well, for some anyway….

Five of us – including the very determined Hayley – set off towards Cooran for the next part of the day. It was 12noon when we left Pomona. There were so many hills before we reached the ‘Mother’ that Hayley was wondering if her legs were still part of her….and it didn’t help that we took the long way there as well…up a little winding trail on the Network – when the actual Enduro went straight up a tar road….. oh well, we saw a very pretty creek along the way…. See pic of one of those early hills – and look at the view already!....I guess you could say it was just onwards and upwards from here. We had a great time discussing Geoquest antics with Shaun to take away the pain of the uphills….and our experiences climbing the very unforgiving Mt Pinbarren which we passed by at the top of the Mother….and found out we had a 10 x Coast to Coast legend riding with us in the lovely Sharon……and kept eating and drinking….and kept going up and up and up some more…….Finally we were atop the western ridge the skirts the Kin Kin Valley and ready for the ride of our life down the beautiful single track that takes us through to Ewarts Rd…..The surface was perfect – not too wet and not too dry…..in fact, probably the best texture we have ever ridden on down this great-fun track…..so all that uphill slog was momentarily forgotten as we turned into 12 year-olds hooting down the hill….. A few more ups and some nice downs and we were at Johnston’s Lookout with a big downhill ride through paddocks through to the ride. This was great fun too – except Aunty Jan baulked at the very steep bit and nearly found herself making friends with the barbed wire fence….but got back on and enjoyed most of it too….. Then we kept on riding, roads and paddocks and eventually got on the tar and made it into Kin Kin. Mmmm… a little stop at our favourite shop where Shaun did the boy thing and had a pie and we sat down to discuss our plan from here as we had less than 2 hrs of daylight left….even though we Aunties were carrying our Ay-ups….. So, the plan from here changed and we took the road out of Kin Kin and through our new Moffats Rd discovery from a couple of weeks earlier….onto Black Pinch Rd and a big downhill to the main road. 4 kms and we were back in Pomona….just before dark and with time to get home and watch the Tour! Phew….what a day…..Even with the few deviations, we all clocked over 100kms…and there you go Hayley, that’s what it’s all about! Hope you have recovered just a little bit by today…..a great effort for someone who has only been on the bike for about 6 months!!

Lots more to come this year so stay tuned....See you out there!
Jan & Kim

LATEST NEWS May-June

2010-06-25T16:07:00.000+10:00

BLACKHEART 8HR ADVENTURE RACE
We made our way down towards the little village of Uki (in the shadow of the amazing Mt Warning..) and about 14km though town along the Kyogle road we found the Inter Action Learning Centre which would be the HQ for the event…..With no time to waste we lined up and got our maps and had a very short period (as always) to plan and get organised for the next 8 hours…. Our event would begin after a bus ride out to Clarrie Hall Dam (water supply for the Tweed Valley) where we would embark on a trek in the surrounding bushland followed by a paddle. The mass start saw us all dashing up a steep track for the compulsory CP1 which had a bit of a line-up for the punch….After this one we had 4 more compulsory CP’s and 2 optional which would give us some extra points that might be handy in the whole scheme of the event. We bashed our way up the hill in search of CP 2, then went up again and traversed the incredibly thick native bush and lantana which eventually lead us to CP Z (with 45 bonus points we were happy to get this one…) We nailed Y (the other optional) and then made our way along a nice undulating track before we had to aim off (and up) to find CP 3….This was a rather steep and rocky ascent…which proved extremely difficult to one particular Aunty….but finally we were at the knoll and found the CP – and had some awesome views of the surrounding mountains and dam below….lovely! Aunty Kim with map in hand took us through some quite impenetrable scrub on the way to CP 4 and we had to back-track here and find our way down the spur (a little less steep and less vegetated…) and when we finally hit the track we were quite happy….Up again to CP 4 (on a single track…) and then down to the dam wall to CP 5…. Phew, finally we were about to paddle. Thinking we were the only team left we were surprised to see quite a few boats still waiting for their paddlers to emerge from the bush….Must have been hard going for a lot of teams out there – not just the Aunties!

Into to the boats and on our way along the lengthy dam we had to find 5 CP’s along the way before the TA at Crams Farm Reserve… Most of these were fairly obvious and we only had trouble with the one on the island (cos sometimes it’s hard to tell what’s an island and what’s the mainland…..) anyway we finally found it and found the TA. From here we were sent out on foot again to find 7 CP’s before a compulsory 45min ‘time-out’ where we were transported back to HQ for the start of the bike leg. We had about 5 minutes to change our gear and then we were off up the hill for a ride that took us to some of the most beautiful trails in the area – and it was dry!! The only problem was, we had quite a lot of trouble finding the first CP when some other teams convinced us we were on the wrong track (it wasn’t easy as lots of tracks were un-marked – so very difficult really to know what track you were on…..) After about 15 mins of trying every track on offer we found the CP on the original track – and learnt a valuable lesson to trust our own decisions and not be swayed by other teams…!! After another problem finding CP 20, we then found the right track to 21 and were on a roll for the next two CP’s before flying down the hill back to HQ. We had about ½ hour to go back out on foot for about 9 CP’s in the same area we were riding. Getting the closest one to HQ was all we could manage in this time….and came into the finish with about 1 minute to spare before the cut-off and they would start deducting points for lateness…..

We showered, poured ourselves a glass of red while we put up the tent and wandered back down to HQ for the presentations and dinner which was provided as part of the event. To our surprise we were 1st female team…after getting some hefty points for those 2 CP’s on the first trek….. Good thinking there Aunties! The 3 course dinner provided with the entry fee was superb and we all sat around and watched a movie before heading back to the tent for a well-deserved sleep…..

Being held on a Saturday made this event a bit more social with many teams taking the camping option and enjoying the area a little bit more. Breakfast the next day in the Uki Café (only one in town…) was really good and we enjoyed the fact that we had all day to drive home, unpack wash bikes, clothes etc. before Monday came around again…..

This event will be held again next year in the same area. We would definitely do it again – it was well organised by friendly people and the course was set to cater for the pointy end of the field to get nearly the full 8 hrs of racing like the rest of us…(sometimes in an 8hr event the fast ones may only get 3-4hrs of racing…) The race also had a good variety of disciplines….bus ride, trek, paddle, trek, car move, mtb, trek, dinner, movie & camping……and all in the beautiful Tweed Valley with stunning views of Mt Warning from all the highpoints….

CLOUDY DAY AT MT COOROORA

Our Saturday adventure recently was quite amazing….Just the 2 of us for the climb up Mt Cooroora – and as we had never done this on a wet day before, we were thrilled with the different views we got on our way to the top…. Rugged up in wet weather gear we set off in the rain – not too cold though – and had a beautiful hike up through the clouds… Kim took this extraordinary pic on the way up…and you can see Mt Cooroy in the background – and the spine on the ridgeline of Mt Tinbeerwah also just visible above the clouds….While on top we also explored the possibility of the track that goes down the back of the mountain….but didn’t have enough time to go too far as we had advertised that we would be at the bikes by 8.30am….Not that we thought anyone would turn up – but we found Terry & Richard scouting around for us when we got to the bottom….So it looked like we were going for a ride! They were interested in finding the track that goes around the mountain…..and after a little way on Trail 5 we turned off and showed them a way we had explored previously… Aunty Kim was giving them a little extra when she forgot a turn and we had to back-track up a very long and steep hill….but the guys didn’t complain and hopefully enjoyed the trails around Mt Cooroora from a different perspective….and the coffee and snacks afterwards is always good! We were lucky to be joined by our special friend Gail who had been out geo-caching (as recovering from a broken wrist) and was in for some bacon & eggs herself…It was really great to get out on a day when most people stay in…..a very rewarding experience

REMOTE FIRST AID COUSE

My Remote & Occupational First Aid course during May was amazing….even though by Wednesday I was in ‘brain overload’ I thoroughly enjoyed the week and now have lots more knowledge with regards to emergencies in the bush….which will benefit all of us….The girls who delivered the course were incredible (must have huge brains to store all that knowledge..!) and we had many ‘real-life’ scenarios….including a night one up at Laguna Lookout….with Aunty Kim as one of the patients! If you are interested in doing something like this, take a look at their website www.adventuremedic.com.au . They have a 2-day course in July and will have another 5-day course later in the year I expect….very worthwhile for us adventure lovers….

QUEENS BIRTHDAY WEEKEND ADVENTURE
What a great weekend of adventure we had…..Here’s a look at what happened….

SATURDAY – The Aunties spent about 4 hours out at Ringtail forest setting up the Mtb & Foot orienteering course. We designed a route that took everyone through a very nice part of the forest – up some good hills and (for the riders) over some really nice tracks….

SUNDAY - Orienteering is a great way to spend a winter’s day. We enjoyed seeing everyone getting excited about finding the CP’s and learning a bit more about navigation in the forest. Welcome back Alinda…! Thanks for coming along with your boys and joining in our activities! The only glitch to the day was the disappearance of CP1 – on the ‘high point’ off Guards Rd…..can’t understand this one as no trail-bike riders would have hiked up there….????? Anyway, those who got to the spot were still awarded the 100 points for their efforts!!

MONDAY
Part 1 - 12 of us met at the Radar Hill Rd entry to Parklands forest. What followed was a fantastic ride through a great line of single track (following Hells Bells map – thanks Craig & Louise…). For the next 2 hours we reached the limits of sensory overload as we tackled this demanding but beautiful course. Notable moments were – passing Chris Vermullen (motor cycle world champ…) on one of the technical bits – well, not really passing him – just going the other way. He was very gracious and stopped to let us ‘vintage’ riders through….. J Georgann was oh so close to asking him for his autograph! Then there was Steve who continued to impress us with his downhill and jumping skills – but only when we asked him to – and he made it look sooooo easy we almost wanted to try it ourselves….(in our dreams…) Parklands is a great way to upskill your technical riding – and I think we all did a bit of that as well…..and Hayley was using her clip-in pedals for only the 2nd or 3rd time which resulted in a few unplanned meetings with the ground but no major injuries….so all good practise for you girl!

Part 2 – After getting back to the car park we formed a convoy and headed to Yandina for coffee and refreshments….Hmm….town was a bit quiet on Queens’s birthday, it seems…. No cafes open and pub only serving lunch from noon, we rocked over to the Ginger factory – as sure to get something there….Aunty Kim made a last minute decision to pull in at the Nut Factory instead – sounded a bit more like us…..Unfortunately, they only had 2 staff working and could not cook us any ‘real food’….ie: put the sausage roll in the microwave, but the scones must have microwaved themselves…..ok…….the girl making coffees was a bit flustered with 12 dirty, hungry mtb riders demanding food – so we helped her with the waitressing bit – Steve was an expert – good catch there Hayley … George was determined to get a sandwich and hot-footed it over to the Ginger factory for one. The rest of us ate and drank what they could muster up – and Terry made nice work of the cold sausage roll….

Part 3 – Down to 8 riders now we got back on our bikes at the bottom of Bottle and Glass Rd, headed north along Browns Crk Rd looking for a track that would take us on a big uphill towards Pt Glorious…. After venturing along near the hippy commune, we decided to turn back and take the more main road as we didn’t want to upset the communers by encroaching on their land. As it turned out we were on Pt Glorious Rd and it took us a very nice way to the top – and all completely rideable…..When we got to the top, we spotted a rider coming the other way – it was Corallea – what was she doing here? We thought she’d gone home…… So, she got lost when following Alan & Michelle (who were heading back to Noosa), then somehow found our cars and took Bottle & Glass Rd to the top and was on her way down when we intercepted her…..convinced she should stay with us now, she made a u-turn and rode with us up to the Lookout….for the 2nd time…. After a quick look and some photos we got back on the bike and found our track that would take us back down. Luckily we had not found this one for the ride up as it was steep, rocky and a bit scary….however, we all made it down intact and a pichere shows the steepness…..no riding this for the girls. We then followed it back to link up with our uphill track – and got our heads around this beautiful forest a bit more. We were pleased with our efforts – got a great ride in, got some more accurate tracks on the map and all in the company of adventurous, fun and like-minded people….

Part 4 – Yes, there was a part 4…. After everyone else went home, we Aunties had a few more tracks to explore – it wasn’t dark yet, and we did have our lights anyway…..so we spent the next couple of hours out there again – found some more linking trails and another ‘creek paradise’ to show you all one day…..so that will be next time…. Home for fish & chips washed down with a bottle of bubbly….Mmmmmm, yum!

WEDNESDAY MTB – and more!

After our Queens Birthday experience, where many of you went right out of your comfort zone, this week was going to be a bit of a quiet one……but our Wednesday ride always seems to be entertaining in one way or another…. Changing the venue with one hour to start time saw George put in a few more Km’s than necessary….however; she wasn’t too worried about that. We left from The J for a coffee run to Coolum, enjoyed great coffee at The Caf (and got the discount cos we were wearing lycra – see Toby, that’s the reason we wear it…..) and headed back along the bike path. At Marcus beach I decided to offer everyone a chance at the sand track that runs along the east side of Lake Weyba. George, Hayley, Terry & Richard were starters…and the others took the safe route home along the coastal path. Sand riding is a great way to build some leg strength…..and as it was still a little damp from recent rains, was not too overwhelming….(ie: didn’t upset anyone too much!...) We got some great views of Lake Weyba and beyond on the high points….and Terry got into the native thing when finding a broken ‘spear’…..see pic….

Our Sunday paddle-run was spectacular, as it always is, when we head up towards Harry’s Hut. We managed to smack out about 35k’s of paddling with an 8k run though beautiful trails in the middle….See pics of Lake Cootharaba & Noosa River on the most picture-perfect day……The wind did whip up on the lake for our paddle home, however, it was not the worst we have seen it….and we enjoyed the challenge to end a huge day… We were very happy to finally get to Boreen Point Top Shop and they remembered our breakfast order….. even though it was about 2pm by then…..fried eggs and crispy bacon is good no matter what time of day it is!

MORE GREAT RIDES
We had a fantastic ride out on the eastern ridge to Kin Kin recently….Starting at the Dairy Farm on Trail 2, we made our way up the hill towards Cootharaba Views Lookout. Backing up a group of runners who were doing a ‘recci’ for a scenic day walk – we thought we could drop off the ridge down Murray’s Rd, and take a short-cut around Kin Kin…. We took what we thought was that such road, and the runners opted for a run down the paddocks. As it turned out we had the most amazing ride down the spur off Sheppersons Hill…..and we were on Murray’s Rd, but the spur took us north-east rather than west and we found ourselves in the valley near Sheppersons Lane….the runners had got here too and taken the trail through the cow paddocks and we met them when they reached the road…. Not knowing how we could get back off road, we mulled over the maps in Kin Kin whilst enjoying some coffee and snacks. We decided to take the road back and turn off on some back-roads, wing-it, and hope they go through. The runners took a big chance when they opted to take the Eastern Branch Rd….us riders went a little further along the road and took Moffats Rd….We climbed up the big, big hill and found the link to Williams Rd…and (on the advise of Aunty Kim’s dad) forged on along a fence-line with an indistinct track till we found the end of Black Pinch Rd. The runners were lucky too – they run the entire length of Eastern Branch Rd, then went through a couple of paddocks and we met them at a fence corner just above the Dairy Farm! They were happy they had discovered a nice way back from Kin Kin – and we were very excited to find our way though as well.

So, that’s about all our news for a while. We will be on the Gold Coast opening up the Anaconda run course next week – then taking a group over it on July 3rd. Plenty of stuff to do in winter outdoors…

See you out there!
Jan & Kim

LATEST NEWS...April-May

2010-05-20T10:12:00.000+10:00

Apologies for the lack of news in the last month – we have just arrived home after our ‘big month’ of events…..starting with Bribie Multisport – then Anaconda NZ, Anaconda Forster and Red Centre Mtb Enduro…..phew…we’re exhausted!....and now are heading off today to sample one of the Blackheart Adventure Races which will be held in the shadow of Mt Warning – yes, we’re going back there – hope it’s dryer than last time…..Anyway, here’s a catch-up of our goings on…..

2010 EASTER ADVENTURE
With massive crowds flocking to Noosa and surrounding beaches over Easter it was great to get out in the hinterland and leave the tourists to fight over car parks and space on the beaches…..We really enjoyed our 3 days of activity and hope all who came along did as well….Here’s how it all panned out…
FRIDAY – Paddle/Run
Gathering at the canoe launch at Elanda our group of 7 adventurers saw Lake Cootharaba looking quite serene….so, not wasting too much time we headed out on our skis across it to our first landing at Kinaba station. A quick stop for a snack and a stretch, and we were on our way again, turning left and heading up Kin Kin Creek. The long paddle was very pleasant and we only saw one other finishing boat as we got to our landing point at the site of old bridge. The exit on the mud (very deep!) bank was rather amusing and with a team effort we managed to get all the boats safely up out of the water…..after many of us thought we were going to be lost forever in that stinking black mud! For those who didn’t wear paddle shoes, getting the running shoes on was rather interesting – not wanting to waste water on washing, Corallea managed to dangle her feet in the water, one by one, and got them on with minimal mud. Lucky no-one else would smell us! After arming our bodies with full-strength mozzie spray, we headed off on foot for the most beautiful jog along the Cooloola Wilderness Trail down towards Figtree Point. The going was slow, as the trail was quite littered with debris but we all enjoyed the beauty of the area and saw the most amazing owl on our way there! We turned around and ran back at a certain time….and all regrouped back at the boats for the long paddle down the creek and then over the lake to Elanda… Hayley was feeling tired before we had even hit the lake….she has only been training in adventure sport for a couple of months, so this was a very long day for her. When we arrived at Kinaba the lake was a mess of chop – not the worst we have seen, but we all knew it was going to be a very difficult hour of paddling the side chop and strong winds back to where we came from….. Hugging the shoreline was a good option as when a boat capsized, it was easy to stand up and get back in, rather than struggling in the deep water and using way more energy. George was brilliant and got a long way before she ‘lost it’ this time. But continued under the watchful eye of Gina, and made it back much happier than her last experience here! Wayne and Corallea toughed it our and came back pleased with their efforts, but poor Hayley struggled with the very tippy old Dolphin ski, and was resigned to the fact she was going to walk the lake home….so a boat swap was in order and Aunty Jan relinquished her Epic and then had a very testing, but successful, paddle back in the Dolphin with a broken foot-strap…. We were all very relieved when we finally reached the shore…and plenty of chat was had as we enjoyed the culinary (and verbal) delights of the Top Shop and Boreen Point….Home to relax then get ready for tomorrow!
SATURDAY - Mtb
With the Aunties arriving late for the 7.00am meeting time, everyone was getting restless and wondering what was going to happen…. Extracting ourselves from the Easter family gathering at the farm was more difficult than we expected! A quick rush to get organised, and we were on our way with 11 other riders to experience the trails (and hills) in the Pt Glorious area… We turned in at the trail-head off Cooloolabin Rd and started to make our way upwards towards Bottle and Glass Rd…. This little climb was just a warm-up for things to come…..and when we regrouped at the start of our ‘new’ single track everyone knew they were in for some punishment……but before the punishment was the most spectacular series of creek crossings we had discovered on one of our outings and we really wanted to show it to everyone!! Down we went on the lovely winding single track…and we found ourselves in this magical creek paradise that hardly anyone else would have been to….over a few creeks carrying the bikes, then we made sure everyone had a quick snack as the hike-a-bike to come was going to sap the energy of all of us…..and make a few of them wonder why we decided to have Easter with the Aunties – I’m sure!! Reassuring everyone that we ‘loved them’ we started to make our way up the rutted single track. A very exhausting climb followed and we were so proud of everyone for getting up there with a team effort and minimal fuss…..These are the sort of experiences that take you up another notch in fitness and mental strength…..we all discover it’s amazing what you can accomplish when you just ‘keep moving forward’…..Well done to all of you!!

Popping out on the main road to Pt Glorious we rested and refuelled before continuing our ride out to the Pt – which is the north-eastern point of the ridge that looks over the Yandina-Eumundi area….what a view when we got to the lookout….recent rains had greened up the valley below – and it was like looking at a picture-postcard…..and a bit like NZ according to Marie! Duncan had a quick nap on the steps, we posed for a couple of pics then we were off again, back down (up and down) to Blackall Rd where we took the single track by the side of the road to our turn-off point at Bottle and Glass Rd. This was a bit testing after motor bikes had chopped it up and rain had filled all the holes, and was quite a challenge, but we all made it in-tact….

Next bit was all fast downhill….and we acted (and sounded) like young kids as we made our way down the descent….didn’t anyone ever tell you mtb-ing keeps you young?…..Kim took Terry on a little exploration at one point and the rest of us keep going back to Yandina…..and they met us back there not long after…. Our usual café was closed for Easter, so we took ourselves over to the very funky little organic café behind the pub…..and I think they were a bit overwhelmed by 13 dirty, smelly, old mtb riders, who were needed some refuelling instantly…. Nevertheless, we all got fed – some not too happy with their choices (or the café’s choice…) and we had a good chat about our morning and what we had achieved. Once again….we Aunties had a very rewarding outing with all of you like-minded adventure seekers! Thank-you…..
SUNDAY – Easter Egg Orienteering
A ‘not so traditional’ egg hunt was on offer Easter Sunday morning at our local forest….and it was great to see some whole families taking part….We Aunties set the course earlier that morning and got back in time to set up for the 9.00am start. Maps were given out and most participants set off on foot except for Richard, Hugh and Ellen who took the mtb option. Jane (mum of the Foster family) teamed up with Geogann, Mel brought along Teagan her daughter and Novak and Jo arrived with the boys to challenge themselves with a run in the bush on Easter Sunday. Mel and Teagan were first back and won the day with 440pts …. Mel always has a knack or arriving back dead on time…..George and Jane arrived a little while later, pleased with their efforts. The Thompson family scored a high result (with kids in tow) but got a harsh penalty from Aunty Kim for arriving back too late! We thought we were going to have to send out a search party for Richard, Hugh & Ellen…but they finally arrived back 45mins late thinking they had an extra ½ hour! We all enjoyed an sausage sizzle and some tea and coffee from the billy…..and everyone took home some Easter eggs to eat later….except Finn and Kai who ate most of there’s out on the trails! After packing up we were joined by Jules and four of us went out to retrieve our CP’s and what was left of the Easter egg stash.

Huge congratulations to our good friend, and Tri Adventure regular, Geogann who participated in all of our Easter activities…..Hope you had as much fun as we did – and had a relaxing day on Easter Monday!

BRIBIE MULTISPORT 2010
We had a very successful day at the Bribie Multisport with Aunty Kim taking the win for the 2nd time in its 4 year history…. It wasn’t an easy victory for her though, with 2 rival competitors breathing down her neck for the whole 100km….. Unlike 2008 when she battled through the final paddle with weed on her rudder, this year she forged into the gusty head-wind and chop and got onto the final run still in the lead – phew! Then it was only a 4km run to the finish – which is harder than it sounds after the huge day beforehand – and luckily she managed to stay ahead of them and crossed the line in the very quick time of 6hrs 21 minutes… Earlier on, our Hervey Bay friend Jason had come in 2nd male (wow, Jase, that’s awesome!) ….and our Coffs friend Tim had won the Veteran male category (that’s awesome too!..) Other fantastic results from Tri Adventure regulars were the gorgeous Bronny Platz overcoming her demons from last year when she crashed and dislocated her elbow and took 3rd place in the veteran women’s category (way to go Bronny!)… Shona Walker (another of the Coffs connection) crossing the line 50 minutes faster than her time last year (you go girl!)… also racing were the Noosa Girls team of Jules, Alison, Jules & George and they took the win in the female team of 4 category…. and Kaza Clarke (Coffs) coming in 2nd veteran female in the Bribie Half!…. The Ville Girls (Caz & Alli) had a fantastic race with a podium finish in the women’s team of 2… Katy and Erin gutsed it out to finish the full course in a team of 2 and Aunty Jan being the only ‘super veteran female’ took out 1st place just for finishing….and had a great time doing it!!

Special mention to our awesome support crew – Hayley &Steve – who took on the job not really knowing exactly what was in store for them…..They were superb all day, splitting up when they had to and getting us going through all our transitions….Thanks so much you two – we couldn’t have done it without you!

Also great to see some interstate friends rock up to Bribie this year – Steve Nichols who won the Half last year in the Tri Adventure Epic Sport was back in a team and some other of our adventure racing friends made the trip up to compete in this iconic Qld event….. We were very happy to be able to sponsor the race and it was great seeing everyone wearing our Tri Adventure hats at the presentation….

ANACONDA NZ

Our trip across the ditch was rather successful (to say the least…) Aunty Kim managed to clock up another win (yay!) but she also got the long sought after ‘fastest female run split’ (this is very good work when it is won by an individual…) which provided us with $NZ100 to shout drinks for the whole crew who supported us throughout the event…!!!! A bit further down the field Aunty Jan had a cracking race and came in 4th female overall (and the first ‘vintage’ female to ever complete an Anaconda Adventure Race…!!!) Our gorgeous friend Di – who provided her whole extended family for our support crew – proudly crossed the line as 2nd ‘vintage’ female to ever complete an AAR and 9th overall female….It was a pretty good day for all of us! The NZ scenery was incredibly spectacular on all of the 5 legs and we delighted in looking at it for 5-7 hours in our racing…..you couldn’t not, really….. We both backed up very well from the previous weekend racing at Bribie, so are relaxing and getting some good body maintenance to help with next weekend at Forster – the big 2-day finale…… It’s always a bit daunting, however we have nothing to lose – and Kim has already won the series for this season….so hoping for a nice day and not much surf! Hmmmm....

Just a couple of other things to mention – Our new paddling ‘addict’ Georgann has smashed her previous T/T by another 40seconds on last Wednesday’s paddle – George has been coming to our sessions twice a week since the beginning of the year and in her first ever T/T was over 3 minutes slower than she was last week! We are very proud of her and her determination – even though we thought we’d scarred her forever by a couple of testing paddles over Lake Cootharaba – well done George!!!

Another achievement we must mention is from Brigitte (our awesome junior…) who has just won the Gatorade Tri Series in the Open Female division – Brigitte raced in 6 out of 7 of the events and was consistent enough to take out the series last weekend when she came in ahead of Loretta Harrop!!! This is quite unheard of for a 14 year old – we are very proud of Brigitte too as she has shown not only amazing talent this season but a great attitude and understanding for the sport she is embarking on – and is still a ‘straight A student’ as well….

ANACONDA FORSTER
Probably should start this story with our arrival in the beautiful seaside town of Forster NSW….picture perfect and a cloudless day….slight offshore breeze and a tiny little shore-dump on Forster Main Beach….that was Thursday…..We sat on our balcony overlooking the beach thinking we were in paradise……a little too soon, it seems….

After backing up from wins in Bribie and NZ….we were a bit tired and anxious about racing at Forster – but it looked so perfect on Thursday….Friday morning dawned perfect again – so we thought we’d take our Epics out for a little paddle in the pristine water….noticing that shore-dump had gotten a little bigger overnight… We made it out with good timing of the sets and enjoyed paddling around where the swim and paddle course would go the next day…. We were noticing the swells were increasing and Aunty Kim was silently very nervous about our landing back onto the beach – she shouldn’t have been the one worrying…. Thinking our timing was perfect again, we followed in a rather large wave and pulled up on the beach quite relieved to make it in-tact…..and it that split second it takes to get out of your boat, everything changed…. Aunty Jan, getting out of her boat, somehow got the paddle leash wrapped around her leg and couldn’t get free of it. She was standing there in limbo when the next huge wave suddenly came crashing down on her…..still tangled in the leash she could do nothing but get swept off her feet by the smashing wave……and when it finally subsided a horror sight was confronting us…..Jan’s beautiful Epic was broken completely in half and the front part was smashed to pieces like a wafer biscuit….. The rudder had snapped off, but Aunty Jan was still connected to the ill-fated boat by the menacing leash. We stood on the beach – completely gob-smacked about what had just happened…..Kim had been able to get free of her boat and it popped up and she rode it sideways high up on the steep beach…..so, luckily hers was okay….. We stood on the beach not really believing what had happened and held up the parts of the boat to show some other paddlers what might happen to them…..they were very, very cautious on their beach landing – and came in ok.

So…… that was that. Aunty Jan now did not have a boat to paddle – and, had to admit, she was silently happy she wouldn’t have to do that very daunting swim and paddle the next day!! However, smashing up the boat was not really the best way to get out of it…..!!!! She decided that she would be great at being support crew for Kim the next day – and try to find a spare boat from somewhere to complete the longer, but safer, Day 2 course…..but Aunty Kim was very nervous. The fateful paddle had really spooked her and when on Saturday morning she withdrew from the race after the swim – we were both silently relieved. The swell had increased again, and many boats were struggling to get out from the beach – let alone land at the other end on a huge open surf beach (after rounding the treacherous Cape Hawke….) Once again, we felt we made a sensible decision…..or chickened out…..we didn’t really care at that point. We were safe and had one boat still in tact…..and when we watched the carnage at the paddle exit where many boats were destroyed we were so, so relieved not to be part of it……watching was terrifying enough!!! The day was cold and drizzly, and we were happy to be spectating – knowing Kim had won the series already….

Saturday night we were treated to a wonderful dinner prepared by our Coffs Harbour friends and had a couple of glasses of red (which is our normal pre-race strategy..) and woke up Sunday morning to perfect weather…. On the way down the beach to the swim-start Kim decided not to ‘race’ the day so we Aunties could race together, which was wonderful! The swim start at Seal Rocks was spectacular and Aunty Kim did her slowest 2km swim in history while she backstroked and waited for Aunty Jan (who was struggling as she always does in any swim…) We exited the water about 3rd last and got dressed for the beautiful 16km run that followed. Running along we chatted to others and enjoyed the course immensely – especially Aunty Kim who saw things she had never noticed before….. She even used a bit of towing to get Aunty Jan up the last big hill…then it was all downhill to the Mtb transition….In no real hurry we got ourselves organised for the bike and set off on the 30km ride quite relaxed…well, Aunty Jan was actually quite tired, but was still moving forward ok…. We pulled in quite a few other competitors as we went along…and it was a very nice, fun ride. Almost at the finish we came across our Coffs friend Shona who was frantically trying to change her back tyre which had punctured…. The efforts of the 3 of us eventually got that tyre off the rim…..a very sticky one…and had the new tube in and pumped up in no time after that…. We all rode the last 5 or 6kms to the paddle transition and were greeted by Shona’s fan club ….. The 17km lake paddle was extremely beautiful and we all paddled strongly towards the finish. After a few stops for de-weeding rudders we finally made it to the last TA in just over 1.5hrs…which was a really good time for our end of the field. All that remained was a 3km run to the finish over the picturesque Forster Tuncurry bridge, then onto the beach (it’s never easy…) and up the soft sand to the finish chute…..We made it and ran over the finish line holding hands….which was very special....in a time of 7hrs 12 minutes….very glad to have finished happy, albeit a little fatigued after 3 consistent weekends of multisport racing….Not long after that the gorgeous Shona crossed the line to the cheers of her family and support crew….. Phew, it was over! And what a nice way to finish the 5-race Anaconda Adventure Race series – together and knowing Aunty Kim had won the series – which is an amazing feat for a Veteran female…..and Aunty Jan had achieved her goal of being the first Vintage female to complete an Anaconda Adventure Race

So that was it – they presented Aunty Kim with the perpetual trophy (a massive cup….) and we sipped champagne and had left over pizza before sleeping very soundly that night….

RED CENTRE MTB ENDURO
We are finally back from our crazy month….and no, we’re not feeling too bad from the 5-day Mtb Enduro adventure in Alice Springs….surprisingly……The Rapid Ascent folks are like family now...we have been present at their last 3 events! Here’s how it all panned out….

SAT 8th – Arrive in Alice Springs…..meet some like minded folk travelling with bikes in the ‘check-in’ queue. After a smooth flight on Qantas we arrive in the red centre and linked up with our airport shuttle service – the very groovy Harold and his lovely wife…who would be ferrying us to our various hotels in town….Harold’s wife was driving our bus and after informing us she hadn’t driven a manual car for about 30 years we were a bit wary as to weather we would make it in tact…but a ‘yes’ answer to Andy Fellow’s question on whether she still retained a manual license….eased our anxiety momentarily…..until we nearly rolled into the car behind on a failed hill start and then dodged a few road trains while following the fast-moving Harold in the ‘troupie’ up ahead…. phew…after a few stops we arrived safely at the Chiefly Hotel resort – our temporary home for the next 8 days….
Bikes unpacked…. We are very quick at this task now… we headed off to check out the town get some groceries. Interesting that we had to show ID (thought they we querying my age…!!....) to buy our wine at the bottle shop…..
SUN 9th – Big breakfast in the hotel – carbing up the for gruelling week ahead – then on the bikes for a ride out to the Telegraph Station – original site of Alice Springs – where the Trig Pt was placed for the overland telegraph…. about 150 years ago…. Had a check of the hill climb (Stage 2 of race) where we sprint to the top of Anzac Hill in the middle of town….and then back for Rego in the arvo….Meet up with lots of old friends from the Mtb world….and make some new ones too….
MON 10th – Stage 1 – 40km (very questionable…) including the infamous Hell Line….then back through town (just to make you think it was over…..that’s a JJ thing….) before heading out onto the single track ‘roller coaster’ (get me off this crazy thing…!) to finish at Alice Springs Velodrome – doing a lap of same…… My speedo read 51km at the finish….and then we had to ride back into town to the hotel….so about 60k the first day….and we still had the hill climb to go! Results – Kim: won in a sprint finish at the velodrome (yes, those super-quads come in very handy…) Jan – 3rd Vintage….and crash No 1……
Back to hotel – shower and lunch…then make our way out to Anzac Hill for the 300m sprint to the top…. Line up in reverse finishing order from morning stage…and before I knew it I was being held on the line and counting down….remembering to pedal this year (as last time they let me go and I forgot to…) got some good momentum from gear choice and remained seated till almost the top…. Legs like jelly I was out of the saddle for the final surge and crossed the line in a time of 1min 41seconds…. Not that great but managed to get my first Stage Win here – obviously didn’t go as hard as other vintage girls earlier that day. Aunty Kim sprinted to the top for the win in the veteran females…. 2 stages down – 5 to go… A surprise victory was had by Andy Fellows in this stage – he is more accustomed to riding 24hrs straight – but he smashed it to take out first place overall…..the Aunties were impressed Andy!

TUES 11th – Stage 3 was the ‘showcase’ single track day (didn’t we have enough of it yesterday..?..) apparently not….Starting at the Telegraph Station we rode an almost accurate 49km of ‘quality’ single track (determined by the quality of the rider I think….) and finished at Lasseters Hotel Casino….boy were we getting used to rock riding…. Results – Kim 1st again….Aunty Jan crashed and took the top off her thumb – Had to stop at the aid station for some doctoring up….Then gear changing was almost impossible – but managed to do it like a column shift on a car which required taking the hand completely off the handle bars (terrifying on some of this course…) and using the butt of the hand below the thumb….It got me to the finish line in 3rd place vintage girl….again…. We lunched at the Casino – not very swanky in our grotty bike gear covered in dust and blood…..then rested up in the afternoon for the big day tomorrow…

WED 12th – Stage 4 – the big day. We were bussed out to the remote location of Trephina Gorge – 95kms east of Alice Springs. Here we found our bikes which were shipped out by road train the previous evening, replaced our pedals that were removed for the journey and lined up for the huge ride ahead…. Besides a couple of Km’s of tar at the start – it was all on the dirt (err…sand…) …..and this was the make or break point for many riders during the week…. Luckily the weather was kind to us – clear blue sky, but cool temps and this did help in the whole scheme of things…. We Aunties actually loved this stage – being used to the strange places we are sent in our Adventure Races…we had no problem with the sand and river crossings… and were happy to get off and run when we had to….most mtb-ers not happy to get off anywhere….so this was our stage…. Very happy to finish back at hotel – Kim was surprised to see me only 20mins behind her on this one…..Results Kim 1st veteran, Jan 1st vintage!
THURS 13th – Stage 5 – the Time Trial starting and finishing at the Alice Springs Golf Club…. Plenty of single track in between though…and rocks….and sand….. We were set off at 30 second intervals according to our GC at that time (in reverse order…) So for Kim it was a bit of a wait as I started quite a bit earlier….She amused herself taking photos and videos of the scene before lining up herself. We both enjoyed this stage immensely – I had my gear cables tweaked by the local bike shop (so made it much easier to change gears now in the absence of the end of my thumb….) and came a very close 2nd in the stage (hundredths of a second actually…if only I hadn’t stopped to let those other riders go ahead….) and Kim smashed the stage to take her 5th win…….!! Recovery afternoon as we needed to back up that evening for the dreaded night stage…!!
Stage 6 – Armed with our Ay-Ups…(as were about 75% of the riders…) we headed to the Golf Course for the second time that day….This time it was a mass start and following the same course as the T/T that morning – you’d think the track would be a bit familiar – but, oh what a different world it is at night….Distracted by other lights in the distance I was constantly running off the track, and got myself into some sticky situations including another big crash….convinced my feet were too big as they were hitting all the rocks – I slowed down to a comfortable speed…and let lots of riders through – including another vintage female who was having a great time not seeing anything she was riding over….!!!! (the failing eye-sight thing worked a treat for her….) Limping in at the finish with more blood I was a little disappointed in my performance this time….just got a bit girly and slow after the crash I guess…..It was interesting to see how some folks just loved this stage – especially Andy who notched up another stage win – those guys are incredible….Kim also notched up another win – even though she said she took it a bit easy….Aunty Jan was 3rd vintage again…but still 2nd in the vintage GC after a very good Stage 4….
FRID 14th – The Finale – The briefing by race director John Jacoby had everyone a little on edge. This stage was hard, he said…..and very rocky….really!!!! And he was sorry for the last 4-5km before the end that was really, really rocky – excessively rocky……Oh dear…it sounded like we were in for some extra special John Jacoby punishment…. The stage began at our hotel and headed off to follow some single track of the T/T and night stage….just getting a little familiar with it now….then we were over some hills and quite near the Telegraph Station…..Crossing the Todd River (and walking through water!) was when Kim made the break on her fellow female riders….Me… I was happy to wade across and marvel at this unusual sight….and chat to the photographer poised on the edge….We rode some hilly fence line and then a bit of the old Stuart Hwy (not really tar any more…) and then encountered the excessive rocky section we were all warned about. Yes, it was difficult – but Kim & I strangely enjoyed this part of the course….. Some handy hike-a-bike skills got us ahead of others around us…and I found just running down some of the descents a bit easier than riding them…. JJ wasn’t kidding when he said it was hard, but, once again, doing adventure racing we had encountered ‘tracks’ way more difficult and seemed to get through it with a lot better attitude than those around us… Before we knew it, we were at the ‘2km to go’ sign (this was everyone’s favourite sign of the week!)….and it was all easy from there. Gliding into the finish chute beside the beautiful Todd River at the Telegraph Station I was happy and sad that our week of riding was over…..Happy that I’d made it home without any mechanicals or tyre problems (which seemed to plague many riders throughout the week…) but sad that this was the end of a super-fun exciting week of riding and socialising…. Happy that I’d managed to take 2 (almost 3) stage wins during the week and sad that this was the end of our amazing holiday…. But we still had the ‘gala’ (we think more like ‘galah’…no ball gowns here…) dinner ahead of us – and didn’t waste time getting into a glass of champagne over lunch….Then a little nap before the big night…
We walked (bit over the bike at that point…) to the Casino for a fantastic night out with lots of like-minded people. It was great to hear the stories of luck and bad luck some folks encountered over the week…but one of the best ones was the guys who missed the bus on the big day and were faced with a cab fare of $170 to get them out to Trephina Gorge for the start….you’d think they would have just gone back to bed – but they didn’t want to miss one bit of this iconic event – and rightly so I think…

On another note it was really great to see some local guys from Cycle Zone in Mooloolaba up there riding in honour of their departed friend Tavis Johannson….They rode together and supported each other all week and were great to meet and be around for the event…..

So….stay tuned for the next update. We will tell some more (hopefully dryer) tales from the Mt Warning area….and give you an idea of how Blackheart shape up with their events…..

See you out there!

:) Jan & Kim

LATEST NEWS….March

2010-03-31T17:30:00.005+10:00

There was plenty happening in March for Tri Adventure….amongst other things, our fabulous junior star Brigitte Fischer won the National Schools Triathlon Championships…for the second year running – there’s no stopping this amazing young talent! Here’s a wrap of month of March…

FRIDAY PADDLE

We try to paddle at our paddle sessions…really….sometimes we do other things, by fluke….like fishing…well, prawning, to be precise. On our Friday paddle recently we were paddling against the tide (but with the wind) on the inside of Goat Island, when Aunty Jan got an unexpected visitor in her boat – between her legs!!! Something kamikazed out of the water to find refuge in the crotch of Aunt Jan and she was quite a bit disturbed…..Ah, Ah, AHHHHHH (and more girly shrieks…) had Kim and George thinking she’d seen a shark or something….What could be wrong??? SOMETHING JUST JUMPED INTO MY BOAT…At this stage all attempts at keeping on paddling were completely ‘out the window’…in fact the paddle was floating away with the tide and Aunty Jan was trying her best to get out of the boat to escape the monster in there….without falling in….What is it??…THERE’S A BIG PRAWN IN MY BOAT…IN BETWEEN MY LEGS…was the reply as she eased herself up on a ridge between the seat and the pedals…AND I DON’T WANT TO SIT ON IT, IT HAS GREAT BIG LONG FEELERS MOVING AROUND….AHHHHHH …Between fits of laughter Aunty Kim rescued the abandoned paddle and buddied up beside Aunty Jan, (more laughter) had a look in the boat and picked up the poor little innocent prawn and saved it from a fate worse than death…(being squashed by Aunty Jan’s bottom) and set it free on it’s journey down the river….. George was beside herself in the other boat….and we dithered about talking about prawns and our ability to do things when we least expect it….what clever Aunties we are……So, you never know what can happen on an outing with the Aunties….sometimes we paddle….sometimes we do other things…..The prawn incident is just one of many…. J J

RIDE, CLIMB, CATERPILLARS & STRANGE MAGNETIC DEVIATIONS…

We went on a climb up Mt Cooroy recently…..5 of us set off on bikes at 7.00am for a little blast out on bike paths, through the forest and up to Sunrise Rd, where we followed our route to the base of the famous mountain… George and Duncan turned around here and headed back home due to afternoon commitments but Hayley was keen to experience some punishment from the Aunties and was in for the long haul…. Taking our bikes though the private property and up to the point where we change shoes and continue on foot was a bit of an experience on how to keep the cow poo from flinging up into our mouths….Keeping mouths shut is a good idea here – we do have another orifice for breathing you know….Sitting under the tree we had a snack and changed into our ‘runners’ for a leisurely walk up the beautiful local mountain that was once a volcano…(yes, we’re getting into the volcano theme lately, I know…) The climb was slippery and a bit technical because of the wet season we have been having…but it was lovely and cooler than normal…yes really Hayley…Finally reaching the top after having many sightings of the Tri Adventure caterpillar (will explain later in this bulletin)…we rested and had a snack and then moved over to the eastern side where we let Hayley write in the visitors book while we played around with our compasses…as we do… Aunty Jan was looking at the north needle on her compass which was somehow facing east….Hmmm….that’s a bit strange….so Aunty Kim got hers out and it was indicating correctly….Then Aunty Kim took Aunty Jan’s compass and it pointed in the right direction too….Ok, it was looking like Aunty Jan had some weird magnetic voodoo or something here…..So then we got up and walked around and the compass went crazy on one certain spot on the rock ledge we were sitting on….It was pointing east and then south and then only when we moved over a bit (to where Aunty Kim was sitting originally) did it point to true direction….Wow, this was amazing…..What was happening??? We have since found out that sometimes the underlying rock can cause magnetic deviations…and are glad we weren’t trying to find a CP on the top as would have been totally confused! The trip down the mountain was a bit slippery but we all made it in tact…and spied more of those caterpillars…We noted their beautiful colours (black, blue, orange and white) were the same as our Tri Adventure logo… so now we have our own brand of caterpillar….doesn’t everyone need one of these????Riding out of the farm we shut our mouths to avoid the cow-poo once again…and enjoyed the ride back to Noosa Cooroy Rd…found a secret way of avoiding most of the main road….Yes, Audrey, it does go through…and by then we had the scent of food and coffee in our noses… We had a quick blast down Turn 10 track then straight to Raw Energy for a large dose of brekky (at lunchtime) and coffee before heading home. Then we cleaned the bikes….Another great day in the life of Tri Adventure and the Aunties….

NATIONAL BIKE COUNT

Being member of Bicycle Qld, Aunty Jan answered their call for volunteers on Super-Tuesday to take part in a national bike count…..Her designated spot for 2 hours 7-9am was the Eenie Creek Roundabout in Noosaville …Her mission was to observe and count the bike activity in these 2 hours and note down bike movements at the intersection as well…..Hmmmm….Does anyone remember the weather that Tuesday?? The forecast was ‘heavy rain’ and for once the forecasters where dead accurate….most bikes were safely stored in garages that day and bike commuters took the dry/sensible option of going in the car…..After 5 minutes standing at the intersection in the pelting rain, Aunty Jan knew there wasn’t going to be much bike activity today….Ok, so maybe wait ½ an hour at least, just in case….. Half and hour goes by…no bikes yet…what to do, maybe change positions and go to the other side of the roundabout….Ok, set up with bike leaning on a retaining wall, umbrella up….much road rage and extremely bad driving was observed…but not one bike… yet! After 55 mins a bit of a walk around was required – and a drink (no, not from the water coming out of the sky, but it could have been done..) – and just when deciding that this was a ridiculous activity and no-one in their right mind would be cycling today….A BIKE WHIZZED BY…oh, oh, oh, a bike….where was the sheet?...what was the movement?...better note it down….wow, some serious bike commuter was braving the elements…maybe there’ll be more….Settling back down to position at the intersection…another long wait till 8.30am saw no bike activity at all….A plan to go at 8.30 was scrapped when the time actually said 8.35 on the watch when checked…Still no more bikes….Packing up at 8.45 was a good idea then….8.45 came and went – what’s another 10 minutes?? 8.55am – still at the roundabout, soaking wet, cold and feeling stupid to have stayed there this long….No more bikes, ok…so packed up and left (on a bike) at 9.00am sharp…wondering if anyone else did their time counting and observing – or just went home and stayed dry like a sensible person would….Wondered if I should have noted my own bike commute…and I know Kim rode to school that day too, but unfortunately she didn’t go past my intersection….Oh well, I think the bike commute figures for Qld will be a little under expectations….which is a shame…but I am so proud of that ONE SOLO COMMUTER… Mmmm…maybe he just doesn’t have a car?????

BRIBIE MULTISPORT TRAINING WEEKEND 2010 - THE WRAP

With our weather here in Noosa still in the precipitation phase, we were wondering how the weekend would be for our guests who were coming up for an adventure training weekend in ‘sunny’ Noosa…Then, on Saturday morning, the weather seemed the least of our worries when we found we were sharing the Noosa Spit with about a thousand outrigger paddlers – and they were holding their event right in the very spot we were meet our adventurers ….we couldn’t even get into the car-park we had nominated! So quick thinking took Aunty Kim up to the 2^nd car-park and luckily marked out a few parking spaces with yellow cones (my – these cones come in handy for everything…) Meanwhile yours truly (Aunty Jan) stood on the corner to scan for cars with skis on top – rather than the monster outrigger trailers that were streaming through in droves…. Luckily Karen B called us to find out where we were… It wasn’t hard to spot the Coffs girls (with their NSW number plates…) phew, lucky they spotted me as well… and I directed them up to the 2^nd car-park where Kim was waiting…. Then there was Alex from Brisbane…I had no idea what he looked like and didn’t have his mobile number handy…He also spotted me…. in my Tri Adventure t-shirt (lucky)….He moved his car to the reserved spot and we had a quick ‘meet and greet’ before heading off for our first activity…a run through trails in the National Park with the Noosa Hill Circuit included. We then donned our goggles and practiced a couple of ins and outs (one only for Aunty Jan) in the Noosa surf. A jog back to the cars…then we headed off for a well deserved coffee and muffin at one of our favourite eateries, Café Sierra…

Joining us for the paddle session were Tri Adventure regulars Gail and Georgann. We braved the elements and paddled up to Weyba Creek where we spotted our regular eagles and gave everyone some tips on how to tackle the long Bribie paddles….Alex did really well to paddle his ‘esky lid’ and Karen enjoyed having a test paddle of the Epic Sport with a good paddle!

After breaking for lunch we met for a ride on bike paths out towards Tewantin forest and we were joined by Wayne for a ride on some of our less technical trails….even though the weather conditions (wet!) made it very technical, we all survived the ride and raced back for a scrub-up in hot showers and high-tailed it up to Noosa Reef Hotel where we ate, drank and shared knowledge about the ins and outs of multisport. We all hit the sack quite early as Sunday was going to be a big, big day, and we were already tired thinking about it!!

Luckily the bad weather had eased slightly and we fronted up on Sunday morning at Noosa Woods ready to put it all together – that would be swim-run-paddle-mtb-run-mtb-paddle….a huge day in the Noosa Hinterland….

Braving the surf conditions on Noosa beach, Aunty Kim took everyone (except Aunty Jan and Alex) through a swim session around the flagged area and then we all regrouped for a short beach run back to the waiting boats. Off on the paddle, we made our way up Noosa River – very happy to have the tide and the wind in our favour, we were dreading the paddle back going against this! Because of the favourable conditions, we made very quick time to our TA at Cooroibah and faced a down-wind paddle and very choppy lake as we headed over to the shoreline – well done Alex for staying positive! Met by George and Duncan for the Mtb ride to Pomona we headed off with renewed vigour. The weather was surprisingly good….we were even feeling like we might get a little sunburnt! The route took us out to Ringtail Creek Rd where we climbed up the range towards Forest Acres….a few riders took advantage of the towing system attached to Aunty Kim’s pack….might as well…as that’s what is there for! All regrouped at the top we posed for a quick photo at the site of the old Ringtail School…and then were about to see what the forest was really like! We rode down Trail 4, and had intended to cross the what we call the mud-hole (which is the site of the old Ringtail Creek Rd bridge) but on arrival found it was now a very deep lake…and when Aunty Kim went in to test how deep she was up to her neck and still not touching bottom….. Mmmmm…lucky there was an alternative and we continued on Trail 4 which was rather muddy, but still rideable… We then reached another obstacle….another swollen creek blocking our path. This time the depth was thigh-waist deep so we hoicked the bikes on our shoulders and make the crossing a little tentatively…. All safely back on dry land, we continued the ride….wet, muddy, tired….but still smiling, and liking the adventure! Finally we hit town at Pomona, and quickly made the transition for a short run around the base of Mt Cooroora…George and Duncan very generously decided to stay at the café to watch over our muddy bikes….and when we got back we had a very quick snack before heading back to Lake Cooroibah on the MTB’s....having a time limit now (it always takes longer than originally planned…) and after plenty of adventure on the ride out, we opted for a swift road ride on the way back, and were very proud of everyone toughing it out and going beyond the comfort zone to extend themselves after a very long day of activities….

We bade farewell to the lovely Alex (who had been joined by the lovely Taryn…) and four of us set off for the final paddle back to Noosa….Thanks to George and Duncan, Lee and Carolyn were able to drive our vehicle (with trailer!) to the designated pick-up area and despite having a few steering problems on the double Fenn, we made it back in record time (Shona and Kaz showing fantastic strength and ingenuity by adopting outrigger techniques to keep the boat going in the right direction!) Duncan had read our minds and knew we were craving a salt/fat/carb fix and produced a tray of steaming hot chips which we devoured with gusto….Then we raced home for a quick shower and flew back down to Hastings Stto reward ourselves with a lovely meal, few obligatory drinks and a big chat...
We laughed as we shared memories of the weekend….We Aunties were sure our group of adventurers had gained some very valuable knowledge on tackling the Bribie Multisport in 5 weeks time…..they all got this and more…..we saw plenty of guts and determination, and know they will now be ready to take on the world!.... well, definitely if there’s an adventure involved...

Thanks to all of you who came along and made our weekend so enjoyable too!!

KATHMANDU ADVENTURE RACE…

We had a great time at the Kathmandu Adventure Race on 20^th March – with 180 teams of 2 entered it was a huge event. Aunty Jan teamed up with Hayley in the all female category and came home with the GOLD medal! After a slow start we made our way through the field and took the lead on the Mtb rogaine….The nav in these events is very basic – but good course planning always helps – well it seemed to help us, anyway! We were first out of 24 female teams and 27^th overall….not bad for your first event Hayley! Aunty Kim teamed up with Scott in the mixed category and after some major bike mechanicals, came in a very credible 4^th place and 26^th overall…they just got in ahead of us…..it was a great fun race with lots of mud and some interesting creek crossings…..See pic of us all at the finish line….

MOOLOOLABA TRI WEEKEND

We had a very exhausting weekend at the Mooloolaba Triathlon! I swear, spectating an event is often more tiring than competing in it…..however, the great results we witnessed – especially from our Juniors – was worth all the sitting around and frying ourselves in the sun…..The twilight 5km run was on the Friday night and we saw Tom, Tim & Brigitte all put in exceptional performances….Brigitte winning her age-group and coming in 4^th overall (just behind the winner Emma Moffat and some other noted runners!) Tom & Tim both clocked up ‘personal bests’ and were excited with their results. Saturday morning saw the swimmers lining up to tackle the 1km ocean swim….Jules was not happy with the flat conditions….however she still managed a 4^th in the hotly contested 50-59 age-group where the amazing Gina took the GOLD medal….great results in the female 60-69 category as well with Jan & Bardie going 1-2….Brigitte, once again, was a stand-out performer with a win in her age-group and 4^th overall, again!

In the triathlon it was golden girl Gina Lynch winning her 50-54 age-group with a sprint finish and our amazing junior team of Seb, Brigitte and Robyn won their Junior mixed category in an amazing time of 2.06! Well done, also to Jules Drysdale, for a podium finish (2^nd!)in her age-group at the Australian Ironman which was held on Sunday in Port Macquarie….so much happening last weekend…

So that’s about it for March….We have a huge 4-6 weeks ahead with Bribie Multisport, Anaconda NZ, Anaconda Forster & Red Centre Mtb Enduro in the space of a month…..but before that we have our Easter 2010 Adventure this weekend…

Don’t wait too long for your next adventure….

See you out there!

Jan & Kim

February Update...

2010-03-04T09:21:00.005+10:00

March is here – and the year is just MARCHING on…..!!
Aunty Kim’s rehab is going great-guns but she’s still a bit tentative on the Mtb…see report below on the Mebbin Marathon….Our weekly squad sessions are hotting up and finally we have some keen paddlers and some really keen Mtb riders on our Wednesday ride. As I write this, however, our weather here in Qld is atrocious….it’s like the BIG WET in one day….the rain is just coming down in buckets…bit different to the beginning of February when we were drowning in heat and humidity…here’s how it all panned out…

WEEKEND ADVENTURES – to KIN KIN the hard way….

Our Saturday group left Pomona about 7.15am and were intercepted by Audrey and Marius who had extended their ride by starting at Noosa…. Something about having to train for a 26 day event in June was their excuse…No, seriously they are putting in the miles so as to be fit enough to complete the Freedom Challenge in South Africa…look it up – you’ll be amazed! Anyway we had a lovely ride, stopping at the lookouts along the way and gaining strength (that’s the positive here, people) from the unrelenting uphill slogs out on the eastern ridge…..when, finally, we were on the way down great whoops of joy were heard amongst us – we had well and truly earned this excitement…
A stop a Kin Kin for refreshments was greatly appreciated but soon we were off again – and up some unbelievable hills that Aunty Kim had conveniently forgotten about…. We managed with some bike carries to get us all up there without a dummy spit…and continued on where we had the sense to take the creek road (that would be the flat way) back to Pomona….phew…we made it – and hungrily devoured some great food at the Mountain Stop Café before heading home to collapse….Hey, hope the experience was a bit like childbirth and you’ll only remember the good bits, eventually!!!!!

AUNTY JAN IS 50…

In case you weren’t aware – Aunty Jan turned 50 and invited many of her friends and family to attend a 2-part celebration which involved an 8hr adventure paddle/mtb/eat-drink/mtb/paddle and later in the day a ‘normal’ birthday celebration with a bit of arm wrestling action just to spice it up….Here’s what Aunty Jan reported afterwards….

“We had the most fabulous adventure on Saturday and it was like being in an adventure race with all of my best friends….thanks for being part of it!

Golden moments were….

à Kenny having the crash of the day…

à The ‘v’-cake at Pomona (you had to be there…!)

à The special t-shirt from my special friends…it’s just so…rude?

à My great arm-wrestling ability… (Not…)

à Standing in the rain on Sunday morning watching ‘wunderkid’ win the Triathlon

à Being 50 and feeling like 12 on the Mtb ride out to Pomona…..

à Sliding into shore at Noosa Woods after 8hrs of adventure and being handed a glass of bubbles by my wonderful friends….

For those of you who came along….welcome to my world!!!”

JUNIORS AT STATE TRI CHAMPS…

We had a huge week with our Juniors at State Tri Champs in Redcliffe. The squad conducted themselves extremely well at the Champs and with their wonderful efforts helped the Sunshine Coast region win the cup – again! We are very proud to be associated with all of them!

Once again Brigitte Fischer has been selected in the State Team to compete in SA in mid-March. Sam Allen was also a qualifier in the Junior division. Good luck to you both – enjoy the experience!

NIGHT NAV…

Our Night Nav session in Wooroi was really fun – we managed to ward off the mozzies with super-strength bushman’s spray, candles and Corallea even carried a burning incense stick with her as they went out on foot..! It was great to see the smiles on their faces and the excitement as they all arrived back from their night nav adventure….
Mel blitzed the field with a score of 440 after gunning it around the course on foot and making it back on time so as not to loose hard earned points by being late….
Participants really got into the swing of it buy donning the true dorky orienteering gear… !

We took about 2 hours after the session going around retrieving the CP’s and besides dodging toads as big as small babies it was incident free and we felt like we had done an Adventure Race when we finished at 10.30pm…We will have another of these sessions here in the near future – stay tuned…

MEBBIN MTB MARATHON…

Hope the soggy, wet weather hasn’t put a damper on too much fun and adventure for you all……It certainly challenged the Aunties over the weekend of the 28^th February.... We made a ‘sensible’ choice - Hmmmm- (over a few other events happening on the weekend) to take a 5hr trip to the Gold Coast (via Brisbane for a couple of quick visits…) then drive another 1.5hr hours to the beautiful Mebbin forest in northern NSW – in the shadow of Mt Warning – where we would ride our bikes ‘inside a volcano’……
Well, that was the plan – and we did manage to achieve all of the above… However, the end result was a little different to what we had thought……and ‘sensible’ doesn’t seem the right adjective now – funny that….

Knowing full well we were heading for a ‘wet’ event’, we just took it in our strides – we have done many events in much worse weather than this – at least it wasn’t COLD and wet like Geo 2006 & 2009….and we rode the 2008 Noosa Enduro fully inside a cloud and didn’t have a huge problem…we did the 6hr ‘mud-fest’ at Slickers last year….and that was ok except for Aunty Jan destroyed her bike by washing it off in the LAKE…. So a mud-ride inside a volcano seemed kind of fun – in a strange sort of way…. Guess what – we were wrong!!!

On arrival at the event – the beautiful Cutters Campground in the beautiful Mebbin Forest we were informed that all the courses had been shortened because of the treacherous conditions….seems that volcanic mud is kinda slippery and dangerous….Race organiser, Anthony, had gone over the course the day before and had more than a handful of spills….and was already announcing that next year this event WOULD NOT BE HELD IN THE WET SEASON.. How bad can it possibly be, we thought?

We were about to find out as we set off with the 75km riders (now reduced to 55km with a 35km loop and then a 20km loop over the same skaty mud!) A 3km loop took us 'around some 4wd tracks' and back through the start/finish then after that we were going 'slap-bang into the mud'…well, you could have fooled me, but I am sure I came out of the 3km loop looking like I’d been dragged though a pig pen….and we weren’t in the MUD yet apparently…..

Aunty Kim was being extra cautious as one little crash was going to ruin her entire rehab from the dislocated shoulder episode 10 weeks earlier…That ‘sensible decision’ was starting to have a few cracks at this point…. We had a 1km ‘nice’ ride up a dirt road before detouring off onto the single track….Slipping and skating all over the place, we were trying to keep a sense of humour…riders were spearing off the track in every direction and Aunty Kim had just decided to walk most of the danger areas (which was just about everything unless you were riding in the scrub..) We got to a particularly steep downhill (easy-peasy in the dry…) and some crazy guys were crashing every 5 seconds…it was completely unrideable for us – and this ride down to a creek crossing was the first of 8 !!! Half way down Aunty Jan had a big OTB and didn’t even get time to put her hands down….a nasty thud on the left hip – just to even it up with the creaky right one – kept her lying in the grass for more time than usual….Kim was scootering just ahead and came straight back up….It didn’t take us long to decide this ‘race’ wasn’t worth continuing….(we had opted to ride in a pair anyway, which meant we weren’t gunning for any podium spots…) Aunty Kim was probably going to have to walk most of it if we continued…and Aunty Jan was trying to ‘ride’ but it just wasn’t happening!...so we pushed our bikes up the hill and told the marshall that we had abandoned….

Then we went for the most beautiful ride in the Mebbin forest – on the fire road…. This now seems to be the most ‘sensible’ decision we had made all weekend…. We managed to clock up about 40kms of riding getting some great views of the ‘scenic rim’ of the massive volcano that once encompassed Mt Warning and on our way through the start/finish we noticed we weren’t the only ones who had made this decision…..Some were there mending their war wounds, and many were cleaning their bikes and some were just hanging around to see what the riders looked like who actually did complete the course. Well I can tell you they looked BROWN – no other colour – and those kamikazes who made it were quite happy with themselves – and we congratulated them…. We sat around and ate the fabulous meal that was supplied with the entry – that must have been the reason we came….and then made the drive back to the Gold Coast before getting clean – our bikes, however, got a wash atop the car as it was still raining – but you can’t believe that, can you…..

So, there you have it…Sorry but you won’t get to experience this yourselves, because it won’t be on again until we have a drought….and then, well, it could be awesome…..We didn’t waste our time whilst riding on the fire-road though - Aunty Kim practiced her one-legged drill and we practiced our towing technique – so we did get to achieve something…and I mapped the entire ‘fire-road’ on the Garmin…so you can do this bit….but it’s probably already on a map somewhere – being a road and all…J

WHAT’S COMING UP?

Plenty of adventure in the pipeline….Our Bribie Multisport training weekend on 13th & 14th March. Click here for details...
The Kathmandu Adventure Race on 20^th March….
Bribie Multisport….Anaconda NZ….Anaconda Forster and the Red Centre Mtb Enduro…..come along and join us for some of it….

See you out there!

J Jan & Kim

January Update

2010-02-14T16:55:00.005+10:00

The first month of the year always seems to go by so quickly! We have been surviving the heat and the rain over the last few weeks and getting up to plenty of adventure…..

AUNTY JAN IN PRINT…After surviving the Kona 24hr Solo Mtb last year and backing it up with a stint in Anaconda Lorne, Aunty Jan was asked to write a report for a national magazine…. It was great the folks at Triathlon & Multisport were keen to have the perspective of an ‘older’ competitor for this story….If you didn’t happen to read it in hard copy – here is the article…

THE AUNTIES EXPLORE…Ever in search of new & beautiful places for you to enjoy, we have spent a bit of time lately exploring some of the Point Glorious area in the Yandina hinterland…. Here’s what happened on one of these days….The weekend saw the Aunties continue their exploration of the Pt Glorious area…..we mapped many tracks and un-mapped some that don’t exist anymore….found a lot of trails where some of last year’s Hells Bells competitors would have added some unwanted extra time to their race….and found a ‘hike-a-bike’ worthy of a Geoquest event….This track was a deceiving extension of a great little single track which led to a tropical creek paradise …oh so beautiful… but, unfortunately the only way out was up…and up…and up….and then up so steeply I was having flash-backs to the Mt Yarrahapinni climb in Geo 2006..(don’t get any idea’s Craig & Louise!) By the time we emerged from the forest I had run out of water, was hot, flustered and felt like I had run a marathon in my bike shoes….know the feeling?….so why do we do this (for fun) you may ask?….I’m not sure sometimes…there must be some weird feeling of achievement in there somewhere…oh and yes, we now have a rather accurate map to add to our collection, for future activities….maybe in cooler weather! So look forward to something in this area soon….

JUNIOR TRI SQUAD…
Our awesome junior squad are consolidating their skills in the lead up to their state championships on 19th & 20th February at Redcliffe. The group has been training under the watchful eye of Coach Kim and have been attending 4 sessions per week since qualifying for the event last November. These juniors have displayed exemplary talents in lead-up events recently with podium places and stand-out performer Brigitte Fischer winning the Caloundra Triathlon in the Open category on February 7th …. Those competing include Hugh Foster, Melanie Parker, Laura Eden, Tim Gaynor, Maddie & Tom Borne-Crockett, Rachel Hodder and Brigitte Fischer…..We are so proud of them and they great efforts put in over the last few months…and wish them all the best in their various events….The Sunshine Coast region has a very strong team in this State Championships and they will be hoping to repeat their result from last year when they were the overall winners….
Noosa Tri Club Junior training is carried out from September through to April and for further info contact Kim at triadventure@optusnet.com.au

Brigitte in action

BRIBIE MULTISPORT TRANINING WEEKEND…For anyone wishing to hone their multisport skills – and have a fun, relaxing (of sorts) weekend in Noosa –Tri Adventure are planning a 2-day training weekend focussing on the skills and endurance relevant to the Bribie Multisport event. Day 1 will comprise of taking apart the event with specific training in each discipline…Day 2 will involve putting it all together – and a social event (important balance) will be in there somewhere as well. This will be a great chance to spend a weekend with like-minded people, get in some great training and set where you’re at 5 weeks out from the actual event….Click here for all the details

WHATS COMING UP….?The Kathmandu Adventure race on 20th March is a great entry-level event for anyone wishing to have a go at Adventure Racing. We will be supporting the event ourselves and urge anyone else who is keen, to give it a go too… see the website www.maxadventure.com.au for all the details…

We have a block of events in April/May this year starting with the Bribie Multisport, the inaugural Anaconda NZ, then Anaconda Forster (2-day)..and then if we can get on our bikes…the 5-day Red Centre Mtb Enduro….

Aunty Jan has qualified for the 24hr Solo World Mtb Championships to be held this October…so hopefully all these events will be ‘money in the bank’ for the big one…..or it could go the other way…..Let’s hope not!

Anyway…. so much to do and so little time….
Don’t wait too long for your next adventure, ok!

:) Jan & Kim