Latest News - October

MD's ready for the night trek...

September and October have just flown by, it seems..... Hardly a drop of rain to dampen spirits and trails are now dry and dusty....a far cry from earlier this year when we were slogging around in mud up to our armpits!  Highlights in the last couple of months were Hells Bells....where MD's took out the event again... The course was challenging and we all struggled with the maps, however got through somehow and filed this event as a good one to get under the belt.... Read on for a 'not so brief' report....

HELLS BELLS 2012 – The Wrap

Tri Adventure teams in Hells Bells this year = 4

Tri Adventure teams in Fairy Bells this year = 2

Race HQ = Landsborough Primary School

Race format for Hells = 7km trek, 10-12km paddle, 10km trek, 25km mtb, 20km trek, 42-46km mtb.

Race format for Fairy’s = a bit more than ½ that distance

Race start = Coochin Creek camping area

Race day temperature = hot, hot, hot!  Race night temperature = very warm too!

Teams scattered everywhere when Robbie yelled GO! at 12 noon, or close to this time.  We (Hells) had a 7km rogaine style trek….Fairy’s went straight to the Sevylors (lucky them…as they got all the good ones!)  Most Hells teams did quite well on this first trek….using a very difficult map….except we all (our teams anyway…) got together at CP U….hidden very well in a slight gully with no visible track… Luckily MD’s were still there and pointed everyone in the right direction.  Thanks Aunty Kim!

Howie punching in...

Next stop….TA1….where we would meet up with our most un-favourite boats, the dreaded Sevylors… Jules got a lesson in pumping up one side…..and on the third go she found out you have to pull out that little valve thingy first….ah, the finer details…..Anyway….it finally stayed up!  Meanwhile, Mandy & I were busy pumping up the rest of it and attaching the dodgy seats……and grabbing the rest of our gear.  After quite a while we launch and immediately start taking on water…..Want to go back…..no, never……so we paddled in puddles up to CP2…..where we tried to empty the boat….without any success…..Oh well…..we will just paddle the thing until in sinks then…..(!!) (!!)  We find CP3 at the sunken boat then turn around (with great difficulty….as anyone who has paddled these vessels will know very well….it’s actually easier to turn around when you don’t want to!!!...) and headed towards TA2.  Winding our way through mangroves…..we had a few walks in the very shallow water…..and I struggled severely keeping the damned thing going straight…. Every time I took a second to look at the map we skewed sideways and the girls up front could not bring the massive blow-up banana around….as hard as they tried….. Struggle, struggle, struggle on, on on…… We find a sneaky short cut into Hussey Creek….and walk along in the shallow water…..This is much nicer than paddling at this point.  In the far distance we see a fire burning…..we decide it’s the Sevylor BBQ…..as that’s what we want to do with this thing when we finally get to that TA….. (!!)

We arrive at TA2, luckily as another boat is pulling in…..as it was very hard to spot up on that bank.  Drag (no… carry, of course) the Sevylor up the slippery mud bank…..and shock, horror…..no Sevylor BBQ!  I don’t care anymore as I have resigned myself to the fact that I will never paddle these things ever again…..and would rather enjoy a plastic Toy-Boy sit-on-top any day…..wouldn’t anyone….????

Off we go on Trek #2. We are very hot and the first CP has a creek crossing with a handy rope.  We all enjoy getting in the manky water to cool down!  We find all the remaining CP’s…..a tricky one hiding at C…..and it’s dark by the time we arrive at Wild Horse Mountain where are bikes are waiting for us!  I check in and see that we are already 3hrs behind MD’s….Wow! they must have flown through the paddle and trek!  But we were happy enough…..we had taken some main road options as we struggled to find some of the minor tracks on the dodgy map.  The bike is my favourite leg and it’s here I take over the Nav again from Mandy who has done a great job on the two treks!  It’s a bit challenging for Jules and Mandy now…..the tracks are rutted and sandy.....and they are trying to concentrate on their riding…..and I am asking them to look for tracks while I’m looking at the map!  We find CP4 after searching for the road tunnel…..and then nail CP5 which was very tricky and took a bit of lateral thinking to locate it.  When we arrive at CP8 we find a Kombi in the forest (no hallucinations…) and Coach Jeff on hand to guide one team member for a swim in a dam…. Mandy volunteered and she smashed it for the fastest swim in the entire race!  Go Mandy…..I know how well you swim as you were one of my little engines when we had to ‘tube’ 8kms across Lake Wallis in Geoquest!  CP9, then TA4/5 was close by and Robbie (race director) was a cheery site as we rode in and prepared for the long (and it was…) night trek. 

Setting off, we chose to climb up the middle of The Twins for our first CP…..Then we went the long way around to a tricky one in a creek junction (G)…..then we lost the plot looking for H & I.  We took a lot of tracks which were not on the map…..and lost concentration a bit following another wrong track.  When we finally realised where we were we had wasted over an hour……and Mandy was developing terrible blisters that were growing by the minute.  We eventually found our way to I……Woo-hoo!...but that was about all she could do on those feet with blisters on every pad of each foot - she was now struggling to walk.  We made a team decision to head back to the TA and miss the remaining CP’s as we wanted a finish in this race and needed to look after ourselves and get to the finish line the fastest way possible.

We found out the remaining mtb leg had taken MD’s 5 hours…..so our best option (thanks to Robbie) was to take the road back to HQ and the finish line…..which was still about 1 ½ hours of riding.  It was also 99% on tar which pleased my ‘roadie’ team-mates….and meant that Mandy would not have to step on her feet at all till the finish.  It was now daylight – about 6.30am – so, in reality we would not have been able to complete the final mtb leg anyway…..especially as it would take us much, much longer than MD’s 5 hours. 

The girls were happy as we rolled over the tar and down to the finish line.  We finished at about 8.00am….so 20 hours on course…..enough for us, we thought!  Personally, I would have loved to ride the last mtb……but, you can’t have everything, and looking after the team and getting everyone to the finish line in these sports is the prime objective…..and this we did...  We recorded a valid finish….the only all-female team….and were very tired ladies!

MD’s won the day/days…..but many teams had struggled with the heat (reminiscent of the very first Hells Bells in 2004…)  Gina & Ian’s team lost one of their Isodopes to heat related illness which was a shame as they were going really well…..  In Fairy’s, Haley had to pull out of the Turtles with back problems….but Mel and Michele went on to finish….a very long race for them…..but they did it!!! Bish, Bash, Bosh (Howie, Justin & Paddy) had Justin suffering from the heat…..but soldiered on……and made it to the finish line in 2^nd place male team – even after incurring a 1hr penalty for missing CP11….  The stand-out result has to be the Fairy’s team of John, Rosemary and Penny (Swinging Sixties as they are all 60+ in age) who cleared their course…..finished within the cut-off and placed 3^rd mixed team!  Well done you three….an awesome result!

So, in a group discussion after the presentations, we all agreed on a few things. 

1. Ditch the Sevylors – even if this means going to 2 or 4 person teams…

2. Improve map quality…..please!!!!!!!!

3. That Robbie and his team are a fantastic, warm bunch of people…..and make their events really enjoyable!!!

See you next year!

Aunty Jan

 

Latest News - August

Kim & Deanna....all smiles at the finish of a great day out!

The month of August provided brilliant winter weather for us here in Noosa....and we were out and about training up a storm for the Noosa Anaconda.  The inaugural event was a huge success....with many Tri Adventure members taking part in the Mini event and the Full event as individuals or in teams.  The mountain bike course was dry and brilliant....and the weather perfect! We had some great results including Aunty Kim taking out 2nd overall female on a challenging 62km course from Noosa beach, out to the hinterland, and back to the beach to finish.  Well done to everyone who took part!
MTBO - QLD CHAMPS
We all had some fun at the MTBO Champs, this year held at Woodford.  Gail & Susie contested the 2-day event in the Open Women's category and ended up 2nd & 3rd respectively....only beaten by a NSW ring-in...so....they are the Qld champions in our eyes.  Good work you two!  Aunty Kim, competing only on the Sunday, won the Women's Open Long course.....and was 2nd outright (including all the Open Men).....she had a blinder!  Meanwhile, in the Social Long category, Aunty Jan was going brilliantly until arriving at CP11 without a 'zinger'.....and when back-tracking, found it in pieces on the ground still managed to finish the course with no 'zing'....but with the punch stuffed up the leg of her knicks... Persistence and ingenuity.... ."No stupid zinger is going to beat me this time!"...
iADVENTURE - MOUNT JOYCE

Aunty Jan checking in at TA3

It was warm and dry at Mt Joyce for the iAdventure race on 25th August.  Kim  & Gary teamed up and took MD's to victory in the premier mixed category.  Tri Adventure Vintage (Suse & Aunty Jan) took out the women's category with Gina & Kelsey (on the Rt Track!) coming in 2nd... We had a fantastic day on the awesome Mtb trails out there....and the paddling on Wyralong Dam was very nice for a cooling down as the last leg of the event.....Aunty Jan even managed a swim to the Bonus CP F on the paddle....and then with a tricky manoeuvre punched the CP by hoisting herself up the dead tree to reach the (very high) punch....Yes...an old Aunty can still do some tricky manoeuvres.....!!

So....spring is in the air....and we are looking forward to some great adventures next month including the 6hr rogaine out near Esk, Dark Side & Dawn Attack AR events and Hells Bells at the end of September....
See you out there!
:) Jan & Kim

Latest News - July

Aunty Jan at CP 83

July began with the Aunties taking a win in the Cyclegaine at Mapleton....I must admit, we were on familiar ground as we had ridden this forest many times.....not that we knew where the check-points were, but it did help knowing the trails :)  We had a lovely day out in the beautiful hinterland!

Next was the Wild Women Adventure Race....  With a strict field limit of 100, 90 women had nominated for the event....90 women....this was brilliant!  We had been trying to get a race like this off the ground for over a year....and to get 90 women out into the bush was absolutely awesome!  Many women went right out of their comfort zone in this event....we even had the CEO of Triathlon Australia, Ann Gripper, competing.... Dare You Adventure did a fantastic job of staging the event and the sponsors who came on board (besides us) were fantastic.... Tri Adventure Vintage won the day (to our absolute amazement...) but everyone came away winners.....and next year we hope this event will be bigger and better....and hopefully will attract some younger and fitter female athletes from further afield to knock us old vintage girls off our perch... :)

After this we stepped up our training for the fast approaching Anaconda Noosa.... We ran a women's only skills clinic and facilitated the official course familiarisation day with Rapid Ascent general manager Sam Maffet.... Some pics of the course....

Top of the run course...we went up with our bikes!

Harriet on the single track

Not part of the Anaconda course...but a lovely ride we do up here!

With less than 2 weeks until the inaugural Noosa Anaconda, it's time to get your entries in. Be part of the very first event... Register here now....

 So...that was July... It's finally stopped raining up here, the trails are drying up, the sky is blue, the water is crystal clear.... Come and join us for some adventures in paradise!

:) Jan & Kim

Latest News - June

June began with a trip across the Tasman to a fun and exciting race in Rotorua...the 3d Multisport. Aunty Kim was invited to compete, so we both decided to tackle it, again....after all, it was the Australasian Multisport Championships.... Like last year at this event....we had a fantastic time.... Catching up with kiwi friends...Em (from Em's Power Cookies), Rich & Elina Ussher (who's boats we were paddling in the event...the fabulous Flow Kayaks) and reuniting with some Aussie friends too...Sam & John from Rapid Ascent....Deanna & Shazza, Peri & Chris, Lukey....It was a very social few days!!  The race was brilliant....and we all did really well....Except Lukey, who crashed out of contention the day before the race....and did some serious damage to himself.....and subsequently put himself out of the Geoquest picture as well....but he will recover! 

The Aussie Girls on Top....

In the dry conditions this year, we Aunties both had much faster times....and Aunty Kim would have repeated her performance from last year (5th overall female) if she hadn't gone the wrong way on the run course...oh no! But she still managed to place 3rd in her age-group....so all was good!  I successfully defended my title as Australasian Multisport Champion Woman over 50....hilarious....but this year at least I had more than one other old gal as competition..... JJ smashed out the fastest paddle leg (in one of Richards Flow Kayaks..) and won his age-group and came 6th male overall....Yes, he says he's not fit....but never believe that, we say..... The day after the race we went out and rode those trails for 5 hours....that's just what you do in Rotorua....if you've been there, you'll know...if you haven't....GO!!!

Next comes Geoquest....Sometimes we do these things back-to-back.... We make the long journey to Forster.... Aunty Kim raced the 'Full' Geo course....with her lovely team of boys, MD's (sans Lukey) but had young Leo join the team at the last minute.....and apparently, he was brilliant.  MD's placed 3rd overall.....and had a great time doing it.... The Vintage Cowgirls contested the 'Half' Geo course and were determined for a finish this year....so were overjoyed when they plucked out a win from the younger female competitors.... We were a great team of happy Cowgirls....and had a very lovely support team of Gav, Mike & Millie (sound like some Olympic mascots, I know...) Here we are on the finish line, just before we popped the champagne and filled ourselves up with yummy pizza...

Happy Cowgirls

Now back home...we have had some great training sessions for the up-coming Noosa Anaconda.  We also tackled a local MTBO, then a Cyclegaine this weekend.  Also, our dream of creating Australia's first ever all-women's adventure race will come to fruition on July 7th....We are so excited about this event....and there is still time to enter if you are keen... Click here to enter now!

We'll have news of the event in our next installment....Until then,

See you out there!

Jan & Kim

Latest News - May

Well....so much has happened in the last month.... After our return from Godzone we have had many adventures including the fantastic Rogue Adventuregaine, held at the Wyralong Dam.  We all had a great time in the rain.....all night and all day....then all night again.... And all the Tri Adventure teams had some brilliant results too!
 
 The ARA hit town on May 20th....and we had many teams competing.... It's great to have an event so close to home... Well done to Kim & MD's who took out the premier mixed category, again....and us vintage gals got a 2nd place against our fitter and younger competitors.....and Hayley & Mel who placed 2nd female team in the Raw course....awesome result girls!!

MD's atop the podium

Mel & Hayley at the finish

Paddy Justin & Howie

What's coming up??  Well, we're heading over to NZ, once again, to race the 3d Multisport in Rotorua.... This was such a good event last year, we are going back for more..... We just can't get enough of those fantastic mtb trails over there.... Then Geoquest will be upon us.... MD's in the full course, Vintage Cowgirls in the half.  Really looking forward to finishing the event this year!  After that will be the inaugural Wild Women Adventure Race....staged on the Sunshine Coast, this is the first ever all-women's AR in Australia.  We are sponsoring the event and are hoping for a big turn out.....so, girls, this is a great opportunity to be part of history!!

For details and entry go to http://www.dareyouadventure.com.au/wwar/

That's about it for now....don't wait too long for your next adventure...
See you out there!
Jan & Kim

The Queenstown Adventure

Team MD's at race rego...

Well….we’re back home after another EPIC adventure in NZ.  Queenstown was the setting for the inaugural Godzone Adventure Race…and, in retrospect, it’s a pity the organisers didn’t stage more of the actual race there…..it is extremely beautiful and has so many adventures in close proximity….so after Team MD's withdrew from the race it was great they were able to make the most of it for the remaining few days….

Spectacular view of Lake Wakitpu from the to of Skyline

But before that…..This is what happened…..

If you didn’t follow the race and hadn’t looked at the live coverage…..it was absolutely phenomenal…. The teams who endured this event were exceptional....Even the race directors completely underestimated how challenging the course would be and had to cancel a paddle and ride section, for all teams, as the days went on and some teams were still on the first trek!  Our Team MD’s were going really well…..we all thought…..until that first trek which took them 24 hours and Kim was struggling with an ankle injury that had resurfaced from XPD.  It seems that 24 hours of walking (up, down, up, down, up, down, up, up, up, down, down, down, etc, etc….) is just not what she can do any more.  The bone-on-bone thing just got worse and worse.  And the peaks they were crossing were over 1000m….The following bike leg was more pushing (with no tracks…) than riding…..and when I saw them at the end of this one it was when she said she had to pull out.  The boys couldn’t believe it as she had been very quiet during that leg…..except when she growled at Gary…..he should have realised she’s not like that…. Anyway, we all sat around at TA5 and no-one was saying much…..Teams were coming in and going out…..while MD’s were lying around on the grass in the sun….Gary was snoring away…..I wasn’t sure what to do…..I wanted the boys to go on as a team of 3…..but only 2 out of 3 of them wanted to…..and that wasn’t allowed in the race rules….In the end the ride home to QT in a cosy car was the chosen option....

They were very quiet and dosed a lot on the 2 hour drive back to our apartment….so, not a happy team now…..but they understood Kim’s reasons for pulling out….they were just wishing it didn’t happen….But when you enter an adventure race with 4 people there is no guarantee that everyone will make it to the finish…..as you see in every event. 

So…that’s the sad part of the story.  The rest of it was quite good….

View of QT from the top of Ben Lomond...and the ridgeline track I took for the trek!

 I had been loving my time in QT….Had a para-glide off Skyline hill….Went in the Tour of Wakitipu Mtb race on the Saturday…..and managed to sneak on the podium with those tough kiwi chicks……as did Julian Martin and Austin (Noosa-Kiwi’s…) and it was an extremely beautiful course.  Thanks Kiwi Julie for letting me know about this one…. Then, while the team was out on the course….I trekked to the top of Ben Lomond (big, big peak behind QT – 1748m…) and did some very pleasant riding on the QT mtb trails…..and of course, driving out to see the team at some of their TA’s.  So when I brought the team home…..they got to do all this stuff as well….. Which was great for them....Kim couldn’t do the trek of course….but she was ok riding her mtb…..just did a bit of one-leg pedalling when she had to!

As you can see – it wasn’t all bad.  The race website was keeping us up to date with all our amazing friends still out on course….and it was the best website I have ever seen for an AR!  So, we had a fantastic time, really.  Apparently the weather was very kind to us….although it did reach zero overnight in QT one night (but I was inside with the heater on…) and minus 2 for the Team on their last bike leg…..but other than that, the locals said we were really lucky…

There’s always a little twist to our adventures though….And we sure had one…..well two actually….

1.        .... I have found out the best way to avoid paying excess baggage at the airport…..Just arrive at the check-in with 10 seconds till closing time…..besides the stress levels of cutting it so fine driving to the airport and getting stuck in traffic….then throwing our gear out of the car and sprinting through the car-park with two bikes, a huge gear box, 2 large packs, a laptop and no trolley to wheel them on (No-one had seen anything like us…Kim was super-human and had her bike box under one arm and the gear box under the other with her pack on her back….she would have been carrying about 50kg of weight!....I had a huge pack, the lap-top and was dragging my bike bag too) we saved $250.....$250!....that’s the way you do it…. 

2.      ….the second twist happened because of the first twist…..The bottom line is that when we arrived back in Brisbane, we had no idea where we had parked the car……are you getting the picture?….I’m surprised we even locked it as we were is such a hurry to make the flight…. So, here we were last night, it was about 8.30pm.  We have one trolley…(as they are ridiculously expensive…$4…!) and Kim has her stuff on it…..I am dragging my bike (again) and carrying the huge back-pack…. We are wandering aimlessly in the car-park….(the new long-term car-park in Brisbane airport is stupidly confusing anyway….) In the end I can go no further…..I fish out the keys from my pack….and stand in a spare car space with all the gear while Kim goes up and down 7 (seven!) floors before she finally finds the car on level 2…..I breathe a sigh of relief when she drives up, we load the car and are driving out.  But it doesn’t end there…..we have to pay our ticket ($190!)….at this point I was thinking we should have just paid $4 for another trolley and wheeled the stuff back to Noosa…..I can’t find the spot to pay the ticket…..It is not where it was last time…..we are still driving around the car-park.  Finally I park in a disabled spot and Kim runs out and pays…..If her ankle was not completely wrecked in the race, it surely is now….. We start driving again….I still can’t find the way out…. We are getting a bit frazzled…..to say the least…. Eventually a ‘way out’ sign is in front of us…..and we take it…… We are out…..and driving home…..tired, dirty and frustrated…..  

So,   I’m not sure what the moral to this story is…..or whether it was just easier to pay the $250 excess baggage…..or relax initially and miss the first flight…..and pay more……or procure our own airport trolley so not to have to pay $4 ever again…that’s if we can find one of the confounding things..…..Food for thought....

        

        See you out there!

        Jan & Kim