a big day out...

Last weekend was my first ever experience of 'Adventure Racing'. Not really knowing what to expect I was a nervous bunny before the start. Infact I'd not really slept well at all the night before, but I needn't have worried - the event was extremely well organised, and I was certainly fit enough.
The first event was a circular trail run, followed by an orienteering mountain bike section, followed by an orienteering run and finally a quick blast back on the bike.
Dan, Sioned and I started the run pretty much at the back of the pack and headed out into the wilds on a hilly course of loose gravel and muddy track. We went out expecting up to a 10km run, but due to the heat, it had been cut back and we found ourselves back in transition less than 30 minutes later. Surprisingly it seems we'd moved up during the run and were probably in the top 20-30 people! So, all was looking good.
Unfortunately then came the bike section - Whilst not being an experienced mountain biker I do possess a certain lack of regard for my own welfare, so was quite happy to throw myself at the hills. Sioned on the other hand has a very sensible attitude to her own safety and appreciates the fact that she's totally inexperienced on a mountain bike, so understandably took things slowly. Our position was quite rapidly eroded and we shifted our attitude from that of 'Competing' to 'getting around in one piece'. This was probably not a bad idea as it happens, as there were three hospitalisations on the day with at least one fracture.
Anyway, all said and done, I had a very enjoyable day out, my bike performed extremely well and I didn't ache at all the next day.
The next challenge is the London Rat Race at the end of September. Dan and I are looking for a spare body if anyone wants to join our team!

right out of the box...

My Linksys modem and wireless router finally gave up the ghost last week after several months of me nursing it along. It kept dropping connections and eventually I couldn't connect to it at all so it was time for a new one. I was going to stick with Linksys but the reviews of their latest modem/routers aren't that good. It seems dropped connections is a common and continuing problem. So I've gone for Netgear's DG834G. It's pretty much all singing/all dancing with a 'double firewall'... whatever that means. However, what really impressed me was the ease of setting it up. I plugged everything together, went to the admin URL and on the setup page is an 'auto setup' feature. All I had to do was enter my ISP username & password, the box worked it's magic and was up and running in a matter of seconds. A few seconds later and I'd set up WPA2 security and was surfing safely behind my fancy firewall.
A truly plug and play device...

out on the bike...

With one week to go before the Swinley "Forest" Adventure Race I have finally managed to put some mileage on my bike.

It turns out that Swinley Forest has another, more familiar (to me) name - Barossa; the training grounds out the back of Royal Military College, Sandhurst. A place I got to know very well back in 2002...

I did a 25km road route from home out to Richmond Park, around and back again. The weather was fantastic with clear skies and a light breeze and I found I could keep a good pace despite not having ridden regularly for well over a year, completing the route in 1hr 10mins. Not outstanding, but definitely not bad. I was also trying out my new 3 litre Camelbak which proved extremely comfortable and a blessing in this heat.
The roads from South Ealing to the Park are very straight forward and by keeping mostly off the main routes was not too heavy with traffic despite it being mid afternoon on a Saturday. The park is excellent for cyclists (of which there are many) as the speed limit is restricted to 20mph. The scenery is lovely too which helps to distract from some of the nastier hills which could best be described as 'emotional'! There were herds of wild Fallow Deer lying out in the open quite undisturbed by the passing cars and wheezing cyclists. Many of the bucks were 'in felt' with some very impressive antlers developing. I will have to go back with my camera when the rutting starts.
I'm slightly concerned that I haven't quite got my bike set up correctly yet as my lower back became very uncomfortable on several occasions and I actually had to pull over and stretch out for a bit. I suspect it's all down to saddle height - I will play with this over the next few days.
Anyway, all in all a lovely ride except for one small gripe - why is it car drivers believe that they have complete priority on the road and that bikes have to obey a different set of rules? I stopped at the last set of lights before home and a driver pulled up to the left of me, opened the window and cursed me for not 'indicating with my arm' when I pulled over to the right hand side of the lane. I'm sorry, but since when does moving across a lane (but staying in it) require indication? Not only that, but it's a steep uphill section, so if I am to remain in control of the bike I need both hands on the handle bars. It's not as if I ride in the gutter either, so the driver wouldn't have been able to 'overtake' me anyway. Bah. Anyway, I just gave a steely 'do I give a f*ck' stare and moved off when the lights changed.

In a final note, team Goldenoeuf have made it to Kazakhstan...