More pix here.

It was the ride where every single thing went wrong, but we came out of it having had a blast anyway.

First off, we couldn't get our clothing right coz it was raining and cold and we were climbing. The anoraks came off and then got put on again. We just couldn't decide! Then shortly into the ride, I took a spill onto a rock. It was one of 'em really stupid spills where my back wheel washed out from a root, and I landed directly chest first (or pretty much hugging) this rock:


Grrr

My chest and ribs took a bit of a blow but in general I was alright. BUT my camera had taken a bash as well, so the entire LCD screen is buggered! I needed a couple of minutes to catch my breath so all was good. Still, the nerves were a little rattled after and my technical skills just went to pot. Obviously I was totally gutted about the cam though, seeing as it was a gift from all my best girls from my hen night. But I told myself I'd look into getting it repaired and it'd all be fine - It has a few new dings on it though.

Then there was that blasted section that freaked me out. It wasn't even very technical but my nerves were gone and I was being a wuss [insert chicken noises here]. Mo and Hubba totally knew where I was coming from though and were extremely patient - They wouldn't let me wuss out and said I needed to get over the fear to continue the ride. And I'm so glad I did really - Once I got down, I felt really bewildered and stupid. I knew deep inside I could have done it, but my body was totally rejecting the thought. Anyway, I felt a bit foolish once the deed was done and I didn't wuss out on any rideable segment on the rest of the trail.

Then there was the I LOST THE CAMERA moment. The husband wanted to get a shot of something and reached into my pocket to get it, when we realised it had gone! I abandoned my bike and retraced my steps. The boys did the same but on their steeds - They went all the way to the start of that section, but couldn't find it. So I told them to ride towards my bike and I'd join them in a bit... I walked it to the start of the section and RIGHT when I was going to give up, I saw my camera shimmering in a bush!!

I had one of 'em cartoon rub-eyes-blink-blink-am-i-imagining-things moments before picking it up and giving thanks. I guess in hindsight I'm overjoyed that I lost the camera, coz now I'm not that gutted about having cracked the LCD screen :)

Oh yeah, I stopped to pee in the bushes and accidentally got some on my shorts. Needless to say the wind was blowing cold enough to freeze it within a few minutes. Woopee. -_-

The rest of the ride was awesome. Epic. Friggin' monumental technical climbs against super strong winds. Descents so long my arms and wrists started to ache. Technical sections that were totally unrideable to me. Almost washed out a couple of times coz of the crazy winds blowing me out of the ruts...

And then there was that one long crazy section leading back down to the carpark that had me doing drops that were far more scary than that silly one I took ages to do before. I finished the ride on an absolute high, which was great stuff. The boys were totally psyched as well. The ride distance spanned only about 20km in total, but it was a black route and we took a good 4.5 hours to complete it. Ack!


download trail map here

So in summary:
- Took spill on rock
- Broke camera LCD screen
- Nerves rattled
- Freaked out on section
- Made myself complete section
- Lost camera
- Found camera but peed on shorts by accident
- Blistering cold winds + long climbs
- Longgass descent (8km)

Video later. Gotta get the Haggis on the hob...

'It is singletrack from the car park, curling steeply up through the forest to leave a (pleasant?) burning sensation in the legs as you hit wider bridle paths – some of them shared with other users – over more level ground in the forest. Bits are very dark, and very gnarly with lots of exposed roots and rocks and steep drops.'

Read more about Innerleithen here.


click to watch

click here to watch movie

I was tired this morning - Hardly the feeling you want to get when you're all pumped up for a good weekend on the trail.

It was tough - I felt my body drag itself around, refusing to react to any form of caffeine or sugar. I guess it was to be expected since I worked myself hard every single day this week, but I refused to give in to the feeling 'coz we were finally making it to Peebles for our virgin ride at the 7stanes trail, Glentress.

The first part of the ride was pure climbing and when the husband asked me how I was feeling, I thought for a second before saying, 'I'm okay'.

Truth be told, I was telling myself a great big lie and that I felt far from it. But I figured self-denial would stave away any form of negative thought for the afternoon... At least long enough for us to get to the fun bits of the much-raved-about red route.

And I must say it worked. In no time at all we were at the mouth of the famous Spookywood Descent and all revved up to go!

Glentress is, without a doubt, the best trail I have ever ridden in the few years that I have been biking.. Lots of switchbacks and the like, but accompanied by a load of berms and moguls that made for extremely smooth riding.

Everytime you thought you were losing momentum all you had to do was put your weight into a turn, get onto a berm and off you'd go. It was fantastic! Definitely thought of the warriors and the wayngelas all the way through and knew they would be absolutely lovin' it if they were on the trail with us.. Especially Waynetta!

(Mate, you're such a free-rider at heart. You would so love what this trail has to offer.)

We did Spookywood twice coz it was just so thrilling - And I managed to keep up with the boys on the second attempt, hardly touching my brakes. Even caught some air a couple of times and absolutely loved it! I think the second ride gave me some confidence to bomb down other sections after - Grrrrreat!!

It was sad to think I wouldn't ride the trail again. Better get a lot of rest tonight... And I hope I'm alright for another long ride tomorrow!


download trail map here

More pix here.

The deed is done.

I'm $345 poorer.

This had better be good.

I didn't quite believe it when Dr Low had told me I'd be able to run another half marathon this year with no problem.

After the big morale basher that was last year's race, I had held off running for months. And even when I started racing again, running was far from fun. It was always the leg I'd dreaded the most and all sorts of investments were made in patella guards, knee braces, stability shoes and custom molded insoles. It was only in Krabi this October that I'd felt like my knee had some semblance of being normal again. Yet I felt the threatening creak only 4km into the half marathon this morning, with 17km to go - Freaky.

But like NT says, as long as it's just a creak and tendonitis hasn't set in, keep going. And coming from an Ironman who battles the same injury, I figured this have been the right advice to heed.

So on today's 21km run, I set myself a few simple and attainable goals:

1) Keep running and don't stop to walk.
2) Don't get injured.
3) Cross the line with a smile.
4) Run without music.
5) Finish with my friend.

Check, check, check, check and check.

I must say I felt great throughout the entire run. Fed myself at the right times, was blessed by great weather and didn't face a niggle of a cramp. I raced at adventure-race pace the entire way and didn't feel taxed, so from the waist up I felt great. But from waist down, things were a little dodgy. So I concentrated on opening up my stride and lessening the impact of the run - Get out of the race in one piece. It was really quite frustrating thinking about whether or not I ought to go faster but hesistating for fear of putting my knees out of alignment.

Running with was great fun too - We shared running tips, both physical and mental, and invented a game to wile away the kilometres. She egged me on with my knee and I egged her on with her cramps. Rock maintain. Heh.


coming in to finish


to many more runs!

Last year, I ran too hard for the first 16km, walked for about 5km before sprinting in for the last stretch. As a result, I crossed the line at 2hrs 35mins with a body so numbed by pain that I could hardly walk.

This year, I kept going all the way through and didn't stop to walk. The pace was slow but steady, with the goals clear in my head and a friend strong by my side. I crossed the line at 2hrs 45mins feeling absolutely fantastic and fresh as a daisy. And when the husband said he might go for a bike ride, I was even tempted at the thought. I must be getting somewhere!

Before the race, I'd made myself a promise: That if I could complete another half marathon without incurring another injury, I'd be in for Ironman 70.3 next September. That was the only condition I'd set myself. So needless to say, I'm in! There's no turning back now... And if I survive that, maybe a full marathon with Dad next year? Alright, so that's pretty ambitious but I guess we'll see!

12 out of 12 races have been completed for the year.

I'm out, dude.

Bring on, 2007.

indonesian pro-rider risa suseanty


mud pool!


kickass chica athena han


me with another indo-chick


me

Pictures courtesy of Foo Chen Khai @ Betterfeel

yeah baby!

So this morning's race was a complete mudfest - I lost my granny to the dreaded chain suck for most of the course and was left cranking heavy gears through the muck.

Tried my darndest to hang on to one of the Indonesian girls' tail but they were far too strong for me. Oww. The cranks were protesting so much that at one point, I almost thought I wasn't going to make it. But kept at it in my middle chain ring all the way and sooner than I thought, I was heading towards the finish line. Chain suck, sucks. Big time! I think the lesson I took home from today's race must have been that you should never slack off during a mountain bike race, coz you never know when your equipment is going to fail you and you'll lose whatever lead you have in the blink of an eye.

The ladies open course consisted of 3 loops of the mucky trail. The weekend warrior, which Wayne, Aaron and Derek took part in consisted of 2 loops, and the men's sport which Hubba and Seung did consisted of 4 loops. Oh yes the men's elite, which took part in was 6 loops. Ouch. Hubba and I came in 6th each in our categories, which was pretty cool. It was kinda sad that Angie didn't race though - Poor girl didn't race coz she had to rush off to work early. It was nice having ya around for a bit though, babe! Still think you could have raced... ;)

Here are some of my favourites from today:


crank it


woohoo wayne!


aaron finishes


andrew coasting a berm


wayne and angie


bike buds


little bike babe


with kickass risa

more pix here.

mtbr worthy shot

Where do I even start?

That ride was long. Long and painful. Today's Presidential ride, sponsored by Proton, was just insane.I can't even begin to describe the pain and the joy involved in the ride. So here we go..

We started off this morning expexting the worst. Pat had warned us about the conditions we were going to ride in and to expect pain. The warriors, fresh from their 9 day race in Himachal, were a little more prepared mentally and physically. The Wayngelas and I decided to act as one another's support. So that's exactly what we did.

The ride was slated to span a distance of 60km offroad. With 650 riders participating, we knew we had our work cut out for us. We were given ride passports which we all carried with us to 4 checkpoints along the way.

All in all, I must say I quite liked the ride in Kajang today. It was so incredibly scenic that I swear I felt so overwhelmed by the environment that at times, I felt like it was interacting with me. On our last loop, I was spinning up a slow and agonising climb on my own when I heard a constant chirrup from some crickets. Towards the top of the climb, the crickets started going faster and I could have sworn they were spurring me on! Of course this was 40km into the ride so perhaps I was just getting tired...

Anyway, we all made it back in one piece. The warriors straggled past the finish line in their own time - way quicker than us of course - and the Wayngelas, Max and I finished the ride together... Angie having done around 10km more than us coz she was tricked into thinking there'd be some good downhill - and the rest of us just being lame! (Note: I managed to get a mee goreng in whilst waiting!)

Hubba did his usual crazyass thing and cheonged all the way, coming in 10th overall out of 650. Nuts.

I ache and the tan lines have gone haywire. It sure feels good though.

Lots of great videos and pictures to post but will do that tomorrow when I don't feel quite so battered!

PCC out.

Mtb; Under 50km
Time: 8am - 3.45pm


bottleneck pushing


shooting angie whilst riding


token 'me' shot


the couple that suffers together, stays together


owww


finished!


cheehan and huimin


the wayngelas


pei ling and nik


ling and max


hubba and i


ride buds



more here

Here's Ling's edit of the PCC ride:


click to watch

Also, more professional looking shots of the trail can be found at the Merciless Album.

And if you are really getting into it, check out Ling's cut of the warriors' bull moment on their 9-day Himachal ride: Video here!

So I can't reconcile the feeling I get when I'm on the saddle on the road, with the one I get when I'm out there on the trail.

When I get good on the road, I feel like crap on the trail. And when I finally start to feel good on the trail again, I'm shite on the road. What's with that?!

Still, I chased Lin down as best I could tonight and sucked every wheel possible. Even managed to power up and crank past a few dudes.

I need to get some serious work in.

Distance: 45.5km
Time: 1.37hrs
Max: 49.0km/hr
Avg: 28.9km/hr

more pix here.

Friday
- Flight to Hat Yai
- Picked up and driven to Krabi by Anan, the best dude in the world
- Check into Rainforest lodging at Aonang
- Urban Challenge:

The husband and I picked up the wrong clue, thought we'd be ambitious and climbed up 1,273 steps at Aonang's Tiger Caves. We were given 20 minutes to search for a 1000 year old tree, but we took 20 minutes to get to the summit, a minute speaking to a monk and then another 15 to 20 minutes descending in the dark. By the time we'd gotten back to base camp, all the other teams were waiting. Needless to say we - and the only other team who followed us up - were the only ones who arrived back at base camp without having found the tree.

During the challenge, we were all told to memorize certain phrases in Thai, and by the end of it we all knew how to count to ten in the language. Another task was to go through the Krabi market in search for peculiar food items with 10 baht. Hubba and I bought this coconut dessert thing which looked unusual but thankfully, tasted like heaven.. The last little stretch was to make it to Bernie's, where dinner was served and prizes were presented. So ended our first challenge in Aonang... And we all gained our passports to enter Krabi heaven.

Saturday
- Breakfast: I cried over Love Actually.. again.
- Longtail boat to Railey beach
- Orienteering and navigation clinic
- Climbing at 1, 2, 3 wall
- Lunch @ Ya Ya restaurant
- Offroad hike around Railay
- Finally check in and chill out @ Railay Princess Resort
- Dinner and race briefing
- Short trek to The Last Bar
- Fire show
- Sleep

Sunday
- Breakfast
- Adventure Challenge:

This consisted of trail running, rock scrambling, caving, abseiling, swimming and a short sesh in a kayak. I was told the total distance was around 15km or so and I thought my knee was going to have a bit of a tough time but surprisingly it held up all the way. Each and every section in this race was pretty technical and I concentrated on making sure my foot fall was careful and deliberate so the knee wouldn't act up. Definitely had a blast! The husband and I were on top of the world when we crossed the finish line together and decided that we can make a great team, as long as the race is short and sweet. Got our clammy kit off and proceeded back to the waterfront to cheer the other teams as they streamed in. Go go go!

- Shower and clean up
- Lunch at Railay Princess
- Poolside/balcony nap
- Half hour Thai massage
- Sunset and Chang beer on Railay West
- Dinner and prize giving @ The Last Bar
- Fire show
- Cocktails and screening @ Cliff Bar
- Drinks with Goz and Mark

Monday
- Lie in
- Longtail boat to Aonang
- A great Thai lunch
- One hour Thai massage
- Half hour foot reflexology
- Drive to Hat Yai with Anan
- Dinner, ice-cream and tea @ airport
- Lots of reading
- Flight home

This was such a great trip and the husband and I have decided that we love Railay very much. We want to go back and climb up the 1,273 steps and have more time to take in the view. We want to go back with our loved ones and take them through the caves and trails (although I see much eye-rolling at this one, no?). We want to sip more cocktails and watch more sunsets. We want to climb more and gobble down more Thai food. We want to catch the Muay Thai show when they're not away for Ramadan. We want to soak up every single bit of Railay and its laid back culture before it changes with time...

Ahh well. A big fat thank you to Hai-Yen, Women Make a Difference and the Tourism Authority of Thailand for inviting us to be apart of this event and trip. There's no way we won't be at the next one, that's for sure! Definitely makes me want to sign up for another adventure race pronto, except I know we've just experienced paradise and it doesn't always feel that way! Sigh, oh well!


click to watch