Team OrionHealth Adventure

We have arrived in tropical Cairns.  The last couple of days have been fairly frantic with the usual gear/shopping/bike assembly to get sorted.

The team is feeling fairly relaxed now with most of the gear packed (at least as much as we can without knowing the course or how the logistics work).  

Also have flown through the gear and competence checks today, with some difficult testing and learning on the appropriate treatment for some of the nasty insects and animals stings/bites that live in this part of the world.

I get the feeling that this race is going to have some fantastic live web coverage,  they have a proactive media team who have already tracked us down for a short interview.  Details can be found here.

Other photos and live coverage can be found here.  Which seem to be updated on a regular basis.

Here are some photos from a trip Fi and I did on the weekend.  We figured we might as well do some paddling seeing as we're living on a big island.  So we headed to the Isle of Wight in the English channel  for a two day paddle around the island.  

First problem was that the tides were 6 hours different from what we had thought but easily solved by heading in the opposite way around the island to what we had first intended.

Dodging hundreds of yachts and the odd ferry and hovercraft we made our way east up the Solent (channel between the island and the mainland) to Bembridge.  Once rounding the corner we were back into the oncoming tide but fortunately it was a time of neap tides and we could still average about 7kph as we started along the south coast.  

We stopped just short of St Catherines Point lighthouse where the map showed a campground to stay at.  Unfortunately the map was a bit out of date and the campground was no longer open however there was a pub so we could get a hot meal.  Hunger satisfied we found ourselves a quiet spot on the seafront and set up camp for the night.

50km done on Saturday and 50 left to do.  Sunday started off with a following wind and tide so we made good time down to the Needles at the Western point of the island.  The weather had turned colder but I had Day Two pogies and a Berghaus mountain cap so I was roasty toasty warm.  Rather than battle the tide back up the Solent we spent a couple of hours exploring the old rocket testing site nearby before heading back into the Solent for the final 25km back to the car.  

The wind was against us but the tidal current was with us.  This made for rough conditions but the Insomniac handled it well and we were still able to average 10kph for the final leg.  Trip done  and a nice piece of kayaking discovered.

Just to prove that it's not always raining in the UK.  The start of spring has seen some great weather in Bristol. Perfect for getting out and about on the bikes. 

Marlborough, UK.

Fi and I went to the DARE events 8hr Rogaine in Marlborough yesterday.  We both entered as individuals this time as Fi's bike is still getting fixed so we had to share one bike.  That wasn't as difficult as it sounds as each team/competitor could choose whether to bike or run first.  We just had to ensure that I finished the bike before Fi finished the run otherwise she would be waiting around for me to finish before she could start biking.  

As it was the timing worked out perfectly however that was about the only thing that went perfectly for my race.  I generally struggled the whole way and suffered in the heat (who would have thought that would be a problem in England?).  Although I collected all the controls I was soundly beaten by two Brits and an Aussie (Oh the shame and humiliation!).  

Fi however had a really good race and collected all but 4 controls with just 30 seconds to spare.

So not the best race result but good training and it looks like Summer is definitely on its way.

Fi and I went to Italy for Easter and found some mountains and snow!