So despite all the debauchery that has gone on during The Ride, the original reason for cycling up the coast of Australia was to combine travelling for experience and training the Panther IronMan. Hopefully we got across to all our faithful readers that the former objective was met, time and time again. As for the latter, we might have said we covered the basics but if we excelled at anything, it probably wasn't training. This did worry Aaron as Eric set out to compete in the IronMan a few days back. Although Eric does seem to have a habit of competing in races he hasn't prepared for, this one was meant to take an entire day to complete. Probably not the best time to realise you're not prepared.
Speaking of not being prepared, my half-hearted attempts at bringing my tri bike out for the race failed. So as of T-3 hours till the close of bike registration, I was set to ride my 29er hardtail mountain bike. For those that don't know, this IS NOT the bike made for a 112 mile bike race between a swim and a run. I was prepared to accept the challenge of being not only the only person out of 1600 without a tri bike, but be the only person on a mountain bike. I was not looking forward to competing in my first IronMan on a friggin mountain bike. Fortunately I meandered my way around the IronMan Village and met Victor, the owner of a local bike shop in Port Macquarie. He hooked a brother up with an Avanti carbon, Shimano Ultegra Road bike to ride with! Needless to say I was jazzed that one less thing was going to be working against me in the race. I also managed to find a used tri suit to wear during the swim (luckily I did as I would have been the only person not in one!). Come sunset the night before the race I wondered the city content with my new tri suit, my trusty Avanti, and my good ol' Asics.
Meanwhile, the rest of the crew had carried the tradition of debauchery in Byron Bay, having entered a completely booked out city, Aaron and Flav found a commune cabin outside of town and updated their wills. They were meant to be in Port Macquarie the night before the race but as travelling goes, they opted for the overnight bus arriving minutes before the race started.
That night Devon cruised up from Sydney on the 400 hour train journey that would taken about an hour on the ICE in Germany. Waking up to some heavy rain, I ate my muesli and drank my coffee, then made my way down to race day registration.
I realised quickly that my blue swim cap placed me in the first of 5 swim brackets, which for reasons I'll share later, was not a good thing. As I was waiting to enter the water, Aaron and Flav came running up. Having no idea where they were supposed to be staying and only having minutes before the race was to start, they yelled at the taxi to drive to stop at the first hostel on the way to the IronMan Village. They ran inside this 'random' hostel, threw their bike and bags down, and continued on to the start. Fortunately they made it to see me off, and they actually managed to throw their bags in the correct hostel!
The Swim was 2.4 miles (5.2 kilometres) and consisted of two laps thru the harbour. A steady low tide turning current gave the swimmers false confidence in the first section of the race. Don't fret though, the absolute mayhem that is the start of any IronMan quickly rid most swimmers of any sense of accomplishment. Like perhanas attacking sickly fish, the competitors set off, more fighting to stay afloat than swimming, 1,600 people fought for water and for placement. Amazingly, this obnoxiously congested swim situation nearly didn't let up for me. This is why I should not have been in the first bracket. I spent the next 75 minutes sometimes slowly, sometimes quickly, getting passed by stronger swimmers. They would also take the liberty of grabbing my ankles, locking arms, and hitting my face as they fought for position. I tried to constantly remind myself this is a 12 hour race, a few minutes in the water means very little. My goal for the swim was 75 minutes, so considering the length of the mayhem, I was not too dissapointed with 76. But I was well excited about riding on a road bike for the first time in 60 days (as opposed to a hardtail 26 lb mnt bike with a 50lb trailer attached).
The bike ride was a three lap course that had some nominal hills to speak of in the beginning and ending quarter of the laps. My legs did take a few miles to warm up but I felt like a rockstar on the hills (thanks to the up-till-now dreaded 50lb trailer!). I remember at one stage I was climbing a moderate hill of maybe two hundred meters long and I must have passed a good 2 or 3 dozen riders just on that hill alone. I would approach the hill and see the riders slowly downshift, eventually get out of the saddle, and ultimately accept a slow climb up the hill. Meanwhile, I was downshifting only about halfway up and even then I sat on the saddle and happily hammered the hill. It was a cool feeling for sure.
The romance of hill climbing did subside by the end of the second 36 mile lap though. I was still relatively well off but my right hamstring, just behind my knee was letting me know he wasn't happy with me. I decided to ignore the little bugger and continue to hammer as best I could. After all, I had no idea how the run was going to be accepted, so the bike was my chance. I distincly remember at mile 76 on the bike, during one of the ascends, I felt the first build up of lactic acid in my quads. This concerned me more than anything. It quickly subsided but returned again at mile 80. This was the same time my hands were getting fairly annoyed at the constant vibrating they had to endure over the last 4 1/2 hours. I also had eaten 8 powerbar expired chocolate gels at that point. hmmm. I have had to ride/run with lactic acid build up before, and though it's not fun, it is doable. I just had been hoping that with as much riding as Aaron and I had done, the old lactic tactic would stay away till part way thru the run. I was stoked to see Aaron and Flav while on the bike each time I came in for another lap. Must have been a bit weird for them though: they'd see me come in and pass them in about 6 seconds, then I'd dissappear for nearly 2 hours before returning for another stellar 6 second cameo.
Although I was tiring on the bike, I felt it was more localised to the cycling muscles, my overall body did not feel tired. If true, this would have proven to be most helpful on the run. I came in on the bike in a disappointing 5hrs 58 minutes (my goal was 5 1/2 hours). Total time now read 7 hours 14 minutes. Time for the run.
I got into the transition, had a wee, grabbed my 10 more gel packs for the run and happily saw Devon and Flav; then I saw Aaron as he cheered me on in complete excitement and support, yelling to maintain a healthy pace, never stop for more than a fuel recharge, and pull back slightly if I start falling apart. I actually felt really good considering I had been racing for over 7 hours at that point. I was ready to accept the hardest and most unknown part of the race. I had yet to run more than a half marathon at this point. I had NO idea how my body was going to cope with this. All I knew was to keep myself fueled and hydrated, find a rythm and stick to it.
The first 4 miles were all but completely tragic. My body quickly objected to a change in muscle use, heart rate, rythm, and fatigue. My right hamstring successfully recruited my left one to join in what was soon to be a complete objection to said activities. My nipples, which started to resemble one's eyes after being sprayed with pepper spray, were now re-exposed after the bandaid nipple covers came off, my feet were really hoping for a softer track to run on, and a pinched nerve was letting itself be known in my neck. I seriously wondered how I was going to manage another 22 miles (34kms) of running. I decided both my hamstrings were being too bitchy to deserve attention, my feet would get over the pounding, and the pinched nerve in the neck was only an annoyance. But the nipples, the nipples needed attention. They stung something fierce and weren't going away. I ran a solid 2 miles with my hands holding on to my shirt pulling the shirt off the raw nipples. I thought to myself, 20 more miles of this and my arms are going to fall off. Luckily I decided to give my arms a rest and realised I had stretched my jersey just enough to keep it away from the holy nipples. Sweet, one less thing to worry about.
I banked on my hamstrings holding on for me as I've stressed them before and they always pulled thru for me. I did slightly change my run to keep my speed without extending my stride, so hopefully they would see that as a nice, diplomatic gesture. I knew a breakdown or body crash was at least possible, if not probable. Fortunately in the mean time I finished the first of 3 legs for the run and did so in an hour and thirty minutes. I did some very fuzzy math to realise if I managed to keep this pace, I'd stand a good chance in finishing the race in under 12 hours! The prospects of finishing so much faster than I thought wound up giving me just enough determination to manage the fatigue.
I spent the next hour and a half running a 5 second thought thru my head, over and over and over again: turning the finishing corner and seeing 11hr 57min on the course clock. In the meantime, about 2 miles ahead, Aaron was staging the cheer of the race for me. He had summoned literally hundreds of people to cheer me on once I arrived. Expecting the normal, though super cool, cheers of Aaron, Flav, and Devon, I was smiling ear to ear when the masses cheered my fighting attempts at finishing under 12hrs. It was at this point that I told Aaron I had a fighting chance of destroying my hopeful time and breaking a benchmark time.
With less than 4 miles to go and a quarter of a lap left, I had about 40min till the 12 hour mark. It looked probable that I'd make it, but I didn't want to take chances. I picked up the pace just a notch and hoped that the determination would carry me through. I had been stopping at every station (about every 2km) for 4oz of water, 2oz of Gatorade, 1/2 a banana, and an orange slice. I also had 25 gel packs at that point, probably about 4 liters of water, and around 3 liters of Gatorade. I decided to skip the last station just to make sure I made the time. About half way between the last station and the finish line my system was out of energy. I could tell I was on the verge of a critical nutrition crash. I really hoped I could just get to the supporters a few hundred meters ahead, near the finish and get the hunger out of mind. I turned the corner to see the finish line read 11hr 54min!!! I'm telling you, it was one of the best feelings I think I had ever experienced. I really was proud, as silly as that sounds. A bonus lied in the fact that the fan club Aaron recruited and I grew to recognise with my little 'run-by' comments were at the finish to cheer me on. Hundreds of people lined the finish corridor, so many that I missed Aaron, Flav, and Devon right next to the finish line!
About 30 seconds after I crossed the finish line, both knees locked up, my hampstrings tightened, and my completely exhausted body let me know how depleated of everything it was. After the race I ate a plate of chicken curry rice and pasta. 45 min later I was starving so I had a nice, big plate of lasagna. 3 hours later I woke up starving so ate a large pizza. 3 hours later woke up starving again. I ate a garlic butter baguette and a ham and cheese sandwich. 5 hours later, starving again. It wasn't till the following night that my hunger normalised and I finally went to the bathroom. I also couldn't walk normally for a week. Flav commented about my eating and said that I was pretty much just made up of lasagna and pizza at that point.
And so The Ride concluded, as gloriously as it started. No doubt a trip, a journey, an adventure never to be forgotten. Thanks for coming along with us, thanks for your comments and support. Although it wasn't always easy, it didn't always make sense, it was well worth it!
Eric & Aaron
Monday, April 14, 2008
Monday, April 7, 2008
Fraser Island Off-roading!
Eric does not like over night buses.
Aaron does not like them either.
Flav thinks they are great.
oh ya, we flew down from Cairns, but the comments about the overnight buses are no less true. We arrived in the soon to be rockin' town of Hervey Bay on what was easily the best sunset we had seen this entire trip. We settled into the hostel and met loads of people during the pizza buffet dinner and got to talking to them about their recent Fraser experience. We didn't know if it was just by chance, but something like 3 out of the 4 people we spoke to didn't really have the greatest time. We had heard nothing but greatness about the island before, but so many people had trouble with their group. (on Fraser you take a 4x4 and pack 10 backpackers into and hope for the best).
Well we started off the Fraser Island group experience with a Chinese Firedrill at the first stop we made. Given that 8 out of the 10 people didn't know what that was, it was quite a laugh and set the tone for the rest of the trip. The ghetto blaster then took over the rest.
Aaron took the helm with his absolute zero driving experience on the left side of the road. Eric and Flav were a little concerned. But Aaron managed just fine as we were all smiles with our first experiences driving on this sandy island. We made it to Lake Wabby for some lunch, hiking, and swimming. The lookout for this lake took all of us by surprise. It was an aqua green lake set in an oasis of sand dunes that seemed to span the island. The sand was only interrupted at its edges by lush green trees. Truly a sight to see.
We hiked down the trails to the lake and Flav played a bit of football with some fellow Brits while Eric went for a swim and Aaron topped up his tan next to the Danish girls. Oh Aaron. We cruised from there to find the night's campsite along the 75 mile beach on the Eastern side of the island.
At this point we had already established that we probably had the best group of the lot. We all seemed to be bouncing off each other's humor, along with the ceiling in the 4x4 with Aaron's erotic driving. good times. We hooked up with another group and it turned out we got on with them just as well. It was gonna be a great weekend trip indeed.
After setting up tents and releasing the cooking animal that laid deep insight Flav's soul, we all enjoyed yet another awesome sunset, good tunes, plenty of laughs, and a seemingly endless supply of drinks (including our new drink, an aussie cheapo wine also known as goon).
The next morning we all had to wake up by around 8am as the sun was blasting our tents with some intense heat. It was gonna be a hot one. We gathered the goods, assessed the damage, which included the disappearance of Aaron's bag with his passport and wallet. He searched around for the better part of an hour before finally finding the darn thing 30 meters up the hill. Seems this was courtesy of the local dingos that took a liking to Aaron's manly musk. hmmm.
We set off up the Sand Highway on the Eastern side of the island and made a few stops at the beached ship, the sandy pinnacles, and eventually Eli Creek. En route, 19 year old Brit David (not Flav) wanted to give driving a go, so we gave him a shot and immediately regretted it. We're not positive, but we think it was his first time driving. If it wasn't, then he must collect clutches back home for fun! After about 10 minutes we could smell the clutch burning up and we reigned the crazed driver back in. Not long after we made it to the the Champagne Pools and enjoyed a bit of a swim in the only part of the ocean not infested with breeding Tiger sharks and man-killing jelly fish. We found out the name of the pools couldn't have been more appropriate. The waves that crashed over these rare island rocks bubbled over the top of the rocks and down into a pool. It did indeed look like champagne. Eric tried to drink it.
That night we ate a monster pasta dinner and freely drank the rest of the goon till the wee hours of the night.
The following day we set out back down the coast to Lake McKenzie on our way back to the ferry. Despite expecting a cool sand bar lake, we were all surprised at just how beautiful the lake was. Crystal blue water, the purest of white sand, and all of it surrounded by lush green trees. We vegged out by the lake and soaked up some rays for a few hours before setting off for the ferry. We actually became separated from our group on the way back as they decided to go wash their dishes and we opted not to. We got on the ferry and there was no sign of our other group. We pleaded with the ferry captain but no loving was coming out of his corner. He was setting off exactly at 4pm. Thinking the poor friends missed the ferry we were all bummed that our planned post Fraser Island party was going to be a downer.
Some 45 minutes into the ferry ride though we crossed paths with another ferry and with Eric's telephoto lens, we could see they did indeed make it, just on the wrong ferry. Fortunately they were both bound for the same wicked party that was soon to ensue.
We thought it funny that the "party" night before we left for our Fraser trip (which would have been a whole group's post Fraser welcome back party) was really mellow. Only a handful of people hung out after the pizza party. Compare that to the dozens that were partying their faces off when we got back. Our night was a bit more wild. We had a great time telling stories of our recent adventure, enjoying a resupply of drinks, and making the most of the last night we had together. At some stage, Eric thought it appropriate to rehearse a scene from Anchorman, you know the one where Ron Burgundy receives an urgent and horrifying news message, and he needs everyone to stop what they're doing and listen....CANNONBALL!!! Oh yes, into the pool he went.
If the awesome party didn't solidify our position as having the coolest group ever, breakfast the next morning would have. Twelve of us all dragged ourselves off for a really good breakfast just off the beach as we kept riding the wave we found so entertaining.
Fraser Island was all that it was cracked up to be and so much more.
Aaron does not like them either.
Flav thinks they are great.
oh ya, we flew down from Cairns, but the comments about the overnight buses are no less true. We arrived in the soon to be rockin' town of Hervey Bay on what was easily the best sunset we had seen this entire trip. We settled into the hostel and met loads of people during the pizza buffet dinner and got to talking to them about their recent Fraser experience. We didn't know if it was just by chance, but something like 3 out of the 4 people we spoke to didn't really have the greatest time. We had heard nothing but greatness about the island before, but so many people had trouble with their group. (on Fraser you take a 4x4 and pack 10 backpackers into and hope for the best).
Well we started off the Fraser Island group experience with a Chinese Firedrill at the first stop we made. Given that 8 out of the 10 people didn't know what that was, it was quite a laugh and set the tone for the rest of the trip. The ghetto blaster then took over the rest.
Aaron took the helm with his absolute zero driving experience on the left side of the road. Eric and Flav were a little concerned. But Aaron managed just fine as we were all smiles with our first experiences driving on this sandy island. We made it to Lake Wabby for some lunch, hiking, and swimming. The lookout for this lake took all of us by surprise. It was an aqua green lake set in an oasis of sand dunes that seemed to span the island. The sand was only interrupted at its edges by lush green trees. Truly a sight to see.
We hiked down the trails to the lake and Flav played a bit of football with some fellow Brits while Eric went for a swim and Aaron topped up his tan next to the Danish girls. Oh Aaron. We cruised from there to find the night's campsite along the 75 mile beach on the Eastern side of the island.
At this point we had already established that we probably had the best group of the lot. We all seemed to be bouncing off each other's humor, along with the ceiling in the 4x4 with Aaron's erotic driving. good times. We hooked up with another group and it turned out we got on with them just as well. It was gonna be a great weekend trip indeed.
After setting up tents and releasing the cooking animal that laid deep insight Flav's soul, we all enjoyed yet another awesome sunset, good tunes, plenty of laughs, and a seemingly endless supply of drinks (including our new drink, an aussie cheapo wine also known as goon).
The next morning we all had to wake up by around 8am as the sun was blasting our tents with some intense heat. It was gonna be a hot one. We gathered the goods, assessed the damage, which included the disappearance of Aaron's bag with his passport and wallet. He searched around for the better part of an hour before finally finding the darn thing 30 meters up the hill. Seems this was courtesy of the local dingos that took a liking to Aaron's manly musk. hmmm.
We set off up the Sand Highway on the Eastern side of the island and made a few stops at the beached ship, the sandy pinnacles, and eventually Eli Creek. En route, 19 year old Brit David (not Flav) wanted to give driving a go, so we gave him a shot and immediately regretted it. We're not positive, but we think it was his first time driving. If it wasn't, then he must collect clutches back home for fun! After about 10 minutes we could smell the clutch burning up and we reigned the crazed driver back in. Not long after we made it to the the Champagne Pools and enjoyed a bit of a swim in the only part of the ocean not infested with breeding Tiger sharks and man-killing jelly fish. We found out the name of the pools couldn't have been more appropriate. The waves that crashed over these rare island rocks bubbled over the top of the rocks and down into a pool. It did indeed look like champagne. Eric tried to drink it.
That night we ate a monster pasta dinner and freely drank the rest of the goon till the wee hours of the night.
The following day we set out back down the coast to Lake McKenzie on our way back to the ferry. Despite expecting a cool sand bar lake, we were all surprised at just how beautiful the lake was. Crystal blue water, the purest of white sand, and all of it surrounded by lush green trees. We vegged out by the lake and soaked up some rays for a few hours before setting off for the ferry. We actually became separated from our group on the way back as they decided to go wash their dishes and we opted not to. We got on the ferry and there was no sign of our other group. We pleaded with the ferry captain but no loving was coming out of his corner. He was setting off exactly at 4pm. Thinking the poor friends missed the ferry we were all bummed that our planned post Fraser Island party was going to be a downer.
Some 45 minutes into the ferry ride though we crossed paths with another ferry and with Eric's telephoto lens, we could see they did indeed make it, just on the wrong ferry. Fortunately they were both bound for the same wicked party that was soon to ensue.
We thought it funny that the "party" night before we left for our Fraser trip (which would have been a whole group's post Fraser welcome back party) was really mellow. Only a handful of people hung out after the pizza party. Compare that to the dozens that were partying their faces off when we got back. Our night was a bit more wild. We had a great time telling stories of our recent adventure, enjoying a resupply of drinks, and making the most of the last night we had together. At some stage, Eric thought it appropriate to rehearse a scene from Anchorman, you know the one where Ron Burgundy receives an urgent and horrifying news message, and he needs everyone to stop what they're doing and listen....CANNONBALL!!! Oh yes, into the pool he went.
If the awesome party didn't solidify our position as having the coolest group ever, breakfast the next morning would have. Twelve of us all dragged ourselves off for a really good breakfast just off the beach as we kept riding the wave we found so entertaining.
Fraser Island was all that it was cracked up to be and so much more.
Saturday, March 29, 2008
On to our Action Sports
With a final sprint into the never so excited to be seen town of Tully, Aaron rocked on for a dramatic first place, landing 2,183 kilometers! Eric followed in soon after, still smelling of booze from the previous night's field trip. THE RIDE has finally come to an end and was celebrated in good fashion, like it was 1999. We got into town and booked the last 3 beds at a banana pickers backpackers place. Talk about weird. Crazy canadian dude accused Aaron of smuggling bed bugs, we're putting money on him being looped on crack. Aaron told him paranoia is worse than bed bugs.
After we were cleared by management, we commenced our post race party. We scoured a massive meal and met up with a dutch and aussie couple, whom we saw in three different towns in as many days.
The next day was our great river rafting trip. But first we had to meet the soon to be powerhouse of Team Carnage, Sir David Flavin. Flav silenced the crowds and brushed away the competition as he entered as he stepped off his mini bus to face the raging Tully. Team Carnage enjoyed a picture perfect day and hit the biggest rapids. On the bus to the Tully, Aaron gave the call for all those wanting to "Go big or go home" and we summoned the only other two people that wanted to go big.
Raging down the river we had mastered our power strokes, convinced our guide we were up for the biggest rapids, and we only lost one team member. Aaron came up with the brilliant idea of seeing how long him and Eric could stay in the raft without ever holding on, even thru the class 5 rapids. It wasn't long before we lost a man. See the picture to figure out which man went down.
We had a killer day out on the river, jumping off cliffs, swimming down class 3 rapids, and having water wars with 4 awesome chicks in an enemy raft. Flav nearly died 17 times as he faced imminent doom. He stood strong in the face of danger, stared at death straight in the eyes and said, "Is that all you got! I'm going big!" Chad caught him crying in the corner 4 minutes later.
We had a few drinks at the Tully cafe before heading back to Cairns for Chad's last night and Flav's inaugural night. This was bound for greatness.
We made till dawn as Aaron and Eric wondered why Chad was going for a bike ride. Little did they know it was after 4am and Chad wasn't going for a late night ride, he had to leave for the airport. We quickly grabbed a few items we wanted to dump off, of course it was only a day later we realised we could have used most of the things we dropped off.
The next day was nearly a trip to Fitzroy Island but 2 hrs of sleep on our first day off in 50 days was not exciting. Instead we chilled Lagoon side with the lovely ladies from the enemy raft we met the day before, enjoyed a twilight fire show, and danced our faces off again at the bars.
We then managed the ferry to Fitzroy Island and rocked the kasbah on kayaks all day. We would eventually circumnavigate the island, stopping half way for some wicked snorkeling and hiking. We ate lunch in a boulder cave after seeing the most beautiful stingray Eric, Aaron, or Flav had ever seen. We also found Nemo.
We hiked to the summit of the mini island but did so via cliffside vines and canopied trees. Climbing up a 30ft vine, Aaron and Eric crept thru the tree tops to find Flav charging the backside boulder cliffs. We were running around the boulder island like a bunch of kids off Ritalin. On our descent, Aaron stumbled across a crevasse that split down the 30ft face we climbed up. It was only wide enough for us to slide thru sideways, Flav's nipples are still sore. but that could be because he keeps rubbing them when Aaron's looking. Not sure.
We made it back to the kayaks and Flav took over steering for the boat. Neither one of us could figure out why in the world we couldn't steer to save our lives. Flav was hitting the darn pedals but the friggin thing kept turning on us! After about 15 minutes of snakey curves, we were told our rudder was up. We felt like proper Japanese tourists at that point.
We are now getting ready for an AWESOME 5 day trip to the largest sand island in the world for some 4x4 offroading, shipwreck exploring, freshwater lakes, and late night campfires on FRASER Island! We are well excited. Of course this means we have to box up our bikes, which takes about 14 hours. Not cool.
After we were cleared by management, we commenced our post race party. We scoured a massive meal and met up with a dutch and aussie couple, whom we saw in three different towns in as many days.
The next day was our great river rafting trip. But first we had to meet the soon to be powerhouse of Team Carnage, Sir David Flavin. Flav silenced the crowds and brushed away the competition as he entered as he stepped off his mini bus to face the raging Tully. Team Carnage enjoyed a picture perfect day and hit the biggest rapids. On the bus to the Tully, Aaron gave the call for all those wanting to "Go big or go home" and we summoned the only other two people that wanted to go big.
Raging down the river we had mastered our power strokes, convinced our guide we were up for the biggest rapids, and we only lost one team member. Aaron came up with the brilliant idea of seeing how long him and Eric could stay in the raft without ever holding on, even thru the class 5 rapids. It wasn't long before we lost a man. See the picture to figure out which man went down.
We had a killer day out on the river, jumping off cliffs, swimming down class 3 rapids, and having water wars with 4 awesome chicks in an enemy raft. Flav nearly died 17 times as he faced imminent doom. He stood strong in the face of danger, stared at death straight in the eyes and said, "Is that all you got! I'm going big!" Chad caught him crying in the corner 4 minutes later.
We had a few drinks at the Tully cafe before heading back to Cairns for Chad's last night and Flav's inaugural night. This was bound for greatness.
We made till dawn as Aaron and Eric wondered why Chad was going for a bike ride. Little did they know it was after 4am and Chad wasn't going for a late night ride, he had to leave for the airport. We quickly grabbed a few items we wanted to dump off, of course it was only a day later we realised we could have used most of the things we dropped off.
The next day was nearly a trip to Fitzroy Island but 2 hrs of sleep on our first day off in 50 days was not exciting. Instead we chilled Lagoon side with the lovely ladies from the enemy raft we met the day before, enjoyed a twilight fire show, and danced our faces off again at the bars.
We then managed the ferry to Fitzroy Island and rocked the kasbah on kayaks all day. We would eventually circumnavigate the island, stopping half way for some wicked snorkeling and hiking. We ate lunch in a boulder cave after seeing the most beautiful stingray Eric, Aaron, or Flav had ever seen. We also found Nemo.
We hiked to the summit of the mini island but did so via cliffside vines and canopied trees. Climbing up a 30ft vine, Aaron and Eric crept thru the tree tops to find Flav charging the backside boulder cliffs. We were running around the boulder island like a bunch of kids off Ritalin. On our descent, Aaron stumbled across a crevasse that split down the 30ft face we climbed up. It was only wide enough for us to slide thru sideways, Flav's nipples are still sore. but that could be because he keeps rubbing them when Aaron's looking. Not sure.
We made it back to the kayaks and Flav took over steering for the boat. Neither one of us could figure out why in the world we couldn't steer to save our lives. Flav was hitting the darn pedals but the friggin thing kept turning on us! After about 15 minutes of snakey curves, we were told our rudder was up. We felt like proper Japanese tourists at that point.
We are now getting ready for an AWESOME 5 day trip to the largest sand island in the world for some 4x4 offroading, shipwreck exploring, freshwater lakes, and late night campfires on FRASER Island! We are well excited. Of course this means we have to box up our bikes, which takes about 14 hours. Not cool.
Monday, March 24, 2008
Biking has re-commenced!
We left Airlie Beach heading north towards Cairns. The towns were fairly spaced out which made logistics a bit tricky with food and water. The sun was blaring and humidity was high. We tried to refuel in Ayer but with the Easter Holiday, everything was closed except for Subway which ended up being our lunch, dinner, and morning snack the next day! The area north of Ayer was beautiful but so desolate, even finding a remote turnoff to camp in was difficult.
Finally, we found our oasis - a partially dried up creek bed with sand bars. We were a bit worried about the crocodiles but after seeing the dozens of bird-eating spiders in the bush along the side of the road, we decided to chance it in the open, sandy creek bed. The moon was full and the bugs and birds were out. Despite being somewhat close to the highway, the animal noises were still louder than the occasional traffic. Fortunately, Aaron had his screen tent, Eric had his 4-season tent, and unfortunately, all Chad had was Aaron Rinn's fleece bag-liner hand me down. Which, oddly enough, is still in great shape and can keep you quite warm if you're camping at 12,000 feet in the Sierra's - however, when it is 80 degrees at night with 100% humidity, it can be quite uncomfortable to say the least. You may be thinking to yourself that he could have simply slept on top of it, but you must remember the size and number of the mossies (mosquitoes) out here which could have carried him away in the night!
The next day we packed up the bikes and headed to Home Hill. We stopped at the only open business, which was of course a pub, and ordered up some lunch. We talked to a local who had been drinking at the pub since 1942 (and most likely drunk since then). We asked him if there were crocs in this neck of the woods and he said "oh yeah, Mate, You better just stay 50meters from the creeks, just the other week a guy got dragged out of his tent by 4 meter croc - he didn't live to tell about it!" To which we replied, "right, we'll stay away from those creeks!". We were then off to Green Acres Resort (ha!), which sounded quite refreshing. We had been riding for several hours with no sign of it when we finally came across a lone gas station to ask for directions to Green Acres. The friendly lady behind the counter said, "Well, you found it alright, this is it!". Needless to say Aaron's motto is to keep your expectations low and you just might be pleasantly surprised. Even Aaron wasn't impressed with Green Acres! It was getting late and we wanted to get a bit more mileage under our belt. They pointed us towards a town called Giru up the road a bit. We found the turnoff just at sunset and the bugs and frogs were out in full force. It was so bad we had to put our sunglasses on just to ride through them all. They were crawling around in our helmets with Aaron's hair providing the least amount of protection! We were running into so many bugs, it actually sounded like it was raining! There were dozens of frogs on the road as well, especially under the occasional street light. We found accommodations above the town pub and were able to take much needed showers!
Townsville was the next spot on our trek which is located on the beach. They have areas of the ocean partitioned off by giant screen nets to keep out jelly fish, saltwater snakes, and host of other animals that are not very human-friendly. It was very odd to see a beautiful beach and ocean but you could not go swimming in it. This has had an adverse effect on Eric's swimming training to say the least.
So the biking has been going well. Chad's ultra-light packing has kept him breaking wind (meaning drafting, not something else :-) and leading the pack. We're averaging about 30 km/hr and doing about 80-120km per day. Two days ago Aaron and Eric broke the 2,000km mark! Aaron's legs still show no sign of getting any bigger. Eric on the other hand, looks like he should be trying out for one of the rugby teams out here. Today is our final biking day and we're off to the Tully for river rafting tomorrow. Aaron needs a prescription for Prozac for the onset of his upcoming depression because The Ride is coming to an end. Eric, however, has stepped up his drinking game to an all-time high, but unfortunately it has been at the cost of his Ironman training. Stay tuned to http://www.ironmanoz.com/ to see how he actually does (Stu, Chad's coming to your house to watch the festivities!)
P.S. The Whitsunday Sailing blog is updated more as well...
Finally, we found our oasis - a partially dried up creek bed with sand bars. We were a bit worried about the crocodiles but after seeing the dozens of bird-eating spiders in the bush along the side of the road, we decided to chance it in the open, sandy creek bed. The moon was full and the bugs and birds were out. Despite being somewhat close to the highway, the animal noises were still louder than the occasional traffic. Fortunately, Aaron had his screen tent, Eric had his 4-season tent, and unfortunately, all Chad had was Aaron Rinn's fleece bag-liner hand me down. Which, oddly enough, is still in great shape and can keep you quite warm if you're camping at 12,000 feet in the Sierra's - however, when it is 80 degrees at night with 100% humidity, it can be quite uncomfortable to say the least. You may be thinking to yourself that he could have simply slept on top of it, but you must remember the size and number of the mossies (mosquitoes) out here which could have carried him away in the night!
The next day we packed up the bikes and headed to Home Hill. We stopped at the only open business, which was of course a pub, and ordered up some lunch. We talked to a local who had been drinking at the pub since 1942 (and most likely drunk since then). We asked him if there were crocs in this neck of the woods and he said "oh yeah, Mate, You better just stay 50meters from the creeks, just the other week a guy got dragged out of his tent by 4 meter croc - he didn't live to tell about it!" To which we replied, "right, we'll stay away from those creeks!". We were then off to Green Acres Resort (ha!), which sounded quite refreshing. We had been riding for several hours with no sign of it when we finally came across a lone gas station to ask for directions to Green Acres. The friendly lady behind the counter said, "Well, you found it alright, this is it!". Needless to say Aaron's motto is to keep your expectations low and you just might be pleasantly surprised. Even Aaron wasn't impressed with Green Acres! It was getting late and we wanted to get a bit more mileage under our belt. They pointed us towards a town called Giru up the road a bit. We found the turnoff just at sunset and the bugs and frogs were out in full force. It was so bad we had to put our sunglasses on just to ride through them all. They were crawling around in our helmets with Aaron's hair providing the least amount of protection! We were running into so many bugs, it actually sounded like it was raining! There were dozens of frogs on the road as well, especially under the occasional street light. We found accommodations above the town pub and were able to take much needed showers!
Townsville was the next spot on our trek which is located on the beach. They have areas of the ocean partitioned off by giant screen nets to keep out jelly fish, saltwater snakes, and host of other animals that are not very human-friendly. It was very odd to see a beautiful beach and ocean but you could not go swimming in it. This has had an adverse effect on Eric's swimming training to say the least.
So the biking has been going well. Chad's ultra-light packing has kept him breaking wind (meaning drafting, not something else :-) and leading the pack. We're averaging about 30 km/hr and doing about 80-120km per day. Two days ago Aaron and Eric broke the 2,000km mark! Aaron's legs still show no sign of getting any bigger. Eric on the other hand, looks like he should be trying out for one of the rugby teams out here. Today is our final biking day and we're off to the Tully for river rafting tomorrow. Aaron needs a prescription for Prozac for the onset of his upcoming depression because The Ride is coming to an end. Eric, however, has stepped up his drinking game to an all-time high, but unfortunately it has been at the cost of his Ironman training. Stay tuned to http://www.ironmanoz.com/ to see how he actually does (Stu, Chad's coming to your house to watch the festivities!)
P.S. The Whitsunday Sailing blog is updated more as well...
Thursday, March 20, 2008
Sailing The Whitsundays
After a 4 hour wait at Brisbane Airport, Eric and Aaron joined forces with the one and only, Chad 'Deez nuts' Zdenek, looking fit as ever. Must have been from all the training he did that one day.
We were really excited to meet up with Chad, spice things up a bit, and see what kind of sailing genes we had in us. We made it to Magnums Backpackers in Airlie Beach for some pre-sailing preparation and partying. We spent a ridiculous amount of money on groceries but we figured the likelihood of being marooned was pretty good. So more food was better than less since collectively we had about 4 minutes of sailing experience.
We occasionally had to deal with some wicked wind, high seas, and a bit of confusion about sailing techniques. But thanks to Bryan and his guidance thru the adventurous seas, rather than sailing the safer routes, we found ourselves enjoying beautiful bays and lagoons completely to ourselves. On a few occasions we were the only boat heading into the treacherous weather in order to seek salvation on abandoned islands. The pay off was grand to say the least. We did manage to maneuver around the weather really well. On two occasions we were seemingly the only boat enjoying the rays of Australia's golden sun.
We started our tour with a 2 hour boating lesson from Ian The Great and for some unknown reason, after the lessons, which, to varrying degrees, we did not fully understand, he couldn't get away from us fast enough. Aaron sent him off in the dingy and he ran off, as if he knew the weather was about to turn and he didn't want to get caught in it. So, just like that, the three stouges had the vessel to themselves, for better or for worse.
We headed up to the northern islands of Hayman, Landford, One foot island, and eventually anchored on the north side of Hook Island. Having first landed on Landford island, we couldn't pass up the opportunity to take a few great Corona pics. Soon after that decided the circumnavigating of the island was in good order. The south side of the island was completely covered in coral remains. A beach in the making, the calm waters of the Pacific were slowly breaking down this oceanside cemetary. We eventually hit a cliffside rock section of the island, one that either required a massive hike up the hill, or a more exciting leap into the ocean. Needless to say we opted for the leap. Chad managed to snap the great pic that's on the site, then he had to toss the camera Aaron's way before he made his jump. Just before completing the island circuit, we realised the tide was coming in and the dingy wasn't anchored. Enter in beachside rock running.
That night we made it to Butterfly Bay and looked forward to a morning of Scuba diving and snorkling. After a dual certification process from Chad & Eric's Diving Extravaganza, Aaron was fully prepared for his not so very certified dive. You could see the fear in his eyes as he put the regulator in his mouth for the first time in his life, about 30 seconds before he'd be 15 metres below the surface. sweet.
Chad and Eric took a dive later that day and enjoyed the use of a leaky valve, a dead air gauge, and fins that didn't fit. Eric was the lucky winner with the dead air pressure reader and about 15 minutes into the dive, at about 8 metres of depth, Eric ran completely ran out of air. With about 8 ft of visibility, he could only just see the fins of his soon to be life support. Having taken his last (half) breadth of air, he grabbed Chad's octupus and began to breath normally again. To all the PADI certified divers, we made a safe ascent to the surface. To everyone else, we continued to dive for another 25 minutes.
We hit some fierce weather heading south to Hook Island Resort to pick up Devon. We managed to submarine the boat on several occasions, which of course brought us immediately to the front of the boat to fully experience it. We didn't see many other boats on the water that day...
Aaron was happy to find out the front port hatch was leaking water and completely soaked his luxury suite. That's alright, Chad and Eric blamed it on his overly aggressive steering of the vessel in the first place...
We made it to Hook Island Resort about 4 hours late, but Devon did have two other people to spend the day with on the island, that and a stalkish lizard that wouldn't leave her alone. That night we enjoyed another fine meal, a few drinks, and some late night swimming.
The next day we were heading to one of the highlights of the entire Whitsundays, Whithaven Beach. En route, we managed to come across 3 dolphins, a good 5 or 6 sea turtles, a half dozen 4 ft sting rays, thousands of blue soldier crabs, and a flock of Great White sharks. (The sharks weren't confirmed, but Aaron's pretty sure he saw them.) We hiked up the jungle trail to an epic lookout and enjoyed a clearing of the sky and the a completely desolate beach, at least that's what we thought. We went down to the beach to soak up the views from the ground level and stumbled across literally thouasands of these bizarre "blue soldier crabs". They burroughed in the sand when you approached them and then you'd be forced to walk over just herds of these little guys. very weird feeling. As we were wondering the beach the tide came racing in and totally changed the entire look of the beach.
The next day we really wanted to get to border island but the route that we would have had to take was "not advisable" because of 2-4 metre swells. But with all the experience we had sailing we figured we'd give it a go. We made it to Border Island and successfully got the dingy stranded on a super low tide. We were stranded but hardly bothered. We came prepared with a cooler of drinks, food, and of course, the ghetto blaster. We were good for hours.
That night we grubbed another delicious meal, and happily kept the boat another day. Miraculously, we were able to return the boat without running it aground. We're still trying to figure out how we managed it...
Now we're back on our bikes and have our 6 day stint up the coast to Cairns. Oh man, how quickly we lose our fitness!
We were really excited to meet up with Chad, spice things up a bit, and see what kind of sailing genes we had in us. We made it to Magnums Backpackers in Airlie Beach for some pre-sailing preparation and partying. We spent a ridiculous amount of money on groceries but we figured the likelihood of being marooned was pretty good. So more food was better than less since collectively we had about 4 minutes of sailing experience.
We occasionally had to deal with some wicked wind, high seas, and a bit of confusion about sailing techniques. But thanks to Bryan and his guidance thru the adventurous seas, rather than sailing the safer routes, we found ourselves enjoying beautiful bays and lagoons completely to ourselves. On a few occasions we were the only boat heading into the treacherous weather in order to seek salvation on abandoned islands. The pay off was grand to say the least. We did manage to maneuver around the weather really well. On two occasions we were seemingly the only boat enjoying the rays of Australia's golden sun.
We started our tour with a 2 hour boating lesson from Ian The Great and for some unknown reason, after the lessons, which, to varrying degrees, we did not fully understand, he couldn't get away from us fast enough. Aaron sent him off in the dingy and he ran off, as if he knew the weather was about to turn and he didn't want to get caught in it. So, just like that, the three stouges had the vessel to themselves, for better or for worse.
We headed up to the northern islands of Hayman, Landford, One foot island, and eventually anchored on the north side of Hook Island. Having first landed on Landford island, we couldn't pass up the opportunity to take a few great Corona pics. Soon after that decided the circumnavigating of the island was in good order. The south side of the island was completely covered in coral remains. A beach in the making, the calm waters of the Pacific were slowly breaking down this oceanside cemetary. We eventually hit a cliffside rock section of the island, one that either required a massive hike up the hill, or a more exciting leap into the ocean. Needless to say we opted for the leap. Chad managed to snap the great pic that's on the site, then he had to toss the camera Aaron's way before he made his jump. Just before completing the island circuit, we realised the tide was coming in and the dingy wasn't anchored. Enter in beachside rock running.
That night we made it to Butterfly Bay and looked forward to a morning of Scuba diving and snorkling. After a dual certification process from Chad & Eric's Diving Extravaganza, Aaron was fully prepared for his not so very certified dive. You could see the fear in his eyes as he put the regulator in his mouth for the first time in his life, about 30 seconds before he'd be 15 metres below the surface. sweet.
Chad and Eric took a dive later that day and enjoyed the use of a leaky valve, a dead air gauge, and fins that didn't fit. Eric was the lucky winner with the dead air pressure reader and about 15 minutes into the dive, at about 8 metres of depth, Eric ran completely ran out of air. With about 8 ft of visibility, he could only just see the fins of his soon to be life support. Having taken his last (half) breadth of air, he grabbed Chad's octupus and began to breath normally again. To all the PADI certified divers, we made a safe ascent to the surface. To everyone else, we continued to dive for another 25 minutes.
We hit some fierce weather heading south to Hook Island Resort to pick up Devon. We managed to submarine the boat on several occasions, which of course brought us immediately to the front of the boat to fully experience it. We didn't see many other boats on the water that day...
Aaron was happy to find out the front port hatch was leaking water and completely soaked his luxury suite. That's alright, Chad and Eric blamed it on his overly aggressive steering of the vessel in the first place...
We made it to Hook Island Resort about 4 hours late, but Devon did have two other people to spend the day with on the island, that and a stalkish lizard that wouldn't leave her alone. That night we enjoyed another fine meal, a few drinks, and some late night swimming.
The next day we were heading to one of the highlights of the entire Whitsundays, Whithaven Beach. En route, we managed to come across 3 dolphins, a good 5 or 6 sea turtles, a half dozen 4 ft sting rays, thousands of blue soldier crabs, and a flock of Great White sharks. (The sharks weren't confirmed, but Aaron's pretty sure he saw them.) We hiked up the jungle trail to an epic lookout and enjoyed a clearing of the sky and the a completely desolate beach, at least that's what we thought. We went down to the beach to soak up the views from the ground level and stumbled across literally thouasands of these bizarre "blue soldier crabs". They burroughed in the sand when you approached them and then you'd be forced to walk over just herds of these little guys. very weird feeling. As we were wondering the beach the tide came racing in and totally changed the entire look of the beach.
The next day we really wanted to get to border island but the route that we would have had to take was "not advisable" because of 2-4 metre swells. But with all the experience we had sailing we figured we'd give it a go. We made it to Border Island and successfully got the dingy stranded on a super low tide. We were stranded but hardly bothered. We came prepared with a cooler of drinks, food, and of course, the ghetto blaster. We were good for hours.
That night we grubbed another delicious meal, and happily kept the boat another day. Miraculously, we were able to return the boat without running it aground. We're still trying to figure out how we managed it...
Now we're back on our bikes and have our 6 day stint up the coast to Cairns. Oh man, how quickly we lose our fitness!
Brisbane Baby!
By the 11th of March, we had to catch our train into Brisbane in order to meet Chad at the airport. We thought we'd head out for a quiet dinner, a Guinness or two, and turn in early. Just when we thought the wild times would subside, we received a call from the party master. We were joined at the bar with two great girls, Callie and Rebbecca for what would turn out to be a not so quiet night. For Eric the party call came in the form of 27 gorgeous Guinness and an off-white, slightly torn tutu. For Aaron, it was all about a really hot, yet slightly disturbing white-man version of Tina Turner, complete with an overly tight purple boobalicious top, an '80s-licious gold wig, and some Armani shades. Needless to say we were in for a wild night (and ready for the competition). Oh ya, the wardrobe change was met with an equally laughable change in drinking patterns. An innocent mistake at the bar left Eric and Aaron with a pitcher of beer, each. Not willing to let beer get warm, we gave the cups a miss and drank straight from the pitcher. After a bit of that, we felt compelled to enter the "I'm a man but I like to dress as hot '80s women" dance competition. *see photo* :)
Eric took the stage by storm, after having dropped his drawers and sporting only the ass-torn tutu, he nearly broke the cross bars he decided he needed to dance on. The final tally was taken by crowd applause, and the poor guy next to him couldn't hang with Eric's pouring of his pitcher of beer into his mouth and down his tutu from two feet above his head.
Thanks for the fun and the motivation we needed to enter the competition Callie and Rebbecca! I don't know when the last time was that we laughed that hard. Our stomachs are still sore.
The next morning we raced to the airport and had to quickly pack up our bikes for Airlie Beach.
Eric took the stage by storm, after having dropped his drawers and sporting only the ass-torn tutu, he nearly broke the cross bars he decided he needed to dance on. The final tally was taken by crowd applause, and the poor guy next to him couldn't hang with Eric's pouring of his pitcher of beer into his mouth and down his tutu from two feet above his head.
Thanks for the fun and the motivation we needed to enter the competition Callie and Rebbecca! I don't know when the last time was that we laughed that hard. Our stomachs are still sore.
The next morning we raced to the airport and had to quickly pack up our bikes for Airlie Beach.
En Route To Byron Bay
Aaron Liked Byron Bay.
Eric Liked Byron Bay too.
After a huge road ride from Evans Head at our fastest maintained speed yet, we cruised into the laid back town of Byron Bay for some well deserved fun in the sun. We were lucky to have arrived early enough to get a room and quickly headed out for the afternoon run to explore the town. We found out the town was worth a visit for several days. We enjoyed a night of live music at the beachside bar and got into our groove.
The next morning Aaron had the strength to wake up for a sunrise on Australia's eastern most point. We went for another run to the lighthouse and down the entire beach. good times. That afternoon we hung beachside and soaked up some gorgeous rays. It wasn't long before Eric realised the opportunity that lied before him, so he made the move, bought a bag of ice, a litre of cola, and good ol' Cap't. Oh man, good times for sure.
That night we had a SWEET prime rib dinner at a cool restaurant just across our live music joint. We topped off the night with a fire show, beachside of course. Unfortunately Eric managed to top the Maui burn back in August with a 3-4 second burn circling his stomach. Not so good times. But, as our friends from the movie Point Break infamously said, "Pain is temporary, Glory lasts forever, and Chicks dig scars."
The next morning we had to hit the road early for another huge ride to catch Chad in time in Brisbane. Fortunately we had an extra day pop in our schedule somewhere so we were able to chill beachside once again at Surfer's Paradise. It was a sweet beach spot but the town itself was a little too Vegas like, only a bit cheesier. Not to mention the contrast between Surfer's and Byron Bay. But we had our fun cruising the town, regrouping a bit, and going for another long beach run.
All in all, we loved the atmosphere of Byron Bay and definitely appreciated the opportunity to relax a bit.
Eric Liked Byron Bay too.
After a huge road ride from Evans Head at our fastest maintained speed yet, we cruised into the laid back town of Byron Bay for some well deserved fun in the sun. We were lucky to have arrived early enough to get a room and quickly headed out for the afternoon run to explore the town. We found out the town was worth a visit for several days. We enjoyed a night of live music at the beachside bar and got into our groove.
The next morning Aaron had the strength to wake up for a sunrise on Australia's eastern most point. We went for another run to the lighthouse and down the entire beach. good times. That afternoon we hung beachside and soaked up some gorgeous rays. It wasn't long before Eric realised the opportunity that lied before him, so he made the move, bought a bag of ice, a litre of cola, and good ol' Cap't. Oh man, good times for sure.
That night we had a SWEET prime rib dinner at a cool restaurant just across our live music joint. We topped off the night with a fire show, beachside of course. Unfortunately Eric managed to top the Maui burn back in August with a 3-4 second burn circling his stomach. Not so good times. But, as our friends from the movie Point Break infamously said, "Pain is temporary, Glory lasts forever, and Chicks dig scars."
The next morning we had to hit the road early for another huge ride to catch Chad in time in Brisbane. Fortunately we had an extra day pop in our schedule somewhere so we were able to chill beachside once again at Surfer's Paradise. It was a sweet beach spot but the town itself was a little too Vegas like, only a bit cheesier. Not to mention the contrast between Surfer's and Byron Bay. But we had our fun cruising the town, regrouping a bit, and going for another long beach run.
All in all, we loved the atmosphere of Byron Bay and definitely appreciated the opportunity to relax a bit.
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