Lake D

There were also some nice pictures without Clare in them. And then there was this Random bag piper all alone on a random snowy hill one day. It will make a nice story for band camp.

Happy New Year

My sister came to stay.

My sister came to stay.

Inside and outside the Yurt

Well last weekend saw us in Scotland for Neil's Birthday.

We headed towards Dumfries way and stayed at a place called Mathrown near Mabie. http://www.marthrownofmabie.com/ This place was pretty cool, we had one of the Yurts to ourselves complete with pot belly stove that was cranked up the entire time. I have never been so hot in winter! The fire heated spa was also spectacularly hot (Neil was able to get in but I had to keep getting in and out a lot - I never thought I would be happy sitting in the rain early winter in the UK!) and the Sauna just as good. We even made use of tipping buckets of ice cold spring water on out heads to cool off - before getting straight back in the spa/sauna! There was also a roundhouse to stay in and Tipi (summer only) as well as the usual bunk rooms etc.

Spa and Sauna

The Mountain bike trail was approx 200m up the road and a pretty good one too. Mabie was one of the 7 Stanes http://www.forestry.gov.uk/forestry/ACHS-5RJEKY a series of purpose built mountain bike trails in Scotland. They are pretty much one loop (for each grade) and take on average 1-2 hrs to complete but are ride able all year round. Lots of gravely bits and rocky technical sections with plenty of hills and undulations - no sand in sight! Not quite the same networks as Rotorua or Woodhill but pretty damn good anyway. The next day saw us head to the other side of Dumfries to Ae another one of the Stanes for another great ride. It even managed to hold off the rain both days while we were riding which is pretty much unheard of for Scotland!(Photos on facebook and out blog)

Riding Ae near Dumfries

Other than that we have been doing the weekly night orienteering in the area, I have been floundering around in the dark (literally) a bit but new ay-up lights have been helping a bit and Neil had a good win last night, this weekend we are planning on doing one of the trail quests (3hr MTB rogain)

For Christmas we head to Cirencester to Neil's Granny and Uncle, his sister will join us there and come back with us to Whitehaven, hopefully we will head back to Scotland for New Years but nothing is planned yet.

Well I guess a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you all, I hope you have great plans. Till the next one K

Well after a week to recover I think I might be ready to make an update!

At the start of November we headed over to Portugal for the Adventure Racing World Champs in Portugal. Neil was racing in Nga Rakau and I was supporting OrionHealth.com. We got there a week before race start to relax for a bit, catch up with the kiwis (which was soo good to do) who were coming over earlier and generally have a wee look around Portugal. We were based in Cascias which is just outside Lisbon, the weather wasn't quite as warm as we had hoped (shorts and t-shirts at times but def not beach or swimming weather, the mist usually lasted till mid morn and a fair amount of rain) still it was an improvement from the UK and what I had heard of the NZ weather lately. A quick shop for warmer clothes and race food soon got us right and we threw ourselves into the great local coffee and pastries with gusto! The girls and I (Annie and Sonya - crewing for Nga Rakau) made good use of the cycle way along the beach and the teams time needed to plan and prepare to explore on bike and foot the beachfront and up to the Sintra National park. There are some great hills for cycling and it was good to get the chance to get out and about as there was very little later on! The two teams and crews spent a day in the National Park using old maps to try and get into the area a bit and explore some of the castle ruins there.

Views of the Estoril coast

Walking the streets of Estoril with the Nga Rakau support crew: Brian, Sonya and Annie

Saturday saw us catching up with some of the other teams the others knew through racing (adventure or orienteering) and generally getting ready to race. Briefing was at 6pm and the maps came out after that so most of the night was spent on planning and last minute preparation. The 60+ maps were a little overwhelming I think and the format looked complicated with a whole heap of points up for grabs and many many time cut offs to make! Not the standard format at all. Essentially the first part of the course looked very physical with lots of hills and technical terrain and the latter part looked very intellectual with lots of decisions to be made in order to meet the cut offs and finish at all!

Day one of the race was based in Estoril (close to Lisbon and very near where we were staying) starting with a confusing mix of optional activities (from swims, surfs, diving, archery, orienteering, bowling etc) with a different allocation of points. Teams were to collect a total of 100 before progressing on. From there it was relatively short rollerblading, mountain biking and trekking legs to the finish of the first day. Teams then packed their gear and vans and from the 3hr (approx) drive north to Lousa (near Coimbra). More preparation and a short sleep saw everyone up and ready for the day two start at 8am. Miranda do Corva was very rugged, steep and the start was at the top of a castle type structure with some fantastic views.

From the start of day two everything gets confusing partly a combination of the race format meaning the support crews were either a few stages ahead or behind of the racers to collect or drop off gear in time, random compulsory time waits to ensure we couldn't 'help our teams' on route (this ensuring time was tight, we arrived at a transition area at the same time as OrionHealth after following the compulsory 1.5hr wait before leaving!), really poor instructions to get to the transition areas (at times 'to' could mean into the named town, towards it or through it and out the other side before the next instruction lead us on, and when we did get into the town we still had no idea where the transition area was located in it!). The time cut offs also meant that every single transition was insanely hectic, often with only minutes to spare before the team needed to be out again to ensure they could proceed on the next stage. Often the team needed to sleep on the course rather than the nice tent with warm sleeping bags and hot food we had prepared! I think the teams averaged approx 6-8 hrs sleep over the 5 days (from day 2 start) and support crew approx 10-12.

However the locals were usually pretty hospitable if somewhat confused as to what was going on, the food was always good and there were a number of spectator points where we could view the teams from a distance which fully catered for the crews with local produce and foods. There were showers plenty and lots of water available for refuelling - did I mention how good the coffee was!? Also the race format meant that all the crews were together a lot of the time so could help out at a push or at the very least have a good natter and speculation as to who was in the lead and what was happening to the respective teams on the course. Also if we all got lost together we then 'found ourselves' again much faster. 'Extra insidences' for Orion were pretty light, a tyre bulge resulted in a 3 hr loop to Coimbra and back, broken spoke in a tyre switch between Stu and Views over Penhasda Saude

Anna (we didn't think the team wanted to pay over 200 Euro to replace the entire tyre, brake system etc) and a momentarily loss of a team member - worrying but all turned out alright in the end!

Transition Meyham

Essentially the race course from day two on went approximately (although the teams didn't usually travel through the main towns much for following them on a map I have used them for you) from Lousa, Seia, Covilah, Fundao, Castelo Branco, Marvao, Vila de Rei, Fatima, Minde, Caldas da Rainha and finished in Baleal near Peniche. On the way they travelled approx 900 km and some of the highlights included lots of downhill mountain biking, some tricky navigation, exploring some beautiful old castles, kayaking a river that was Portugal on one side/Spain on the other, attacks of the sleep monsters, Mr Porkies pork crackling, buying out the local pastry shop (and the local food in general - esp pizza and pastries) and overall I think the chance to explore a very beautiful country in a way you never would as a tourist with a bunch of very cool people (teams and crew).

The finish was at a stunning beach near Peniche, Nga Rakau achieved their goal of finishing in 32nd place and Orion possibly a little disappointed with their 4th. Anna's tendonitis resulting in her being carried for the last few km including over the finish resulting in some great photos (photos on facebook and our blog). From then on it was a quick pack, sleep, prize giving, sleep again and catching the plane home again.

Nga Rakau and Orionhealth.com finish at Baleal Beach after approx 900km! (More photos on facebook too!)

Since we have gotten home life has revolved around work and sleep (unsurprising). However the drama hasn't stopped there. Our plane was delayed coming home due to storms and everything being held up in Heathrow. That rain waterlogged the ground and over thursday and thursday night a whole months worth of rain fell in 32 hours resulting in massive flooding in Cumbria. Keswick and Cockermouth have been hit the hardest with 2.5m of water filling the main streets, lakes and rivers have flooded the highways and bridges have been swept away. Luckily as we are up so high we haven't been affected - apart from my having a course in Penrith resulting in a 5 hr trip home due to detours. Still it is a 1 in a 1000 year incident and people are still reeling from it. More rain is scheduled for tonight and tomorrow so we will have to wait and see how things go.

How are things at home? We look forward to hearing any news

All the best in the lead up to Christmas.

Whitehaven settled

Yeah for leaving the IOM! Karyn jumping for joy on Mt Karrin

Sun setting over the IOM from St Bees beach below Whitehaven.

Well we are well and truely settled into Whitehaven now. The Isle of Man feels like a long time ago!

St Bees Beach Sunset sand

Last weekend found us in Wales with Fi and Stu (friends from NZ living in Bristol). We stayed at a backpackers in Betws-y-coed Snowdonia which is a lovely thriving tourist town with lots of shopping, walking, mountain biking etc for those with the inclination. I was still feeling under the weather so let the others get on with the training weekend before the Portugal race.First up for them was a hike up Mt Snowden via the extreme scrambling route (shear drop off on either side) and a walk back to the hostel where I had returned with the car. The next day involved biking the Marin trail near by. Check out Orion's blog or Fi's facebook for more pics etc. Both offered fantastic views of what country side could be seen through the fog and drizzle but all in all a successful weekend had by all.

This week has seen me sole charge for the community and the ward which after two weeks on the job had me scrambling a bit, normally there are 3 of us! - I am sure things will get faster when I learn where to find everything in each department! Never mind had a few unusual cases arrived on the ward but no disasters and I got through all the others I had booked in and those unexpectedly needing to be seen, I will be glad to hand back to the ward Physio that's for sure - I think I will stick with community for a while longer! This week has also seen Neil back in the role of working man. He is working for an accountancy firm (Robinsons and co) in Workington (10 mins train ride north). Its a month by month contract but they have at least 3 months worth of work and if things keep going as they are then more beyond that. Apparently it's pretty boring work but still I think he is happy to be earning.

This weekend saw us exploring a bit closer to home. We headed to Keswick (pronounced without the w) for some shopping for the race and warm winter clothes. Neil hasn't had much access to kayaks for a while so he hit the Derwant water (which is a lake but for some reason you have to call it 'water') while I took it easy on some of the rides in Winlatter forest park. Everything is all Autumn colours and very pretty at the moment. There is defiantly a chill in the air. The weather was stunning which I am told to appreciate as it will be lacking for the next 6-7 months.

The trails in Winlatter Forest Park

Autum Colours (and air temp!)

Today with typical English prediction was drizzly but still we headed on down to Wast water to be blown about in some river kayaks. We have joined the kayak club here but the sea kayaks are few and far between still it was good to get out and try the new paddles - very nice they were too!

We have also managed to join the local Orienteering club. This weeks run was around the marina and lower part of the town and parks. Due to the risk of the ident boxes being tampered with we had to get to the circle then identify what we could see on the ground with the corresponding picture on the boarder of the map. All very well in the dusk then dark. Still it was fun in a 'not so hurried because we were peering into the dark kinda way' through we must have looked pretty stupid to Joe Average!

Well best get ready for work in the morn!

Views from a ride Neil and Andrew went on.

Well it looks like we have survived the first week of work at Whitehaven. I have had a rotten cold so Neil has been picking up the pieces in the evenings. Unfortunately the girl covering the post was only there for last week so it was pretty much make use of her time or go without - I chose to spend the time with her and am very glad for it. I seem to have about 70 people on my caseload but not as complicated cases as I was used to at home. Many of which I only review termly or require only boosts of therapy after surgery etc. These kids are spread around 20 or so small schools covering Whitehaven itself all the way down to Millom (near Barrow-in-Furness). There seems to be schools every few blocks but they are pretty small so some only have a few rooms each! The driving will be interesting. Most are on country roads which are often blocked and regularly used by big slow trucks, campervans, busses etc. Road names are pretty much non existent and so many of these places (especially the homes) are tucked away unexpectedly. Hopefully as i get used to the layout it will become easier. Spending the week driving around with Kathleen certainly helped a bit! It is a slightly more isolated role than the last ones where pretty much I work alone. Hopefully the work based at the hospital will keep me in touch with others. Still it seems a nice enough place to work from what I have seen.

Whitehaven harbour

The house is as good as we could have coped for. Richard our flatmate is hardly ever home (he is a fireman and often does nights at the station) and is in the process of becoming a fire trainer in Carslile (quite a drive away) so we haven't seen him much. Its a 3 bedroom place (yes a whole room for visitors! - well a single on anyway) and two levels so the rooms are fairly large by UK standards. Our skpye is all set up now, I think we tend to use mine a bit more so if you search under my email it should link through. Our address is 11 Irt Avenue, Whitehaven, Cumbria, CA28 8AZ UK. We also have finally gotten a car since leaving the Island (It was too much cost and rigmarole while we were there to organise one) The Vauxhall Astra is doing well so far. (a bit like a small legacy or caldina in shape). We should be able to fit all our stuff in but will defiantly test it next weekend when we head to North Wales to catch up with Fi and Stu for the others to have a bit of a training weekend together before Nov.

More of the boys ride

Andrew Butterworth (NZ friend living near London) came up mid week to go exploring with Neil. We were given a great Mountain Biking Guide from the IOM team I was working with and they have managed to complete 3 of the rides in it already! Each of them well worth the ride - we will have fun i am sure working out way through it! We also managed a walk around Ennerdale lake which was stunning. Neil was practising his 'paddle a slow boat' for the Portugal race in November so we were having a little giggle at his expense on the lake in a white water boat. I think they work a bit better in moving water! The only other place we have managed to explore is the cycle way just down the road from our place as Neil practises his Rollerblading (again in preparation for the Portugal race - he has posted a link to a wee video of this on his attackpoint if you were interested.) Everything is so close to our back door here it's fantastic. Hopefully as we get more settled (and well again) we will get a chance to get stuck in to it!

Ennerdale lake

We have been getting a taste of the changeable weather here. We have had a few days of stunning sunshine though overall the temp has dropped with a few grotty days. Yesterday was horrid, massive winds, sideways rain, water all over the road and whitecaps as far as you can see towards the IOM (on a good day we can see it) today in contrast today is bluebird with no wind. Dinner in the train car

Roller Boogie 3000 Neil

Hi there all,Its been a while but things are slowly moving along nicely. We now only have 2 weeks left on the Isle of Man and are pretty much happy to move on now. We have managed to secure a place in Whitehaven with a guy (Richard the house owner) who is into his kayaking, climbing and mountain biking. Hopefully we will get a little inside knowledge on where the best places to play are.

The only thing we need to get now is a car as I need one for the first day of work - then of course how to get ourselves and all our things from the IOM to Whitehaven! Hmm interesting.

We spent the long weekend back on the mainland. Neil's cousin Sarah got married in Cirescester. It was a lovely (relaxed) English ceremony and it was good to meet some of the English side of his family and catch up with his Granny again. Luckily it was a stunning day which was a welcome change from the last few weeks on the island. We stayed with Fi and Stu in Bristol the other days. Kayaking around Bath and Bristol and mountain biking in Southern Wales on the way down and back. The change of senery was very welcome, the trails wonderful and the canals intriguing. All in all a very successful weekend!