Ice Skating Swan

Here's my first mobile post from my iPhone
Exeter canal, ice skating swan as photographed by Richard on his iPhone!

Tom

The Best Made Plans...

...Of Mice And Men (or a catalogue of errors)

One of our team pets, Evo (with pink ear muffs)

We've also pick up the first DW team zebra, Ellie-

Ellie on her bike

Anyway, I better explain the title of this entry. Everything was laid out in a nice simple fashion. All I had to do was drive from Wokingham in Berkshire down to Devon and then Richard and I, with the GT Condor, would drive to Devizes Wharf and meet up to paddle with Michael from Cortisone/Beajolais, who had driven down from Scotland, and paddle the Bruce Tunnel and Crofton Flight. I had missed out paddling my K1 at Longridge due to red boards, high water and not enough people! Thanks to Alan for babysitting my Epsilon for a long time.

I left after a Boxing Day meal and headed to Devon. However, I got as far along the M4 as the A34 junction when my Saab started to produce James Bond smoke screens and the temperature guage went off the scale. I got to the services and found one of my hoses had split- not good! I called the teamGT logistics manager and teamGT mechanic, Mark. I also called my breakdown. The breakdown mechanic put radiator tape and a couple of cable ties on the hose.

This worked fine until I got past the Bath junction and the temperature went sky rocket once more. I phoned the breakdown once again. This time the mechanic looked at the problem, because the repair was on a bend it would never have been as good as on a straight piece. So he chopped off the split section attached a new piece (of old hose) to the engine block and then put the original, smaller diameter hose inside this new one so they overlapped by 10-12cm and secured it with a jubilee clip.

I got home at 03:45. I have texted Richard to phone me at 08:00. We met up at Exeter services off the M5 at about 10:00. I pointed out that although I had e-mailed Michael I didn't have a phone number for him. However, Richard phoned his uncle who live 200m from the start of the DW. He walked down to the Wharf and explained our problems to Michael. The canal was frozen anyway.

            

The problem with frozen canals was also in Exeter. We looked at several option and eventually gave up and went back to Richard's! We did speak to Michael on the phone that evening.

Today we looked at the sea at Dawlish. As we've both see Titanic we decided it was a very bad idea and headed North to paddle on the Tone in Taunton. This was  a good session followed by a sauna and spa.

So over all not what we wanted but not the disaster I could have been.

My Epsilon is now happy as it fits in my car park on top of the car which is still working, anyone want to but a Saab 900S- 1 careful lady owner (and 7 really bad ones!)

Tom

100 days and counting

We're sitting in a sports nutrition specialist outlet in Exeter (McDonalds) and my

Mc Festive McPie has only taken the epithelial layer off the roof of my McMouth!

Anyway, Christmas shopping is done, sort of and it is 99 days until the start of the 4 day DW2010 and 100 days until we attempt the senior DW2010 in  our teamGT Condor. As I said when Richard agreed to this, time goes so fast when you're having fun!

Just to put things into context, it's 5 days until our next training outing and 11 days until our first race- Frank Luzmore (if it's not cancelled).

I've just stolen some of Richard's pink flavoured milk shake while he wasn't looking so my mouth blistering isn't quite as bad  as a mo' ago.

Any way have a good Christmas and we'll report on our training session, or chocolate eating or something.

Before I forget, Exeter is an ice rink so we're just performed Cars (On Ice)

(This car park isn't wet, it's sheet ice!)

Tom


Hallo!!!


We are planning some interesting challenges to compliment the training and keep it light hearted and enjoyable.  You may have already seen our list of Team GT pets, and we plan to think of other interesting things.


You may have seen our footage of the Open Mic night we performed at last week, and we thought it may be possible to do that somewhere on the course????  Who knows because we have some crazy ideas!!!


Anyway, I for one am definitely looking forward to a log paddle on the K&A Canal at Crofton, it will get rid of the Christmas cobwebs, and give the boat a wash as the birds are using it in between paddles as a latrine.  Mmmmm, nice!


Have a Happy Christmas and a great New Year, and we hope to meet those of you that follow us very soon.


Safe Journeys!


Rich

The Ice Age is here again! But we still paddled!

We visited Tiverton for our long planned paddle along the Tiverton Canal, but came across a minor issue with the weather that hampered our plans.......

Because ducks could walk across it, and our boat is not named HMS Endurance, we did not venture out on to the frozen waterway.  So, to plan B!  Pub? No!  Ok, plan C?  Take boat to Exeter!


Quite frankly, it's fffffffffrrrreeezzzzing out there, and I didn't want to go swimming today.   We phoned AS Watersports (great guys in there, go buy stuff from them if you are ever in Exeter) to ask if polar bears and penguins (I know the 2 don't mix Tom, southern and northern hemisphere and all that!) were hassling passers by, or if the ice age hadn't reached there yet was it safe to paddle?


Well, long story short, there was thin ice on the canal that we reckoned we could break through safely without damaging the boat, or freeing up a crew slot for the upcoming DW2010 by, well, becoming trapped in the ice.  


After a couple of wobbles getting the boat going from the side of the basin in Exeter, we set off along the passage that an earlier boat had broken through.  This was interesting as ice was re-forming in the narrow passage, and we had to cut through the ice with our paddles to actually make any headway.  I found it exciting to say the least!  I have never paddled through ice before, and although I knew we wouldn't tip over, if we had it would have been tricky getting out as we would have to break the ice whilst swimming to the edge.  Very cold I should think!


Anyway, very little of the Exeter Canal was paddleable (is that a word?) so we hopped out of the boat and went for a longer paddle on the Exe itself.  This was a first for Tom as he has never actually paddled the Exe.  We practised some portages, high and low entries and exits, a racing turn (quite a slow one, but we are a racing team in a racing boat so we claimed that one), and a spot of jogging with the boat in hand.


We need to thank the AS Watersports guys for letting us warm up in their shop afterwards, and for looking after my car-keys.  


Tom will add some more pictures and a bit more about our day.  Hopefully he will say nice things about my paddling, but he will probably talk about all his shiny new kit that he was wearing today.


I have a favourite new word for today, 'Pogies'!  Brilliant little things!  Warm hands are amazing!


Rich

In the bleak midwinter...

...snow lay all around, earth was hard as iron, water like a stone!

This Christmas carol was a good description of Devon this morning

However, I had taken a day of work and we were going paddling, whatever the conditions. Due to the weather forecast and roads report we decided not to go as planned at 08:00 but wait until after 09:00. So at 09:45, we had defrosted and packed the team car and set off for Tiverton. However, when we got to the Grand Western Canal we came across a problem

Yes the water was like a stone. The ice wasn't thick enough to stand on but I was able to put one foot on without breaking it. It was too thick to try and use the Condor as an ice breaker. If it was a glass club boat then it would have been ok but as it's mine and is carbon Kevlar I wasn't prepared to put it's tensile strength to the test. So we needed a new plan. Exeter or Taunton. I phoned AS Watersports and asked them for a canal report. They told me it had ice but it wasn't too thick.  Exeter it was then.

The canal had ice but it wasn't as thick as Tiverton so we decided to give it a go.

We dropped the boat in and broke the ice. Once we were both in we took a bit longer than necessary to get off. Richard had never paddled through ice before and was considering the implications of swimming in an iced up canal. AS Watersports were our safety back up. If we weren't back before 13:30 send out the search party. Once we were steady we set off through the ice. The wings were more like ice axes than paddles as we tried to follow the winding path another small craft had cut earlier. I took a while to make it through the ice into clear water. The only problem was that the clear water didn't last for long. We came to more ice thicker than that which we had just paddled through. We decided to portage and put in on the River Exe rather than the canal.

Once on the river we got going with a few wobbles. We portaged again at river left of the Flower Pots. Above the Flower Pots the river was iced again. We decided this was not a good idea. Back in and paddling we headed back down stream. This now felt the best we've paddled and moving at a decent pace. I decided that if we couldn't paddle a decent distance then we'd practice some quality portages.

The portages we did weren't Brian Greenham ultrafast back in the boat before we get out but they are improving.

I really don't think Richard realises how quick he's improving

Very big thanks to AS Watersports too!

Tom

Saturday, 6 days till Christmas...

6 days till Christmas, 15 days till the Frank Luzmore, 50 days until Waterside A and 103 days until DW2010

Performance

No not one of the worst films in history starring Mick Jagger, but teamGT doing our first gig at an open mic in the West Country!

No only may we have the most team pets in the history of DW but we intend to be the first team to do a music gig along the course!

GT do One (U2)

The DW takes a lot of practice. So we did a cover of America by Razorlight.
We took it from first practice to performance in 24hours, not related to DW but I thought I'd mention it!

America (Razorlight)

Tom

What goes up, hurts!

Now that I have a set of lungs that work we went out for a run in deepest darkest (some of it was very dark!) Devon

Richard introduced me to a new route. It had hills, hills and more hills. However, because of my new superpower, breathing, this was easier than it would have been a couple of weeks ago.

Yesterday was swimming in the morning and K1 training in the evening.

Tomorrow's a day off training, hurrah!

Need to try some sleep stuff now

Tom

DW Kit

Getting your kit right for the DW makes a big difference to your race.

Here John B is wearing a good choice of kit for the DW. Starting at the top the headwear is very important. Most heat is lost through the head. Headwear can also protect the head from the sun.

The buoyancy aid is required in the DW rules. Not only is it required but provided insulation. On the senior doubles night stage this is important for keeping the body core warm.

The cag is an important piece of kit. Wind chill can adversely affect performance. The ideal cag is breathable and windproof.

Waterproofing is also a high priority. A dry cag or a semi dry are not such goo ideas. These have tighter seals and, usually, do not have the ventilation which is required for racing. Overheating during a race is not desired.

dry cags-

good for whitewater, not so good for DW

Here John S is wearing Reed Chillcheater leggings. These are good for cold conditions and are fairly water resistant. However, my preferred racing leggings are Ron Hill Tracksters during the day time stretches. These are fairly quick drying but are in no way water resistant. Waterproof and possible wind resistant over trousers are good to have in the support crew kit in cases of very cold weather.

Footwear is also important. Here John's shoes are a good choice. In the event of a swim it is best that they do not come off in the water and get lost. Shoes with grip are also important. The course can get very wet and slippy. My first DW shoes were hockey boots. These have studs but are very difficult to obtain now. Fell running shoes are a possibility so long as they have rubber studs and not metal (such as spikes) so they do not damage the boat. The ability to wear socks should be taken into account when sizing them. I used Sealskinz waterproof socks for my first DW. Neoprene socks are another option for keeping the feet warm but not dry.

Layering is the best way to keep warmth in the body. Cotton is not a good choice as it holds water and does not dry very quickly. This is a good way to lose body heat. Synthetic thermals are the best fabrics to wear. These perform better as they do not hold water as much as cottons, dry quicker and, in some cases, wick sweat away from the body.

The most efficient way is layer the thermals these can then be added and removed as required. It is advisable that the support crew carries more spares than necessary to cover for worst case scenarios.

base layer windproof base layer

My preference is a long sleeve base layer. Craft or Helly Hansen both produce good base layers. Craft is my first choice but this can only be determined through trial and trial. When I'm not wearing a cag or the weather is bad I use the Craft base layer with the Gore Wind Stopper. A little more expensive but I think it is more than worth it.

A similar layer, usually short sleeved, over the top of this is a good idea. The wind chill effect is worse when sweating. Therefore, another layer reduces this.

short sleeved 2^nd layer

During the DW cold hands can be a problem. There are several ways around this in a kayak. Canoeists have less choice, their best option is probably gloves.

I do not like paddling in neoprene gloves and prefer lycra. For kayaking I prefer not to wear gloves and my first choice to keep my hands warm are poggies

There are various types of poggies. My favourite and the easiest to use are the Marsport box poggies

These allow good, quick access without hindering paddling.

There are some pieces of paddle kit that are not a good idea for the DW.

Wetsuits- definitely not a good idea for the DW. A wetsuit will keep you warm to an extent but only once you get it wet. Over a length of time, such as the DW, your skin will not thank you for this. The compression of the legs and arms if the wetsuit has them is not a problem as such but movement will be restricted, a good paddle stoke will become harder and cramping may be a problem. If the wetsuit is not wet then body heat will be lost. If the wet suit becomes wet and then spends a long time out of the water heat loss may also occur.

Wetsuits are more suitable for surf and whitewater

Drysuits are a similar problem to dry cags but with legs. Less breathable with more sweat retention. After 125 miles this could be quite uncomfortable! Again, for whitewater but not the racing.

Overall, kit is a personal item and what works for me may not work for you.

Thanks to John Bouteloup and John Searson from Jersey for

letting meuse them for this blog entry

Tom

The drugs haven't worked, maybe try Guinness?

Well, training is not going according to plan.  We have not had much time out on the water, in fact I have only been out in the boat twice which isn't really a lot.  Between the 2 of us I think Tom is on his 3rd chest infection to my 1, and I have also had flu and a virus that knocked me out for about 4 weeks in September and October, and the winter hasn't even got going yet!  Add to that a few knocks I have collected from playing rugby, and probably a dozen or so illnesses that Tom has kept quiet, and I think you can begin to get the idea that we might need to increase our fruit and veg intake from a 5-a-week habit to 25-a-day!  


My technique is getting there, by which I mean we can paddle the boat in the right direction without going for a swim, and my balance feels atrocious.  I keep reacting to the boat tipping like I would in a normal kayak, not a tippy racing K2.  This means we have some pretty creative moments to keep upright but so far so good!


I think we should be OK healthwise for our scheduled paddle on the Tiverton Canal in 11 days time..... 

http://www.tivertoncanal.co.uk/history.htm

This is a shot of the lesser spotted Tom contemplating the Tiverton Canal.


Not being on the water is not an ideal way to prepare, but we have 113 days until race day.  It feels like a bit of a challenge to just make it to the start line with everything and everyone fully functioning, healthy and fit!  If we can start our racing season in January 2010 fit and well I will be very relieved.  If not, then we will push on in whatever state we are in because we are going to finish the DW 2010 so long as Tom kicks his chest infection habit.  I joked to him the other day that we could be the first crew to complete the DW using Oxygen!  I will just check the rules on that, just in case............................


Rich

TC2

We have another feline team pet, TC2

aka Conker!

This is Conker banging on the bongos like a chimpanzee!

She also tried to eat my drum sticks

The team pet count now stands at 8

Is that a new DW record for the most team pets?

Training? Yes there will be some more training before our first race but I'm on my second course of antibiotics in 7 days but this time I'm on steroids too!

Tom

116

With 116 days to go until DW 2010 we went in search of a new training location

here's the video blog of our adventures

As it's in widescreen it's best to click on it to go to YouTube 
and either stretch it or watch it in full screen

I'm hoping to start doing our videos in full HD and YouTube HQ

Tom                

       

 (the music is mifeem © me 2008, but you're more than welcome to rip it off if you're that desparate! It was created in Garageband and made on a Mac)